QuickTerminal vs Shellton
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
QuickTerminal
Read full descriptionHide full description
QuickTerminal is a professional terminal emulator and SSH client designed for iOS and macOS. It combines local shell access, remote SSH sessions, SFTP file browsing, and AI-powered command assistance in one workspace. TERMINAL: - Full xterm-256color terminal emulation - Local shell support (bash, zsh, fish, sh, ksh) - Multiple concurrent sessions with tabs - Horizontal and vertical terminal splitting - Customizable fonts: Fira Code, JetBrains Mono, Source Code Pro, Cascadia Code - Adjustable font size (8β32px) and cursor styles (block, underline, bar) - Scrollback buffer up to 50,000 lines SSH & SFTP: - SSH remote sessions with saved host profiles - Key-based and password authentication - SSH jump host / bastion support - SFTP file browser for remote directories - Connection pooling and session reuse - Secure credential storage AI ASSISTANT (Pro): - Claude and Gemini AI integration - Natural language command suggestions and explanations - Command safety analysis before execution - Context-aware help with working directory and git status COMMAND TOOLS: - Command snippets: save, categorize, search, and import/export as JSON - Command history with search, favorites, and directory tracking (500 entries) - Command palette for unified search across actions and snippets SECURITY POLICIES: - Command approval modes: None, Risky Only, Always - Risky command detection (rm -rf, mkfs, dd, shutdown, etc.) - Directory-based sandboxing with allowed paths - Configurable safety levels WORKSPACE: - Dockable floating panels - Integrated file browser - Resizable sidebar with icon-only mode - Grid and tabbed layout modes CUSTOMIZATION: - 20+ theme colors with dark/light mode - Customizable keyboard shortcuts - Responsive layout for mobile, tablet, and desktop ADVANCED CONNECTIVITY: - Mosh (Mobile Shell) for resilient connections over flaky networks - Port forwarding with local and remote SSH tunnels - GCP IAP tunneling for Google Cloud SSH access QuickTerminal Pro unlocks: - Unlimited AI agent execution - Ad-free experience - Advanced security policies - Priority support Terms of Use: https://kakitiro.com/quickapps/quickterminal/terms/
Shellton
Read full descriptionHide full description
Shellton is a native ACP cockpit and persistent SSH/Mosh terminal for developers who want to run coding agents from iPhone without moving their work into a proprietary cloud relay. RUN CLAUDE AND CODEX ON YOUR HOSTS. Connect to a saved SSH or Mosh host, choose Claude or Codex, and start or resume an agent session in the directory where your code already lives. Shellton launches the official Agent Client Protocol adapter on demand and carries the session over your existing encrypted connectionβno Shellton account, relay server, or host daemon. AN AGENT INTERFACE BUILT FOR MOBILE. Follow live transcripts, reasoning, tool activity, and plans without squeezing a desktop terminal onto your phone. Approve or deny tool requests, send the next instruction by keyboard or voice, switch between conversations, and hand control back to tmux when you return to a computer. EVERY DROPPED SESSION IS A BUG. Shellton tries Mosh first on every connection. Mosh survives Wi-Fi handoffs, dead zones, and locked-screen suspends. If the server does not have mosh-server installed, Shellton transparently falls back to SSH. VOICE INPUT, ON-DEVICE. Tap the mic and dictate agent prompts or terminal commands. Supported speech engines run on your device; your audio is never sent to Shellton. KEYBOARD THAT WORKS FOR DEVELOPERS. Use a configurable accessory bar with modifier keys, arrows, and custom escape sequences. Build bars in the app or author them in YAML and import them from Files. Hyper, Meh, Kitty keyboard protocol, and tmux prefix shortcuts are supported. FULL-SCREEN TERMINAL. Use a true-color SwiftTerm terminal with Nerd Font glyphs, themes, snippets, per-host history, SSH key management, host-key verification, Live Activities, and tmux-aware navigation. YOUR DATA STAYS YOUR OWN. Shellton uses privacy-preserving product analytics for feature adoption and connection reliability. Analytics never include hostnames, addresses, usernames, commands, terminal text, credentials, voice audio, transcripts, or raw errors, and can be disabled in Settings. There is no advertising or cross-app tracking. SSH keys live in the iOS Keychain, app data remains local, and accessory-bar configuration can sync through your private iCloud container. KEY FEATURES β’ Native ACP conversations with Claude and Codex β’ Live transcripts, plans, tool activity, and permission approvals β’ Direct operation over your SSH or Mosh hosts; no proprietary relay β’ Auto Mosh-to-SSH fallback per host β’ On-device voice input β’ Customizable accessory bar with YAML import/export β’ Live Activities for active sessions β’ Ed25519 and ECDSA SSH key generation and import β’ Optional Face ID protection for stored credentials β’ Trust-On-First-Use host-key verification β’ Anonymous, opt-out product analytics; no tracking or ads CONVERSATION REQUIREMENTS β’ A saved SSH-accessible host with Node.js 22 or later and npm β’ Authentication with the selected agent provider when prompted β’ Shellton resolves the official ACP adapter through npx on demand; users do not install a separate Shellton daemon or generic ACP service TERMINAL REQUIREMENTS β’ iOS 17.0 or later β’ An SSH server you can connect to β’ mosh-server on the remote host for persistent Mosh sessions (optional) SHELLTON PRO An optional auto-renewable subscription unlocks voice input, agent conversations, custom accessory bars, and session-continuity tools. Payment is charged to your Apple ID; the subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period. Manage or cancel it in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://datons.github.io/shellton-site/privacy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Shellton at none against QuickTerminal's 2. Shellton also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 weeks). QuickTerminal's advantage is device support (4 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price 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. QuickTerminal sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per year. Shellton asks for nothing beyond the download.
QuickTerminal ships an update every 6 weeks, Shellton every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | QuickTerminal | Shellton |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 2 weeks β better |
| Ads | Yes | No β better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No β better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac β better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 β better | 17.0 |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 57 MB | 46 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | KAZUHIRO KAKIMOTO | Jesus Lopez |
In-app purchases
QuickTerminal
- Pro - Annual$1.991 Year
- Pro - Lifetime$6.99
Shellton
No in-app purchases









