Comparison

a+Terminal vs gitbay

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

gitbay

Access and manage your git repositories on the go. Review code, track issues, and monitor builds from your mobile device. Securely connect to your own git forge instance without sharing passwords.

Highlights
  • Browse files, commit history, and branches
  • Review merge requests with diffs and threads
  • Manage issues with labels and milestones
  • Monitor CI builds and trigger jobs
  • View READMEs and wikis
  • Secure token-based authentication
Features
Read full description

gitbay is a CLI-first git forge. This is its iOS client: somewhere to read, review and respond when you are away from a keyboard. Sign in with a token you mint over SSH. There is no password, no browser flow, and no account with us — the app talks only to the instance you name, and the token stays in the device Keychain. BROWSE - Files, directory trees, and syntax-highlighted source - Commit history, a single commit with its patch, and blame - Branches, tags, and full-text search across a repository - READMEs and wikis, rendered as Markdown or Org REVIEW - Merge requests with the diff, file by file and hunk by hunk - Review threads anchored to diff lines, with replies and resolution - Approve, request changes, and merge with the strategies the server allows TRIAGE - Issues with labels, assignees, and milestones - Open, edit, comment, and close from the phone - Signature verdicts shown on every commit WATCH - A dashboard of what waits on your review, what is assigned to you, and what is still open - CI builds with their logs, and a trigger for any job the config names - Releases, organisations, teams, and profiles Every screen is backed by a command the server already exposes, so the app cannot drift from what the CLI and the web can do. Requires your own gitbay instance. gitbay is free software; the forge and this client are developed in the open at gitbay.org.

Screenshots

a+Terminal4 screens
gitbay4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: gitbay at none against a+Terminal's 3. gitbay also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 8 days) and iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. gitbay asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for a+Terminal against 5.0 for gitbay. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

a+Terminal ships an update every 8 days, gitbay daily. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
a+Terminal versus gitbay: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parametera+Terminalgitbay
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 8 daysDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS26.018.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAaron CharacterChristian Cleberg

Customer experience

a+Terminal

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

gitbay

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

In-app purchases

3 purchases

a+Terminal

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

gitbay

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is a+Terminal free?
a+Terminal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is gitbay free?
gitbay is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, a+Terminal or gitbay?
a+Terminal and gitbay are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do a+Terminal or gitbay have ads?
Neither a+Terminal nor gitbay shows ads.
Which is updated more often, a+Terminal or gitbay?
a+Terminal ships an update every 8 days, and gitbay daily. Most recently, a+Terminal was updated on September 19, 2026 and gitbay on September 20, 2026.

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