Comparison

NetShell vs DuckTerm

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

Head to head
About

NetShell

A professional SSH terminal client for secure remote access on mobile devices. It offers a powerful terminal, SFTP file browser, and network tools for developers and sysadmins. Supports multiple connections, themes, and secure authentication methods.

Highlights
  • Full-featured terminal with SwiftTerm engine
  • Multiple concurrent sessions with tabbed interface
  • SSH key authentication
  • SFTP file browser with upload/download
  • Network scanning and topology map
  • Snippets with variable substitution
  • iCloud sync across devices
Features
Read full description

NetShell is the all-in-one SSH terminal, file server browser, and server management suite designed for developers, sysadmins, and network engineers who need secure remote access on the go. TERMINAL POWER - Full SSH terminal with 16 themes, multiple sessions, and broadcast mode - Local on-device shell with 20+ built-in commands - Multi-hop tunneling - chain jump hosts to reach any server - RSA 4096 and Ed25519 key generation and import - Telnet (plain + TLS) and Mosh auto-reconnect support - Port forwarding: local, remote, and SOCKS5 with auto-start on launch FILE MANAGEMENT - SFTP browser with multi-session tabs, upload, download, and inline text editor - SMB/CIFS file server browser with photo/video upload from camera roll - Grid and list views, batch operations, drag-to-reorder DOCKER & COMPOSE - Monitor and control containers: start, stop, restart, remove - Docker Compose stack management: up, down, restart, pull - Container logs, inspect, stats, and image management - Home screen widget with container status SERVER MONITORING - Real-time CPU, memory, disk, and load average dashboard - 30-day metrics history with interactive charts - Uptime monitoring with background checks and push alerts - SSL certificate expiry tracking with warnings - Security alerts for failed logins and brute force detection NETWORK DISCOVERY - Scan your local network; devices are identified from published, regularly updated lists - Network maps: save each network and see how it connects - every line shows how it was observed - Finds a managed switch automatically when it answers read-only SNMP, with live port traffic - Shows who talks to whom when your devices report it - Bluetooth scanner that names devices from what they broadcast - Device baselines to detect new or missing devices - One-tap SSH connection from discovered devices PRODUCTIVITY - AI assistant powered by Claude, GPT, or local Ollama - agentic mode with command execution - Command snippets with variable templates - Snippet sequences - chain commands with delays for automation - Connection tags and groups with drag-to-reorder - Siri shortcuts for voice-controlled actions SECURITY & PRIVACY - Credentials stored in the iOS Keychain, never in plain text - Host key verification (Trust On First Use) - Face ID / Touch ID protection - AES-256 encrypted data export - Optional anonymous analytics (off by default, no PII ever collected) - iCloud sync for connections, snippets, devices, and rules; passwords and keys sync only through your own end-to-end encrypted iCloud Keychain WIDGETS - Server status widget: CPU, memory, disk at a glance - Docker widget: running container count and status - Small, medium, large, and lock screen sizes Built for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ https://netshellssh.com/privacy

About

DuckTerm

Features
Read full description

DuckTerm is the iPhone terminal for AI engineers running long Claude / Codex / Gemini / Cursor sessions on remote machines. Get pushed when an agent finishes a task or asks for approval. Tap from the lockscreen to approve or jump into a real SSH terminal to debug live — no laptop required. — What you get for free — • 2 saved SSH servers (password auth) • Plain shell + tmux session list • Real SSH terminal built natively (not a webview wrapper) • Inbox for agent push notifications (30-day retention) — Pro unlocks — • Unlimited servers + private key (.pem) auth • tmux session attach with live capture-pane preview • HTTP CONNECT / SOCKS5 proxy + SSH ProxyJump (bastion) • Mosh transport — UDP roaming, predictive echo on flaky networks • SFTP file browser • Voice input + custom themes + iCloud sync • Multi-tab terminal + agent hooks (remote webhooks) • Inbox unlimited retention — Privacy — SSH credentials live only in iOS Keychain. We never see them; we never upload them. Agent push notifications are delivered through DuckTerm's push relay or your own webhook. No analytics, no ads, no third-party tracking. — Pricing — Free forever for the basics. Pro is $0.99/mo, $9.99/yr, or $14.99 lifetime. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

NetShell4 screens
DuckTerm4 screens

Verdict

The call

NetShell and DuckTerm are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. NetShell sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month and DuckTerm sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
NetShell versus DuckTerm: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNetShellDuckTerm
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.4 (9 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews81.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings9 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB73 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWellington Mukahiwa圣宝 蔡

In-app purchases

2 purchases

NetShell

Subscriptions2
  • NetShell Pro Monthly$6.991 Month
  • NetShell Pro Yearly$69.991 Year
3 purchases

DuckTerm

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly$0.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro Lifetime$14.99

Questions

Is NetShell free?
NetShell is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DuckTerm free?
DuckTerm is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do NetShell or DuckTerm have ads?
Neither NetShell nor DuckTerm shows ads.

Other comparisons