Comparison

PixelHQ 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

PixelHQ

Visualize your AI coding agent's activity in a retro pixel art office. See files read, terminal commands executed, and searches performed as animated characters on your device. Connects securely to a local bridge server for real-time insights into your coding sessions.

Highlights
  • Real-time pixel art visualization
  • AI coding agent activity
  • Retro office environment
  • Local network connection
  • Secure pairing
  • Demo mode
Features
Read full description

Watch your coding agents come to life. PixelHQ transforms your Claude Code sessions into a real-time pixel art office. Every file read, every terminal command, every search — animated as tiny characters working away at their desks in a retro startup office. It's the most fun way to see what your AI coding agent is actually doing. Connect PixelHQ to the lightweight bridge server running on your laptop, and your coding sessions instantly appear as live office activity. Characters read files at their desks, run to the terminal, huddle up for planning sessions, and head to the whiteboard when exploring your codebase. The busier your agent, the busier your office. How it works 1. Run the bridge server on your laptop (`npx pixelhq`). 2. Pair your iPhone with a one-time 6-digit code. 3. Start a Claude Code session and watch your office come alive. The bridge watches your Claude Code session files, extracts only the metadata needed for animations (like event type and tool category), and streams it to the app over your local Wi-Fi. Auto-discovery via Bonjour means no IP addresses to type in — just pair and go. Your code stays on your machine. Period. We take privacy seriously. Here's exactly what happens to your data: - The bridge strips everything sensitive before it ever reaches the app. No source code, no prompts, no AI responses, no file contents, no full file paths — none of it is transmitted. - File paths are reduced to just the filename (e.g. "auth.ts", never the full path). - All communication happens entirely over your local network. Nothing is sent to the cloud or to us. - Pairing is protected with a one-time passcode, and reconnection uses a secure token stored in your device's Keychain. - The only data that leaves your device is anonymous, aggregate usage analytics (app opened, session duration) through TelemetryDeck, a GDPR-compliant, privacy-first analytics provider that collects no personal identifiers. We built PixelHQ local-first by design, not as an afterthought. Your code is your business. Features - Real-time pixel art visualization of Claude Code activity - Automatic bridge discovery on your local network — no manual setup - Secure pairing with passcode protection - Multiple animation states driven by live coding events: file reads, writes, terminal commands, searches, planning, and more - Demo mode to preview the office without connecting to a live session Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://paper-swallow-130.notion.site/Privacy-Policy-2f7b6873ae248098b7ead558245be0bf

About

Orca IDE

This app mirrors your desktop terminal sessions, including AI agent interactions, directly to your iPhone. It provides full keyboard input and multi-terminal support for seamless remote coding management. All processing remains on your desktop, ensuring your data stays secure.

Highlights
  • Live desktop terminal mirror
  • AI agent session management
  • Full keyboard input
  • Multi-worktree, multi-terminal 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

PixelHQ3 screens
Orca IDE4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Orca IDE at 4.6 against PixelHQ's 4.0. Orca IDE also leads on ratings volume (41 vs 2) and chart position (#17 vs unranked). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Orca IDE holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Orca IDE has 41 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
PixelHQ versus Orca IDE: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPixelHQOrca IDE
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (2 ratings)4.6 (41 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—83.3% of reviews
Number of ratings241 — better
Update frequency—Every 3 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank—#17 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB42 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChun-Wei HsuLovecast LLC

Customer experience

PixelHQ

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%

Orca IDE

All ratings41 ratings
Positive87.8%
Neutral7.3%
Negative4.9%
Written reviews42 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral9.5%
Negative7.1%

In-app purchases

None

PixelHQ

No in-app purchases

None

Orca IDE

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PixelHQ free?
PixelHQ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Orca IDE free?
Orca IDE is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PixelHQ or Orca IDE?
Orca IDE is rated higher. PixelHQ averages 4.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Orca IDE averages 4.6 from 41 ratings.
Do PixelHQ or Orca IDE have ads?
Neither PixelHQ nor Orca IDE shows ads.

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