Comparison

ShellPhone vs BalauDeck

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

Head to head
About

ShellPhone

Read full description

1-month free trial. Try every Pro feature at no cost. Your terminal, in your pocket. NEW: server monitoring with nothing to install — live CPU, RAM, disk and processes on any Linux, macOS or Windows server. ShellPhone is a full-featured SSH client for iPhone, iPad, Mac — one native app, every device. Free to download and use daily. No cloud. No tracking. A genuine xterm terminal and a Termux-style on-screen keyboard with every shell symbol you need. Optional annual subscriptions unlock the power-user features — or get the All-in-one bundle and forget about it. No account, ever. FREE — your daily SSH client • Quick Connect, no signup • Multi-tab terminal · true colour · UTF-8 · unlimited scrollback • SFTP browser with streaming downloads • Command history search • Natural-language snippet search (cht.sh) • SSH key import (encrypted in keychain) • Host-key trust (TOFU) • App lock (Face ID / Touch ID / fingerprint / PIN) • 5 themes · 9 languages · iTerm2 .itermcolors import • Persist theme, font & language • Hardware keyboard shortcuts • Multi-window on iPad · split panes • End-to-end encrypted Cloud Sync • Encrypted backup · transparent reconnection • Tools: chmod calculator · SSH key generator · bandwidth test • Live server monitor — CPU, RAM, disk, load, processes · no agent (Linux, macOS, Windows) • Jump to recent folders — the terminal learns your cd’s • Crontab builder & explainer — offline • Hashes & checksums (MD5/SHA-1/SHA-256/SHA-512) — offline • Base64 & URL encoders • Password & token generator • MAC vendor lookup — on-device OUI database • Connection groups — folders for saved connections • Built-in glossary — every tool, icon and flow (incl. Multiexec), in 9 languages POWER USER • Save SSH connections • Bulk-import ~/.ssh/config · strict key validation • Save tunnels — LOCAL (-L) + SOCKS5 (-D) • Snippets with {{variables}} • SFTP uploads · auto-sync SFTP • ProxyJump / bastion (ssh -J) · Telnet • Wi-Fi triggers (by SSID) · pubkey agent • Macros — command sequences • Code editor for remote files • Zip / unzip over SFTP • Multitail — follow several remote logs • Remote SQLite browser • SFTP file management (rename, mkdir, chmod) • Search the scrollback · extract URLs · session recording · live latency • Fleet — every server at a glance · 24h on-device history · threshold alerts • tmux auto-attach per connection — reconnect and re-attach after network changes • Paste an image: SFTP upload to /tmp, path lands in your prompt • Dev-server preview — local tunnel + browser • JWT decoder — header, claims, expiry • Checksum of remote files over SSH • Format converter — JSON, YAML, TOML and XML • Multiexec — a dedicated tab: type once, reach several SSH sessions • Per-connection VPN — import a WireGuard config and that connection tunnels through it; userspace, no system-wide VPN, no TUN NETWORK TOOLS • Wake on LAN • TCP Ping (latency, jitter, loss) • DNS lookup (A/AAAA/MX/TXT/NS/CNAME/SOA/PTR) · Reverse DNS · Whois • Subnet scanner · port scanner • TLS cert inspector (fingerprints + expiry alerts) • HTTP / curl tester • iperf3 client (TCP/UDP) • Multi-host send • SSH over HTTP CONNECT proxy · remote port forward (ssh -R) • Subnet calculator — CIDR, mask, wildcard, usable range • Timestamp converter — Unix, ISO-8601, time zones • UUID v4 and ULID generator REMOTE DESKTOP • VNC viewer (RFC 6143) — RealVNC, x11vnc, macOS Screen Sharing, Raspberry Pi • Pinch-zoom up to 10× · drag-pan • Raw + CopyRect encodings · VNC password auth ALL-IN-ONE • Power user + Network tools + Remote desktop together, at a discount Annual auto-renewable subscriptions, cancel anytime. No analytics SDKs, no third-party tracking; your keys stay in the OS keychain. Terms of Use (EULA): https://shellphone.sggyamg.com/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://shellphone.sggyamg.com/privacy/

About

BalauDeck

Manage your servers with this all-in-one client. It supports SSH, SFTP, tunnels, and MySQL/MariaDB databases, offering a real interactive shell and file browser. Features include split panes, resilient connections, and cross-device sync for seamless server management.

Highlights
  • SSH terminal with interactive shell
  • SFTP browser with file management
  • SSH tunnel port forwarding
  • MySQL/MariaDB client with SQL editor
  • Split panes and full-screen modes
  • Resilient connections with auto-reconnect
  • Cross-device sync for connections
Features
Read full description

BalauDeck is an all-in-one client for the servers you already run — SSH, SFTP, SSH tunnels, and MySQL/MariaDB — in one fast, native app for iPhone, iPad and Mac. • SSH terminal — a real interactive shell (xterm), password or key auth, host-key verification, and an on-screen key bar for the keys phones don't have. • SFTP browser — upload, download, rename, delete, mkdir, and change permissions (chmod), with an option to browse elevated. • SSH tunnels — forward a local port through a server to reach an internal service. • MySQL/MariaDB client — schema browser, SQL editor with highlighting, a results grid you can edit inline, table designer, and SQL import/export. • Split panes & full screen — arrange several sessions side by side, or maximize one to fill the display. • Resilient connections — keepalive detects drops, with reconnect and optional tmux session persistence so you pick up exactly where you left off. • Cross-device sync — export an encrypted, passphrase-protected bundle of your connections and import it on another device. Nothing is stored on our servers. Your connections and credentials stay on your device (passwords and keys live in the system keychain). BalauDeck has no account, no tracking, and no ads.

Screenshots

ShellPhone4 screens
BalauDeck3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: BalauDeck at none against ShellPhone's 4. On price, update cadence, 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. ShellPhone sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per year. BalauDeck asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ShellPhone ships an update every 9 days, BalauDeck every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
ShellPhone versus BalauDeck: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShellPhoneBalauDeck
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac
Requires iOS15.514.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB37 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAntonio Martinez GimenoOKDII SOLUTIONS

In-app purchases

4 purchases

ShellPhone

Subscriptions4
  • Power user$1.991 Year
  • Network tools$1.991 Year
  • Remote desktop$3.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • All-in-one$5.991 Year
None

BalauDeck

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ShellPhone free?
ShellPhone is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BalauDeck free?
BalauDeck is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do ShellPhone or BalauDeck have ads?
Neither ShellPhone nor BalauDeck shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ShellPhone or BalauDeck?
ShellPhone ships an update every 9 days, and BalauDeck every 5 days. Most recently, ShellPhone was updated on September 17, 2026 and BalauDeck on October 1, 2026.

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