BranchShell Prompt alternative with port forwarding and SFTP
Prompt is a beautiful SSH client for the Mac, iPhone and iPad, sold as a yearly subscription or a pricier one-time purchase, with no port forwarding or file transfer. BranchShell adds saved port forwards, SFTP, split terminals and a SQL client, and runs on Windows and Linux too.
No account. No card. No renewal. macOS, Windows and Linux.
Prompt bills you again next year. BranchShell never does.
A subscription stops working the day you stop paying. BranchShell is $20 once for 2 computers, with updates delivered inside the app and nothing to renew.
$20 once for 2 computers, updates forever
$9.99 a year, or $49.99 once
BranchShell and Prompt compared
What each client is built with, what it costs and what it does in the app. Facts about the other client come from its own website and may change.
| Feature | BranchShell | Prompt |
|---|---|---|
| Licence | Better: Pay once: $20 for 2 computers, no renewal | Worse: $9.99 a year, or $49.99 once |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, Linux | macOS, iOS, iPadOS, visionOS |
| Built with | Rust, drawn on the GPU | Native Apple app |
| Account to use it | None | None |
| Hosts, keys and passwords | Encrypted vault on your computer | On the device, synced by Panic Sync if you choose |
| Port forwarding | Better: Local, remote and dynamic rules, one switch each | Worse: No |
| SFTP | Better: Two panes, sudo paths, S3 and R2 buckets | Worse: No; Transmit is a separate app |
| Split terminals | Up to four panes per workspace | Omniview to watch several tabs |
| Mosh | Worse: Yes | Better: Mosh and Eternal Terminal |
| Snippets | Offered as you type, sorted by Laya | Clips |
| Databases and SQL | Better: Fourteen engines through SSH, with a SQL client | Worse: No |
| Link to a Git client | Better: Hosts and forwards in the BranchBay tray | Worse: No |
The better side The worse side No colour: the same on both
Why developers pick BranchShell over Prompt
Port forwarding with a switch
Save local, remote and dynamic rules against a host, let them start with it, or toggle them from the palette, the Activity bar or the BranchBay tray.
Files in the same window
An SFTP tab with this computer and a host side by side, sudo-elevated paths and S3 and R2 buckets. No second app to buy.
Windows and Linux too
One codebase for macOS, Windows and Linux, and one licence for any mix of 2 computers.
Pay once, without the premium
$20 once for 2 computers, with no yearly plan to weigh against a bigger one-time price. Updates arrive inside the app and never renew the price.
What Prompt does that BranchShell does not
- Apps for iPhone, iPad and Apple Vision Pro
- Eternal Terminal connections
- Panic Sync of servers, keys and clips across Apple devices
- Servers shared with your team
If one of these is part of your day, keep Prompt. The rest of the time, BranchShell does the job from one vault, for one payment.
Does BranchShell do port forwarding, unlike Prompt?
Does BranchShell run on Windows and Linux?
Can I try BranchShell before leaving Prompt?
What does BranchShell cost?
Try it next to Prompt.
Import your SSH config and connect to the hosts you already have. Nothing to sign up for, nothing to renew and nothing to uninstall until you are sure.