ProxyTunnel vs Shellby
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side ā with what reviewers say about each.
ProxyTunnel
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ProxyTunnel is a native iOS app for mobile developers and QA engineers. Point it at your Wi-Fi network, and it finds your proxy in seconds saving you time! No digging through iOS Settings and typing IP addresses by hand. Why ProxyTunnel? ⢠Zero-friction setup ⢠One-tap connect and disconnect from your iPhone or iPad ⢠Live connection uptime counter so you always know the tunnel is active ⢠Real-time traffic monitoring with download and upload activity at a glance ⢠Add proxies manually when auto-discovery can't reach them ⢠Save and name frequently used proxy addresses for instant access ⢠Compatible with Charles Proxy, Proxyman, mitmproxy, Fiddler, and any HTTP/HTTPS proxy ⢠Zero ads, zero tracking, zero data collection and everything stays on your device ⢠Shortcuts & Quick Actions: Connect or disconnect with a Siri shortcut or action button Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Note: ProxyTunnel requires an active subscription or purchase to unlock all features and functionality. A free trial may be available for new users. Download ProxyTunnel and save yourself some time!
Shellby
A native SSH client for Apple devices that offers SFTP, tunnels, and server monitoring. It features an AI assistant to translate plain language tasks into commands and Mosh-compatible transport for resilient sessions.
- AI-powered command generation
- Mosh-compatible sessions
- SFTP file transfer
- Port forwarding and tunnels
- Server monitoring (CPU, memory)
- On-screen key bar
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Shellby is a modern, native SSH client for iPhone, iPad, and Mac ā one app, one experience across all your Apple devices. It does more than connect: a built-in AI agent turns plain-language ops tasks into commands you approve one by one, Mosh-compatible transport keeps sessions alive across network changes, and on Mac your AI coding tools reach your servers read-only, fully audited. Built for developers, sysadmins, and anyone who manages remote servers. No account, no tracking. AI ASSISTANT & AGENT (BRING YOUR OWN KEY) ⢠Describe an ops task in plain language ā the agent plans and runs it step by step ⢠Every command passes an approval gate; destructive ones need explicit confirmation ā nothing runs behind your back ⢠Customizable allow/deny lists; approve & allowlist in one tap ⢠Standard chat-completion APIs, so you pick the service ā DeepSeek, Kimi, GLM, Qwen, or a local Ollama model ⢠Off by default; bring your own key and endpoint ā no AI service is built in EXTERNAL AGENTS ā MCP (macOS) ⢠Let claude-code, codex, and other MCP clients use hosts you already configured ā no passwords, keys, or jump-host setup handed over ⢠Read-only: list hosts, run read-only commands, read files, fetch metrics; mutating commands are refused with a reason ⢠Loopback only, token-checked per request, token in the Keychain, every call audited ⢠Runs only while Shellby is open ā no background daemon MOSH-COMPATIBLE CONNECTIONS ⢠Switch Wi-Fi to cellular, roam, ride through a tunnel ā the session survives and resumes instantly ⢠Typing stays responsive even on slow, high-latency links ⢠Connection test detects a missing mosh-server and gives install steps for your distro TERMINAL ⢠Fast, standards-compliant terminal (xterm-256color) ⢠Password and SSH key authentication (Ed25519 / RSA / OpenSSH) ⢠On-screen key bar: Esc, Tab, Ctrl combos, arrows, symbols ⢠Full hardware-keyboard mapping on iPad and Mac ⢠Terminal themes and font size ⢠Scrollback buffer up to 50,000 lines SNIPPETS & COMMAND TOOLBAR ⢠Save commands you use daily; run, insert, or copy them from a toolbar above the terminal ⢠Shell syntax highlighting and line numbers; review before running DESKTOP-CLASS ON MAC & iPAD ⢠Three-column layout: hosts, sessions, and content each in place ⢠Multiple windows and session tabs, with live terminal previews ⢠Split view, and command broadcast ā type once, send to many sessions ⢠Native menu bar, shortcuts, and window toolbar on Mac FILES (SFTP) ⢠Browse, upload, download, rename, move, delete, create folders ⢠One transfer queue both ways ā progress, resume, choice of destination ⢠Drag & drop on Mac; notification when background transfers finish ⢠Integrates with the Files app PORT FORWARDING & TUNNELS ⢠Local (-L), remote (-R), and dynamic SOCKS5 (-D) forwarding ⢠Jump hosts / ProxyJump (-J) with multi-hop chains ⢠Standalone tunnels that stay up and auto-reconnect, with live bandwidth ⢠For reaching services inside your own server network (databases, internal dashboards) ā not for bypassing network restrictions SERVER MONITOR ⢠Live CPU, memory, swap, disk, load, and top processes SYNC ā YOUR DATA, YOUR STORAGE ⢠Optional iCloud sync of hosts, groups, and rules (CloudKit); passwords and keys only via the end-to-end-encrypted iCloud Keychain ⢠Or bring your own storage: hosts, keys, snippets, AI settings & chats via any WebDAV or S3-compatible service you control ⢠Pair a new device by scanning a QR code SECURITY & PRIVACY ⢠Credentials stored only in the device Keychain ā never in plaintext ⢠Host fingerprint verification (TOFU), with a strong warning if one ever changes ⢠Face ID / Touch ID app lock ⢠No account, no tracking, no data collection You bring your own SSH servers; Shellby connects only to machines you own or are authorized to access. Languages: English, ē®ä½äøę, ē¹é«äøę. Privacy Policy: https://shellby.app.mahui.me/privacy/ Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Shellby at every 11 days against ProxyTunnel's every 6 weeks. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. ProxyTunnel sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Shellby sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
ProxyTunnel ships an update every 6 weeks, Shellby every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ProxyTunnel | Shellby |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Positive reviews | ā | 100.0% of reviews |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 11 days ā better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | ā | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac ā better |
| Requires iOS | 16.1 ā better | 17.0 |
| Further details ā not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | SHUBHAM SHAH | č 马 |
In-app purchases
ProxyTunnel
- Pro (Monthly)3 Days trial$0.991 Month
- Pro (Yearly)3 Days trial$6.991 Year
- Pro (Lifetime)$14.99
Shellby
- Pro Monthly$1.991 Month
- Pro Yearly7 Days trial$9.991 Year
- Pro Lifetime$29.99









