Termius, Blink and JuiceSSH alternatives: mobile SSH clients compared

October 18, 2026

The short answer: on Android, pick Termius for a full-featured graphical client, ConnectBot if you want something free, open source and light, or Termux if you live on the command line. On iPhone, Blink Shell is the most capable, and Termius is the one to choose if you want the same hosts on Android and your computer. If what you mostly do on the phone is look after Claude Code, Codex or other AI agents running in tmux on a server, have a look at Roamtty.

This post is written by Roamtty's developer. Details come from each app's store listing and official documentation as of October 2026. Prices change often, so only the pricing model is given here; check the store for current prices.

What happened to JuiceSSH

JuiceSSH was long one of the most popular SSH clients on Android; its last release came out in 2021. It's no longer on Google Play, so new users can't install it. Existing installs still run but get no updates or security fixes. An unmaintained app holding your private keys becomes a bigger risk over time, so it's worth migrating soon.

Comparison table

App	Platforms	Pricing	mosh	SFTP files	Port forwarding	Open source
Termius	Android, iPhone, desktop	Free plan; sync and more by subscription	Yes	Graphical	Yes	No
Blink Shell	iPhone, iPad	Subscription (Blink+), 14-day trial for new users	Yes	Command-line scp / sftp	Yes	Yes
ConnectBot	Android	Free	No	None	Yes	Yes
Termux	Android	Free	Yes (command line)	Command-line scp / sftp	Yes (command line)	Yes
Roamtty	Android, iPhone	One-time purchase, no subscription	Yes	Graphical	No	Soon

A few new phone terminals aimed at AI agents have appeared in the last couple of years; we haven't tested them, so they aren't listed.

Termius

The most cross-platform commercial SSH client, on Android, iOS, Windows, macOS and Linux. The free plan already includes SSH, mosh, SFTP, port forwarding and jump hosts; syncing hosts and keys across devices requires Pro.

Good for: people coming from JuiceSSH who want a graphical, complete client, and anyone who wants one host list on both phone and computer.
Drawbacks: sync needs a subscription and keeps your hosts and credentials in Termius' encrypted cloud vault. It's built for general server work, with nothing specific for driving AI agents in a terminal.

Blink Shell

A professional, open-source terminal for iPhone and iPad, and the iOS client listed on mosh.org. It feels like a Linux terminal living in your iPad: you type ssh or mosh commands to connect, with SSH config files, ProxyJump, local / remote / dynamic port forwarding, and common Unix commands locally. Its listing says mosh connections "even survive a device reboot".

Good for: people at home on the command line, working on an iPad with an external keyboard.
Drawbacks: iOS only; new users need a subscription after the 14-day trial; the command-line style has a steeper learning curve on a phone screen and touch keyboard.

ConnectBot

The longest-standing open-source SSH client on Android: free, no ads, key authentication and port forwarding, with a simple interface.

Good for: occasional logins to run a few commands, from an app that's free and open source.
Drawbacks: no mosh, no file management, and you reconnect after a network change or screen lock.

Termux

Strictly speaking not an SSH client but a Linux environment on Android. After pkg install openssh mosh you use ssh, mosh and scp just as on a computer, write scripts and set up ~/.ssh/config. The project recommends installing from F-Droid or GitHub; the Google Play version is an experimental build from a separate repository with missing features.

Good for: anyone who wants a complete command-line toolchain on the phone.
Drawbacks: everything is configured from the command line, and touch use is clumsier than in a dedicated SSH client.

Roamtty

An SSH terminal designed for looking after remote AI coding from a phone, with the same features on Android and iPhone. Compared with the apps above, its focus isn't a complete feature list but making tmux, mosh and everyday AI-agent actions the default.

Strengths:
- Each session is automatically its own tmux session on the server; with mosh installed it prefers UDP and falls back to SSH after 8 seconds without a reply. Both tmux and mosh install from inside the app.
- Launch Claude Code, Codex or Grok in one tap with a chosen permission mode. The home screen groups sessions into needs approval, running and done, and you can approve or follow up right on the card.
- Press and hold the little ghost at the screen edge for shortcut keys that match the agent in front (Esc Esc, Shift+Tab, Ctrl+C and so on). Swipe for arrow keys, double-tap for Tab.
- SFTP browsing with code and Markdown preview, uploads and downloads; live CPU, memory, disk and GPU.
- No account and no backend server, no ads, no analytics; a one-time purchase with no subscription.
Not supported yet: port forwarding, jump hosts (ProxyJump), ssh-agent forwarding, generating keys in the app (generate on a computer and import; Ed25519 and RSA are supported), multi-device sync, Telnet.
Open source and availability: will soon be open source; the iPhone app is on the App Store (not yet available in mainland China), and the Android app is coming soon to Google Play.

Roamtty competes on the experience of using tmux and AI agents from a phone. When you need port forwarding or jump hosts, Termius and Blink are the better fit.

Migrating from JuiceSSH

Generate a new key pair on your computer: ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C phone.
Add the new public key to each server: ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub user@server.
Import the private key into the new client and confirm you can log in to each server.
Remove JuiceSSH's old public key from ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on each server, then uninstall JuiceSSH.

Moving the old private key across as-is isn't recommended: it has sat in an unmaintained app for years, and a fresh key is safer.

Which one to pick

Your situation	Pick
Android, want a graphical, complete client	Termius
Android, occasional logins, want free and open source	ConnectBot
Android, comfortable on the command line	Termux
iPhone / iPad, command-line user, often with an external keyboard	Blink Shell
Same hosts on phone and computer	Termius (subscription)
Need port forwarding or jump hosts	Termius or Blink Shell
Mostly looking after Claude Code or Codex in tmux from the phone	Roamtty

FAQ

Question	Answer
Does JuiceSSH still work?	Existing installs still run, but it's off Google Play and no longer updated. Migrate and replace your keys.
Which clients survive a disconnect without logging in again?	The ones with mosh (Termius, Blink Shell, Termux, Roamtty) carry on across network changes. Whether your work keeps running depends on tmux on the server; see the mosh and tmux guide.
Which one for Claude Code on a phone?	Any SSH client works; the differences are in keys and session handling. All the options are in Using Claude Code and Codex from your phone.
Is it safe to keep keys in these apps?	It depends on how the app stores them and whether they sync to a cloud. Roamtty keeps credentials in the Android Keystore or iOS Keychain and never uploads them; Termius keeps synced data in its encrypted cloud vault. Whichever you use, give the phone its own key so a lost phone means removing just that one.