Comparison

Shell Drop vs Kali Strike

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

Head to head
About

Shell Drop

This app provides a native terminal experience for iOS and iPadOS, designed for running AI agents via SSH. It allows seamless integration with AI models by enabling image and file uploads directly into sessions, with customizable upload limits. Features include tmux awareness, secure SSH key authentication, and on-device voice input for commands.

Highlights
  • AI agent integration
  • Image and file uploads
  • Tmux session management
  • SSH key authentication
  • On-device voice input
  • Customizable keyboard toolbar
Features
Read full description

ShellDrop is a fast, native terminal for iPhone, iPad and Vision Pro, built for running AI agents: Claude Code, Codex, Grok, Hermes, OpenClaw, opencode, anything that lives in tmux on a Mac mini, VPS or any box you can SSH into. WORK WITH YOUR AGENTS - Paste images straight into a session. Copy a screenshot from any app, paste it in the terminal, and your agent reads it. - Attach files too. Tap the paperclip in the toolbar to pick a file from Files, or a photo or video from your library, and it uploads to the server for your agent to read. - You choose the upload size limit. Settings goes from 100 MB to 1 GB, and if a file is over, ShellDrop offers to raise it on the spot. - Tmux aware. Vertical swipe scrolls history, horizontal swipe switches sessions. - Tab names sync with the real tmux session names automatically. - Sessions stay alive in the background while you switch apps. - Agent to clipboard. Ask your agent to write an email, say "copy that to my clipboard", and it lands on your phone ready to paste into your mail app. - Droplet Visualizer: the feature nobody asked for. See all your sessions from the perspective of an Egyptian god. BUILT LIKE A REAL TERMINAL - SSH key authentication. Generate Ed25519 keys or hardware-backed Secure Enclave keys in-app, where the private key never leaves the chip. - Paste-import your existing OpenSSH keys. - The keyboard toolbar is yours. Tap and hold to rearrange the keys you use most, and create your own custom Tmux key bindings. - Sticky ctrl for all of your perverted tmux activities. - Text selection with a dedicated selection mode, long-press word select, and one-tap links. - Nerd Fonts. FiraCode and JetBrains Mono render the glyphs nvim and LazyVim need. - Full screen mode for extra real estate. - Full iPad support including 13" iPad Pro, plus hardware keyboards. - iCloud sync keeps saved connections on every device, and you can switch it off in Settings any time. Private keys stay on your device by design. NO SUBSCRIPTION Every feature included. VOICE DROP Tap the mic on the keyboard toolbar and talk. Your words drop into the prompt at the cursor. Transcription runs on-device with Apple speech, or through your own Groq API key for whisper-large-v3-turbo. Nothing sends until you hit return. Prefer a dictation keyboard like Wispr Flow? Works great here too. PRIVACY Credentials live in the iOS keychain on your device. There is no account, and no telemetry or analytics are collected. Terminal traffic goes to your servers over SSH and nowhere else. Built by an indie developer who runs AI agents every day.

About

Kali Strike

A mobile reference for cybersecurity professionals and ethical hackers. It provides essential tools and information for penetration testing, certification preparation, and learning hacking techniques. Designed for on-the-go access, it consolidates necessary resources into a single application.

Highlights
  • Comprehensive reference tool
  • For penetration testers
  • For ethical hackers
  • Cybersecurity professional resource
  • Certification preparation aid
  • Learning hacking techniques
Features
Read full description

Kali Strike is the most comprehensive mobile reference tool for penetration testers, ethical hackers, and cybersecurity professionals. Whether you're on an active engagement, preparing for a certification, or learning the craft — Kali Strike puts everything you need in one sleek, powerful app.

Screenshots

Shell Drop4 screens
Kali Strike4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Shell Drop at 100% against Kali Strike's 50%. Shell Drop also leads on price (Free vs $3.99) and rating (5.0 vs 3.7). Kali Strike's advantage is chart position (#192 vs unranked). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases 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

Shell Drop is free to download; Kali Strike costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Shell Drop holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Shell Drop's written reviews are positive against 50% of Kali Strike's.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Shell Drop versus Kali Strike: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShell DropKali Strike
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better3.7 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings33
Update frequencyEvery 9 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#192 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDaniel BilsboroughDYLAN JOHNS

Customer experience

Shell Drop

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Kali Strike

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

Shell Drop

No in-app purchases

None

Kali Strike

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Shell Drop free?
Shell Drop is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Kali Strike free?
Kali Strike costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Shell Drop or Kali Strike?
Shell Drop is rated higher. Shell Drop averages 5.0 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Kali Strike averages 3.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Shell Drop or Kali Strike have ads?
Neither Shell Drop nor Kali Strike shows ads.

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