ZestSSH vs TermAI
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
ZestSSH
Read full descriptionHide full description
ZestSSH is a modern SSH client built for people who actually manage servers. No subscription, no feature gates on the basics β just a fast, secure terminal that works everywhere. THE MODERN SSH CLIENT ZestSSH is the modern alternative to aging SSH clients β cross-platform, actively maintained, and with features others never had. SFTP BUILT IN β FREE Browse your remote filesystem, upload and download files, drag and drop transfers. No paywall. No subscription. Free for everyone. FULL SSH TERMINAL xterm 4.0.0 with full ANSI/256-color support. Ed25519, RSA, ECDSA key generation built in. Password and key auth. Import from ~/.ssh/config directly. TRY IT WITHOUT A SERVER Built-in demo terminal with a simulated shell. 30+ commands including neofetch, ls, ping, and more. Try ZestSSH before you connect anything. SNIPPETS Save commands and run them in one tap. Dynamic variables auto-fetch your Docker containers, PM2 processes, systemd services, and more from the server at runtime. PORT FORWARDING Local, remote, and dynamic SOCKS5 forwarding. Pre-configure per connection and auto-activate on connect. SERVER MONITORING Built-in health monitoring with CPU, RAM, disk, uptime, and latency. Prometheus integration for homelab setups. No extra agent required for basic monitoring. SECURITY FIRST SQLCipher encrypted database. Keys stored in iOS Keychain. Biometric unlock with Argon2id PIN fallback. Host key verification. Dangerous command protection β warns before rm, dd, mkfs, and similar commands. TERMINAL CUSTOMIZATION 13 built-in themes including Dracula, Nord, Tokyo Night, Gruvbox, Synthwave, and more. 6 monospace fonts including JetBrains Mono and Fira Code. Custom theme builder. Cursor styles, scrollback, font size β all configurable. MOBILE OPTIMIZED Touch gestures for Ctrl+C, paste, zoom, and session switching. Home screen widgets. App shortcuts. Hardware keyboard support. Keep screen awake per session. PRICING β LIFETIME, NO SUBSCRIPTIONS...EVER!! Free β 2 sessions, SFTP, port forwarding, all protocols, biometric lock, demo terminal Pro ($9.99 once) β unlimited sessions, all themes, shortcuts, advanced layouts, widgets and more Cloud Sync ($24.99 once) β E2E encrypted sync across all devices. Your data is encrypted on your device before it ever leaves β we literally cannot read it. Full details at zestssh.com/security Bundle ($29.99 once) β Pro + Cloud Sync, saves $5
TermAI
Read full descriptionHide full description
TermAI is a mobile AI-powered SSH terminal designed for developers, DevOps engineers, and system administrators. Securely manage Linux/Unix servers from your iPhone or iPad β fast, stable, anywhere. β Core Features β’ SSH Client β password, SSH key, or custom port login; jump host (bastion) supported β’ SFTP File Transfer β browse, upload/download, two-way local-remote sync, batch directory transfer β’ Mosh β auto-reconnect across network switches, tunnels, and sleep; SSH that never drops β’ AI Assistant β describe Linux issues in natural language; AI diagnoses, generates commands, runs scripts β’ Docker Management β inspect containers, view logs, exec into containers, restart services β’ Multi-Server Dashboard β CPU, memory, disk, network, and port monitoring β’ End-to-End Encryption β modern key exchange, local key storage, Face ID / Touch ID unlock β’ iPad Optimized β split view, external keyboard shortcuts, Magic Keyboard support β Common Use Cases β’ Manage VPS / cloud servers (AWS, GCP, Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud, Vultr, Hetzner) β’ Edit remote files and two-way sync via SFTP β’ Run Docker, Kubernetes, or Ansible scripts from your iPhone β’ Remote login to debug production, tail Nginx / MySQL logs β’ Quick Shell access β no laptop required β Who It's For SSH power users, Linux ops, backend developers, DevOps, sysadmins, network engineers, indie developers. Free to start. Pro unlocks unlimited server sync, iCloud config sync across iPhone and iPad, and team key sharing.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: ZestSSH at daily against TermAI's every 5 weeks. TermAI's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. ZestSSH sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and TermAI sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $17.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
ZestSSH ships an update daily, TermAI every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 11, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ZestSSH | TermAI |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Daily β better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13.0 β better |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 76 MB | 115 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Arlie Nordlund | Sichuan future Three Kingdoms Enterprise Management Consulting Co., Ltd |
In-app purchases
ZestSSH
- Premium$9.99
- Cloud Sync$24.99
- ZestSSH Bundle$29.99
TermAI
- Pro δΌε$17.991 Month
- team δΌε$49.991 Month





