Comparison

Mirage vs CARAPACE

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

Head to head
About

Mirage

Stream your Mac's desktop or individual app windows to your other devices with minimal delay. Offers features like Apple Pencil support and encrypted media, with advanced options available through a Pro subscription.

Highlights
  • Stream individual app windows
  • Full desktop streaming
  • Apple Pencil support
  • Encrypted media streaming
  • Ultra-low latency
  • iCloud host sync
Features
Read full description

Bring Mac apps to iPhone and iPad with Mirage. APP STREAMING Open individual Mac apps without bringing over the entire desktop. On iPad, each stream can open in its own window, so Mac apps can sit alongside iPad apps with Stage Manager. Mirage Pro supports up to eight app streams at once. Use touch, Apple Pencil, Magic Keyboard, a trackpad, or a mouse. Keyboard shortcuts, scrolling, audio, and clipboard sharing keep the experience familiar. UNIFIED STREAMING When you need the complete Mac, open its desktop as one unified stream. Work with the Mac’s existing display, use a headless Mac, or add a secondary display when needed. FAST, DIRECT CONNECTIONS Connect nearby over Wi-Fi or USB-C. Mirage Pro can also reach saved Macs through an address or VPN you control. Streams connect directly between your devices and are never relayed through Mirage servers. Mirage supports Retina quality, dynamic ProMotion frame rates, stereo, lossless and 5.1 audio, and encrypted media where available. REQUIRES A MAC Install the free Mirage Beacon companion on the Mac you want to stream from. Same-network streaming is free; Mirage Pro unlocks multiple app streams, saved Macs, remote connections, Retina streaming, premium audio, and more. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

CARAPACE

Transform your iPhone into a private control surface for your OpenClaw or Hermes Agent. Connect to your Mac gateway to chat, speak, see, and manage projects and tasks remotely from anywhere on your secure network.

Highlights
  • Private control surface for agents
  • Chat with personal agent
  • Voice and camera context sharing
  • Project and agent management
  • Run long tasks remotely
  • Secure network access
Features
Read full description

You already run coding agents on your Mac, your server, your VPS. CARAPACE puts all of them in your pocket, not as another chat app, but as a command surface: your agents stand in line, speak their results out loud, and wait for your word. TALK TO YOUR MACHINES AND LET THEM SEE WHAT YOU SEE! Vision mode intelligently uses built in Apple sensor and AI systems to feed to your agents Voice-first: speak a task, hear the reply, answer hands-free. The mic reopens when it's your turn Auto mode: every lane that finishes work gets its turn to report, like holding court Works from the lock screen and over your music. Replies duck in, music comes back Live captions of what's being spoken, right on the lock-screen card EVERY AGENT, EVERY MACHINE, ONE APP Pair unlimited machines: home Mac, office box, cloud VPS Works with the agent tools you already use: Claude Code, Codex CLI, OpenClaw, and your own custom runtimes Switch machines and lanes instantly; see who's working, who's ready, who's idle Full chat with photos and history when you'd rather type than talk YOURS, ACTUALLY CARAPACE doesn't sit between you and your AI. Your agents run on hardware you control, with your own accounts and keys. The app pairs directly with a small gateway on your machine. One line pasted into your agent sets it up, and a QR code pairs your phone. No middleman servers, no traffic through us. Setup takes about five minutes: carapace.info/setup Requires at least one machine running a supported agent CLI with your own account. CARAPACE Pro subscription: $4.99/month or $39.99/year after a 7-day free trial; auto-renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends; manage in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://carapace.info/privacy/

Screenshots

Mirage4 screens
CARAPACE2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: CARAPACE at 4.5 against Mirage's 3.8. CARAPACE also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 75%) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Mirage's advantage is ratings volume (8 vs 2) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Mirage sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and CARAPACE sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

CARAPACE holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 2 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of Mirage's written reviews are positive against 100% of CARAPACE's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mirage ships an update every 6 days, CARAPACE weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Mirage versus CARAPACE: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMirageCARAPACE
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (8 ratings)4.5 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings8 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size83 MB20 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperFaux Fox, Inc.Michael Paepke Applications

Customer experience

Mirage

All ratings7 ratings
Positive71.4%
Neutral14.3%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral12.5%
Negative12.5%

CARAPACE

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Mirage

Subscriptions2
  • Mirage Pro Monthly7 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • Mirage Pro Yearly7 Days trial$59.001 Year
One-time1
  • Mirage Pro Lifetime$199.00
8 purchases

CARAPACE

Subscriptions2
  • Carapace Pro Monthly Subscription7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Carapace Pro Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$39.991 Year
One-time6
  • Household to Power$2.99
  • Household — 5 gateways$4.99
  • Power — 10 gateways$7.99
Show 3 more
  • Power to Corporate Upgrade$16.99
  • Household to Corporate$19.99
  • Corporate — 50 gateways$24.99

Questions

Is Mirage free?
Mirage is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CARAPACE free?
CARAPACE is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Mirage or CARAPACE?
CARAPACE is rated higher. Mirage averages 3.8 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while CARAPACE averages 4.5 from 2 ratings.
Do Mirage or CARAPACE have ads?
Neither Mirage nor CARAPACE shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mirage or CARAPACE?
Mirage ships an update every 6 days, and CARAPACE weekly. Most recently, Mirage was updated on November 5, 2026 and CARAPACE on October 31, 2026.

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