# rootshell vs Pier Shell

The clearest difference is chart position: rootshell at #120 against Pier Shell's unranked. rootshell also leads on iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.5). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

rootshell ships an update fortnightly, Pier Shell every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | rootshell | Pier Shell |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (40 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rootshell-local-terminal-ssh/id6755794662/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **40** | — |
| Positive reviews | 93.8% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | **Every 8 days** |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Best chart rank | **#120** | — |
| Size | 374 MB | 12 MB |
| Requires iOS | **18.0** | 26.5 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Rootshell LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1829197011) | [Muhamad Nur Asyraaf](https://appshunter.io/developer/1841873975) |

## What reviewers say

### rootshell

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rootshell-local-terminal-ssh/id6755794662)

**Currently charting:** #120 Top Free · Developer Tools (US App Store)

This app provides a powerful, desktop-class terminal emulator with GPU acceleration and native support for SSH, Mosh, and tssh. It offers features like system-wide VPN over SSH, native Git integration, and AI assistance for hands-free command execution and web searches.

**Highlights:** GPU-accelerated terminal, Native SSH and Mosh support, System-wide VPN over SSH, Native Git client, AI voice and text agents, Cloud and Kubernetes integration, Hardware security key support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Pier Shell

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pier-shell/id6801818407)

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is rootshell free?

rootshell is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Pier Shell free?

Pier Shell is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do rootshell or Pier Shell have ads?

Neither rootshell nor Pier Shell shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, rootshell or Pier Shell?

rootshell ships an update fortnightly, and Pier Shell every 8 days. Most recently, rootshell was updated on October 1, 2026 and Pier Shell on September 28, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*