← Back to pmux.io

Pocketmux vs Termius, Blink Shell, and SSH + mosh

Competitor details last verified September 23, 2026

There are several good ways to reach a tmux session from your phone. Termius and Blink Shell are general-purpose SSH apps, and mosh keeps an SSH-style session alive on unreliable networks. Pocketmux takes a narrower approach: it is built only for tmux, and connects your phone to your computer without SSH. Here is how they compare, with a source for every claim about another product.

Pocketmux compared to Termius, Blink Shell, and SSH + mosh
Platforms Pocketmux:
 iPhone and Android app; pmux CLI on macOS, Linux, and Windows via WSL. 		Termius:
 iOS, iPadOS, Android, macOS, Windows, and Linux. source 		Blink Shell:
 iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision. No Android. source 		SSH app + mosh:
 Clients for Android (e.g. JuiceSSH, Termux), iOS, and desktop. source
tmux integration Pocketmux:
 Native: browse sessions, windows, and panes as lists, and see what each pane is running. 		Termius:
 No built-in tmux integration; tmux runs as text in the shell (a startup snippet can auto-attach). source 		Blink Shell:
 No built-in tmux integration; the docs suggest attaching with a startup command like mosh host -- tmux a. source 		SSH app + mosh:
 None; mosh syncs only the visible screen and recommends tmux on the host for scrollback. source
Credentials on your phone Pocketmux:
 Device-bound Ed25519 key generated on the phone and kept in the iOS Keychain / Android Keystore, hardware-backed where available. No setup, nothing to copy. 		Termius:
 Passwords or SSH keys, synced through an end-to-end encrypted vault on paid plans. Optional non-exportable Secure Enclave / Keystore keys and FIDO2 keys. source 		Blink Shell:
 SSH keys stored in the iOS Keychain. Optional non-extractable Secure Enclave keys and WebAuthn security keys. source 		SSH app + mosh:
 Whatever your SSH client stores; mosh logs in over SSH with the same password or key. source
Reaching your machine Pocketmux:
 No open ports or VPN. Direct peer-to-peer connection, with an end-to-end encrypted relay fallback for restrictive networks. 		Termius:
 Host must be reachable over SSH (open port, VPN, or jump host); Mosh also needs UDP. source 		Blink Shell:
 Host must be reachable over SSH; Mosh also needs UDP ports 60000–61000. source 		SSH app + mosh:
 SSH access plus UDP ports 60000–61000, and mosh-server installed on the host. source
Network changes Pocketmux:
 The app and agent re-establish the connection and put you back in your pane. 		Termius:
 Mosh keeps sessions alive across network changes; iOS suspends background sessions within about 20–30 seconds. source 		Blink Shell:
 Mosh roaming, with persistent Mosh sessions that Blink restores. source 		SSH app + mosh:
 Roams across IP changes and sleep. source
Pricing Pocketmux:
 CLI and agent free; app $4.99/year. 		Termius:
 Free Starter plan; Pro is a subscription (from $10/month billed annually). source 		Blink Shell:
 $19.99/year after a 14-day trial. source 		SSH app + mosh:
 Free (client app pricing varies). source
Open source Pocketmux:
 CLI, agent, signaling server, and wire protocol are MIT; the mobile app is proprietary. 		Termius:
 No public source repository. 		Blink Shell:
 Yes, GPL-3.0. source 		SSH app + mosh:
 mosh is GPLv3+. source

Which one should you choose?

Choose Pocketmux if your work already lives in tmux, and you want to reach it from your phone without exposing SSH, running a VPN, or managing keys.

Choose Termius if you manage many servers over SSH, SFTP, and port forwarding, want the same host list on desktop and mobile, or share credentials with a team.

Choose Blink Shell if you work on an iPad or iPhone, want a full-featured open-source terminal with Mosh, and already have a reachable host.

Choose SSH app + mosh if you want a free setup, already have a reachable host or VPN, and are comfortable managing SSH keys and mosh-server yourself.

What Pocketmux doesn't do

  • •It is not a general SSH or SFTP client. It reaches tmux sessions on computers running the pmux agent, nothing else.
  • •No push notifications. You open the app to check on a session; it won't alert you when something needs your attention.
  • •The phone shows one pane at a time; you move between sessions, windows, and panes from a list rather than seeing splits side by side.
  • •The app is currently available in the United States and Canada only.

Keeping this page accurate

Every claim about another product links to that vendor's own documentation, website, or App Store listing, checked on September 23, 2026. Products change, prices especially. If something here is out of date, email hello@shiftinbits.com and we'll correct it. For how Pocketmux itself works, see the security model and the docs.