Comparison

Shelly vs SSH Tunnel

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

Head to head
About

Shelly

A powerful and user-friendly SSH client for mobile devices. It offers robust terminal emulation, gesture controls, and customizable keyboard shortcuts for efficient remote server management. Supports key-based authentication and iCloud sync.

Highlights
  • Hardware accelerated text rendering
  • Robust terminal emulation
  • Gesture control for navigation
  • Customizable keyboard toolbar
  • Key file authentication
  • iCloud sync support
  • Terminal color themes
Features
Read full description

SSH client designed for usability and performance. RELIABLE AND FAST • Hardware accelerated text rendering. • Robust terminal emulation based on the PuTTY engine. • Works great with programs such as 'screen' and 'irssi'. CONTROL WITH GESTURES • Default gestures optimized for irssi. Just swipe to switch channels or to scroll up and down. • Fully customizable. Any keypress or action can be attached to any gesture. EASY CONNECTING • Save user credentials and configure a remote command such as ‘screen -rd’ to connect with one tap. • 3D touch support. Connect directly from the iOS home screen. CUSTOMIZABLE KEYBOARD • Easily bind custom actions to buttons on the keyboard toolbar. • Works with custom iOS keyboards such as SwiftKey. OPEN LINKS AND SELECT TEXT • Familiar iOS text selection experience. Long-press on text to show the selection controls. • Copy and paste text. • Select a URL to easily open it in the web browser. OTHER FEATURES • iCloud sync support. • Terminal color themes. Choose your favorite from the several themes included or make your own. • Key file authentication support. Import an existing private key, or create a new key and export the public key. • Host key verification and management. • Agent forwarding (OpenSSH servers only). • Keep connections alive while the app is in the background. • Connection history with optional realtime location data. • Plenty of other configuration options. Please note that some features require a paid upgrade. You can try all features for free for a limited time.

About

SSH Tunnel

Securely manage SSH tunnels and port forwarding on your mobile device. Configure local SOCKS5 proxies and private tunnels to your own server, with support for various authentication methods and advanced traffic redirection rules.

Highlights
  • Local Port Forwarding
  • Dynamic Port Forwarding (SOCKS5 proxy)
  • Password, Private Key, 2FA authentication
  • Multiple SSH Key support
  • Connection Export & Import
  • Proxy Auto-Configuration (PAC) file support
Features
Read full description

SSH Tunnel is the easiest way to tunnel your traffic through your own SSH server on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Version 3.0 is a complete native rewrite with a new VPN engine: route ALL device traffic through your server, keep it running in the background, and reconnect automatically. The old foreground-only limitation is gone. TWO ENGINES - VPN engine: system-wide tunnel built on Apple's Network Extension. Works in the background, survives restarts, and restores itself after reboots and network changes (On Demand). - Proxy engine: a local SOCKS5 proxy with a PAC file for browsers, third-party apps, or sharing the tunnel with other devices on your Wi-Fi. Run several tunnels at once. FEATURES - Dynamic port forwarding (SOCKS5 proxy), like "ssh -D" - Local port forwarding, like "ssh -L 80:intra.example.com:80 gw.example.com" - Password, private key, and keyboard-interactive (2FA/OTP) authentication - Keys: ed25519, ECDSA, RSA (rsa-sha2), OpenSSH and PuTTY .ppk formats, import from file - Modern ciphers and OpenSSH 8.8+ compatibility - Host key fingerprint verification - In-app browser that uses the tunnel (iOS) - Proxy Auto-Configuration (PAC) URL with custom PAC rules - Live transfer statistics and connection logs - Connection export & import - Passcode & Face ID protection - Idle disconnect timer - Native menu bar app on macOS, included with your purchase - Dark mode. No ads, no subscriptions, no accounts. YOUR SERVER, YOUR DATA SSH Tunnel connects only to a server YOU provide. There are no accounts and no servers we operate: your traffic flows directly between your device and your own SSH server. We never see, collect, or sell any of it. You need your own SSH server to use this application. Support: support@ssh-tunnel-ios.com

Screenshots

Shelly4 screens
SSH Tunnel4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Shelly at Free against SSH Tunnel's $9.99. Shelly also leads on review sentiment (76% vs 46%) and rating (4.4 vs 4.0). SSH Tunnel's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and chart position 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

