Comparison

tunlr vs OctaLab

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

Head to head
About

tunlr

This app provides a secure SSH terminal emulator for mobile devices. It offers advanced authentication methods, including biometric-protected keys, and on-device voice dictation for terminal commands. Designed for developers and sysadmins, it ensures privacy with no accounts or data tracking.

Highlights
  • Full PTY terminal emulation
  • Biometric-protected SSH keys
  • On-device voice dictation
  • Customizable keyboard toolbar
  • Save server profiles
  • 14 color themes
Features
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SSH terminal in your pocket. Full xterm-256color emulation, biometric-protected keys, and on-device voice dictation. No accounts, no tracking β€” everything stays on your device. tunlr is built for developers, sysadmins, and DevOps engineers who need real terminal access on iPhone and iPad. β€” TERMINAL β€” Full PTY terminal emulation powered by SwiftTerm. xterm-256color support. Configurable scrollback buffer up to 50,000 lines. Optional Metal GPU-accelerated rendering. Works in portrait and landscape on both iPhone and iPad. β€” AUTHENTICATION β€” Three ways to authenticate, all protected by Face ID or Touch ID: Secure Enclave keys β€” generate a P-256 ECDSA key that never leaves your device's Secure Enclave. The private key is inaccessible even to the app itself. Imported keys β€” bring your own Ed25519, ECDSA, or RSA keys. Stored in the iOS Keychain with biometric protection. Passwords β€” stored in the Keychain, never in plain text. β€” HOST VERIFICATION β€” Trust-on-first-use (TOFU) host key verification. tunlr saves the server fingerprint on first connection and warns you if it ever changes. Import fingerprints by scanning a QR code to skip the initial trust step. β€” VOICE INPUT β€” Dictate terminal commands with on-device speech recognition powered by WhisperKit. All audio processing happens on your device β€” nothing is sent to any server. β€” KEYBOARD TOOLBAR β€” Customizable keyboard toolbar with sticky modifier keys. Shortcut packs for Shell, Tmux, Vim, and Claude Code workflows. Save your own favorites. β€” CONNECTIONS β€” Save server profiles with hostname, port, username, and authentication method. Connect with a single tap. Auto-reconnect restores your session when you return to the app, with configurable keepalive intervals. β€” APPEARANCE β€” 14 color themes: Default Dark, Solarized Dark, Solarized Light, Dracula, Nord, Monokai, One Dark, GitHub Light, Gruvbox Light, Catppuccin Mocha, Tokyo Night, RosΓ© Pine, Synthwave, and Kanagawa. Four monospace fonts and adjustable font size. β€” PRIVACY β€” No accounts. No analytics. No tracking. No data collection. Everything runs on your device. SSH connections go directly to your servers β€” tunlr never contacts any third-party service.

About

OctaLab

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OctaLab is a visual app builder. Design, prototype, and preview app ideas for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, directly on your device, no code required. Place SwiftUI components on a device canvas, wire up navigation between screens, define your data and actions, then run a live, interactive preview to feel how your app works. DESIGN VISUALLY β€’ Drag and drop from a library of SwiftUI components onto a device canvas β€’ Resize, position, and style each component with a property inspector β€’ Add real photos from your library to image components β€’ Build for iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch, the canvas adapts to each CONNECT YOUR SCREENS β€’ Lay out screens on a visual flowchart canvas β€’ Connect them with navigation links: push, sheet, full screen, tab, and alert β€’ Mark an entry screen and see the whole flow at a glance DATA AND LOGIC β€’ Define data models with typed fields and custom enums β€’ Two-way bindings between components and live context variables β€’ Build reusable actions: change state, navigate, call APIs, and more β€’ Import OpenAPI specs to model real API endpoints PREVIEW INSTANTLY β€’ Run your prototype in a simulated device frame β€’ Tap through real interactions: buttons, fields, toggles, sliders β€’ Switch between iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch as you go β€’ Light and dark mode ORGANIZE YOUR WORK β€’ Start blank or from a built-in template (Todo, Login, Dashboard, Chat, Social, Banking) β€’ Rename, duplicate, and manage all your projects in one place β€’ Projects are saved locally on your device OctaLab is built for designers, makers, students, and anyone who wants to shape an app idea quickly and see it run without writing a line of code.

Screenshots

tunlr4 screens
OctaLab4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: OctaLab at every 4 days against tunlr's every 5 weeks. 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

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

tunlr ships an update every 5 weeks, OctaLab every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 8, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference Β· 7 level
tunlr versus OctaLab: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametertunlrOctaLab
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews100.0% of reviewsβ€”
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 4 days β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeβ€”
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac β€” better
Requires iOS17.0 β€” better18.0
Further details β€” not scored
Size13 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAnastasiia TrofimovaNovin dokht Elmi

In-app purchases

None

tunlr

No in-app purchases

None

OctaLab

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is tunlr free?
tunlr is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is OctaLab free?
OctaLab is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do tunlr or OctaLab have ads?
Neither tunlr nor OctaLab shows ads.
Which is updated more often, tunlr or OctaLab?
tunlr ships an update every 5 weeks, and OctaLab every 4 days. Most recently, tunlr was updated on October 8, 2026 and OctaLab on October 8, 2026.

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