Nominative comparison · verified 2026-08-12

SSHHIP vs Secure ShellFish

SSHHIP wins on multiplexer control architecture and keyboardless Command Dial control. Secure ShellFish wins Apple platform integration. Both are Apple-only with a $29.99 lifetime unlock.

Capability	SSHHIP	ShellFish
Price model	Full access for one month, then a $29.99 one-time lifetime unlock Competitors with monthly plans can be cheaper to start.	Free with ads, or $2.99/mo, $14.99/yr, or $29.99 Lifetime Pro Unlock App Store in-app purchases (2026-08-12)
Vendor backend	None. No SSHHIP account, relay, or cloud vault	No vendor vault required; sync uses your own iCloud Secure ShellFish site
Out-of-band multiplexer control	Yes - separate SSH exec channel, never the interactive PTY	Not documented. The tmux help describes attaching, not exec-channel control ShellFish terminal multiplexing help
Keyboardless control	Yes - Command Dial for mux actions, keys, snippets, and voice A long prompt still needs Keyboard or Voice.	Not documented - tmux help covers tap-to-attach thumbnails, not in-session control without the keyboard ShellFish terminal multiplexing help
tmux support	Attach + out-of-band control, focus pad, session picker	Built-in: session thumbnails, tap to attach, Handoff between devices ShellFish terminal multiplexing help
herdr support	First-class attach + control against herdr's own object model	Not documented Secure ShellFish help index
Mosh (iOS App Store build)	No - App Store builds are SSH-only Mosh exists in the codebase but is fail-closed off for App Store distribution.	Not documented on the site, help index, or App Store listing Secure ShellFish help index
Port forwarding	No	Not documented on the site, help index, or App Store listing Secure ShellFish help index
SFTP browser / Files	No browser or Files provider. Send Image upload only	Full Files.app provider with offline folders and Quick Upload Secure ShellFish help - Files app
Terminal themes	4 built-in themes, no custom themes	Customisable theme ShellFish terminal help
Terminal font size	Fixed 14pt, not user-adjustable	Fonts are customisable; terminal font size specifically is not documented ShellFish terminal help
Cross-platform	iPhone + iPad only	iPhone, iPad, Mac Secure ShellFish site
Download size	14.3 MB (iOS 1.21.1) Apple iTunes lookup (2026-08-12)	116.9 MB (iOS 2026.26) Apple iTunes lookup (2026-08-12)
Min iOS	17.0	17.4 Apple iTunes lookup (2026-08-12)
Ratings (as of verify date)	1 rating · 5.00★ Apple iTunes lookup (2026-08-12) Too few to mean anything. Rating structured data is deliberately omitted.	1,465 ratings · 4.82★ Apple iTunes lookup (2026-08-12)

Control surface

Keyboardless control

The Command Dial is the whole control surface: multiplexer actions, common keys, pane focus, snippets, voice, and Send Image. The software keyboard appears only when you pick Keyboard.

Typing a long command still needs Keyboard or Voice. The full command palette remains one puck-tap away.

SSHHIP on iPhone with the Command Dial open over a live Claude Code session, showing the radial control surface in the corner

Where SSHHIP is different

Both are Apple-only with a $29.99 lifetime unlock and a strong local-first posture. ShellFish wins Apple platform integration; SSHHIP wins multiplexer control architecture.

Multiplexer controls ride a separate SSH exec channel
No SSHHIP account, relay, or cloud vault
Keyboardless control: Command Dial as the control surface for multiplexer actions, common keys, pane focus, snippets, voice, and Send Image. The keyboard appears only when you pick Keyboard.
14.3 MB native download versus much larger category norms

The Command Dial is a taste-dependent interaction choice, not a universal win. Typing a long command still needs Keyboard or Voice. The full command palette remains one puck-tap away.

"Different" is not "better". If the rows in the other card matter more to you than the rows here, buy Secure ShellFish.

Where SSHHIP is worse

Secure ShellFish puts your servers in Files.app, with offline folders, Shortcuts automation, widgets, and Handoff. SSHHIP has none of those surfaces.
ShellFish runs on Mac as well as iPhone and iPad, and hands sessions off between them. SSHHIP is iPhone and iPad only.
ShellFish is genuinely usable for free (ad-supported) and also sells $2.99/mo and $14.99/yr plans, so its entry price is lower than SSHHIP's single $29.99.
ShellFish lets you customise theme and fonts. SSHHIP has four themes and a fixed 14pt font.
ShellFish has 1,465 ratings at 4.82★ and years of accumulated host tooling. SSHHIP has 1 rating.
If your daily need is editing remote files from Files.app or driving SSH from Shortcuts, ShellFish is the better buy today.

Primary sources

How this page is maintained

Secure ShellFish cells come from the vendor's own pages and from Apple's public lookup data on 2026-08-12. Where a capability could not be found on those pages, the cell says "Not documented" rather than "No" - absence of documentation is not proof of absence. The SSHHIP column is checked against repository source 1.20.1; the shipping App Store build is 1.21.1. Nothing here is a benchmark, and no cell is a quote from the vendor.

Re-verify before a purchase decision. Vendor pricing and feature sets move faster than this page does. Found a cell that is wrong or out of date? Tell me and it gets corrected.

Get SSHHIP

Full access for one month, then a $29.99 lifetime unlock. No account. No SSHHIP backend.

View on the App Store Pricing details