Comparison

Rafter Homelab Console vs ChibyooShell

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

Head to head
About

Rafter Homelab Console

Features
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Rafter is an iOS console for homelabs and self-hosted servers. Connect to your own Linux boxes over SSH, check Docker containers, watch system status, and keep an eye on Uptime Kuma monitors from one clean app. Built for people running Raspberry Pis, NAS boxes, low-end VPSs, and Tailscale networks at home. What Rafter does: โ€ข Save SSH hosts securely โ€ข Open a native SSH terminal โ€ข Manage Docker containers over SSH โ€ข View CPU, memory, disk, network, uptime, and processes โ€ข Import hosts from Tailscale using read-only credentials โ€ข View Uptime Kuma monitor status โ€ข Store credentials in iOS Keychain Rafter is local-first. There is no Rafter account and no Rafter backend. Your SSH credentials stay on your device. Network requests go only to hosts and services you configure, plus purchase services for Rafter Pro. Free includes up to 3 hosts. Rafter Pro unlocks unlimited hosts and network integrations. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://rafter.maro.study/privacy

About

ChibyooShell

Features
Read full description

Professional SSH client and server monitor. Terminal, SFTP, Docker management and real-time metrics โ€” all in one app. ChibyooShell โ€” powerful SSH client and server monitoring tool for iOS professionals. CHIBYOO PRO Unlock all features: โ€” Unlimited servers โ€” Full access to all features Available as monthly, yearly or lifetime subscription. TERMINAL & SSH โ€” Full SSH terminal with xterm-256color support โ€” Ed25519, RSA, ECDSA key authentication โ€” Password and key-based login โ€” SSH key generation and management โ€” Fira Code, Menlo, SF Mono font support SERVER MONITORING โ€” Real-time CPU, RAM, disk and network metrics โ€” Per-core CPU usage โ€” Network interface stats with TX/RX graphs โ€” Disk I/O monitoring โ€” Active process list โ€” Server uptime and load average SFTP FILE MANAGER โ€” Browse, upload and download files โ€” Create, rename, delete files and folders โ€” Built-in text editor โ€” File permissions (chmod) โ€” Quick Look preview DOCKER & PODMAN โ€” Container list with real-time metrics โ€” Start, stop, restart, remove containers โ€” Container log viewer โ€” Per-container CPU and memory usage SECURITY โ€” All credentials stored in iOS Keychain โ€” Face ID / Touch ID protection โ€” SSH host key verification (TOFU) โ€” Optional iCloud sync via CloudKit PORT FORWARDING โ€” Local port forwarding via SSH tunnel CONNECTIVITY โ€” Citadel (modern SSH) + LibSSH2 fallback โ€” Auto-reconnect โ€” Configurable connection timeout Terms of Use: https://chibyoo.com/terms-chibyooshell/ Privacy Policy: https://chibyoo.com/privacy-policy-chibyooshell/

Screenshots

Rafter Homelab Console4 screens
ChibyooShell4 screens

Verdict

The call

Rafter Homelab Console and ChibyooShell are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters โ€” price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them โ€” neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Rafter Homelab Console sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per year and ChibyooShell sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Rafter Homelab Console versus ChibyooShell: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRafter Homelab ConsoleChibyooShell
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyโ€”Every 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad โ€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.0 โ€” better17.6
Further details โ€” not scored
Size22 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMAROUANE HACHEMI BOUMILAAleksandr Kolesnikov

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Rafter Homelab Console

Subscriptions1
  • Pro Annual$9.991 Year
5 purchases

ChibyooShell

Subscriptions3
  • ChibyooShell Pro โ€” Monthly$2.991 Month
  • ChibyooShell Plus โ€” Yearly$5.991 Year
  • ChibyooShell Pro โ€” Yearly7 Days trial$17.991 Year
One-time2
  • ChibyooShell Plus โ€” Lifetime$17.99
  • ChibyooShell Pro โ€” Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is Rafter Homelab Console free?
Rafter Homelab Console is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ChibyooShell free?
ChibyooShell is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Rafter Homelab Console or ChibyooShell have ads?
Neither Rafter Homelab Console nor ChibyooShell shows ads.

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