Comparison

Shelly vs ServerCat

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

ServerCat

Monitor your Linux servers and Docker containers directly from your mobile device. View detailed resource usage, network traffic, and container stats. Offers an SSH terminal for remote management and automation capabilities.

Highlights
  • Server status monitoring
  • CPU, GPU, Memory usage
  • Network traffic and speed
  • Docker container stats
  • SSH Shell Terminal
  • Container management
Features
Read full description

ServerCat is a Linux monitor and Docker Management & SSH Terminal app. ServerCat makes it easy to monitor your server status on your mobile. It shows detail running status of your linux servers and docker containers. It only needs an SSH account without any other dependencies. It will not install any tools to your system. Free Features Monitor detail status of your server including: ・CPU usage per-core ・GPU usage and running process ・Memory usage ・Network traffic/speed and TCP stats ・Docker containers and stats ・Disk blocks and IO per second Premium Features ・ SSH Shell Terminal ・ Sync data across all your iOS devices ・ Create and Manage containers ・Background SSH Security: All SSH credentials are AES-encrypted and saved locally. The Cloud Sync uses iCloud to sync AES-encrypted data securely and nobody can inspect your data in the cloud. Terms of Use https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy https://servercat.app/privacy

Screenshots

Shelly4 screens
ServerCat4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: ServerCat at every 5 days against Shelly's every 2 months. ServerCat also leads on ratings volume (996 vs 273). Shelly's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, review sentiment 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. Shelly sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and ServerCat sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ServerCat holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 273 and 996 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of Shelly's written reviews are positive against 77% of ServerCat's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shelly ships an update every 2 months, ServerCat every 5 days. Both last shipped on September 30, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Shelly versus ServerCat: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShellyServerCat
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (273 ratings)4.6 (996 ratings) — better
Positive reviews76.2% of reviews77.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings273996 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#197#72 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB43 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTouch FooEarly Moon, LLC

Customer experience

Shelly

All ratings273 ratings
Positive83.5%
Neutral4.4%
Negative12.1%
Written reviews353 reviews
Positive76.2%
Neutral8.8%
Negative15.0%

ServerCat

All ratings996 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral3.0%
Negative7.0%
Written reviews441 reviews
Positive77.3%
Neutral8.8%
Negative13.8%

User reviews

Shelly

From 273 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

ServerCat

From 996 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fantastic app
  • 🚀 Convenient and powerful
  • 👍 Intuitive and feature-rich
  • 👍 Excellent for monitoring Linux servers
  • 👍 Beautiful and well-designed UI

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes frequently
  • 🐛 Unstable on iPhone 13
  • 🐛 Scrolling and copy-paste issues
  • 🐛 Incompatible with some platforms (FreeBSD, Windows)
  • 🔋 High CPU usage when connected to servers

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

ServerCat

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Connection issues and failed logins
  • Server status not refreshing properly
  • Crashes when switching between screens or using certain features
  • Incompatibility with certain server configurations (e.g., Debian/Ubuntu only for some features)

Requested features

7 requests
  • Add support for SFTP
  • Implement Celsius temperature display
  • Add home screen widgets for server status
  • Improve syncing of servers and SSH keys across devices
  • Enhance Docker/container management features
Show 2 more
  • Add support for Telnet and other protocols
  • Improve terminal experience (e.g., Tmux bindings, font customization)

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Shelly

One-time1
  • Upgrade To Pro$3.99
3 purchases

ServerCat

Subscriptions1
  • Premium Annual Subscription7 Days trial$5.991 Year
One-time2
  • Premium Upgrade Discount$5.99
  • ServerCat Lifetime Premium$18.99

Questions

Is Shelly free?
Shelly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ServerCat free?
ServerCat is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Shelly or ServerCat?
ServerCat is rated higher. Shelly averages 4.4 out of 5 from 273 ratings, while ServerCat averages 4.6 from 996 ratings.
Do Shelly or ServerCat have ads?
Neither Shelly nor ServerCat shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shelly or ServerCat?
Shelly ships an update every 2 months, and ServerCat every 5 days. Most recently, Shelly was updated on September 30, 2026 and ServerCat on September 30, 2026.
Which is more popular, Shelly or ServerCat?
Shelly currently peaks at #197 in the App Store charts, and ServerCat at #72. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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