Comparison

GateShell vs Shellter

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

Head to head
About

GateShell

This app provides a secure and private SSH, Mosh, and SFTP client that runs entirely on-device. It offers advanced terminal features, server management dashboards, and file editing capabilities, all without relying on external servers or tracking user data.

Highlights
  • Zero-backend SSH, Mosh, and SFTP client
  • On-device credential management
  • Native Mosh with persistent sessions
  • Server management dashboards (Docker, DBs, etc.)
  • SFTP file transfer with background retry
  • Built-in code editor with syntax highlighting
  • AI coding agent integration
Features
Read full description

GateShell is an SSH, Mosh, and SFTP client, and a full server command center. Your servers, your keys, your device, nothing in between. No backend, no relays, no tracking. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Zero backend. GateShell runs entirely on-device. There's no server to breach because there is no server. • Credentials live in the hardware-encrypted Apple Keychain, or on Secure Enclave keys that never leave your device, not even as an export. • No analytics, no telemetry. We don't know who you are or what you connect to. CONNECT, AND STAY CONNECTED • Native Mosh, with encrypted UDP and predictive local echo. Change networks, close the lid, come back hours later: your session is still there. • Jump hosts reach private servers through a bastion, with per-hop auth and host-key checks. • Import your ~/.ssh/config, or bulk-import servers from CSV. • SSH, Mosh, and Telnet, with automatic SSH fallback when UDP is blocked. SECURE CONNECTIONS • Verified host keys, pinned per server, with a warning the instant one changes. • Generate ed25519, P-256, RSA, or Secure Enclave hardware-backed keys, or import a PuTTY .ppk, including Argon2-encrypted ones. • Security Assistant scans for missing updates, exposed listeners, weak SSH policy, firewall gaps, and expiring certificates. Every finding shows its evidence, and guided fixes run allow-listed commands only after you approve them. • Face ID / Touch ID lock keeps your servers safe even if your device isn't. A REAL TERMINAL • Full XTerm-256 color terminal with fullscreen, scrollback search, and a customizable toolbar. • Two- and four-pane terminals with optional input broadcast. • 32 themes, bundled Nerd Fonts, custom font import, and named keyboard layouts. • Command snippets with ${VAR} prompts, run across many hosts at once. MANAGE THE WHOLE SERVER • 20+ built-in dashboards: Docker, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, Nginx, Caddy, Traefik, Firewall, Cron, PM2, WireGuard, Fail2Ban and more. Each one shows the status and acts on it. • Fleet broadcasts one command to every server at once. • Live health monitoring with restart, logs, and failure alerts. • Install the optional open-source agent on your own server for metric history and push alerts when a service drops, a disk fills, or a cron job fails. It runs on your box, not ours. FILES & CODE • Upload and download over SFTP with progress tracking and background retry. • Show your servers in the Files app, and open remote files like local ones. • Built-in editor with syntax highlighting and find/replace for 13+ languages. • Git on the go: status, stage, commit, and review diffs. • App Preview opens your dev server right in the app, tunneled over your existing SSH connection. BRING YOUR OWN CODING AGENT • Start, resume, and interrupt Claude Code, Codex, or Gemini CLI in any project on your server, straight from the terminal. • It runs under your account, with your CLI. GateShell never proxies it and never sees your provider keys. AI THAT STAYS ON THE DEVICE • Describe what you want in plain English, and GateShell composes the command on-device via Apple Intelligence. • Long output gets an instant, structured summary with error and warning counts. • A multi-step agent proposes a plan and runs it, with your approval on every step. • Automatic secret redaction and a risk warning before dangerous commands run. AT A GLANCE • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets for quick connect, server health, and your last session, plus a Live Activity that tracks the connection you're on. SYNC EVERYWHERE • iCloud syncs your servers, snippets, and known hosts across iPhone, iPad, and Mac, end-to-end encrypted. Free to start. Pro unlocks unlimited servers, SFTP, Mosh, port forwarding, the full dashboard suite, and more. On-device AI features require a device that supports Apple Intelligence. Terms of Use: https://gateshell.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://gateshell.com/privacy

About

Shellter

Features
Read full description

Shellter is an SSH, SFTP and FTP client that keeps everything on your phone. There is no account to create, nothing syncs, and the app sends no telemetry. It opens connections to the servers you type in, and makes no other network request. That is the whole product. A REAL TERMINAL — An interactive shell rendered with xterm, not a toy console. It follows the keyboard, resizes the remote PTY when you rotate the phone, and keeps 10,000 lines of scrollback FILES WITHOUT A SECOND LOGIN — Browse, upload, download, rename, delete and create folders over SFTP or FTP. Open the file browser from inside a live SSH session and it reuses that connection instead of opening another one. A download never silently overwrites a file you already have. HOST KEYS, PINNED AND CHECKED — The server's host key is pinned the first time you connect and compared on every reconnect. If it does not match, the connection stops BEFORE authentication — your password is never sent to a server that failed the check. WHERE YOUR SECRETS LIVE — Passwords and private keys go into the iOS Keychain, hardware-backed where supported, stored "this device only" so they cannot be restored onto another phone. HONEST ABOUT PROTOCOLS — SSH and SFTP are verified by host-key pinning. FTPS is encrypted but does not verify the certificate. FTP is cleartext. Prefer SFTP.

Screenshots

GateShell4 screens
Shellter4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Shellter at none against GateShell's 2. Shellter also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. GateShell sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Shellter asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences Ā· 6 level
GateShell versus Shellter: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGateShellShellter
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB21 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHEFTY INNOVATIONSBlocify LLC

In-app purchases

2 purchases

GateShell

Subscriptions2
  • GateShell Pro Monthly$0.991 Month
  • GateShell Pro Yearly$9.991 Year
None

Shellter

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is GateShell free?
GateShell is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shellter free?
Shellter is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do GateShell or Shellter have ads?
Neither GateShell nor Shellter shows ads.

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