# Shelly vs RootDeck

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 (#118 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Shelly sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. RootDeck asks for nothing beyond the download.

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

## The numbers

| Metric | Shelly | RootDeck |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.4 (277 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shelly-ssh-client/id989642999/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **277** | — |
| Positive reviews | 76.3% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Best chart rank | **#118** | — |
| Size | 11 MB | 14 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 17.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Touch Foo](https://appshunter.io/developer/331891508) | [Evgenii Lav](https://appshunter.io/developer/1795969787) |

## What reviewers say

### Shelly

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shelly-ssh-client/id989642999)

**Currently charting:** #118 Top Free · Developer Tools, #183 Top Grossing · Developer Tools (US App Store)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Upgrade To Pro | $3.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Lightweight and fast
- 👍 Customizable keyboard and gestures
- 🔒 Supports SSH key authentication
- 💡 Useful shortcuts and toolbar
- 👍 Reliable background connections

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional connection drops when switching apps
- 🐛 Toolbar issues with hardware keyboard
- 🐛 Garbled display with some terminal programs
- 🐛 Lack of support for newer SSH key formats
- 🐛 Inconsistent behavior with password managers

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rootdeck/id6794034566)

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked 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.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*