Comparison

Orca IDE vs Nodeterm

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

Head to head
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.

About

Nodeterm

Access your servers and persistent terminal sessions from your mobile device. Seamlessly connect via SSH or QR code pairing, and pick up your work exactly where you left off across different devices. Offers advanced features for Pro users, including voice dictation and file uploads.

Highlights
  • SSH and tmux support
  • QR code server pairing
  • Persistent session management
  • Hardware keyboard support
  • Voice dictation (Pro)
  • File and photo upload (Pro)
Features
Read full description

nodeterm puts your terminals in your pocket. Connect to any server over SSH, or pair your Mac in seconds with a QR code and reach it from anywhere. Your tmux sessions stay exactly where you left them — attach, detach, and pick up long-running work across devices. Built as the mobile companion to nodeterm on the desktop, it keeps you close to your workflow when you step away from your machine. FEATURES • SSH & tmux — attach to persistent sessions; nothing is lost when you disconnect • Pair your desktop with a QR code — no port forwarding, no VPN • Live agent status — see when Claude, Codex or Gemini are working or need you • A real terminal — hardware-keyboard support, gestures, and a fast native renderer • Projects & sessions — jump straight back into what you were doing • Voice dictation — speak prompts into your terminal (Pro) • File & photo upload — send files straight to your server (Pro) • Custom themes — make it yours (Pro) FREE & PRO Start free with 5 connections a month — reconnecting to the same server on the same day is always free. Go Pro for unlimited connections, remote relay access from anywhere, voice dictation, file upload and custom themes. SUBSCRIPTIONS nodeterm Pro is available as an auto-renewable subscription: • Pro Monthly — $9.99 per month • Pro Yearly — $79.99 per year A one-time Pro Lifetime purchase is also available. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple Account settings after purchase. Privacy Policy: https://nodeterm.dev/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Your terminal, everywhere.

Screenshots

Orca IDE4 screens
Nodeterm4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Orca IDE at none against Nodeterm's 3. Orca IDE also leads on chart position (#17 vs unranked) and device support (3 vs 1). Nodeterm's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 84%). On price, update cadence and ads 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. Nodeterm sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Orca IDE asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Orca IDE ships an update every 3 days, Nodeterm every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Orca IDE versus Nodeterm: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOrca IDENodeterm
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (38 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews83.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings38 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
Best chart rank#17 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB35 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLovecast LLCEnes Kirca

Customer experience

Orca IDE

All ratings38 ratings
Positive89.5%
Neutral7.9%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews37 reviews
Positive83.8%
Neutral10.8%
Negative5.4%

Nodeterm

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Orca IDE

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Nodeterm

Subscriptions2
  • nodeterm Pro — Monthly$9.991 Month
  • nodeterm Pro — Yearly$79.991 Year
One-time1
  • nodeterm Pro — Lifetime$299.00

Questions

Is Orca IDE free?
Orca IDE is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Nodeterm free?
Nodeterm is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Orca IDE or Nodeterm have ads?
Neither Orca IDE nor Nodeterm shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Orca IDE or Nodeterm?
Orca IDE ships an update every 3 days, and Nodeterm every 4 days. Most recently, Orca IDE was updated on October 15, 2026 and Nodeterm on October 11, 2026.

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