Comparison

Ash vs ZestSSH

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

Head to head
About

Ash

Features
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Native SSH client for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Open a shell, push files over SFTP, forward a port, monitor a server. Terminal โ€” multiple sessions, configurable shell, fonts, theme. Hold-and-drag cursor scrub, two-finger paste, pinch zoom. โŒ˜T / โŒ˜W / โŒ˜1-9 on iPad and Mac. SFTP โ€” browse, upload, download, edit text files inline. Save with sudo when needed. Drag-and-drop from Files or Finder. Server Dashboard โ€” live CPU, RAM, disk, latency. OS, kernel, uptime. Port Forwarding โ€” local (-L) and remote (-R) tunnels, multiple per host. SSH Keys โ€” generate Ed25519 or RSA on-device. Import from Files or clipboard. Stored in iOS Keychain. Face ID / Touch ID lock. Connections survive the lock screen. Keepalive defeats NAT timeouts. Auto-reconnect on Wi-Fi / cellular handoff. No telemetry. No analytics. No ads. Host configs sync only via your private iCloud, opt-in.

About

ZestSSH

Features
Read full description

A welcome on first launch: sign in, create an account, or continue without one, which keeps everything on your iPhone or iPad. Join a team without an account yet: Join a team lets you sign in or create an account right there and keeps your invite code. The team's Members page shows who is waiting for you at the top, with Review. Sign in is at the top of More when you are not signed in. Make or join a team on a new account without setting up sync first, and enter team seat codes under Redeem a code.

Screenshots

Ash4 screens
ZestSSH4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Ash at none against ZestSSH's 3. ZestSSH's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. ZestSSH sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Ash asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ash ships an update every 3 months, ZestSSH every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
Ash versus ZestSSH: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAshZestSSH
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” better
Requires iOS17.015.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size12 MB95 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperArtem SharifullinArlie Nordlund

In-app purchases

None

Ash

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

ZestSSH

One-time3
  • Premium$9.99
  • Cloud Sync$24.99
  • ZestSSH Bundle$29.99

Questions

Is Ash free?
Ash is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ZestSSH free?
ZestSSH is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Ash or ZestSSH have ads?
Neither Ash nor ZestSSH shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ash or ZestSSH?
Ash ships an update every 3 months, and ZestSSH every 2 days. Most recently, Ash was updated on October 28, 2026 and ZestSSH on October 31, 2026.

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