TablePlus Alternative for iPhone: What to Use When You Need Redis on iOS

July 1, 2026 · Vladimir Chemeris

Written and maintained by Vladimir Chemeris, the developer of CacheDeck.

If you use TablePlus on your Mac and need to access Redis from your iPhone, you will quickly hit a wall: TablePlus has no iPhone app. The iPad app exists, but it requires iOS 16+ on iPad, and even there it is a different product experience than what you get on macOS. For on-call Redis access from an iPhone, you need a different tool.

This guide explains exactly what TablePlus offers on Apple devices, where the gaps are, and what engineers use instead when they need Redis from an iPhone at 2 AM.

What TablePlus supports on Apple devices

TablePlus is available on:

macOS: the primary platform; full feature set
iPad (iOS 16+): available since 2023; most macOS features ported to tablet
iPhone: not available

The lack of an iPhone app is not an oversight; it reflects a deliberate product decision. TablePlus is a database management tool optimized for large screens, keyboard shortcuts, and multi-tab workflows. An iPhone screen at 390 points wide is not the right canvas for that interface.

TablePlus supports a wide range of databases beyond Redis: PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, MongoDB, and others. For teams who want a single tool for all their databases on a Mac or iPad, it is an excellent choice. For on-call Redis access from an iPhone specifically, it does not exist.

TablePlus pricing (as of 2026):

Basic: free (limited tabs, limited connections)
Full license: $59/year subscription, or $149 perpetual license (limited future updates)
Team plan: $99/year per seat

There is no iPhone app to purchase at any price.

The on-call iPhone scenario

The specific problem TablePlus does not solve: you receive a PagerDuty alert at 2 AM, your laptop is across the room, and you need to check whether a Redis key exists, what its TTL is, and whether its value looks correct. You have your iPhone in hand.

On macOS, you would open TablePlus, select your Redis connection, and be looking at the keyspace within seconds. On iPhone, you have no TablePlus. Your options without a purpose-built tool:

Get up, open the laptop, and use TablePlus on macOS
SSH into a bastion host using a terminal emulator (Blink Shell, a-Shell) and run redis-cli manually
Use a browser on iPhone to access RedisInsight if it is deployed and reachable

None of these are one-tap solutions from a phone.

CacheDeck: the native iPhone Redis client

CacheDeck key browser showing Redis keyspace on iPhone: the TablePlus alternative for iPhone — Native iPhone key browser: namespace tree, pattern search, TTL, one tap from the lock screen

CacheDeck is a native iPhone app built specifically for Redis access. It is not a port of a desktop tool and not a web app in a browser shell. Every screen is designed for a 6-inch display with touch-first interactions.

What CacheDeck provides that fills the TablePlus iPhone gap:

Visual key browser: navigate the keyspace as a tree, filter by glob pattern, view type / TTL / value for any key without typing a command
SSH tunnel built in: configure your bastion once; CacheDeck opens the tunnel on every connect, with Ed25519/RSA keys stored in iOS Secure Enclave
TLS and mTLS: connect to ElastiCache, Azure Cache, Upstash, and any TLS Redis endpoint directly; client certificates stored in iOS Keychain
CLI console: run any Redis command and see the raw response, with command history
Server stats: memory, hit rate, connected clients, keyspace, parsed from INFO and readable on a phone display
Production safety classifier: connections whose name or hostname matches prod, prd, or production are tagged PROD; all writes require an extra confirmation tap

Price: $14.99 one-time. No subscription. No per-connection fee.

Feature comparison: CacheDeck vs TablePlus on iPhone

Feature	CacheDeck (iPhone)	TablePlus (iPhone)
Available on iPhone	✅	❌ Not available
Native app	✅	❌
Visual key browser	✅	❌
SSH tunnel built in	✅	❌
TLS / mTLS	✅	❌
Production safety guard	✅	❌
Redis Cluster support	✅	❌
Other databases (Postgres, MySQL)	❌ Redis only	❌
Price	$14.99 one-time	No iPhone app

CacheDeck vs TablePlus on iPad

If you are on an iPad rather than an iPhone, you have more options.

TablePlus on iPad supports Redis connections with the same visual interface as macOS, including SSH tunnels and TLS. If you already have a TablePlus license that includes iPad, it is a reasonable choice for tablet-based Redis access.

When to prefer CacheDeck on iPad:

You do not already have a TablePlus license (CacheDeck is significantly cheaper: $14.99 vs $59+/year)
You want a Redis-specific tool rather than a general database manager
You value the PROD write protection classifier, which TablePlus does not have

When to stick with TablePlus on iPad:

You already have a TablePlus license and use it for PostgreSQL, MySQL, or other databases
You want a unified interface across all your database types
You prefer the TablePlus UX that you already know from macOS

The practical difference is small on iPad. On iPhone, there is no choice to make: TablePlus is not available.

What about using TablePlus on a Mac remotely?

Some engineers remote into their Mac using Jump Desktop, Screen Sharing, or similar tools to access TablePlus from their iPhone browser or Jump client. This works in the sense that it functions, but the experience is not good:

Latency of the remote desktop connection adds to Redis round-trip time
A 6-inch screen displaying a macOS desktop requires constant pinch-to-zoom
Your Mac must be on, unlocked, and accessible remotely
If your Mac falls asleep or loses its network connection, the session drops

For a quick key inspection during an incident, driving a macOS app remotely from an iPhone takes longer than the inspection itself. It is a last resort, not a workflow.

Connecting CacheDeck to the same Redis servers as TablePlus

If you already have Redis connections configured in TablePlus on your Mac, you can replicate them in CacheDeck on your iPhone using the same credentials.

CacheDeck SSH connection setup: the same bastion host and key used in TablePlus on macOS — SSH tunnel setup: use the same bastion host and key you already configured in TablePlus

For SSH tunnel connections:

Use the same bastion host, port, and username you have in TablePlus
Import your private key into CacheDeck (Ed25519 or RSA). CacheDeck stores it in iOS Secure Enclave

For TLS connections (ElastiCache, Azure Cache, Upstash):

Same host, port, and credentials as in TablePlus
Enable TLS in CacheDeck; for public CA certificates (ElastiCache, Azure, Upstash), no custom CA import needed

For direct connections:

Same host, port, and AUTH password

There is no connection export from TablePlus to CacheDeck; you re-enter the details once. After that, CacheDeck saves them in iOS Keychain the same way TablePlus saves them in macOS Keychain.

The honest trade-off

TablePlus is a better tool on macOS and iPad. It supports more databases, has a richer query interface, and benefits from years of desktop-first UX refinement. If you are at a desk with a Mac, use TablePlus.

CacheDeck exists to solve the problem TablePlus does not: Redis access from an iPhone. The on-call scenario (alert fires, phone in hand, need to check a key before the laptop is even open) is exactly what CacheDeck is built for.

If you use TablePlus on your Mac every day and carry an iPhone on call, CacheDeck is the natural companion for the moments when your Mac is not in reach.

TablePlus is a trademark of TablePlus Inc. CacheDeck is not affiliated with or endorsed by TablePlus Inc. Redis is a registered trademark of Redis Ltd. CacheDeck is not affiliated with Redis Ltd.