Comparison

Blink Shell, Build & Code vs Orca IDE

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Blink Shell, Build & Code

Transform your iOS device into a professional-grade terminal with robust SSH and Mosh support for stable, high-speed connections. Extend your development workflow with integrated code editing and remote runtime creation.

Highlights
  • Pro-grade terminal for iOS
  • Mosh and SSH support
  • VS Code integration (Blink Code)
  • Remote runtime creation (Blink Build)
  • SFTP transfers
  • Hardware keyboard support
  • External display support
Features
Read full description

Do Blink! Transform your iOS device into a pro-grade terminal. Blink is the first professional, desktop-grade terminal for iOS that leverages the support of Mosh and SSH. Thus, we can guarantee stable connections, crazy-fast speeds, and full configurations. It can and should be your all-day-long tool.  **Start your 14-day free trial now!** But, Blink is much more. Now with Blink Code and Blink Build**, your entire development workflow fits in your pocket. What the Blink community is saying: “In some ways, I prefer my iPad / Blink / Digital Ocean setup to coding on my Mac“ - TheVerge "I have tried a number of terminals on iOS and this is really The One." - Twit.tv “Connections still come up when I get back to a client project after a weekend off.“ - The Sweet Setup “The way to use VS Code on the iPad” - programminglife.io What our users love the most from Blink Shell: - Mosh connections that even survive a device reboot. - Most complete SSH implementation on iOS. - Code command for VS Code integration. - Blazingly fast terminal and SFTP transfers. - Includes Pragmata Pro with ligatures. Blink Shell has a fully loaded SSH toolset: - SSH with PKI support: DSA, RSA, ECDSA & ED25519 keys. - Support for Secure Enclave Keys and Certificates. - Port forwarding with local, remote & dynamic tunnel support. - SOCKS5 proxy for a private VPN. - Agent Forwarding. - Complete SSH Config file support. - ControlMaster and pooled connections. - Files.app integration for SFTP remote hosts. - SFTP with copy-on-change. Blink has been the leading developer tool in the AppStore for +5 years, so there is a lot more: - External Display support. - Legendary Hardware Keyboard support, even remap shortcuts and keyboard codes. - Local & iCloud Blink Shell folders for Files.app access across devices. - Host sync over iCloud. - Link-files from other applications and work with them in Blink. - Cool themes and fonts, and install your own! - Smart Keys on SW Keyboard to navigate with touch. - FaceCam command to create tutorials and streams. - Bell notifications. - Supports multiple windows and multiple tabs. - Network & UNIX CLI tools, check our docs for more information. Blink Code integrates with VS Code: - Code on local projects, or seamlessly on remote machines. - Fully-loaded code editor. - A coding experience fitted to your device, that connects to VS Code for web, GitHub Codespaces, GitPod or your own VS Code server. Blink Build (Requires a $7.99/month subscription) Creates remote runtimes that can be accessed on all your devices. You can use Build in your day-to-day workflows whether you need to do development, DevOps or just play around with new tooling. Participate in our community, and don’t forget to leave us your feedback and your feature(s) requests. Enjoy! http://blink.sh http://twitter.com/blinkshell http://GitHub.com/blinksh Terms of Use: https://blink.sh/blink-gpl Privacy Policy: https://blink.sh/pp * Blink Code is not affiliated nor endorsed by Microsoft. ** Blink Build requires a separate subscription to make use of our Virtual Machines.

About

Orca IDE

Control your coding environment remotely from your phone. Mirror your desktop terminal, manage AI agent sessions, and interact with your code using a smart on-screen keyboard. All your data remains on your desktop, with secure, end-to-end encrypted local network connections.

