Comparison

Shelly vs Flutabby

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

Flutabby

Features
Read full description

Flutabby is a modern terminal emulator and SSH client designed for developers, sysadmins, and power users who need secure, reliable access to remote servers. SECURE CONNECTIONS • SSH with password, key-based, or agent authentication • Telnet for legacy systems • Encrypted vault protects your credentials with AES-256 • Face ID / Touch ID to unlock your vault POWERFUL FEATURES • Multiple tabs with quick switching • Pin important sessions for instant reconnect • SFTP file browser for easy transfers • Port forwarding (local & remote) • Login scripts for automation • X11 forwarding support BEAUTIFUL & CUSTOMIZABLE • 15+ built-in color themes • Custom color schemes • Per-connection icons and colors • Organize with groups and folders PROFESSIONAL GRADE • Full terminal emulation (xterm-256color) • Unicode and emoji support • Scrollback buffer • Keyboard toolbar for special keys OPTIONAL SYNC • Connect to your own Tabby Web server to sync settings • Compatible with Tabby desktop app • Self-hosted, your data stays yours Perfect for managing cloud servers, Raspberry Pi, home lab, network equipment, or any SSH-accessible system.

Screenshots

Shelly4 screens
Flutabby4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Flutabby at none against Shelly's 1. Flutabby also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months). Shelly's advantage is chart position (#182 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). 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. Flutabby asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shelly ships an update every 2 months, Flutabby every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Shelly versus Flutabby: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShellyFlutabby
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (273 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews76.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings273 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#182 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB27 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperTouch FooVersion Two s.r.o.

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

Flutabby

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Shelly

One-time1
  • Upgrade To Pro$3.99
None

Flutabby

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Shelly free?
Shelly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Flutabby free?
Flutabby is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Shelly or Flutabby have ads?
Neither Shelly nor Flutabby shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shelly or Flutabby?
Shelly ships an update every 2 months, and Flutabby every 5 days. Most recently, Shelly was updated on September 24, 2026 and Flutabby on September 9, 2026.

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