Android SSH options
Mobile SSH vs Termux vs Termius
These tools overlap around SSH, but they are built for different jobs. Mobile SSH is a focused Android SSH/SFTP client, Termux is a Linux environment, and Termius is a cross-platform SSH client with account-based productivity features.
| Need | Mobile SSH | Termux | Termius |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | Dedicated SSH, SFTP, local tunnel, and terminal client for Android. | Android terminal emulator and Linux environment with APT packages. | Modern SSH client across Android, iOS, desktop, and web-oriented team workflows. |
| Setup style | Enter a host or save a server profile, then connect directly. | Install packages such as OpenSSH, configure shell tools, and work from a Linux-like command line. | Create or sync hosts, keys, snippets, and vault items through the Termius app/account model. |
| Android terminal controls | Built-in extra key row, grid sessions, fullscreen panes, pinch zoom, text selection with copy/share, Gboard suggestions, voice input, and tmux-aware scrolling. | Powerful terminal environment; terminal behavior depends on installed tools and configuration. | Mobile keyboard add-on, gestures, tabs, autocomplete, snippets, and polished terminal UX. |
| File transfer | Built-in SFTP dual-pane transfer tied to the active SSH session. | Use command-line tools such as scp, sftp, rsync, or installed file utilities. | Built-in SFTP and host/key management features. |
| Multi-session work | Up to eight concurrent SSH sessions in an Android grid. | Use terminal multiplexers such as tmux inside Termux or remote shells. | Tabs and split-view style workflows, depending on platform and plan. |
| Data model | Local-only saved servers, credentials, history, settings, and logs. | Local Linux-like filesystem and packages inside the Termux app environment. | Encrypted vaults for hosts, keys, snippets, forwarding rules, known hosts, and team sharing. |
| Best fit | You want a simple Android app for connecting to servers, transferring files, and keeping sessions alive. | You want a full command-line environment on Android and are comfortable installing/configuring packages. | You want cross-device sync, polished productivity features, vaults, and collaboration. |
Feature by feature
| Need | Mobile SSH | Termux | Termius |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connection | |||
| Saved server profiles | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Search saved servers | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Server folders / groups | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Search-first Add Session picker | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Reusable credential records | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Recent session history | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Login log | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Terminal | |||
| SSH terminal | ✓ | via OpenSSH | ✓ |
| xterm-256color emulation | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 5 000-line scrollback buffer | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Extra key row (ESC/TAB/CTRL/…) | ✓ | partial | ✓ |
| Pinch-to-zoom text sizing | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Double-tap pane to fullscreen | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Tappable URLs in terminal output | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Text selection: copy / share / select all | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Gboard suggestions & voice input | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sessions | |||
| Multiple concurrent SSH sessions | up to 8 | via tmux | ✓ |
| Grid pane layout | ✓ | ✗ | tabs |
| tmux-aware scrolling | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| tmux reattach hints on reconnect | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Agent alerts (Claude Code / Codex) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Ongoing notification with session list | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Foreground service & wake lock | ✓ | partial | ✓ |
| Auto-reconnect with backoff | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Eternal Terminal (resilient sessions) | ✓ | via CLI | ✗ |
| Auto-install etserver over SSH | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| tmux session manager | ✓ | via CLI | ✗ |
| Files | |||
| Built-in SFTP file transfer UI | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Dual-pane local + remote browser | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Upload / download queue | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Remote rename / delete / create | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Remote file permissions view | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Sort by name or date per host | ✓ | ✗ | partial |
| Tunnels | |||
| Local port forwarding | ✓ | via CLI | ✓ |
| Saved tunnels with server profile | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Runtime add / remove tunnels | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Keys | |||
| Password authentication | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Private key authentication | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| On-device key generation | ✓ | via ssh-keygen | ✓ |
| Share / save generated public key | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Backup | |||
| Export / import server backup | ✓ | ✗ | cloud vault |
| Encrypted local backup file | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| No account required | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Privacy & cost | |||
| No Pro paywall | ✓ | ✓ | partial |
| No ads | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Analytics opt-out | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Local-only data (no cloud sync) | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Plugins | |||
| Plugin support | ✓ | via packages | ✗ |
| Install-on-demand plugin catalog | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |