OpenShell vs ExpandNote
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
OpenShell
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OpenShell β a unified AI client for your iPhone: local LLMs, cloud APIs, and remote coding over SSH, all in one app. Chat with Ollama, MLX, and LM Studio local models; OpenAI, xAI Grok, and Nous Hermes cloud APIs; or drive Claude Code on a remote Mac over SSH. Pick the backend you want and work in the same app β from quick questions to code reviews, file edits, and builds, straight from your iPhone.
ExpandNote
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ExpandNote is an AI-powered note-taking app for capturing, organizing, and transforming your notes across devices. Write notes with markdown, add tags, dictate ideas with voice-to-text, and use AI Profiles to automatically process notes based on tags. Email-to-note lets you forward information into your notebook, while offline-first sync keeps your notes available when your connection is unreliable. Create, edit, search, favorite, archive, lock, and restore notes. Organize notes with tags and smart workflows. Use your own OpenAI, Anthropic, or OpenRouter API keys for AI-powered note workflows.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: OpenShell at every 3 days against ExpandNote's every 3 weeks. ExpandNote's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
OpenShell ships an update every 3 days, ExpandNote every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | OpenShell | ExpandNote |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days β better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod β better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 15.1 β better |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 37 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | seungkoo lee | Altitude Information Systems LLC |
In-app purchases
OpenShell
No in-app purchases
ExpandNote
No in-app purchases