Highlights
  • Live desktop terminal mirror
  • AI agent session management
  • Full keyboard input
  • Multi-worktree support
  • Phone-fit zoom and smart keyboard
  • Background command execution
  • End-to-end encrypted pairing
Features
Read full description

Orca Mobile is the companion app for Orca, the open-source agentic coding workspace for macOS, Linux, and Windows. Pair your iPhone to your desktop in seconds and pick up a terminal session from the couch, the kitchen, or across the office. WHAT IT DOES • Live mirror of your desktop terminal, including running AI agent sessions (Claude Code, Codex, custom CLIs). • Full keyboard input — type, tab-complete, Ctrl-C, scroll back, all from the phone. • Multi-worktree, multi-terminal: jump between projects with a tap. • Phone-fit zoom and a smart on-screen keyboard with quick Ctrl/Alt accessory keys and shortcuts. • Background long-running commands and get a notification when a TUI goes idle (e.g. when Claude finishes thinking). HOW IT WORKS Orca Mobile is a thin client. Nothing runs on your phone except the viewer. Your code, your shells, your AI agents — all of that stays on your desktop. The phone shows you what's happening and forwards your keystrokes back over an encrypted local-network connection. Pairing is end-to-end encrypted. Your desktop generates a one-time keypair and shows a QR code; you scan it from the app. After that, all traffic between phone and desktop is sealed with that pair's keys. PRIVACY • No analytics SDK, no crash reporter, no third-party SDKs of any kind in the iOS app. • Pairing tokens and your preference list live in the app's own sandbox. The app's traffic to your desktop is end-to-end encrypted on your local network only. • The Orca desktop app collects anonymized usage metrics per the policy at https://www.onorca.dev/privacy. The mobile app itself does not. • Open source: every line is auditable at https://github.com/stablyai/orca. REQUIREMENTS • An iPhone (iOS 16+) on the same Wi-Fi as your desktop. • The Orca desktop app, free, from https://www.onorca.dev/ or https://github.com/stablyai/orca/releases.

Screenshots

Blink Shell, Build & Code4 screens
Orca IDE4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Orca IDE at 86% against Blink Shell, Build & Code's 37%. Orca IDE also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.1) and in-app purchases (none vs 5). Blink Shell, Build & Code's advantage is ratings volume (427 vs 76). On price, ads, chart position and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Blink Shell, Build & Code sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Orca IDE asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Orca IDE holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Blink Shell, Build & Code has 427 ratings behind it against 76, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 37% of Blink Shell, Build & Code's written reviews are positive against 86% of Orca IDE's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Blink Shell, Build & Code ships an update every 3 weeks, Orca IDE every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Blink Shell, Build & Code versus Orca IDE: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBlink Shell, Build & CodeOrca IDE
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.1 (427 ratings)4.7 (76 ratings) — better
Positive reviews37.0% of reviews86.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings427 — better76
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#14 — better#20
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size211 MB47 MB
Age rating17++4
DeveloperBlink Shell, IncLovecast LLC

Customer experience

Blink Shell, Build & Code

All ratings426 ratings
Positive51.6%
Neutral2.8%
Negative45.5%
Written reviews349 reviews
Positive37.0%
Neutral2.3%
Negative60.7%

Orca IDE

All ratings71 ratings
Positive91.5%
Neutral5.6%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews72 reviews
Positive86.1%
Neutral9.7%
Negative4.2%

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Blink Shell, Build & Code

Subscriptions4
  • Build Basic - 50 credits/month1 Month trial$7.991 Month
  • Blink+Build Basic7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Blink Plus$19.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Blink+14 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Blink Shell ClassicFree
None

Orca IDE

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Blink Shell, Build & Code free?
Blink Shell, Build & Code is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Orca IDE free?
Orca IDE is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Blink Shell, Build & Code or Orca IDE?
Orca IDE is rated higher. Blink Shell, Build & Code averages 3.1 out of 5 from 427 ratings, while Orca IDE averages 4.7 from 76 ratings.
Do Blink Shell, Build & Code or Orca IDE have ads?
Neither Blink Shell, Build & Code nor Orca IDE shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Blink Shell, Build & Code or Orca IDE?
Blink Shell, Build & Code ships an update every 3 weeks, and Orca IDE every 4 days. Most recently, Blink Shell, Build & Code was updated on November 11, 2026 and Orca IDE on November 9, 2026.
Which is more popular, Blink Shell, Build & Code or Orca IDE?
Blink Shell, Build & Code currently peaks at #14 in the App Store charts, and Orca IDE at #20. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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