ViSH vs Open Terminal
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side â with what reviewers say about each.
ViSH
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ViSH turns your iPad into a portable, local ARM64 Linux workspace. Run Alpine Linux or Ubuntu 24.04 in a touch-friendly terminal, use AI coding CLIs, manage project files, or connect to remote servers over SSH. Your local Linux environment runs without a remote server. AI coding wherever you are Install terminal tools such as Claude Code and Codex to explore code, write scripts, and refactor projects on iPad. Bring your own account or API key and configure your environment with guided setup. Use apk on Alpine Linux or apt on Ubuntu 24.04. Install Git, OpenSSH, Node.js, npm, pnpm, nano, ripgrep, tmux, and common build tools as needed. Manage files beside your terminal The session file browser lets you browse local Linux or SSH server directories, view file details, import files and folders, create directories, and delete multiple items. Insert selected file paths directly into the terminal to save typing. Keep multiple Linux filesystems, download supported systems or import your own archives, and switch which one boots. Each filesystem retains its login user, boot command, and setup state. Export tar.gz archives or browse all filesystems from a single ViSH location in the Files app. Flexible SSH connections and protected keys Save SSH servers with password or key authentication, jump hosts, port forwarding, keep-alive, and automatic tab reconnection. On supported devices, create Secure Enclave SSH keys whose private keys stay inside secure hardware. Optionally require Face ID, Touch ID, or your device passcode when using a key. You can also import existing keys. Secure Enclave keys remain on the device where they were created. Built for terminal work on iPad Use multiple terminal tabs and long-press + to choose a local or SSH tab. Side panels bring files, shortcut keys, appearance, voice input, and SSH tools beside your main terminal workspace. Make it your own with a phosphor-amber interface, 505 terminal themes with live previews, and coding fonts with glyph previews. Pinch to resize text, pin the shortcut bar, use sticky modifiers and command snippets, mirror the terminal in Picture in Picture, and open Linux links in Safari. Connect serial hardware Plug ESP32 boards with built-in USB, such as ESP32-S3, ESP32-C3, ESP32-C6 and ESP32-H2, straight into your iPad. They appear in Linux as /dev/ttyACM0â3 with standard USB serial behavior, so Linux serial tools can talk to them directly. USB serial requires an iPad with an M-series chip. Connect compatible Bluetooth serial adapters to Linux with modem controls and optional local RFC 2217 access. Settings includes device compatibility information and guidance for an ESP32 bridge to help you choose a connection method. Notes All app features require an active ViSH subscription after the 7-day free trial. Some Linux features are limited by the iOS sandbox. Third-party tools such as Claude Code and Codex require your own account or API key with those services and may require a separate paid plan purchased outside ViSH. ViSH requires an auto-renewing subscription (yearly or monthly) and offers a 7-day free trial. All features described above require an active subscription. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://vishapp.dev/privacy
Open Terminal
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Open Terminal is an SSH client for your pocket. Connect to your servers, run commands, transfer files over SFTP and open tunnels, from your pocket. No account, no telemetry. Your hosts and keys stay on your device and in your own iCloud. SSH-2 with modern ciphers. SFTP file transfer. Port forwarding. Key and password authentication. Works with coding agents running on your own machine.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Open Terminal at none against ViSH's 2. ViSH's advantage is iOS requirement (18.2 vs 26.0). 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
Both are free to download. ViSH sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Open Terminal asks for nothing beyond the download.
ViSH ships an update fortnightly, Open Terminal every 10 days. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.
| Parameter | ViSH | Open Terminal |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 10 days â better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No â better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad â better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18.2 â better | 26.0 |
| Further details â not scored | ||
| Size | 50 MB | 17 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ćŚćąĺ°ĺźşç§ććéč´Łäťťĺ Źĺ¸ | Michalot Louis |
In-app purchases
ViSH
- Monthly7 Days trial$5.991 Month
- Yearly7 Days trial$59.991 Year
Open Terminal
No in-app purchases









