# Shelly vs Terminal & SSH

The clearest difference is ads: Shelly at none against Terminal & SSH's shown. Shelly also leads on chart position (#113 vs unranked). Terminal & SSH's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months) and review sentiment (85% vs 76%). On price, rating, ratings volume and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Shelly sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Terminal & SSH sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Shelly against 4.3 for Terminal & SSH. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 273 and 105 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 76% of Shelly's written reviews are positive against 85% of Terminal & SSH's.

Shelly ships an update every 2 months, Terminal & SSH every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Shelly | Terminal & SSH |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.4 (273 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shelly-ssh-client/id989642999/reviews)** | [4.3 (105 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/terminal-and-ssh/id1558156247/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **273** | 105 |
| Positive reviews | 76.2% of reviews | **84.8% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#113** | — |
| Size | 11 MB | 74 MB |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Touch Foo](https://appshunter.io/developer/331891508) | [Pavlo Kravchenko](https://appshunter.io/developer/1474839903) |

## What reviewers say

### Shelly

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shelly-ssh-client/id989642999)

**Currently charting:** #113 Top Grossing · Developer Tools, #188 Top Free · Developer Tools (US App Store)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Upgrade To Pro | $3.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 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

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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


### Terminal & SSH

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/terminal-and-ssh/id1558156247)

Access and manage Linux or IoT devices securely from your mobile device. Offers SSH, SFTP, and a suite of network tools for command-line administration and file transfer. Includes a code editor and snippet manager for efficient workflow.

**Highlights:** SSH connection with key authentication, SFTP file transfer, Network tools (ping, ifconfig, etc.), Local text editor with syntax highlighting, Command snippets, Code editor, Terminal theme customization

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Remove ads | $4.99 | per month |
| Remove ads | $9.99 | per 3 months |
| Five connections | $1.99 | one-time |
| Twenty connections | $4.99 | one-time |
| Infinity connections | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Fast and efficient
- 🆓 Free of charge
- 🚫 No ads
- 💻 Great for remote server management

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes
- ⚠️ Not working on older iOS versions
- 🖱️ UI needs improvement
- ⌨️ Bluetooth keyboard arrow keys not working
- 🔄 App crashes on loading

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes after showing logo on iOS 12.2
- Crashes on iPad Air with iOS 12.3.1
- Crashes frequently (Chinese review)
- Crashes on loading
- App crashes on loading starting today

**Requested features**

- Keepalive features for long builds
- Physical arrow keys for Bluetooth keyboards
- Support for Chinese input in terminal
- UI improvements for common keys on toolbar
- Ability to touch and drag back through commands


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Shelly free?

Shelly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Terminal & SSH free?

Terminal & SSH is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Shelly or Terminal & SSH?

Shelly is rated higher. Shelly averages 4.4 out of 5 from 273 ratings, while Terminal & SSH averages 4.3 from 105 ratings.

### Do Shelly or Terminal & SSH have ads?

Terminal & SSH shows ads; Shelly does not.

### Which is updated more often, Shelly or Terminal & SSH?

Shelly ships an update every 2 months, and Terminal & SSH every 2 weeks. Most recently, Shelly was updated on September 30, 2026 and Terminal & SSH on September 27, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*