Comparison

ZenTerm vs Link Widget

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

Head to head
About

ZenTerm

Features
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ZenTerm is a self-hosted terminal client for iPhone and iPad, designed to run AI coding agents on a server you own โ€” no cloud, no middleman, no account. It connects your device directly to your own machine (a Mac at home, a single-board computer, or a Linux VPS), letting you browse, edit, and run commands from anywhere. FEATURES โ€ข Full Terminal โ€” A real xterm.js-based shell with tmux multi-window tabs โ€ข Multiple Sessions โ€” Run several AI coding agents in parallel and switch between them โ€ข iPad Workspace โ€” Landscape support, sidebar navigation, and split panes for side-by-side work โ€ข Guided Setup โ€” Start the Gateway, pair by QR code, and configure remote access step by step โ€ข Rate Limit Tracking โ€” Monitor your AI agent usage at a glance from Settings โ€ข File Browser โ€” Browse, upload, and download files on your server โ€ข Dark & Light Themes โ€” A calm Zen Garden visual design HOW IT WORKS Run the open-source ZenTerm Gateway on a computer you own (any Mac, Linux machine, single-board computer, or VPS). Your iPhone or iPad communicates directly with the Gateway over WebSocket. Nothing routes through our servers โ€” your data stays with you. WHO IT'S FOR โ€ข Check on your server from anywhere โ€ข Operate AI coding agents from your iPhone or iPad โ€ข Prefer a self-hosted, open-source solution over a SaaS terminal PRIVACY No account required. No ads. No analytics. No tracking. All data stays on your device and on your server. Gateway source code on GitHub: https://github.com/phni3j9a/zenterm

About

Link Widget

Features
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Your favorite websites, one tap away โ€” right from your Home Screen. Link Widget puts the sites you open all day into a simple list and a Home Screen widget, so the pages you actually use are always a single tap away. Add a link once, give it a title, and launch it instantly โ€” no digging through bookmarks, no retyping URLs. Features Large Home Screen widget that shows your links as a tappable list One tap opens any link in your default browser Simple two-screen app โ€” a Links list (add, edit, delete, reorder) and Settings Share Extension: send any URL from Safari or another app through the system Share sheet to add it instantly, with an editable title Automatic favicons fetched straight from each site, with a clean letter-tile fallback โ€” and it's optional, so you can turn fetching off Customize the widget: square or circle icons, show or hide a caption, and set the caption to the page Title or the URL Native look that adapts automatically to Light and Dark Mode Works on iPhone, iPad, and Mac Why you'll love it If you open the same handful of sites every day โ€” a work dashboard, internal tools, a news page, a social feed โ€” they don't belong buried in a browser. Pin them to your Home Screen instead and reach them the moment you unlock your device. Set your list up once, reorder it whenever your routine changes, and add new links from anywhere with the Share sheet. It's a small change that quietly removes a dozen taps from your day. Privacy No accounts, no sign-in, no ads, and no tracking. Your links are stored locally on your device, and favicons are fetched directly from the websites you add โ€” there are no third-party analytics services involved.

Screenshots

ZenTerm4 screens
Link Widget3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: ZenTerm at 3 against Link Widget's 1. ZenTerm also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

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

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
ZenTerm versus Link Widget: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZenTermLink Widget
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysโ€”
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 โ€” better17.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size50 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYuki NakanoJens Rieckhof

In-app purchases

None

ZenTerm

No in-app purchases

None

Link Widget

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ZenTerm free?
ZenTerm is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Link Widget free?
Link Widget is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do ZenTerm or Link Widget have ads?
Neither ZenTerm nor Link Widget shows ads.

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