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ZestSSH vs Termius: a one-time-purchase alternative
Last updated October 22, 2026
I built ZestSSH, so take this with the appropriate salt. This is an honest comparison, including the places where Termius is the better choice.
ZestSSH is an SSH client for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS and Linux that you pay for once: it's free to use, and $9.99 once unlocks the full app. Termius Pro costs $10 a month billed annually (as of October 2026, from termius.com/pricing). ZestSSH also syncs your hosts and keys for free, end-to-end encrypted, to storage you control, and it has no analytics. Both have team plans; ZestSSH sells its seats once, not by the month.
How much do ZestSSH and Termius cost?
Termius prices as of October 2026, from termius.com/pricing and the iOS App Store listing.
| ZestSSH | Termius | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes: unlimited hosts, SSH, SFTP, port forwarding, keys, 4 sessions on desktop and 2 on mobile, no account | Yes (Starter): local vault, SSH, SFTP and port forwarding |
| Full app | $9.99 once (Squeezed), with every update while we offer ZestSSH | Pro: $10 a month billed annually, or $15 month to month on iOS |
| Sync between devices | Free, to your own WebDAV, S3 or Google Drive; or hosted ZestSSH Cloud for $24.99 once (Juiced) | Included in Pro |
| Teams | Team $100 a seat once (2 to 25 people); Business $100 a seat once plus $15 a seat a month or $150 a seat a year, SSO and SCIM included | Team $20 and Business $30 per seat a month, billed annually; SSO is an extra add-on on Business |
| One-time option | Yes: personal plans and Team seats are one-time; only Business adds a monthly or yearly charge | No |
| Cost over 3 years (full app and sync) | $9.99 with your own storage, or $29.99 with hosted sync (the Bundle: Squeezed + Juiced) | About $360 for Pro at the annual rate |
Five years, per seat
Termius prices as of October 2026, from termius.com/pricing.
| Termius plan | ZestSSH equivalent | 5 years, per seat |
|---|---|---|
| Pro, $10 a month billed annually | Squeezed + Juiced (the Bundle), $29.99 once | $600 vs $29.99 |
| Team, $20 a seat a month billed annually | Team, $100 a seat once | $1,200 vs $100 |
| Business, $30 a seat a month billed annually; SSO is an extra add-on | Business, $100 a seat once + $150 a seat a year, SSO included | $1,800 + SSO vs $850 |
Students can get Termius Pro and Team free through the GitHub Student Developer Pack (termius.com/education).
How do the features compare?
Termius features as of October 2026, from its pricing page and App Store release notes.
| Feature | ZestSSH | Termius |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux | Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux |
| SSH and SFTP | Free | Free |
| Port forwarding (local, remote, SOCKS) | Free | Free |
| Jump hosts | Squeezed ($9.99 once) | Free (host chains) |
| Snippets | Free | Snippet automation in Pro |
| End-to-end encrypted sync | Yes, with the design published in a whitepaper | Cloud vault in Pro |
| Choose where sync data is stored | Yes: WebDAV, S3-compatible, Google Drive or hosted | Termius cloud |
| Shared team vaults | Team and Business | Team and Business |
| Real-time terminal collaboration | Live view of a session, with the keyboard handed to one person at a time, on Team and Business | Yes, on team plans |
| Automation and workflows | Squeezed ($9.99 once) | Snippet automation in Pro |
| Analytics | None in the app; no crash reporting either | The privacy policy names Google Analytics, Firebase, Hotjar and Mixpanel |
Where is Termius better?
- Years of team use. Termius has offered shared vaults, collaboration and SSO for years. ZestSSH's teams are new in 3.0, so a team that wants a long track record may prefer Termius.
- Free jump hosts. Host chains (jump hosts) are free in Termius. In ZestSSH they're part of the $9.99 Squeezed purchase; port forwarding is free in both.
- Maturity. Termius has been around since 2011, according to its about page. ZestSSH is much younger.
- Integrations. Termius lists integrations such as AWS, DigitalOcean, Azure and Ansible. ZestSSH imports machines from AWS EC2, DigitalOcean, Hetzner Cloud, Azure, Tailscale and Proxmox VE, but has nothing for Ansible.
- Students get Termius Pro and Team free.
Where is ZestSSH better?
- You pay once. $9.99 unlocks the full app, with every update while we offer ZestSSH. There's no subscription to cancel and no price that recurs.
- Sync without a sync bill. Sync is free on every tier when the encrypted file lives on your own WebDAV server, S3-compatible bucket or Google Drive. Hosted ZestSSH Cloud is a separate one-time $24.99, not a subscription.
- A published, checkable sync design. The vault is encrypted on your device with AES-256-GCM, under a key from Argon2id (128 MiB, 3 passes, 4 lanes). The security whitepaper lists every parameter and exactly what the server stores. See how the sync works.
- No analytics and no crash reporting. The privacy policy lists the few third-party libraries that do send device details, and why.
- No account needed to use the app.
- Modern defaults. Post-quantum key exchange (mlkem768x25519 and sntrup761) is offered first, and each host's key is verified on every connection, including every hop of a jump-host chain.
How do I switch from Termius to ZestSSH?
- Hosts: Termius has no export, so run termius-export (Import hosts, then Termius, links to it): it writes an OpenSSH config file from your Termius data, and ZestSSH reads its host names, ports, users, key files and ProxyJump. Delete the exported files afterward. If your hosts are already in
~/.ssh/config, import that instead. - Keys: import your private keys as files (OpenSSH, PEM or PuTTY
.ppk), or generate new ones in ZestSSH and install them on your servers. - Sync: set up sync to your own storage on one device, then sign in on the others.
Step-by-step: importing from other apps, migrating from Termius and key management.
FAQ
Is there a Termius alternative without a subscription?
Yes. ZestSSH is free to use, and the full app (Squeezed) is a one-time $9.99 purchase, with every update while we offer ZestSSH. Syncing between devices is free when you use your own storage, such as WebDAV, an S3 bucket or Google Drive.
Can ZestSSH import my Termius hosts?
Yes, through an SSH config file. Termius has no export of its own, so Import hosts in ZestSSH has a Termius entry that points you to termius-export, a free, open-source tool that reads your Termius data on your computer and writes an SSH config file. Import that file, then delete the exported files: the keys in them are not encrypted.
Does ZestSSH have team vaults like Termius Team?
Yes, since ZestSSH 3.0. Team is $100 a seat, once, for 2 to 25 people: shared vaults with roles, invitations that check keys, live views of a session and session logs. Business adds company sign-in (SSO) and directory sync (SCIM) for $15 a seat a month or $150 a seat a year.
Is ZestSSH sync end-to-end encrypted?
Yes. Everything is encrypted on your device with AES-256-GCM under a key derived from your sync password with Argon2id, and the server or storage only ever holds the encrypted file. The security whitepaper on zestssh.com documents the exact design.