Comparison

a+Terminal vs electerm

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

Head to head
About

a+Terminal

This app provides a privacy-focused SSH terminal for remote machine access on your iPhone. It integrates with tmux and CLI AI coding agents, offering features like push-to-talk dictation and live session monitoring.

Highlights
  • Privacy-first SSH terminal
  • tmux and CLI AI agent integration
  • Push-to-talk dictation
  • Live Activities for session monitoring
  • Dev server port preview
  • Mac screen sharing (VNC)
Features
Read full description

a+Terminal is a privacy-first SSH terminal for working on your own machines from your iPhone — built around tmux and CLI AI coding agents. It's agent-agnostic: run any CLI coding agent, with plug-and-play profiles you can extend yourself. SCROLLING THAT ACTUALLY WORKS Swipes become real mouse-wheel events, so tmux and your agent's output scroll natively, with momentum — no more fighting copy-mode. SPEAK YOUR PROMPTS Push-to-talk dictation inserts straight into the terminal. Recognition runs entirely on your iPhone; audio never leaves the device. NEVER LOSE YOUR SESSION Live Activities and the Dynamic Island show your active sessions at a glance. Tap to jump back in — a+Terminal reconnects and re-attaches your session multiplexer (tmux, zellij, and more) automatically. PREVIEW YOUR DEV SERVER Start a dev server on the machine you're connected to and a+Terminal spots the port — from the URL your framework prints, or from the machine's own listener table. Tap it and the page opens over the SSH connection you already have. It renders in a viewer built for exactly one thing: the single port you forwarded. Every other address is refused, nothing it loads is kept, and it is not a web browser. Reload with a tap, and switch between the mobile and desktop layout to check both. MONITOR YOUR MAC Add a Monitor (VNC) session to watch your own computer's screen sharing right from your phone. Sign in with your macOS account and you land straight on the desktop; pinch to zoom and pan. Pop the screen out into a floating Picture-in-Picture window to keep an eye on it while you use other apps. Turn on Control to tap, drag, and type — enough to unlock a locked Mac and take over. It stays view-only until you do, and it connects only to the machine you enter. (Beta.) ZERO DATA COLLECTION No analytics, no accounts, no crash SDKs, no servers of ours. The App Privacy label says "Data Not Collected" because there is nothing to collect it with. The only network traffic is your own connections to machines you configure. SUPPORT THE APP An optional tip jar lets you support a+Terminal's development. Tips are one-time and unlock nothing — every feature is always available. • ed25519 keys generated on-device, stored in the Keychain (never exportable, never in backups) • Password authentication option, stored in the Keychain only • Trust-on-first-use host key pinning with hard mismatch failures • Sticky Ctrl and C-b (tmux prefix) keys, Esc/Tab/arrows accessory bar • Attach an image or file from your phone over the existing SSH connection • Plug-and-play agent & multiplexer profiles — any CLI agent, tmux, zellij, screen — or define your own, no update required • Multiple simultaneous sessions with server groups • Preview a dev server running on the far end, over the SSH connection you already have — port detection and a single-port viewer • Monitor (VNC): view-only screen sharing for your own Mac, with a floating Picture-in-Picture window and optional touch & keyboard control (beta) • Light, dark, and follow-system themes Privacy Policy: https://aaroncx.github.io/a-plus-terminal/privacy

About

electerm

This open-source client supports SSH, SFTP, Telnet, RDP, VNC, and more for remote file editing and terminal management. It offers AI assistance for command suggestions and script writing, with customizable themes and quick commands.

Highlights
  • SSH/SFTP/FTP/Telnet/RDP/VNC/Spice client
  • Direct remote file editing
  • Public key and password authentication
  • Zmodem file transfer
  • SSH tunnel support
  • Customizable themes and quick commands
  • AI assistant integration
Features
Read full description

Open-sourced ssh/sftp/telnet/RDP/VNC/Spice/ftp client for iOS Features: - Works as a terminal/file manager, ssh/sftp/ftp/telnet/serialport/RDP/VNC/Spice client - Multi-language support - Double click to directly edit (small) remote files. - All kind of auth methods: publicKey, password, ssh agent, certificates, otp, netbird etc. - Support Zmodem(rz, sz), and Trzsz. - Support ssh related features: tunnel, connection hopping. - Customizable UI: themes, background image. - Global/session proxy. - Quick commands/triggers to do predefined tasks and automattic operations - Sync data including bookmarks to github/gitee secret gist/webdav/custom server/electerm cloud - Quick input/mirror input to one or all terminals. - AI assistant integration (supporting multiple LLM API formats — OpenAI Chat Completions, OpenAI Responses, and Anthropic Messages) to help with command suggestions, script writing, and explaining selected terminal content, create bookmarks/themes, and agent mode to directly do terminal operations - MCP (Model Context Protocol) widget for AI assistants and external tools integration

Screenshots

a+Terminal4 screens
electerm3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: a+Terminal at 5.0 against electerm's 4.0. electerm's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 8 days). On price, ratings volume, ads and monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. a+Terminal sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. electerm asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

a+Terminal holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

a+Terminal ships an update every 8 days, electerm every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
a+Terminal versus electerm: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parametera+Terminalelecterm
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews—66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings12 — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB73 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAaron Character旭东 赵

Customer experience

a+Terminal

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

electerm

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

a+Terminal

One-time3
  • Small Tip$1.99
  • Medium Tip$4.99
  • Large Tip$9.99
None

electerm

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is a+Terminal free?
a+Terminal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is electerm free?
electerm is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, a+Terminal or electerm?
a+Terminal is rated higher. a+Terminal averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while electerm averages 4.0 from 2 ratings.
Do a+Terminal or electerm have ads?
Neither a+Terminal nor electerm shows ads.
Which is updated more often, a+Terminal or electerm?
a+Terminal ships an update every 8 days, and electerm every 3 days. Most recently, a+Terminal was updated on September 19, 2026 and electerm on October 3, 2026.

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