Comparison

ServerCC vs Cortex Relay

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

Head to head
About

ServerCC

Access and manage your coding environment remotely on your mobile device. Enjoy a desktop-like experience for running code, managing sessions, and viewing results in real-time. Persistent connections ensure your tasks continue even when the app is closed.

Highlights
  • Desktop-like UI and interaction
  • Persistent session management
  • Tmux-based background execution
  • Real-time VNC remote desktop viewing
  • Workspace file browsing and management
  • Parallel code execution
Features
Read full description

ServerCC lets you run real Claude Code or Codex on your phone via SSH, with the same experience as on desktop. Persistent connections keep your tasks running even after you close the app, and you can resume them anytime. Built for mobile, with smoother text input and interaction than terminal apps. While tasks are running, you can view your coding results in real time via VNC. No server yet? Claim a free sandbox trial right in the app — a temporary cloud Linux server with Claude Code, Codex, and Pi preinstalled and a sample project ready — and try the full workflow before adding your own server. Key Features: - The same UI and interactions as desktop Claude Code and Codex — not a chat wrapper - Multi-agent support: run Grok Build, OpenCode, Kimi Code, Pi, and OMP alongside Claude Code and Codex - Claude Code/Codex session management (start, auto-reconnect, and resume) - Tmux-based persistent sessions that keep Claude Code/Codex running even after closing the app — or attach directly to Tmux sessions already running on your host - herdr integration: servers running herdr show their spaces in the app — attach to running agent sessions, start new agents inside herdr, or adopt a space as a workspace - Claude Code bg sessions: launch agents in bg mode, close the app, attach from anywhere later — they keep working on your server - Workspace worktree support for developing multiple features simultaneously, with parallel Claude Code/Codex execution - VNC Remote Desktop: view your coding results in real time while Claude Code/Codex works — connect to macOS Screen Sharing or any VNC server - Ports: open web apps running on your dev server straight from your phone - Workspace file browsing and upload, plus management of global and workspace-level Skills and MCP Privacy Policy: https://servercc.app/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ ServerCC is an independent app for running AI coding agents (Claude Code, Codex, Grok Build, OpenCode, Kimi Code, Pi, OMP) over SSH. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the vendors of these products. All product names are trademarks of their respective owners.

About

Cortex Relay

Access powerful AI agents like Claude Code from your iPhone via a chat interface or a full SSH terminal. Features include on-device voice input, persistent sessions, and secure credential management. Customize your terminal experience with various themes and font sizes.

Highlights
  • AI agent chat interface
  • Full SSH terminal access
  • On-device voice input
  • Persistent tmux sessions
  • Secure SSH key management
  • Customizable terminal themes
Read full description

Run Claude Code (or Codex and any other AI agent) from your iPhone. Cortex Relay gives you two ways to work with Claude Code on a remote machine — a friendly chat UI and a full-blown SSH terminal. Pick the right tool for the moment. THE CHAT Speak or type a prompt. Claude Code runs on your server, and the response streams back as a clean conversation with tool activity, cost breakdowns, and one-tap shortcuts for common tasks like committing, reviewing branches, or checking status. Upload photos from your camera roll and Claude can see them too. THE TERMINAL A real SSH terminal session. Cortex Relay renders the full CLI experience — interactive permission prompts, slash commands, MCP integrations, vim, git, whatever you need. Seven color themes from Nord to Dracula, pinch to resize, and a shortcut bar for /compact, /clear, /model, /status, and /cost. VOICE INPUT On-device speech recognition powered by OpenAI's Whisper. Pick a model size (tiny, base, small) and language (English or multilingual). Runs entirely on your phone — no server round-trip, works offline. Apple's built-in speech engine is available by default too. SESSIONS THAT SURVIVE Every terminal session runs inside tmux. Background the app, lose WiFi, switch to a call — your session keeps running on the server. Come back and everything is exactly where you left off. No reconnect dance. NOTIFICATIONS Get a push when Claude finishes a long task or needs your approval. The chat sends these automatically. For terminal sessions, drop a one-line webhook into your project's CLAUDE.md and Claude does the rest. SECURE BY DEFAULT Generate ed25519 SSH keys directly in the app or import your existing ones. Keys live in the iOS Keychain, optionally locked behind Face ID or Touch ID. Password auth is supported too, with the same biometric protection. Your credentials never leave the device. ORGANIZED Create named servers with saved directories. Spin up Chat or Terminal connections to any project on any machine. Each connection remembers its own dictation preferences. One server, many projects, zero re-entering credentials. YOUR TERMINAL, YOUR WAY Navy, Homebrew, Nord, Dracula, Solarized Dark, One Dark, Pure Black — pick a theme, see it applied instantly. Pinch to zoom the font size. It sticks between sessions. WHAT STAYS ON YOUR PHONE - SSH keys and passwords in iOS Keychain with biometric lock - Whisper speech recognition runs on-device only - No credentials sent to our servers - Push relay handles notification delivery — nothing else

Screenshots

ServerCC4 screens
Cortex Relay4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: ServerCC at 4.6 against Cortex Relay's 4.0. ServerCC also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (5 vs 1). Cortex Relay's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and review sentiment (100% vs 83%). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. ServerCC sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Cortex Relay asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ServerCC holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ServerCC has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 83% of ServerCC's written reviews are positive against 100% of Cortex Relay's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ServerCC ships an update weekly, Cortex Relay every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
ServerCC versus Cortex Relay: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterServerCCCortex Relay
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (5 ratings) — better4.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews83.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5 — better1
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.117.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size57 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer佳琳 刘Maksim Mikheev

Customer experience

ServerCC

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral16.7%
Negative0.0%

Cortex Relay

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

ServerCC

One-time1
  • Pro Lifetime$14.99
None

Cortex Relay

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ServerCC free?
ServerCC is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cortex Relay free?
Cortex Relay is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ServerCC or Cortex Relay?
ServerCC is rated higher. ServerCC averages 4.6 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Cortex Relay averages 4.0 from 1 ratings.
Do ServerCC or Cortex Relay have ads?
Neither ServerCC nor Cortex Relay shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ServerCC or Cortex Relay?
ServerCC ships an update weekly, and Cortex Relay every 2 months. Most recently, ServerCC was updated on October 17, 2026 and Cortex Relay on October 5, 2026.

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