Comparison

Orca IDE vs CompilePilot

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

CompilePilot

Features
Read full description

CompilePilot lets you start and follow builds on your Mac from your iPhone or iPad. Choose a project, scheme, and destination, then put the build in motion without going back to your desk. Your Mac still does the work: compilation, signing, installation, and launch use the Xcode command-line tools you already have installed. CompilePilot displays the progress and complete output, but never downloads or runs executable code on your iPhone or iPad. Key features: - Direct local-network connection through the Companion or SSH. - Project, workspace, scheme, and configuration inventory. - Selection of available simulators and development devices. - Remote build and run with progress and a detailed log. - A free Mac Companion, with local-network discovery and six-digit pairing. - Live Simulator: watch and touch your Mac's simulator from your iPhone or iPad. - Coding-agent sessions on your Mac (Claude Code, Codex, opencode) that you read and type from your iPhone or iPad. Requires the Companion. - Siri and Shortcuts: ask how your build is going, run one again, or cancel it. A status widget, and an Apple Watch app with complications. Requires the Companion. - Tell your coding agent what to do next, from Siri or your watch, once it has finished its turn. Permission prompts are still answered on your iPhone. Requires the Companion. - Optional notifications when a build finishes or your agent is waiting, even away from home, encrypted on your Mac, and the running build on your Lock Screen. Requires the Companion. - Projects and agent sessions from all your Macs in one list. On iPad, the list and the details side by side. - A complete Demo Mode that works without a Mac or network connection. - Credentials stored in the device Keychain. There are no accounts, advertising analytics, tracking, or relay servers. Your iPhone or iPad communicates directly with your own Mac. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Orca IDE4 screens
CompilePilot4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Orca IDE at none against CompilePilot's 2. Orca IDE also leads on chart position (#16 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). 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. CompilePilot sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Orca IDE asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Orca IDE versus CompilePilot: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOrca IDECompilePilot
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (53 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews87.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings53 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysEvery 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
Best chart rank#16 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.1 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size43 MB37 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLovecast LLCCristian Gabriel Morales

In-app purchases

None

Orca IDE

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

CompilePilot

Subscriptions2
  • Full Access Monthly3 Days trial$0.991 Month
  • Full Access Yearly$5.991 Year

Questions

Is Orca IDE free?
Orca IDE is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CompilePilot free?
CompilePilot is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Orca IDE or CompilePilot have ads?
Neither Orca IDE nor CompilePilot shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Orca IDE or CompilePilot?
Orca IDE ships an update every 4 days, and CompilePilot every 4 days. Most recently, Orca IDE was updated on October 29, 2026 and CompilePilot on October 29, 2026.

Other comparisons