Comparison

Octopus vs Hermex

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

Head to head
About

Octopus

Features
Read full description

Octopus brings Codex to iPhone and iPad. Connect to your Mac, development server, or remote workspace and keep real coding threads moving from anywhere. It is not another closed cloud IDE. Octopus is a mobile control surface for the environment you already use: connect through Codex app-server or SSH, browse workspaces, projects, and recent sessions, return to active threads, and follow Thinking, Waiting, and Ready states in real time. When an agent needs a decision, resolve approvals with Allow, Allow for Session, or Deny. Use text, voice, images, and files to add context without returning to your desk. Review automation runs, start a task again, inspect history, and jump back from notifications or Live Activities when work changes state. Built for developers who want to: • Monitor AI coding agents from iPhone • Resume Codex threads away from the desk • Approve commands, permissions, and structured questions remotely • Keep Mac, server, workspace, and thread context organized • Dictate quick prompts, bug notes, and test results by voice Key features: • Codex app-server and SSH connections • Server, project, thread, and recent session management • Runtime status, notifications, and Live Activity deep links • Approval cards for command and permission decisions • Markdown messages, tool results, image input, and file context • Automation list, run-now actions, and run history • SSH host fingerprint confirmation and credentials stored in device Keychain • Octopus turns your phone into a second development screen, so you can stay close to the code even when you step away from the keyboard. Subscription Legal Links: • Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ • Privacy Policy: https://velocai.net/octopus/privacy/

About

Hermex

This client app connects to your self-hosted AI agent, allowing you to manage conversations, review file edits, and interact with bots and sessions. It offers customization options and live activity integration for seamless workflow management.

Highlights
  • Connects to self-hosted AI agents
  • Manage conversations and streamed responses
  • Review file edits as diffs
  • Switch between Bots and Sessions
  • Customize themes, colors, and fonts
  • Live Activities for Lock Screen visibility
  • Share extension for content staging
Features
Read full description

Hermex is a native iPhone and iPad client for your self-hosted Hermes agent. It connects directly to your Hermes host, including a Hermes Webapp. Existing Hermes Web UI servers keep working as legacy. Open existing sessions, start conversations, and follow streamed responses, tools, and reasoning as they arrive. Queue, steer, or stop an active run. Review file edits as diffs, browse workspace files, send photos and files, and dictate messages. Switch between Bots and Sessions, manage Kanban boards and Cards, browse Tasks, Skills, Memory, and Usage, and choose models, Profiles, and reasoning settings. Make Hermex yours with themes, an accent color, fonts, and text size. Move to Hermes brings a Web UI server’s chats, drafts, and notifications over to your Hermes host. Live Activities keep working runs visible on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island. Optional notifications let you know when work finishes or needs your attention. The share extension stages content from other apps for you to review and send. Agent execution happens on your configured server, not on the iPhone. Your server owns your conversations, tools, and workspace. Recent sessions and messages may be cached locally for read-only offline viewing; clear that cache from Settings. There is no Hermex-hosted agent backend, tracking, or analytics service. Optional push notifications use an open-source, self-hostable relay. Message previews are encrypted on your Hermes host and decrypted on your iPhone; the relay handles device tokens, notification metadata, and ciphertext, never message text, server URLs, or Hermes server credentials. Push is off until enabled. Hermex has no in-app account creation or in-app purchases. You need your own reachable Hermes server. Not affiliated with Nous Research.

Screenshots

Octopus4 screens
Hermex4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is chart position: Hermex at #47 against Octopus's unranked. Octopus's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 10 days). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Octopus ships an update every 5 days, Hermex every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
Octopus versus Hermex: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOctopusHermex
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.8 (222 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—85.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—222 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 10 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
Best chart rank—#47 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size67 MB86 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVelocAI LTDUzair Ansar

In-app purchases

None

Octopus

No in-app purchases

None

Hermex

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Octopus free?
Octopus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Hermex free?
Hermex is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Octopus or Hermex have ads?
Neither Octopus nor Hermex shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Octopus or Hermex?
Octopus ships an update every 5 days, and Hermex every 10 days. Most recently, Octopus was updated on November 9, 2026 and Hermex on November 13, 2026.

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