# Helmrig Shell vs MuxPad

The clearest difference is price: Helmrig Shell at Free against MuxPad's $5.99. MuxPad's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Helmrig Shell is free to download; MuxPad costs $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Helmrig Shell ships an update every 2 weeks, MuxPad every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Helmrig Shell | MuxPad |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $5.99 |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | **Every 2 days** |
| Monetization | — | Paid |
| Size | 39 MB | 67 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **17.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Nikita Kislitsin](https://appshunter.io/developer/1501306595) | [You Dohyuk](https://appshunter.io/developer/6775334160) |

## What reviewers say

### Helmrig Shell

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/helmrig-shell/id6776371335)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### MuxPad

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/muxpad/id6787457752)

This app provides a native tmux terminal experience for iPads, leveraging tmux control mode to map sessions, windows, and panes to an intuitive iPad UI. It offers full hardware keyboard control, a dual-pane SFTP file manager, and seamless session persistence across devices.

**Highlights:** Native tmux pane and window mapping, Full hardware keyboard control, Dual-pane SFTP file manager, Session persistence and cross-device reconnection, iCloud synchronization for hosts and sessions, Live Activity for session status

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Helmrig Shell free?

Helmrig Shell is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is MuxPad free?

MuxPad costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Helmrig Shell or MuxPad have ads?

Neither Helmrig Shell nor MuxPad shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Helmrig Shell or MuxPad?

Helmrig Shell ships an update every 2 weeks, and MuxPad every 2 days. Most recently, Helmrig Shell was updated on September 30, 2026 and MuxPad on October 11, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*