Comparison

shellin vs Bolt SSH

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

Bolt SSH

Features
Read full description

Bolt SSH — the SSH terminal made for your phone Everything you need to manage servers from your phone, without the friction. Bolt SSH keeps your hosts and keys organized, locks tight behind biometrics, and gets you reconnected fast when mobile networks drop. Works with Linux/Unix servers and Windows PowerShell (sshd) out of the box. Reconnect without the hassle • Automatic reconnect, plus one-tap manual reconnect from the status bar • Returns you to your remote working directory after reconnecting — no re-cd-ing • Real terminal rendering (xterm.js) with an aux key bar (Esc / Tab / arrows / Ctrl) Security first • App Lock with Face ID / fingerprint — locks the instant you background the app • Trust-on-first-use + known_hosts verification; instant alert on host key change to help stop man-in-the-middle attacks • Private keys and passwords stored in the device secure enclave (Keychain / Keystore), never in plaintext Effortless management • Multi-host manager with color labels, recent-first ordering, and duplicate / edit / delete • Multiple keys — import or paste private keys (OpenSSH / RSA PEM) with passphrase support • English & Chinese Free to download — core features work out of the box. Everything runs locally; nothing routes through our servers.

Screenshots

shellin4 screens
Bolt SSH4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Bolt SSH at none against shellin's 2. Bolt SSH also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.6). On price, ads and device support 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. Bolt SSH asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
shellin versus Bolt SSH: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametershellinBolt SSH
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 10 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscription—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.613.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB24 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJoonhyung Cho文博 邱

In-app purchases

2 purchases

shellin

Subscriptions2
  • Shellin Lite7 Days trial$0.997 Days
  • Shellin Pro$8.991 Month
None

Bolt SSH

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is shellin free?
shellin is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Bolt SSH free?
Bolt SSH is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do shellin or Bolt SSH have ads?
Neither shellin nor Bolt SSH shows ads.

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