Comparison

Shelly vs GateShell

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

GateShell

Features
Read full description

GateShell is an SSH, Mosh, and SFTP client, and a full server command center. Your servers, your keys, your device, nothing in between. No backend, no relays, no tracking. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Zero backend. GateShell runs entirely on-device. There's no server to breach because there is no server. • Credentials live in the hardware-encrypted Apple Keychain, or on Secure Enclave keys that never leave your device, not even as an export. • No analytics, no telemetry. We don't know who you are or what you connect to. CONNECT, AND STAY CONNECTED • Native Mosh, with encrypted UDP and predictive local echo. Change networks, close the lid, come back hours later: your session is still there. • Jump hosts reach private servers through a bastion, with per-hop auth and host-key checks. • Import your ~/.ssh/config, or bulk-import servers from CSV. • SSH, Mosh, and Telnet, with automatic SSH fallback when UDP is blocked. SECURE CONNECTIONS • Verified host keys, pinned per server, with a warning the instant one changes. • Generate ed25519, P-256, RSA, or Secure Enclave hardware-backed keys, or import a PuTTY .ppk, including Argon2-encrypted ones. • Security Assistant scans for missing updates, exposed listeners, weak SSH policy, firewall gaps, and expiring certificates. Every finding shows its evidence, and guided fixes run allow-listed commands only after you approve them. • Face ID / Touch ID lock keeps your servers safe even if your device isn't. A REAL TERMINAL • Full XTerm-256 color terminal with fullscreen, scrollback search, and a customizable toolbar. • Two- and four-pane terminals with optional input broadcast. • 32 themes, bundled Nerd Fonts, custom font import, and named keyboard layouts. • Command snippets with ${VAR} prompts, run across many hosts at once. MANAGE THE WHOLE SERVER • 20+ built-in dashboards: Docker, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, Nginx, Caddy, Traefik, Firewall, Cron, PM2, WireGuard, Fail2Ban and more. Each one shows the status and acts on it. • Fleet broadcasts one command to every server at once. • Live health monitoring with restart, logs, and failure alerts. • Install the optional open-source agent on your own server for metric history and push alerts when a service drops, a disk fills, or a cron job fails. It runs on your box, not ours. FILES & CODE • Upload and download over SFTP with progress tracking and background retry. • Show your servers in the Files app, and open remote files like local ones. • Built-in editor with syntax highlighting and find/replace for 13+ languages. • Git on the go: status, stage, commit, and review diffs. • App Preview opens your dev server right in the app, tunneled over your existing SSH connection. BRING YOUR OWN CODING AGENT • Start, resume, and interrupt Claude Code, Codex, or Gemini CLI in any project on your server, straight from the terminal. • It runs under your account, with your CLI. GateShell never proxies it and never sees your provider keys. AI THAT STAYS ON THE DEVICE • Describe what you want in plain English, and GateShell composes the command on-device via Apple Intelligence. • Long output gets an instant, structured summary with error and warning counts. • A multi-step agent proposes a plan and runs it, with your approval on every step. • Automatic secret redaction and a risk warning before dangerous commands run. AT A GLANCE • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets for quick connect, server health, and your last session, plus a Live Activity that tracks the connection you're on. SYNC EVERYWHERE • iCloud syncs your servers, snippets, and known hosts across iPhone, iPad, and Mac, end-to-end encrypted. Free to start. Pro unlocks unlimited servers, SFTP, Mosh, port forwarding, the full dashboard suite, and more. On-device AI features require a device that supports Apple Intelligence. Terms of Use: https://gateshell.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://gateshell.com/privacy

Screenshots

Shelly4 screens
GateShell4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is chart position: Shelly at #186 against GateShell's unranked. Shelly also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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 GateShell sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
Shelly versus GateShell: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShellyGateShell
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (273 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews76.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings273 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#186 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB52 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTouch FooHEFTY INNOVATIONS

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

GateShell

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Shelly

One-time1
  • Upgrade To Pro$3.99
2 purchases

GateShell

Subscriptions2
  • GateShell Pro Monthly$0.991 Month
  • GateShell Pro Yearly$9.991 Year

Questions

Is Shelly free?
Shelly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is GateShell free?
GateShell is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Shelly or GateShell have ads?
Neither Shelly nor GateShell shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shelly or GateShell?
Shelly ships an update every 2 months, and GateShell every 2 months. Most recently, Shelly was updated on September 24, 2026 and GateShell on September 15, 2026.

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