Comparison

ShellMan vs Prox Agent

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

Head to head
About

ShellMan

Features
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ShellMan is the most powerful local-network controller for your Shelly Gen 2, Gen 3, and Gen 4 smart home devices. No cloud. No subscription. Pure local control. Disclaimer: This app is an independent, unofficial third-party tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or in any way connected to Allterco Robotics Ltd. or its subsidiaries. "Shelly®" is a registered trademark of Allterco Robotics Ltd. All product names, logos, and brands mentioned are property of their respective owners and are used solely for identification purposes. This app communicates with devices using their publicly documented, open JSON-RPC 2.0 API. DISCOVER YOUR DEVICES • Auto-discover devices instantly via mDNS — no IP addresses needed • Scan your entire subnet to find every Shelly on your network • Add devices manually by entering their IP address CONTROL EVERYTHING • Turn switches on/off with a single tap • Dim lights to the perfect level • Adjust colour temperature and RGB colour for smart bulbs • Open, close, and position covers and blinds with precision REAL-TIME MONITORING • Live status updates via WebSocket — see your devices react in real time • Energy dashboard with power, voltage, current, and consumption data • Sensor readings: temperature, humidity, flood, smoke, motion, and illuminance MANAGE YOUR DEVICES • View firmware versions and update devices over the air • Batch-update multiple devices at once • Create and manage schedules directly on each device • Reboot or factory-reset devices when needed WORKS WITH YOUR HOME • Full support for password-protected devices (SHA-256 Digest authentication) • Automatic reconnection if a device drops off the network • Dark mode, light mode, and system theme support • Available in English, Deutsch, Français, Español, 中文, and 日本語 Compatible with all Shelly Gen 2, Gen 3, and Gen 4 devices. Gen 1 devices are not supported.

About

Prox Agent

Manage your Proxmox Virtual Environment servers and containers from your iPad or iPhone. Monitor resources, control VMs and LXC, and access terminals. Premium features offer advanced backup and logging capabilities.

Highlights
  • Multi-window console support
  • Dashboard with favorite VMs/containers
  • Live Activities for task progress
  • Cluster health monitoring
  • VM/LXC start, stop, reboot
  • Snapshot management
  • Backup creation and management
Features
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Optimized for iPad with multi-window support. Also available on iPhone. MULTIPLE CONSOLES, ONE IPAD • Open consoles for different LXC containers, VMs, and node shells in separate windows. • Keep your dashboard visible while you work in a terminal. • Reconnect or close each console window individually. YOUR FAVORITES, ONE TAP AWAY • Add frequently used VMs, LXC containers, and nodes to your dashboard and open their details with a tap. • Save up to 6 favorites on iPhone or 16 on iPad, with a separate selection for each connection. • See resource status at a glance and search when choosing favorites. • Reorder dashboard sections and show or hide them to suit each server connection. FOLLOW TASKS WITH LIVE ACTIVITIES Keep backup, snapshot, and node system update progress in view on your iPhone Lock Screen and Dynamic Island on supported models. Backup activities show the current VM’s percentage and transferred data when reported, or guest counts and backup phases. Tap an activity to return to the relevant server or task. If monitoring pauses, open Prox Agent to refresh its status. YOUR HOMELAB AT A GLANCE • Check cluster health, node status, CPU and memory usage, storage capacity, and network activity. • Start, stop, reboot, or shut down VMs and LXC containers. • See available disk and swap usage, edit guest notes with Markdown formatting, and choose whether to show resource history charts. • Inspect workload hardware and adjust CPU cores and memory, plus swap for LXC containers. • Browse snapshot timelines and create snapshots before making changes, with availability checks for your guest configuration. • Sort VMs and LXC containers by CPU or RAM usage for free, or compare both types together. • Save multiple server connections and switch between your Proxmox environments. GO FURTHER WITH PREMIUM • View and create backups directly from VM and LXC details, with storage and backup mode selection. • Run configured backup jobs and see running and completed backups grouped by job, with results for each VM or container. • Filter backup history by job ID, expand individual runs, and inspect or copy task logs. • Search node syslog in a full-screen viewer, select text across lines, and copy matching logs. • Access node shells and terminal consoles for VMs and LXC containers. • Use CTRL, SHIFT, ALT, Escape, Tab, arrow keys, ~ and / above the terminal keyboard. • Save named command snippets, arrange them alongside your keys, and hide shortcuts you do not need. • Choose wrapping rows or a single scrollable row. Snippets type the saved command; press Return to run it. • Inspect storage pools, disks, partitions, and available SMART data. • Investigate activities, resource events, and full workload task history. Premium features unlock with a one-time in-app purchase. No subscription. GET CONNECTED Add your existing Proxmox VE server, sign in, and open the dashboard. Your server must be reachable from your device, and available actions depend on your account permissions. Credentials are stored in Keychain. No ads or tracking. Download Prox Agent and keep your Proxmox homelab close at hand. Prox Agent is an independent client and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH. Proxmox and Proxmox VE are trademarks of their respective owner.

Screenshots

ShellMan2 screens
Prox Agent4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ShellMan at none against Prox Agent's 1. ShellMan also leads on iOS requirement (14.0 vs 26.0). Prox Agent's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs fortnightly). On price, ads 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

Both are free to download. Prox Agent sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. ShellMan asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ShellMan ships an update fortnightly, Prox Agent every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
ShellMan versus Prox Agent: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShellManProx Agent
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLars RothMaximilian Hartung

In-app purchases

None

ShellMan

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Prox Agent

One-time1
  • Prox Agent Premium Lifetime$7.99

Questions

Is ShellMan free?
ShellMan is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Prox Agent free?
Prox Agent is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do ShellMan or Prox Agent have ads?
Neither ShellMan nor Prox Agent shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ShellMan or Prox Agent?
ShellMan ships an update fortnightly, and Prox Agent every 6 days. Most recently, ShellMan was updated on November 9, 2026 and Prox Agent on November 10, 2026.

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