Comparison

VVTerm vs Shell Drop

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

VVTerm

A native SSH client for Apple devices, offering secure server connections, remote file browsing, and seamless synchronization across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Supports advanced features like tmux, Mosh, and tunneling for a comfortable remote work experience.

Highlights
  • Native SSH client for iPhone, iPad, Mac
  • Password and SSH key authentication
  • SFTP remote file browsing
  • iCloud sync for servers
  • tmux and Mosh support
  • Customizable themes and modes
Features
Read full description

Your servers, always with you. VVTerm is a native SSH terminal powered by Ghostty for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Connect to your servers, return to your sessions, manage remote files, and check server activity from one app. CONNECT YOUR WAY • Connect with SSH passwords or keys. • Use Tailscale, Mosh, Eternal Terminal, or Cloudflare. • Discover SSH servers on your local network. • Organize servers into workspaces with colors and environment labels. • Sync servers and workspaces across your devices with iCloud. PICK UP WHERE YOU LEFT OFF • Keep remote tasks running after you disconnect with Herdr, tmux, Zellij, or zmx. • Choose a session when you connect. • Work across multiple tabs and split panes with Pro. FILES AND SERVER STATS • Browse, upload, and download files over SFTP. • Preview, rename, move, and share files. • Check CPU, memory, storage, and network activity. • Wake compatible servers with Wake-on-LAN. MAKE THE TERMINAL YOURS • Choose themes and fonts, including a separate font for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. • Customize keyboard shortcuts, saved commands, and floating controls. • Access Esc, Tab, Ctrl, arrows, and function keys on iPhone and iPad. • Turn speech into text, with optional on-device transcription on supported devices. SECURITY • Store credentials securely in Keychain. • Protect access with app lock and per-server biometric unlock. • Use Privacy Mode to hide sensitive content. START FREE New users get 1 workspace, 1 server, and 1 active connection. VVTerm Pro unlocks unlimited workspaces, servers, and tabs, plus split panes. Choose a monthly or yearly subscription, or lifetime access. Terms of Use (EULA): https://vvterm.com/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://vvterm.com/privacy/

About

Shell Drop

This app provides a native terminal experience for iOS and iPadOS, designed for running AI agents via SSH. It allows seamless integration with AI models by enabling image and file uploads directly into sessions, with customizable upload limits. Features include tmux awareness, secure SSH key authentication, and on-device voice input for commands.

Highlights
  • AI agent integration
  • Image and file uploads
  • Tmux session management
  • SSH key authentication
  • On-device voice input
  • Customizable keyboard toolbar
Features
Read full description

ShellDrop is a fast, native terminal for iPhone, iPad and Vision Pro, built for running AI agents: Claude Code, Codex, Grok, Hermes, OpenClaw, opencode, anything that lives in tmux on a Mac mini, VPS or any box you can SSH into. WORK WITH YOUR AGENTS - Paste images straight into a session. Copy a screenshot from any app, paste it in the terminal, and your agent reads it. - Attach files too. Tap the paperclip in the toolbar to pick a file from Files, or a photo or video from your library, and it uploads to the server for your agent to read. - You choose the upload size limit. Settings goes from 100 MB to 1 GB, and if a file is over, ShellDrop offers to raise it on the spot. - Tmux aware. Vertical swipe scrolls history, horizontal swipe switches sessions. - Tab names sync with the real tmux session names automatically. - Sessions stay alive in the background while you switch apps. - Agent to clipboard. Ask your agent to write an email, say "copy that to my clipboard", and it lands on your phone ready to paste into your mail app. - Droplet Visualizer: the feature nobody asked for. See all your sessions from the perspective of an Egyptian god. BUILT LIKE A REAL TERMINAL - SSH key authentication. Generate Ed25519 keys or hardware-backed Secure Enclave keys in-app, where the private key never leaves the chip. - Paste-import your existing OpenSSH keys. - The keyboard toolbar is yours. Tap and hold to rearrange the keys you use most, and create your own custom Tmux key bindings. - Sticky ctrl for all of your perverted tmux activities. - Text selection with a dedicated selection mode, long-press word select, and one-tap links. - Nerd Fonts. FiraCode and JetBrains Mono render the glyphs nvim and LazyVim need. - Full screen mode for extra real estate. - Full iPad support including 13" iPad Pro, plus hardware keyboards. - iCloud sync keeps saved connections on every device, and you can switch it off in Settings any time. Private keys stay on your device by design. NO SUBSCRIPTION Every feature included. VOICE DROP Tap the mic on the keyboard toolbar and talk. Your words drop into the prompt at the cursor. Transcription runs on-device with Apple speech, or through your own Groq API key for whisper-large-v3-turbo. Nothing sends until you hit return. Prefer a dictation keyboard like Wispr Flow? Works great here too. PRIVACY Credentials live in the iOS keychain on your device. There is no account, and no telemetry or analytics are collected. Terminal traffic goes to your servers over SSH and nowhere else. Built by an indie developer who runs AI agents every day.

Screenshots

VVTerm4 screens
Shell Drop4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Shell Drop at none against VVTerm's 3. On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. VVTerm sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.49 per month. Shell Drop asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for VVTerm against 5.0 for Shell Drop. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 3 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

VVTerm ships an update every 6 days, Shell Drop every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
VVTerm versus Shell Drop: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVVTermShell Drop
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (8 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings8 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size64 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVivy TechnologiesDaniel Bilsborough

Customer experience

VVTerm

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Shell Drop

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

VVTerm

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly1 Month trial$6.491 Month
  • Pro Yearly7 Days trial$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro Lifetime$49.99
None

Shell Drop

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is VVTerm free?
VVTerm is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shell Drop free?
Shell Drop is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, VVTerm or Shell Drop?
VVTerm and Shell Drop are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 8 and 3 ratings respectively.
Do VVTerm or Shell Drop have ads?
Neither VVTerm nor Shell Drop shows ads.
Which is updated more often, VVTerm or Shell Drop?
VVTerm ships an update every 6 days, and Shell Drop every 9 days. Most recently, VVTerm was updated on October 8, 2026 and Shell Drop on September 29, 2026.

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