Comparison

TermCOW vs sshido

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

Head to head
About

TermCOW

This app provides a stable SSH terminal experience for mobile devices, allowing users to connect to remote machines with features like pan and zoom for a desktop-class interface. It supports standard SSH protocols, SFTP, and secure credential storage.

Highlights
  • SSH with password and key authentication
  • SFTP file transfer
  • Encrypted credential vault
  • Pan and zoom for stable terminal view
  • Customizable multi-state shortcuts
  • Port forwarding
  • Jump host/bastion support
Features
Read full description

TermCOW is an SSH terminal for developers, sysadmins, and anyone who wants to do their work anywhere. I originally built it so I could connect to my machine at home running AI coding agents in tmux from my phone. On a phone, it’s usually either tiny unreadable text to fit the whole terminal, or confusing text reflow, flashing, and wrapping when you zoom in. TermCOW uses pan and zoom instead of text reflow, so the terminal stays stable while you work. But if you like text reflow, TermCOW supports that too. All standard SSH features are free, including password/key auth, SFTP, and encrypted credential storage. Features • SSH with password and key auth • SFTP file transfer • Encrypted credential vault • Pan and zoom for a stable desktop-class terminal • Customizable multi-state shortcuts • Port forwarding • Jump host / bastion support • Back up settings to the TermCOW service • Premium jump host service for private IP access Clean, functional, minimal UI that stays out of your way while you do real work with a desktop-class terminal from your phone. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

sshido

Features
Read full description

sshido is a fast, private SSH terminal for iPhone and iPad, built for running AI coding agents on your own servers from your phone. AGENT MODE • Ask once in a chat. An orchestrator plans the task, runs subagents in Podman on your host, and checks their work before it answers. • Every agent keeps a work record with its goal, evidence and a pass or fail verdict. • Agents can browse websites, use a desktop, and send screenshots, videos and files back to the chat. • Use frontier models (Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Grok) with your own subscriptions, or a local model you run yourself. • Run many chats at once, and give agents read-only access to the host folders you choose. TERMINAL • Full xterm-256color terminal, Metal-rendered for smooth scrolling even on heavy output. • tmux sessions survive reconnects, network drops and app switches. Sessions are named after tmux, and you can rename them. • A customizable shortcut bar, smart copy of URLs and output, a one-tap sign-in helper, and image upload into your session. NOTIFICATIONS • Get an alert the moment an agent finishes or needs your input. Hosts and sessions turn amber when Claude is waiting. • Alerts go through the hosted relay at push.sshido.com. Its source is public, and it never stores the alert text. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Ed25519 and RSA keys are stored in the iOS Keychain. A server's host key is remembered on first connect and checked every time after. • Your keys and terminal content only travel to your own server. Crash reports leave out terminal content and credentials, and you can turn them off in Settings. Bring your own server over SSH.

Screenshots

TermCOW4 screens
sshido4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: sshido at none against TermCOW's 1. On price, update cadence, 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. TermCOW sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. sshido asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TermCOW ships an update fortnightly, sshido every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
TermCOW versus sshido: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTermCOWsshido
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size149 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFynetiq LLCJUNGHYUN SON

In-app purchases

1 purchases

TermCOW

One-time1
  • TermCOW Pro Upgrade$9.99
None

sshido

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is TermCOW free?
TermCOW is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is sshido free?
sshido is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do TermCOW or sshido have ads?
Neither TermCOW nor sshido shows ads.
Which is updated more often, TermCOW or sshido?
TermCOW ships an update fortnightly, and sshido every 3 weeks. Most recently, TermCOW was updated on October 1, 2026 and sshido on October 5, 2026.

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