Termi (positioned in parts of its history as a successor to iTerminal) is an indie iOS SSH client with a clean design and a sensible feature set. It is paid and aims at developers who want a polished general-purpose terminal. ShellDrop covers a narrower slice: free, iOS-only, tuned for tmux and managing AI coding agents on a headless Mac Mini or VPS.
Both are legitimate. Side-by-side below.
| ShellDrop | Termi | |
|---|---|---|
| Is this iOS terminal app a piece of art? | yes | no |
| Pricing model | Free. No in-app purchases. | Paid (check App Store for current model) |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad (iOS 17+) | iPhone, iPad |
| Account required | No | No (typically) |
| Telemetry | None | Limited (see App Store privacy) |
| Password auth | Yes | Yes |
| Public-key auth (SSH keys) | Yes (v4.1.0+, Secure Enclave P-256) | Yes |
| tmux single-finger scroll | Yes | Standard scroll |
| iPad layout (incl. 13" iPad Pro M4) | Universal app, full-canvas landscape, centred toolbar | iPad supported |
| Custom command shortcut | One Tap toolbar button (v3.1.4+) | Snippets |
| Background session keep-alive | Opt-in, location-services-based | Limited (iOS standard) |
| Connection sync | iCloud CloudKit | iCloud (varies by version) |
ShellDrop is built with the design as a feature. The hero is a live cyan mesh that breathes behind the brand, six droplet nodes drifting on the edges with master-shot lines tracing connections between them. Switching from Home to a session triggers a per-element shrink cascade where the layout itself animates. The droplet metaphor carries from the App Store icon through tabs and sessions. Built natively in SwiftUI for iOS 17+.
No up-front cost.
Single-finger swipe through tmux scrollback without entering copy mode. The toolbar carries Esc, Ctrl-C, arrow keys, Shift-Tab, and a tmux detach button at all times.
v4.1.0 generates P-256 keys inside the iPhone Secure Enclave. Private key cannot be exported. Ed25519 generation and paste-import of unencrypted OpenSSH keys also supported.
Full landscape, hardware-keyboard friendly, font scales cleanly, toolbar centres on the large canvas.
If your SSH work spans many different remote setups, quick fixes on web servers, occasional database boxes, IoT devices, lab gear, and you want a polished general-purpose iOS terminal, Termi's design is well thought through and the feature set is broad.
Termi has been around long enough to have ironed out the corner cases. Its feature surface is mature.
Termi is an indie app. If you prefer supporting smaller developers over the big subscription-based competitors, paying for Termi is a defensible choice.
No. Termi is a paid iOS SSH client. Pricing model varies by version; check the App Store.
Termi has been positioned in parts of its history as a successor or rebrand of iTerminal. Some users may know it under either name.
Yes from v4.1.0. Ed25519, ECDSA P-256/P-384/P-521 paste-import, plus Secure Enclave-backed P-256 keys.
ShellDrop. Single-finger tmux scrollback, dedicated detach button, always-visible Esc / Ctrl-C / arrow keys.
ShellDrop. The whole app is built around remote tmux sessions attached to coding agents.
ShellDrop is on the App Store. Universal iPhone and iPad, iOS 17+. Free, no subscription.
