Comparison

shellin vs ShellRelay

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

Head to head
About

shellin

Access and control your Mac terminal from your iPhone or iPad. Monitor AI coding agents, run commands, and stay connected to your workflow remotely via an encrypted peer-to-peer connection.

Highlights
  • View Mac terminal live on iPhone/iPad
  • Monitor AI coding agents remotely
  • Real-time interaction with keyboard input
  • Connect without SSH setup
  • End-to-end encrypted peer-to-peer session
Features
Read full description

shellin lets you view and interact with your Mac terminal from iPhone or iPad. Run the shellin CLI on your Mac, open the iOS app, and your terminal appears live over an encrypted peer-to-peer connection. Whether you are running Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Gemini CLI, or a long command in Terminal, shellin helps you stay connected when you step away from your desk. Check progress, approve actions, and send commands right from your phone or tablet. An active shellin subscription is required to connect to your Mac from the iOS app. Why shellin  • View your Mac terminal live from iPhone or iPad  • Monitor AI coding agents while you are away  • Interact in real time with keyboard input and terminal output  • Connect without SSH setup, port forwarding, or firewall changes  • End-to-end encrypted peer-to-peer session  How it works  1. Install the shellin app on iPhone or iPad  2. Choose and activate a shellin subscription in the app  3. Install the shellin CLI on your Mac  4. Sign in with a one-time key  5. Run shellin in the terminal you want to access  6. Open the app and connect to your live session  shellin is built for people who want lightweight remote access to an existing Mac terminal session, especially when monitoring AI-assisted workflows on the go. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula Privacy Policy: https://shellin.dev/privacy

About

ShellRelay

Access and manage remote terminal sessions securely from your mobile device. Launch a personal server, connect to your own, and run commands with a touch-friendly interface. Share access with teammates and sign in easily without passwords.

Highlights
  • Remote terminal access
  • Docker playground server
  • Secure WebSocket relay
  • Touch-friendly interface
  • Team access sharing
  • Passwordless sign-in
Features
Read full description

ShellRelay — Terminal in Your Pocket ShellRelay lets you securely access and manage remote terminal sessions from your iPhone. Connect to any server, run commands, and stay productive — wherever you are. What you can do: - Launch a personal Docker-based playground server in seconds - Connect to your own servers via secure WebSocket relay - Run terminal sessions with a touch-friendly interface - Share server access with teammates using invite links - Sign in with Apple, Google or GitHub — no password required Pro Subscription: Upgrade to Pro to add more servers and unlock full access. Subscriptions are billed monthly through your Apple ID. Payment is charged at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription auto-renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your iPhone Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions. Privacy & Legal: - Privacy Policy: https://www.shellrelay.com/privacy - Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.shellrelay.com/terms

Screenshots

shellin4 screens
ShellRelay4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: ShellRelay at freemium against shellin's subscription. shellin's advantage is chart position (#197 vs unranked). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. shellin sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days and ShellRelay sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for shellin against 5.0 for ShellRelay. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
shellin versus ShellRelay: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametershellinShellRelay
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 10 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFreemium — better
Best chart rank#197 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB5 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperJoonhyung ChoLicong Chen

Customer experience

shellin

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

ShellRelay

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

shellin

Subscriptions2
  • Shellin Lite7 Days trial$0.997 Days
  • Shellin Pro$8.991 Month
1 purchases

ShellRelay

Subscriptions1
  • ShellRelay Pro$4.991 Month

Questions

Is shellin free?
shellin is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ShellRelay free?
ShellRelay is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, shellin or ShellRelay?
shellin and ShellRelay are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do shellin or ShellRelay have ads?
Neither shellin nor ShellRelay shows ads.

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