Comparison

Shelly vs RootDeck

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

RootDeck

Read full description

Manage your servers straight from your iPhone and iPad. RootDeck is a fast, secure SSH and SFTP client — a full terminal and file manager in your pocket. Connect directly to your own servers — no RootDeck account, no cloud in between. Built for developers, sysadmins, and DevOps who need their infrastructure on the go. Features: • Interactive SSH terminal • SFTP file browser and transfers • Upload, download, copy, move, rename, and delete remote files • Password and SSH key authentication • Jump host support for reaching servers behind a bastion • Host key verification to protect against MITM attacks • Saved server profiles • Face ID or Touch ID app lock • Server availability monitoring • Support for Linux, macOS, and Windows OpenSSH servers Credentials are stored securely in Apple Keychain. SSH connections, commands, and transferred files go directly between your device and the servers you choose. RootDeck does not collect analytics and does not send your server data to the developer.

Screenshots

Shelly4 screens
RootDeck4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: RootDeck at none against Shelly's 1. RootDeck also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). Shelly's advantage is chart position (#139 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). 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. RootDeck asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shelly ships an update every 2 months, RootDeck weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Shelly versus RootDeck: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShellyRootDeck
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (277 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews76.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings277 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#139 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTouch FooEvgenii Lav

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

RootDeck

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Shelly

One-time1
  • Upgrade To Pro$3.99
None

RootDeck

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Shelly free?
Shelly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is RootDeck free?
RootDeck is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Shelly or RootDeck have ads?
Neither Shelly nor RootDeck shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shelly or RootDeck?
Shelly ships an update every 2 months, and RootDeck weekly. Most recently, Shelly was updated on October 21, 2026 and RootDeck on October 8, 2026.

Other comparisons