Comparison

Shelly vs MonkeySSH

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

MonkeySSH

This app provides a mobile SSH workspace for agentic coding, allowing users to connect to servers, manage remote windows, and resume coding sessions. It features a robust terminal, file browsing, port forwarding, and secure SSH key management for modern remote development.

Highlights
  • Mobile terminal with advanced features
  • MonkeyMux and tmux remote window management
  • Agent workflows for coding assistants
  • SFTP workspace for file management
  • SSH key management
  • Port forwarding with in-app browser
  • Local-first security with biometrics
Features
Read full description

Run coding agents on your own servers from iPhone or iPad. MonkeySSH puts native agent conversations, a full SSH terminal, MonkeyMux or tmux windows, and SFTP in one remote workspace. Choose the right view for each task: - Chat with supported agents in native windows with streaming replies, tool progress, plans, diffs, permission prompts, images, audio, attachments, slash commands, and session history. Sign in, answer agent forms, view tool output, and choose MCP servers and extra working directories when supported. Model and mode controls depend on the agent. Get notified when an agent finishes or needs permission. - Switch to the full terminal whenever you need direct CLI control, xterm-256color, inline images, gestures, modifier keys, function keys, macros, or IME-friendly typing. Swipe up on toolbar keys for shortcuts and symbols. - Keep agent and shell work running in persistent MonkeyMux windows. Reconnect, switch windows, and share the same session with your desktop. - Launch Claude Code, Copilot CLI, Codex, OpenCode, Antigravity, Cursor Agent, Pi, Hermes, OpenClaw, Grok Build, and Muse Code, find recent project-scoped sessions, and save launch presets per host. - Manage agent CLIs and ACP adapters on a host with Agent Management. Check versions, install or repair supported packages, and update supported installations together. See account usage, remaining allowances, and reset times when available. A dot on the terminal menu flags available updates. - Browse, upload, download, create, and edit remote files over SFTP. - Generate or import Ed25519 and RSA keys, verify host keys, use jump hosts, and cancel slow connection attempts. - Forward remote ports, manage live tunnels, and open forwarded services in the in-app browser. - Save snippets, macros, home-screen shortcuts, and per-host startup settings for repeat work. Your hosts, keys, snippets, and settings stay on your device. PIN and biometric lock are available, and MonkeySSH does not require cloud sync. Optional analytics and crash reports are off by default and exclude commands, terminal output, paths, hostnames, usernames, clipboard contents, and credentials. SSH, terminal, SFTP, one connected native chat, and the choice between native and terminal agent windows are free. MonkeySSH Pro adds parallel native chats with instant switching and session forks, agent launch presets and recent-session discovery, Agent Management and supported-agent usage rings in MonkeyMux, auto-connect automation, encrypted transfers and migration packages, and host-specific themes. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://github.com/depollsoft/MonkeySSH/blob/main/docs/privacy-policy.md

Screenshots

Shelly4 screens
MonkeySSH4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: MonkeySSH at 5.0 against Shelly's 4.4. MonkeySSH also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 months). Shelly's advantage is ratings volume (277 vs 1) and chart position (#172 vs unranked). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 MonkeySSH sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

MonkeySSH holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shelly has 277 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shelly ships an update every 2 months, MonkeySSH every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Shelly versus MonkeySSH: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShellyMonkeySSH
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (277 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews76.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings277 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
Best chart rank#172 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB56 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTouch FooDepollsoft

Customer experience

Shelly

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

MonkeySSH

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

MonkeySSH

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Shelly

One-time1
  • Upgrade To Pro$3.99
2 purchases

MonkeySSH

Subscriptions2
  • MonkeySSH Pro (Monthly)$4.991 Month
  • MonkeySSH Pro (Annual)$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Shelly free?
Shelly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MonkeySSH free?
MonkeySSH is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Shelly or MonkeySSH?
MonkeySSH is rated higher. Shelly averages 4.4 out of 5 from 277 ratings, while MonkeySSH averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Shelly or MonkeySSH have ads?
Neither Shelly nor MonkeySSH shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shelly or MonkeySSH?
Shelly ships an update every 2 months, and MonkeySSH every 2 days. Most recently, Shelly was updated on October 24, 2026 and MonkeySSH on October 10, 2026.

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