Comparison

Shepherd vs Pockterm

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

Head to head
About

Shepherd

This app provides a fast and secure SSH client for accessing servers directly from your mobile device. It offers features like saved connections, custom command shortcuts, and extensive theming options for a personalized experience.

Highlights
  • Fast SSH client
  • Save server connections
  • Custom command shortcuts
  • Extensive terminal themes
  • Face ID protected keys
  • Multiple simultaneous sessions
Features
Read full description

Mochi is the place to control your AI coding agents from your iPhone. The agents run in herdr on your server. Mochi shows what each one is doing and takes you to it when it needs you. CONTROL YOUR AGENTS WITH HERDR • Live Activity on the lock screen: which agents are working and which are waiting for you • A notification when an agent is blocked or done, even when Mochi is closed • Tap it to open that agent's pane and answer from the chat input • Swipe to switch herdr tabs A REAL TERMINAL UNDERNEATH Mochi is a fast, beautiful SSH client built on the Ghostty terminal engine — a real terminal emulator in your pocket, not a toy. SSH INTO ANY SERVER Save your connections and jump into any of them in a tap. Password and key auth, custom ports, works great over Tailscale. FIRE COMMANDS IN ONE TAP Build your own shortcut groups: tmux prefixes, Ctrl combos, slash commands, whole snippets with Enter. The keyboard toolbar puts esc, tab, ctrl and ⌘ right above the keys — no more fighting the mobile keyboard. MAKE IT YOURS 500+ built-in terminal themes with search and light/dark filters. Real monospace fonts (JetBrains Mono and more), adjustable size, pinch to zoom in session. LOCK KEYS BEHIND FACE ID Private keys live in the iOS Keychain. Flip one switch and every use of a key requires Face ID. BUILT FOR ENGINEERS • Ghostty-powered terminal emulation — fast, correct, modern • Multiple simultaneous sessions • Native iOS design that feels at home on iOS 26 • No accounts, no tracking — your servers are your business

About

Pockterm

Features
Read full description

Pockterm is a native SSH and SFTP client built for iPhone. Free and open source. CONNECT - SSH into your servers with passwords or Ed25519/RSA keys - Trusted host-key verification warns you if a server's key ever changes - Multiple live sessions; minimize one and pick it back up from the tab bar BIG SCREEN - Plug in video glasses like VITURE, or a monitor or TV, and the terminal fills that screen - Your phone keeps the keyboard and key bar, and shows the session's files where the terminal was - Its own text size for the glasses, a Paste button, and PgUp/PgDn through the scrollback MANAGE - Organize hosts into groups - Save reusable command snippets - Generate and store SSH keys in the iOS Keychain - Set up local and remote port forwards TRANSFER - Browse, upload, and download files over SFTP - Upload from Files, iCloud Drive or your photo library, several files at once AI ASSISTANT (optional) - Ask an AI assistant about terminal output and get suggested commands - Bring your own API key: Anthropic, OpenAI, OpenRouter, or Hugging Face - Off by default; you're told which provider receives data before anything is sent PRIVACY - No account, no Pockterm servers, no tracking or analytics - Credentials and keys live in the iOS Keychain - Your connection data stays on your device OPEN SOURCE - The full source is on GitHub under the Apache 2.0 licence: github.com/jhancock1975/pockterm

Screenshots

Shepherd4 screens
Pockterm4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Shepherd at 16.0 against Pockterm's 18.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shepherd ships an update weekly, Pockterm every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Shepherd versus Pockterm: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShepherdPockterm
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size61 MB13 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperEgor KolesnikovJohn Hancock

In-app purchases

None

Shepherd

No in-app purchases

None

Pockterm

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Shepherd free?
Shepherd is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pockterm free?
Pockterm is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Shepherd or Pockterm have ads?
Neither Shepherd nor Pockterm shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shepherd or Pockterm?
Shepherd ships an update weekly, and Pockterm every 9 days. Most recently, Shepherd was updated on October 31, 2026 and Pockterm on November 2, 2026.

Other comparisons