Comparison

SharkTTY vs Motif

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

Head to head
About

SharkTTY

Features
Read full description

SharkTTY keeps your servers and your desktop within reach β€” a fast, native SSH & Mosh terminal and a full remote desktop for your Mac computer, in one app. All of it free. And now it listens β€” hold to talk, and AI turns your words into commands. CONTROL YOUR DESKTOP FROM ANYWHERE Sign in on your iPhone or iPad device and your desktop is right there. Tap to see its screen and take over β€” on the same Wi-Fi or from the other side of the world. SharkTTY finds the best way to connect, so you don't have to think about it. β€’ A smooth, low-lag screen with full keyboard and mouse β€’ See every display at once β€” side by side, stacked, quad or picture-in-picture, arranged your way β€’ A virtual mouse with a built-in magnifier for pixel-perfect taps β€’ A floating on-screen keyboard you can move, resize and dim β€” full symbols, ⌘βŒ₯βŒƒ modifiers, F-keys, six layouts (US, UK, JIS, AZERTY, QWERTZ, Spanish) and smart command suggestions β€’ Hear your Mac computer's sound live, and turn your device into its microphone β€’ Copy on one device, paste on the other β€’ Pick xHD, HD or SD β€” and let it ease off on its own when the signal drops β€’ End-to-end encrypted, so your screen stays yours A TERMINAL THAT KEEPS UP β€’ Connect to any server over SSH β€” there's nothing to install on the other end β€’ Mosh keeps you typing through dropped Wi-Fi, network switches and lag β€’ Lock your device or jump to another app, come back, and your session is still there β€’ Drop straight back into your tmux session with a saved startup command β€’ Experimental Eternal Terminal (ET) support β€” persistent sessions over TCP, for networks where Mosh's UDP is blocked β€’ A bell in a background tab becomes a notification β€” know the moment a long task finishes SPEAK, AND IT TYPES β€’ Hold to talk β€” your words are recognized right on the device: free, private, works offline β€’ Trim a segment, re-recognize it, or bring back past recordings from history β€’ AI polishes what you said into clean text or a ready-to-run command β€” bring your own AI provider, or use the built-in official models β€’ Ask the AI anything in the built-in chat panel, without leaving your session KEYS, FILES, AND PEACE OF MIND β€’ Create or import SSH keys right on your device β€” private keys never leave it β€’ Get a clear heads-up the moment a server's identity changes β€’ Browse and move files over iCloud Drive, shared folders and WebDAV, without leaving the app β€’ Developer fonts and themes, a handy shortcut-key row, and full external keyboard and trackpad support on iPad β€’ Keep your hosts and keys in sync across your devices with iCloud, if you like You never need an account to reach your own servers. SharkTTY β€” your servers and your desktop, always in your pocket. Every feature is free, including on-device voice recognition. The built-in official AI service uses AI Points; with your own API key, everything stays free. And if you'd like to leave a tip and buy me a coffee β€” thank you so much! Tips (one-time or monthly) unlock nothing; the monthly tip auto-renews until cancelled in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://safafish.com/sharktty/eula.html Β· Privacy Policy: https://safafish.com/sharktty/privacy.html

About

Motif

Features
Read full description

Motif is an SSH terminal, Codex client, and remote dev-session app for your own machines. Run the open-source motifd daemon on your Mac, Linux box, or any host, then connect from your iPhone or iPad to access terminal sessions, files, Git diffs, and Codex coding tasks wherever you are. Like β€œtmux attach” for your whole dev environment: β€’ Codex workspace β€” open, resume, and manage coding tasks; follow plans and tool activity; handle approvals and questions; review edited files β€’ Live PTY terminals β€” run multiple sessions, synced across attached clients β€’ Browse the project file tree and open files β€’ Review changes with a built-in Git diff β€’ Connect directly, over Tailscale, or through an SSH tunnel β€’ Secured with TLS and a single-user bearer token Codex runs on your own machine through your existing Codex setup. Motif does not host your code or terminal sessions. motifd is required and runs on your own machine. See the project page for setup instructions: https://tech.xiachufang.xyz/motif/

Screenshots

SharkTTY4 screens
Motif4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Motif at none against SharkTTY's 4. Motif also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 9 days). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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

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

Both are free to download. SharkTTY sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Motif asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SharkTTY ships an update every 9 days, Motif every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 4 level
SharkTTY versus Motif: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSharkTTYMotif
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 4 days β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo β€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details β€” not scored
Size21 MB55 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperJingjing LiSlothEase

In-app purchases

4 purchases

SharkTTY

Subscriptions2
  • Small Monthly Tip$0.991 Month
  • Large Monthly Tip$3.991 Month
One-time2
  • Small Coffee Tip$0.99
  • Large Coffee Tip$3.99
None

Motif

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SharkTTY free?
SharkTTY is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Motif free?
Motif is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do SharkTTY or Motif have ads?
Neither SharkTTY nor Motif shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SharkTTY or Motif?
SharkTTY ships an update every 9 days, and Motif every 4 days. Most recently, SharkTTY was updated on October 10, 2026 and Motif on October 17, 2026.

Other comparisons