A subscription-free Termius alternative for macOS
Termius is a feature-rich, cross-platform SSH client. But it requires mandatory cloud accounts, recurring subscriptions, and runs on Electron. Here is how Upshell offers a native, sandboxed, and cost-effective alternative for your Mac.
Termius has built a solid tool for multi-device terminal access, but it comes at a cost: a mandatory cloud account, a steep recurring subscription, and an Electron-based interface that feels alien on macOS. For developers and sysadmins who work mostly on a Mac, these trade-offs are hard to justify.
Upshell keeps the power-user features — multi-pane terminal splits, host manager, saved snippets, bastion routing, port forwarding, and integrated file transfers — and rebuilds them as a native macOS app in Swift & SwiftNIO. Your credentials live in the macOS Keychain, your sessions run inside Apple's Sandbox, and you own the app for a single lifetime purchase instead of a monthly fee.
And the whole security layer is free, permanently: connecting, key and two-factor authentication, host key verification. It is not a marketing promise — the paid/free split lives in one typed table in the source, and a test fails the build if a security feature is ever moved behind the paywall.
Should you switch from Termius?
If you connect from an iPhone, an iPad, or a Windows or Linux machine as well as your Mac, keep Termius — it is built for exactly that and Upshell is macOS only. Switch if your work happens on one Mac and the mandatory account and the recurring bill have stopped feeling like a fair trade.
Termius solves a real problem: the same hosts, keys and snippets available wherever you are, on any platform. The cloud account is not an upsell bolted on afterwards — it is the mechanism that makes the product work. So is Electron, which is how one codebase reaches five platforms at once.
Upshell answers a narrower question: what if all of that lives on one Mac? No account, because there is no server to hold one. Native Swift instead of a bundled browser engine. Credentials in the Keychain rather than in a vendor cloud. You lose every device that is not a Mac — and if you need those devices, that loss is the whole argument.
Upshell vs Termius, feature by feature
An honest snapshot — a ✓ means the feature ships today, notes mark the differences that matter.
| Feature | Upshell | Termius |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free · FULL $9.99/yr or $39.99 once (US; varies by store) | 99 $ / year (Pro plan) |
| SSH & PTY terminal splits | ✓ | ✓ |
| Native macOS app (Swift & SwiftNIO) | ✓ | Electron (Javascript wrapper) |
| No cloud account required | ✓ | — |
| Passwords & private keys in macOS Keychain | ✓ | Proprietary Cloud Sync |
| App Sandbox & Mac App Store secure | ✓ | — |
| Local, Remote, and SOCKS Port Forwarding | FULL | ✓ |
| Multi-hop ProxyJump (Bastion) | FULL | ✓ |
| In-process secure Agent Forwarding | FULL | System Agent only |
| Keyboard-interactive 2FA prompting | ✓ | ✓ |
| Security layer free forever (auth, keys, host key checks) | ✓ | Free tier, cloud account required |
| Co-session SFTP (no second login) | ✓ | Separate tab / browser |
| Saved snippets & Multi-host execution | FULL | Pro version only |
| Import from ~/.ssh/config | FULL · with a preview plan | ✓ |
| Environment colors on tabs & backdrops | FULL | Basic themes |
| Cross-platform (Windows / Linux / Mobile) | — | ✓ |
Where Termius is still the right choice
- You need the same client on Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android — Upshell is built exclusively for macOS.
- You rely heavily on team sharing of credentials and SSH host registries.
- You need mobile sync to run commands from your phone on the go.
Where Upshell pulls ahead on a Mac
- 100% Native App: built with SwiftUI & SwiftNIO for instant load times, minimal memory footprint, and low CPU usage — no Electron overhead.
- Total Privacy: no mandatory cloud accounts. Saved servers and settings sync over your personal iCloud (CloudKit) and credentials live in the macOS Keychain.
- Apple Sandbox secure: strictly limits disk access, protecting your sensitive keys from external processes.
- Co-session SFTP: browse and transfer files using the same SSH channel, without setting up a secondary session or re-authenticating.
- Pricing: pay once and own it forever, or pick a low-cost annual plan. No forced subscription loops.
Migrate your host registry in seconds
Point Upshell FULL at your ~/.ssh/config and every host, port, username, and ProxyJump setup comes across immediately. Select your private keys via Apple's secure file picker, and they are saved safely in your Keychain.
What actually changes day to day
Four differences you notice within the first week — and the reasoning behind each.
The account you cannot decline
Termius asks you to create an account before you connect anywhere, because the account is where your hosts and keys are kept and how they reach your other devices. That is coherent design, and it also means your server inventory — hostnames, usernames, sometimes credentials — is held by a third party.
Upshell has nothing to sign into. Hosts and keys go into the macOS Keychain; the private key never leaves your Mac, and the built-in agent signs inside the sandbox rather than handing key material out. If you want your hosts on a second Mac, that goes through your own iCloud account with FULL.
Electron versus a native stack
Being fair about this: Electron is the reason Termius exists on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android at once, and for a cross-platform product it is a sensible engineering choice rather than laziness.
The cost lands on the Mac. A bundled browser engine means more memory per window and an interface that approximates macOS conventions rather than inheriting them. Upshell is Swift and SwiftNIO throughout, which is why splits resize the way you expect and the app behaves like the rest of the system — and also why it will never run anywhere but a Mac.
What the free tier actually includes
Most SSH clients put security behind the paywall eventually — key management here, two-factor there, host key pinning in the enterprise plan. Upshell draws the line somewhere specific instead: connecting, authenticating and verifying are free permanently. Keys, passphrases, keyboard-interactive two-factor prompts and host key verification are all in the free tier.
That is not just a promise on a marketing page: the free/paid split lives in one typed table in the source, and a test fails the build if a security feature is ever moved across it. FULL is the productivity layer — splits, tunnels, ProxyJump, agent forwarding, snippets, history, sync.
Tunnels and bastions as interface, not flags
Both clients can forward ports and hop through a jump host. The difference is whether you can see what is currently running. Upshell FULL keeps a live status panel for local, remote and dynamic SOCKS5 rules, so an open tunnel is a thing on screen rather than a terminal tab you must remember not to close — see SSH port forwarding on a Mac and tunnelling to a database.
The same applies to ProxyJump chains: each hop is authenticated separately and its host key verified on its own, and the editor shows the chain rather than asking you to keep it in your head.
Common questions
Can Upshell import my ~/.ssh/config?
Is Upshell free to use?
Where are my passwords and keys stored?
What is the best Termius alternative for Mac?
Is there a free Termius alternative?
Do I need an account to use Upshell?
Can I import my hosts from Termius?
Does Upshell sync across my devices like Termius?
Try Upshell free, decide later
The core is free forever — unlimited SSH host connections, tabs, and co-session SFTP. No trial clock, no subscription.
Download on the Mac App StoreRead next: The ~/.ssh/config file explained · SSH port forwarding on a Mac · Setting up SSH keys
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