What is the best alternative to iSH Shell on iPhone?

a-Shell, S tier, #1 in terminal emulation.

Is there a free alternative to iSH Shell?

Yes: a-Shell (S tier, #1) is free, with no in-app purchases.

Yes. 2 apps rank above it in terminal emulation: a-Shell (#1), Termiux (#2).

iSH Shell is C tier, #3 of the 7 tiered apps in terminal emulation. Here is everything that competes with it on iPhone, in tier order.

1
a-ShellShigher tier
Free download · ★ 4.6 · 2,083 ratings · score 91
Local Unix terminal emulator for iOS with Unix commands, Python, C and C++ compilers, TeX and file transfer tools.
2
TermiuxAhigher tier
Free + IAP · ★ 4.4 · 68 ratings · score 84
Terminal app for iPhone with a built-in command-line environment, extended keyboard, and SSH and SFTP access to your.
4
a-Shell miniC
Free download · ★ 4.3 · 666 ratings · score 62
Local terminal emulator for iOS that runs most Unix commands, including vim, Python, git and ffmpeg.
5
ViSH - AI Coding TerminalF
Free + IAP · ★ 3.0 · 2 ratings · score 46
Runs a local ARM64 Linux environment (Alpine or Ubuntu 24.04) in a touch terminal on iPad, with file browsing and SSH.
6
Terminal Emulator appF
Free download · ★ 1.9 · 9 ratings · score 16
A web-based terminal emulator for running quick functions such as common unit conversions and quick math.
7
Terminal Emulator PlusF
Free download · ★ 1.0 · 2 ratings · score 12
Free Utilities app that gives access to different types of shell, with a web front-end for quick conversions and math.

What is the best alternative to iSH Shell on iPhone?: a-Shell, S tier, #1 in terminal emulation.
Is there a free alternative to iSH Shell?: Yes: a-Shell (S tier, #1) is free, with no in-app purchases.
Does anything rank above iSH Shell?: Yes. 2 apps rank above it in terminal emulation: a-Shell (#1), Termiux (#2).