TermRover vs Helmrig Shell
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TermRover
This mobile terminal app is designed for managing coding agents and long-running server sessions. It offers first-class tmux integration, allows you to send images to your agents, and enables voice dictation for hands-free prompting.
- Tmux integration
- Image sending to agents
- Voice dictation for prompts
- SSH key and password authentication
- Host-key verification
- Multiple host management
Read full descriptionHide full description
A tmux-first mobile terminal built for the Agent Age. You're running coding agents and long-lived sessions on real servers — and you want to check in, steer them, and unblock them from your phone. TermRover is an SSH terminal designed for exactly that: first-class tmux, plus two things you won't find in most mobile terminals — send images straight to your agents, and talk to them by voice. DRIVE TMUX WITH YOUR THUMBS • Quick Row — fire Tab, Esc, Ctrl, arrows and the other keys agents need, without hunting through the keyboard • Switch tmux sessions and windows in a single tap • Scroll back through history by touch, with native mouse-mode support • A terminal actually built for a touchscreen — not a desktop one bolted onto a phone SHOW YOUR AGENT WHAT YOU SEE • Attach a screenshot or photo and hand it straight to the agent in your session • Ideal for design feedback, error screens, diagrams — anything faster to show than to type TALK TO YOUR AGENT, HANDS-FREE • Dictate prompts by voice; the transcript drops straight into the composer, ready to send • Describe what you want while you're away from the keyboard CONNECT SECURELY • Standard SSH — password and OpenSSH key (Ed25519/RSA) authentication • Host-key verification on first connect (trust-on-first-use), so you always know which server you're talking to • Manage multiple hosts and jump back into your work in seconds FREE TO USE, PRO WHEN YOU NEED IT Everything you need to connect and work is free — full SSH, full tmux, and a daily allowance of voice dictation and image attaches. TermRover Pro lifts those daily limits (unlimited voice, unlimited image-to-agent) and unlocks the full theme set, via an optional annual subscription (with a 7-day free trial) or a one-time lifetime purchase. A subscription auto-renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends; manage or cancel it in your App Store account settings. Your keys and credentials are stored in the iOS Keychain. TermRover collects no personal data for tracking. More information: https://termrover.sh Guide: https://termrover.sh/guide.html Privacy policy: https://termrover.sh/privacy.html
Helmrig Shell
Read full descriptionHide full description
The terminal from your desk, now on iPhone and iPad. Helmrig Shell is a native terminal — btop, tmux, vim, true color, ligatures, full escape-sequence support, rendered natively. Not a web view, not a cut-down mobile shell. A real desktop terminal that feels like the one you already use. Your sessions run on your own Mac or server. The iPad or iPhone is just the window — so they never drop. Lock the screen, lose signal, switch to another app, come back hours later: every tab, every running process, your full scrollback, exactly where you left it. No reconnect dance, no lost output. Drop a file onto the terminal and it uploads to your machine, with the full path dropped straight into your command line. Hand a screenshot to a CLI tool, attach a file to a running command — it just works, as if the file were already there. Built on libghostty for the rendering you'd expect from a desktop terminal. Hardware keyboard shortcuts, split panes, tabs that name themselves after what's running. Designed for iPad first, not ported from somewhere else. Works anywhere over an end-to-end encrypted connection — at your desk, on the couch, or across the world. Not limited to your local network. Helmrig Shell requires a subscription to use. A free trial is available, after which continued access requires Helmrig Shell Pro at $8.99/month. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. The subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. WHAT IT IS A window into your own machine. Your shell, your tools, your environment — running where they always have, now reachable from your iPad. WHAT IT NEEDS A Mac or Linux machine you control, running the Helmrig server. Setup takes one command. PRIVACY No third-party SDKs. No analytics. No crash reporting. Helmrig Shell servers never see terminal output. Full policy at helmrig.app/shell-privacy.html CONTACT hi@helmrig.app Support Link: https://helmrig.app/support Privacy Policy: https://helmrig.app/shell-privacy.html Terms of Use (EULA): https://helmrig.app/shell-terms.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Helmrig Shell at none against TermRover's 2. TermRover's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). 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
Both are free to download. TermRover sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $24.99 per year. Helmrig Shell asks for nothing beyond the download.
TermRover ships an update every 5 days, Helmrig Shell every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and August 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TermRover | Helmrig Shell |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 33 MB | 39 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Anh Trinh | Nikita Kislitsin |
In-app purchases
TermRover
- TermRover Pro7 Days trial$24.991 Year
- TermRover$79.99
Helmrig Shell
No in-app purchases





