Comparison

Termius 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

Termius

A modern SSH client for seamless remote access across devices. Offers a desktop-grade terminal experience with advanced features like multi-tab support, custom themes, and AI-powered command suggestions. Securely manage connections with hardware keys and biometric authentication.

Highlights
  • One-tap connection
  • Desktop-grade terminal experience
  • Multi-tab and split-view support
  • Customizable themes and fonts
  • AI-powered command autocomplete
  • Hardware FIDO2 key authentication
  • Cloud vault for credentials
Features
Read full description

Termius is a modern SSH client designed for productivity and collaboration. Connect with one tap from desktop and mobile. No re-entering IP addresses, ports, and passwords. With a free Termius Starter plan, you can: · Connect from your mobile and desktop devices with SSH, SFTP, Mosh, Telnet, Port Forwarding, Serial and through Proxy and jump servers. · Get a desktop-grade terminal experience with a virtual keyboard covering all the special keys required, or connect your Bluetooth keyboard. · Use gestures or shake the device while in the terminal to emulate stroking of Tab, arrows, PgUp/Down, Home, and End, etc. · Work in several sessions simultaneously with a multi-tab interface and split-view support. · Customize your terminal themes and fonts for each connection. · Set custom environment variables. · Save your frequently used commands and shell scripts to execute them with one tap. · Execute your saved commands on multiple sessions or servers at once, or instantly get them autocompleted in the terminal. · Get smart autocomplete for commands, paths, and history, and turn plain-language descriptions into shell commands with AI. · Quickly access the global history of your terminal commands. · Authenticate using hardware FIDO2 keys. · Generate SSH keys in the Secure Enclave, confirm each connection with Face ID or Touch ID, and protect your account with two-factor authentication. · Ad-free. With the Termius Pro plan, you can also: · Access your connection settings and credentials from any device at any time with an encrypted cloud vault. · Sync your data across all your desktop and mobile devices. · Bookmark session logs with notes to your vault. · Integrate with AWS, DigitalOcean, and Azure. Termius reinvents the command-line experience. We strive to make remote access for admins and engineers more productive and enjoyable. Please review our privacy policy https://termius.com/privacy_policy.html and terms of use https://termius.com/terms_of_use.html

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

Termius4 screens
Orca IDE4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Orca IDE at none against Termius's 4. Orca IDE also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). Termius's advantage is ratings volume (20K vs 76) and chart position (#4 vs #20). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Termius sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $15.00 per month. Orca IDE asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Termius against 4.7 for Orca IDE. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Termius has 20K ratings behind it against 76, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 81% of Termius's written reviews are positive against 86% of Orca IDE's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Termius ships an update fortnightly, Orca IDE every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 12, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Termius versus Orca IDE: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTermiusOrca IDE
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (20K ratings) — better4.7 (76 ratings)
Positive reviews80.6% of reviews86.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings20K — better76
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
Best chart rank#4 — better#20
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size230 MB47 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperTermius CorporationLovecast LLC

Customer experience

Termius

All ratings19,682 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral1.7%
Negative5.0%
Written reviews2,530 reviews
Positive80.6%
Neutral4.5%
Negative14.8%

Orca IDE

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

Bugs and requests

Termius

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Syncing issues causing data loss
  • Keyboard and cursor issues on iPad
  • Freezing and unresponsiveness after background use

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add support for ProxyCommand
  • Improve keyboard handling and arrow key functionality
  • Implement iCloud sync instead of proprietary cloud
  • Provide a one-time purchase option for individual users

Orca IDE

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Termius

Subscriptions4
  • Termius Pro Monthly3 Days trial$15.001 Month
  • Termius Pro Monthly$15.001 Month
  • Termius Pro Annual14 Days trial$119.001 Year
Show 1 more
  • Termius Pro Annual$119.001 Year
None

Orca IDE

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Termius free?
Termius 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, Termius or Orca IDE?
Termius is rated higher. Termius averages 4.7 out of 5 from 20K ratings, while Orca IDE averages 4.7 from 76 ratings.
Do Termius or Orca IDE have ads?
Neither Termius nor Orca IDE shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Termius or Orca IDE?
Termius ships an update fortnightly, and Orca IDE every 4 days. Most recently, Termius was updated on November 12, 2026 and Orca IDE on November 9, 2026.
Which is more popular, Termius or Orca IDE?
Termius currently peaks at #4 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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