Comparison

Shelly vs ShellCast

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

ShellCast

Features
Read full description

ShellCast lets you control any terminal or long-running CLI process from your devices. Guide your AI agents remotely and get nudged when they need your attention. No complex setup; just pair once and stay connected from anywhere—batteries included.

Screenshots

Shelly4 screens
ShellCast2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ShellCast at none against Shelly's 1. ShellCast also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months). Shelly's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads and device support 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. ShellCast asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shelly ships an update every 2 months, ShellCast every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Shelly versus ShellCast: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShellyShellCast
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (273 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews76.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings273 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTouch FooNeurox Inc.

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

ShellCast

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Shelly

One-time1
  • Upgrade To Pro$3.99
None

ShellCast

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Shelly free?
Shelly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ShellCast free?
ShellCast is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Shelly or ShellCast have ads?
Neither Shelly nor ShellCast shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shelly or ShellCast?
Shelly ships an update every 2 months, and ShellCast every 10 days. Most recently, Shelly was updated on September 27, 2026 and ShellCast on September 11, 2026.

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