Comparison

Simple Viewer vs Zelmux

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

Head to head
About

Simple Viewer

Features
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Simple Viewer opens files. Quietly, quickly, and without asking for anything in return. Share any file from any app — Mail, Messages, Files, a browser, a cloud drive — and Simple Viewer renders it the way it was meant to be read. No account. No upload. Files stay on your device. It is designed for the moment when you just need to see what's inside a file. RENDERED WITH CARE • PDF with smooth scrolling and pinch-to-zoom • Markdown with typography that reads • Source code with precise syntax highlighting • JSON, XML, and YAML, pretty-printed • CSV and TSV, as readable tables • Excel spreadsheets (XLSX) • Word documents (DOCX) • ZIP archives, browsed inside • Plain text, logs, and scripts • x509 certificates BUILT FOR iPHONE AND iPAD • Open from any app via the iOS share sheet • Recent files, one tap away • Orientation-aware on iPad • Works offline. Always. NOTHING YOU DON'T NEED No sign-up. No subscription. No ads. No tracking. No cloud sync. No bloat. Just a clean surface for reading what you already have. Because simple is elegant.

About

Zelmux

Features
Read full description

Zelmux is a mobile client for Zellij,Tmux and SSH. It's optimized for Claude and Codex cli. Connect to a Zellij server running on your Mac or Linux box and attach to live sessions from your iPhone. Built for developers who run long-lived agent workflows — Claude Code, Codex, build watchers, log tails — and want to check in, steer, or paste prompts without opening a laptop. KEY FEATURES • Attach to your Zellij sessions over HTTPS and WebSocket • Secure self-signed TLS support with certificate pinning • Fast ANSI terminal rendering powered by SwiftTerm • Prompt composer with Send, Paste, and Stage modes • Bracketed-paste support for safer multi-line prompts • Saved snippets for repeat commands • Touch modes for scrolling, selection, and terminal mouse input • Pinch to zoom terminal font size • Focus mode for full-screen terminal viewing • Local-first design with no cloud account, telemetry, or third-party tracking

Screenshots

Simple Viewer3 screens
Zelmux2 screens

Verdict

The call

Simple Viewer and Zelmux are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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

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

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

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simple Viewer ships an update monthly, Zelmux every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Simple Viewer versus Zelmux: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimple ViewerZelmux
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSTLinkYang Zhang

In-app purchases

None

Simple Viewer

No in-app purchases

None

Zelmux

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Simple Viewer free?
Simple Viewer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Zelmux free?
Zelmux is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Simple Viewer or Zelmux have ads?
Neither Simple Viewer nor Zelmux shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Simple Viewer or Zelmux?
Simple Viewer ships an update monthly, and Zelmux every 3 weeks. Most recently, Simple Viewer was updated on October 3, 2026 and Zelmux on October 8, 2026.

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