MXterm Pro vs Nexus Shell
A side-by-side of two tools in the same category. Facts come from each vendor's own pages, checked 2026-10-20.
| MXterm Pro made by us | Nexus Shell | |
|---|---|---|
| platforms | macOSWindowsLinux | macOS |
| price | FreemiumFree plan, no account (unlimited terminal panes, up to 5 SSH servers, 1 Control Room with 2 agents). Pro: lifetime licence from $29 for 3 devices for the first 100 licences, then from $8.9/month (seen 2026-10-20 on mxterm.net). | FreemiumSeen 2026-10-20: Free $0 (personal non-commercial use); Pro one-time $12.88 USD launch price (list $18.99) including future feature updates; Mac App Store offers one-time purchase and an auto-renewing yearly subscription at App Store prices; 7-day Pro trial with sign-up, no card. |
| source | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| SSH | ✓ yes | ✓ yes |
| SFTP | ✓ yes | ✓ yes |
| Tabs | ✓ yes | ✓ yes |
| Split panes | ✓ yes | – no |
| Port forwarding | ✓ yes | ? not verified |
| Jump host | ? not verified | ✓ yes |
| X11 | ? not verified | ? not verified |
| Serial | ? not verified | ? not verified |
| Telnet | ? not verified | ? not verified |
| Mosh | ? not verified | ? not verified |
| Cloud sync | ? not verified | ✓ yes |
| Team sharing | ? not verified | ? not verified |
| Scripting / API | ? not verified | ✓ yes |
| AI agents | ✓ yes | ✓ yes |
| MCP | ? not verified | ✓ yes |
| Phone control | ? not verified | ? not verified |
| Mobile app | ✓ yes | – no |
+ Nexus Shell is stronger at
- Agent Bridge exposes saved connections, terminals, SFTP and keys over a local Unix socket (mode 0600), off by default with per-agent approval
- Built-in server, network and SSH-auth-log monitoring plus Docker management
- Multi-hop jump hosts with per-hop auth and optional E2E-encrypted iCloud sync
- One-time Pro price rather than a subscription on the direct build
+ MXterm Pro is stronger at
- Runs several AI coding agent CLIs side by side in a Control Room, optionally one git worktree per agent
- SSH hosts, an SFTP panel with an editor, and local terminal panes live in the same tabbed window
- Local-first: conversation records stay on your machine and provider keys sit in the OS keychain
- Free plan needs no account and has no pane limit
~/which to pick
- pick Nexus Shell if
- Mac users who want an SSH/SFTP/Docker workspace that coding agents can use through a local MCP bridge.
- pick MXterm Pro if
- Developers who run AI coding agents and SSH sessions together and want one native window, plus phone access to those sessions.
- skip Nexus Shell if
- Users on Windows, Linux or iPhone, or those who need split panes or team vaults.
- skip MXterm Pro if
- Anyone who needs an X11 server, RDP/VNC, serial consoles or a hosted team vault today.