Comparison

mobitty vs CLI Files

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

Head to head
About

mobitty

Features
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Run AI agents from your phone. A real terminal with a real keyboard, in your pocket. Mobitty is a touch-first SSH terminal built for AI-agent workflows on iOS. You bring the server β€” self-hosted, behind SSH, Tailscale, or Cloudflare β€” and Mobitty brings the parts the browser can't: a native on-screen terminal keyboard, multi-URL server rotation, gesture shortcuts, and touch-friendly selection with a magnifier loupe. MADE FOR AI AGENTS A dedicated Claude Code layout. A remote editor that handles Ctrl-G and long multi-line prompts mid-stream. Paste an image straight from the camera roll into the agent's context β€” your phone becomes the AI-agent dashboard. SESSIONS THAT FOLLOW YOU Sessions live on your server, not your phone. Reattach from mobile or desktop, survive LTE↔Wi-Fi handoffs and subway tunnels. Mobitty's adaptive transport keeps the line open with frugal data usage. A REAL KEYBOARD Readline Β· Tmux Β· Vim Β· Claude Code layouts out of the box. Drag-arrange your own grid, and bind any chord or sequence β€” Ctrl-Shift-X, a tmux prefix followed by a pane move, Esc :wq Enter β€” to a single tap. Hardware keyboard paired? Mobitty hides the softkey bar automatically. MULTI-SERVER, MULTI-URL Save Production, staging, and lab boxes once. Each server can list several URLs β€” LAN, Tailscale, public hostname β€” probed in parallel until one connects. Drag to reorder, swipe to delete. TOUCH-FIRST, FROM SCROLL TO SELECTION 1:1 momentum scrolling that doesn't fight the terminal renderer. Long-press a word to select, drag iOS handles, and a magnifier loupe rides above your finger so you can land the boundary on the right character β€” in plain shells and in alt-buffer apps like tmux, vim, and less. SETTINGS THAT MATCH THE DESKTOP Four tabs β€” General Β· Softkeys Β· Gestures Β· Themes β€” share the same profile model as the desktop client. Bind 1-finger swipes and flicks to your most-used keys. Edit ANSI palette colors live. BUILT FOR iOS A 3-finger long-press surfaces a quick menu. A right-edge swipe pulls in the native server list. A left-edge swipe opens the session list. iOS 17+, Apple silicon. Source-available Β· Self-hosted Β· No telemetry. Your terminal stays on your network.

About

CLI Files

Features
Read full description

CLI Files puts remote file management and a full SSH terminal in one focused workspace. Connect to your servers over SSH/SFTP, browse folders, upload and download files, preview common file types, and jump straight into a terminal when you need to get work done. It is designed for developers, operators, and AI-agent workflows. FEATURES β€’ SSH and SFTP connections with password or private-key authentication β€’ Browse, search, sort, upload, download, rename, and delete remote files β€’ Save favorite folders and open each directly in the file browser or terminal β€’ One retained terminal tab per server; switch sessions without disconnecting β€’ Reorderable command-key bar and custom text shortcuts β€’ Record custom Ctrl, Alt, Shift, special keys, and multi-step key sequences using the phone keyboard β€’ Terminal font-size control, app language selection, and multiple interface themes β€’ Secure credential storage in the iOS Keychain β€’ Offline Demo Mode for exploring the terminal, files, and Markdown preview before connecting a server CLI Files is free to download and includes banner advertising. An optional one-time Remove Ads purchase removes advertising; previous Remove Ads purchases remain valid and can be restored. Paid users may voluntarily enable banners in Settings and turn them off at any time without losing their purchase. Server profiles are stored on your device. Passwords, private keys, and trusted host keys are protected by the iOS Keychain.

Screenshots

mobitty4 screens
CLI Files4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: mobitty at none against CLI Files's shown. CLI Files's advantage is update cadence (every 11 days vs every 2 months). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. mobitty sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and CLI Files sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

mobitty ships an update every 2 months, CLI Files every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 4 level
mobitty versus CLI Files: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametermobittyCLI Files
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 11 days β€” better
AdsNo β€” betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details β€” not scored
Size1 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCCSW LLCOpenBigger

In-app purchases

2 purchases

mobitty

One-time2
  • 7-Day Free TrialFree
  • Mobitty Full Unlock$14.99
1 purchases

CLI Files

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$0.99

Questions

Is mobitty free?
mobitty is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CLI Files free?
CLI Files is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do mobitty or CLI Files have ads?
CLI Files shows ads; mobitty does not.
Which is updated more often, mobitty or CLI Files?
mobitty ships an update every 2 months, and CLI Files every 11 days. Most recently, mobitty was updated on November 5, 2026 and CLI Files on November 6, 2026.

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