Comparison

OpenLens vs GLab

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

Head to head
About

OpenLens

This application allows you to remotely control and monitor AI coding sessions from your iPhone. Continue your work seamlessly from your mobile device, manage sessions, and receive real-time updates.

Highlights
  • Remote AI coding session control
  • Real-time chat with streaming responses
  • Session management (create, delete)
  • Switch AI providers and models
  • Live progress on Lock Screen/Dynamic Island
  • Bonjour/mDNS server discovery
  • Save multiple server connections
Features
Read full description

OpenLens is a fast, focused iPhone client for OpenCode. Run OpenCode on your computer, then continue the same AI coding session from your phone. Use OpenLens to monitor progress, reply quickly, and stay in control when you are away from your desk. What you can do with OpenLens: - Connect instantly to nearby OpenCode servers with Bonjour/mDNS discovery - Save multiple server connections and reconnect automatically - Chat in real time with streaming responses - View and manage sessions, including creating and deleting sessions - Switch AI providers and models directly from the app - Review agent activity steps while work is in progress - Respond to permission prompts and interactive questions from the server - See live progress on your Lock Screen and Dynamic Island with Live Activities Built for real workflows: - One session across terminal, web, and iPhone - Reliable reconnect behavior when network conditions change - Optional password-protected server access

About

GLab

A native mobile client for managing GitLab projects, including merge requests, issues, CI/CD pipelines, and repositories. Offers offline access to cached data and supports multiple GitLab instances.

Highlights
  • Full merge request viewer with syntax highlighting
  • Line-level commenting and suggestions
  • CI/CD pipeline monitoring and management
  • Repository file browsing and editing
  • Unified todo inbox and activity feed
  • Offline access to cached data
  • Multi-instance support
Features
Read full description

Review, approve and merge from your phone — on gitlab.com or your company's self-hosted GitLab. GLab is a fast, native iPhone client for developers who ship on the go. You assemble the Home screen yourself, so it shows only the work waiting on you. Works with gitlab.com and any self-hosted GitLab (CE or EE, 14.x+). Connect multiple instances and switch in one tap. — WHAT YOU CAN DO — A Home screen you assemble • Up to eight modules: review requests, your MRs, issues, todos, failed, active and recent pipelines, recent projects • Every section renders as a list or a carousel; content, order and density are yours to set • Developer, Reviewer and Lead / DevOps presets rebuild Home in one tap • A status line: signals awaiting you, offline and unsent state • Swipe actions right in the lists: approve, merge, close an issue, retry or cancel a pipeline, snooze for a day Merge Requests • Full diff viewer with syntax highlighting and word-level changes • Comment on lines; threaded discussions — reply, resolve, edit • Apply suggestions from a review straight into the code • Create MRs; edit title, description, labels, assignees, milestone • Approve, unapprove, merge, rebase, close, reopen Issues • Create, comment, close, reopen, lock • Edit title, description, labels, assignees, milestones, due dates • Emoji reactions, subscribe, search across all projects CI/CD Pipelines • Active builds across all your projects right on the Home screen • Live status with stages, jobs and duration in the list • Run a pipeline on any branch; retry, cancel, play manual jobs • Raw build logs refreshing live; environments, deployments and runners Repository • Browse the file tree, view blobs with highlighting, line history (blame) • Create/delete files; branches and tags, compare diffs, commit history • Wiki, Snippets and Releases — browse and edit; README rendering Todos, groups and Ops • Unified todo inbox by project and action; mark-all-done and swipe actions • Activity feed, GitLab status, group list drilling into projects • CI/CD variables, schedules, runners, environments, registry (Maintainer+) • Project members — add, change access level, remove — FAST AND OFFLINE — Merge requests and issues are ready on Home from cache, even offline. Pipelines and job logs update live, then pause in the background to save battery. — MULTI-INSTANCE BY DESIGN — Every project, MR, issue and pipeline is scoped to its GitLab instance — gitlab.com never mixes with self-hosted, even with matching issue numbers. Custom domains, server version detection, fallbacks for missing endpoints. — PRIVACY AND SECURITY — • Personal Access Token and OAuth 2.0 PKCE sign-in • Tokens stored only in the Keychain, on this device • Tokens, emails, URLs and response bodies are never logged or sent to analytics • Anonymous analytics/crash reports — no personal data, no ad IDs • Privacy policy: https://gitlab.com/appstore-demo/glab/-/blob/main/PRIVACY.md — FREE AND PRO — GLab is free for read-only browsing of unlimited projects. Optional Pro subscription (auto-renewing, 3/6/12 months) unlocks: • Multiple connected GitLab accounts • Create issues and MRs; comment on diff lines, apply suggestions, edit, react • Repository editing — files, branches, tags • Approve/merge MRs; run, retry, cancel pipelines; manage CI/CD variables Charged to your Apple ID; auto-renews unless cancelled 24h before period end. — NATIVE ON iPhone — iOS 18 and later. 100% SwiftUI, Dynamic Type, VoiceOver, light and dark themes. Widgets (Home Screen, Lock Screen, StandBy) show your MRs, todos and pipelines at a glance. Siri Shortcuts open a project hands-free. Apple Watch mirrors your review queue, todos and pipelines. Download GLab — your next review is one tap away. GLab is an independent app, not affiliated with, endorsed, sponsored or approved by GitLab Inc. GitLab is a trademark of GitLab Inc. EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Support: emvakar@gmail.com

Screenshots

OpenLens4 screens
GLab4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: OpenLens at none against GLab's 3. GLab's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 83%) and chart position (#46 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, ads 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. GLab sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 3 months. OpenLens asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

OpenLens ships an update every 5 days, GLab every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
OpenLens versus GLab: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOpenLensGLab
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews83.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 8 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
Best chart rank—#46 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS26.018.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMartyn PekalaEmil Karimov

Customer experience

OpenLens

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral16.7%
Negative0.0%

GLab

Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

OpenLens

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

GLab

Subscriptions3
  • GLab Pro — 3 months7 Days trial$6.993 Months
  • GLab Pro — 6 months7 Days trial$12.996 Months
  • GLab Pro — 1 year3 Days trial$19.991 Year

Questions

Is OpenLens free?
OpenLens is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is GLab free?
GLab is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do OpenLens or GLab have ads?
Neither OpenLens nor GLab shows ads.
Which is updated more often, OpenLens or GLab?
OpenLens ships an update every 5 days, and GLab every 8 days. Most recently, OpenLens was updated on September 24, 2026 and GLab on September 23, 2026.

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