# An SSH client for iPad and iPhone without a subscription

What the no-subscription options actually are in 2026, what each one costs, and what you give up — including where Tessera is the wrong choice.

*updated 2026-08-25 · prices checked 2026-08-25*

Connecting to a server you already own, from a device you already own, over a
protocol that turned thirty this year, is not obviously a thing that should cost
$120 a year. A lot of people arrive at this question annoyed, and the annoyance is
reasonable.

Here is the honest state of it.

## Why so many of them are subscriptions

Because sync is a service. The moment an app keeps your hosts and keys in step
across devices, someone has to run servers, keep them patched, and answer for them
when they break. That is a recurring cost, and a recurring price is a fair way to
cover it.

The catch is that you may not want the service. If your hosts live in your head or
in `~/.ssh/config`, you are paying a subscription for infrastructure you are not
using — and, increasingly, for features like SFTP that have nothing to do with
sync but sit behind the same paywall.

So the useful question is not "which app is cheapest." It is **"which apps don't
need a service in the middle at all."**

## The options, honestly

| App | What it costs | What you get for free | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Tessera** | **$9.99 once** | every feature; one saved host | iPhone and iPad only; no Files-app mounting |
| **Secure ShellFish** | lifetime unlock, or monthly | a usable terminal | pro features are the paid tier |
| **Prompt 3** | yearly, with a lifetime tier | limited free mode | the lifetime tier is the expensive one |
| **WebSSH** | small one-time purchase | most of the app | interface is dated |
| **Easy SSH** | free | everything | fewer features than the rest |
| **Termius** | $10/user/mo | a basic terminal | SFTP and sync are paid |
| **Blink Shell** | $19.99/yr | 2-week trial | subscription, despite GPL source |

### What "free" means in Tessera

This is the part worth being precise about, because "free tier" usually means
"crippled."

Tessera's free app has **every feature in it**: native tmux control mode, mosh,
port forwarding, jump hosts, key generation and import, host-key verification,
the file panel, Handoff between devices, Nearby Setup, the agent center, themes,
custom shortcuts. Nothing is disabled and nothing expires.

What the free app limits is *quantity* — you can keep one saved host. The one-time
$9.99 purchase lifts that limit permanently. There is no second tier above it and
no renewal.

If you only ever SSH to one box, the free app is not a trial. It is the app.

## What you give up by avoiding a subscription

Also worth being straight about:

- **Cross-device sync.** Tessera has no account, so nothing syncs through a cloud.
  What it has instead is [Nearby Setup](/docs/nearby-setup/): your hosts, keys and
  preferences copy directly between your devices over the local network, both ends
  confirming a matching code, every grant behind Face ID. That covers moving to a
  new iPad. It does not continuously mirror two devices.
- **Team features.** Shared vaults, shared credentials and audit logs need a
  service and an identity system. If you need those, Termius is the right purchase
  and the subscription is buying something real.
- **A Mac app.** Tessera is iPhone and iPad. Prompt 3 and Secure ShellFish will
  serve you better if you want one app across all your Apple hardware.

## How to move off a subscription client

1. **Get your keys out.** Export from your current app, or generate fresh ones —
   `ssh-keygen -t ed25519` on the server side, or generate in Tessera and install
   the public key. Fresh keys are the better hygiene anyway.
2. **Write the hosts down once.** Hostname, port, user, key, and a jump host if
   you use one.
3. **Turn on tmux.** Whatever client you land on, `tmux` is what makes a mobile
   terminal tolerable — your work keeps running when iOS suspends the app. See
   [keeping a session alive](/articles/keep-ssh-session-alive-ios/).
4. **Cancel after you've reconnected**, not before.

## Questions

### Is there a genuinely free SSH client for iPad?

Yes. Tessera is free on the App Store with every feature included and no time
limit; it caps you at one saved host until a one-time $9.99 purchase. Easy SSH is
free outright with a smaller feature set. Most other clients described as "free"
are free tiers with capabilities held back for a subscription.

### What is the cheapest SSH client for iPhone with no recurring cost?

WebSSH is a small one-time purchase and Tessera is $9.99 once. Secure ShellFish
sells a lifetime unlock at a higher price but includes Mac and Files-app
integration.

### Does Tessera charge for SFTP or port forwarding?

No. Port forwarding, jump hosts, tmux, mosh, keys and the file panel are all in the
free app. The only thing the $9.99 unlocks is keeping more than one saved host.
Tessera does not mount servers in the Files app at all — that is Secure ShellFish's
speciality.

### Do I need an account to use Tessera?

No. There is no account, no sign-in, and no bambouville server in the path.
Connections go straight from your device to hosts you control, and the app
collects no analytics or telemetry.

### Why is Termius so expensive?

Termius is priced per user per month because it is built for teams — shared vaults,
shared credentials, sync, audit. If you are one person with a handful of servers,
you are paying for infrastructure you may not need. If you are five engineers
sharing production access, it is doing something no account-free app can.