Shelly is free to download; SSH Tunnel costs $9.99 up front. Shelly sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. SSH Tunnel asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Shelly holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 277 and 148 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of Shelly's written reviews are positive against 46% of SSH Tunnel's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shelly ships an update every 2 months, SSH Tunnel every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Shelly versus SSH Tunnel: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShellySSH Tunnel
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating4.4 (277 ratings) — better4.0 (148 ratings)
Positive reviews76.3% of reviews — better46.2% of reviews
Number of ratings277 — better148
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#138#53 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTouch FooMobibean, LLC

Customer experience

Shelly

All ratings273 ratings
Positive83.5%
Neutral4.4%
Negative12.1%
Written reviews354 reviews
Positive76.3%
Neutral8.8%
Negative15.0%

SSH Tunnel

All ratings148 ratings
Positive70.9%
Neutral6.8%
Negative22.3%
Written reviews104 reviews
Positive46.2%
Neutral9.6%
Negative44.2%

User reviews

Shelly

From 277 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Lightweight and fast
  • 👍 Customizable keyboard and gestures
  • 🔒 Supports SSH key authentication
  • 💡 Useful shortcuts and toolbar
  • 👍 Reliable background connections

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional connection drops when switching apps
  • 🐛 Toolbar issues with hardware keyboard
  • 🐛 Garbled display with some terminal programs
  • 🐛 Lack of support for newer SSH key formats
  • 🐛 Inconsistent behavior with password managers

SSH Tunnel

From 148 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✅ Works well for SSH tunneling when used as intended
  • 🌐 Supports SOCKS5 dynamic forwarding
  • 🔐 Supports multiple SSH key formats
  • 📱 Useful built-in browser for tunnel access
  • ⚙️ Proxy auto-configuration (PAC) support

Room to improve

  • 🚫 Cannot maintain SSH tunnel in background (30-second limit)
  • ⚠️ App disconnects when switched to other applications
  • 💰 Expensive for limited functionality ($7.99-$10)
  • 🔄 Lacks transparency about iOS limitations in description
  • 🌐 In-app browser leaks user IP address

Bugs and requests

Shelly

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Saved profiles get overwritten unexpectedly
  • Toolbar persists even with auto-hide enabled
  • Cursor movement issues with hardware keyboard
  • Inability to copy/paste with Magic Keyboard

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for port forwarding
  • Implement Mosh protocol support
  • Allow customization of default font
  • Provide option for multiple app instances
  • Add ability to remap hardware keyboard keys

SSH Tunnel

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • 2FA login not working despite being advertised
  • In-app browser unable to access localhost or local IP addresses
  • Private key parsing issues (requires proper line endings)
  • Connection drops frequently (every 5 minutes in some cases)
  • App crashes unexpectedly
Show 7 more
  • Cannot edit or delete existing connections
  • Tunnel connection drops when changing applications
  • Port remains busy after tunnel termination
  • Location services prompt appears every time app closes
  • App not updated for iOS 16+ compatibility
  • SOCKS5 functionality not working in some cases
  • Incompatible with iOS 18

Requested features

12 requests
  • Background app refresh capability
  • VPN interface implementation for system-wide traffic routing
  • Multiple simultaneous tunnels
  • Tabs in built-in browser
  • Remote port forwarding support
Show 7 more
  • 2FA/Two-factor authentication support
  • Better documentation and setup guides
  • Support for PuTTY key format
  • Mouse click events in in-app browser
  • Shortcuts app integration
  • Compression option support
  • Global proxy support for mobile networks

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Shelly

One-time1
  • Upgrade To Pro$3.99
None

SSH Tunnel

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Shelly free?
Shelly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SSH Tunnel free?
SSH Tunnel costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Shelly or SSH Tunnel?
Shelly is rated higher. Shelly averages 4.4 out of 5 from 277 ratings, while SSH Tunnel averages 4.0 from 148 ratings.
Do Shelly or SSH Tunnel have ads?
Neither Shelly nor SSH Tunnel shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shelly or SSH Tunnel?
Shelly ships an update every 2 months, and SSH Tunnel every 6 weeks. Most recently, Shelly was updated on October 21, 2026 and SSH Tunnel on October 22, 2026.
Which is more popular, Shelly or SSH Tunnel?
Shelly currently peaks at #138 in the App Store charts, and SSH Tunnel at #53. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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