Orca IDE vs DualMac
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Orca IDE
Control your coding environment remotely from your phone. Mirror your desktop terminal, manage AI agent sessions, and interact with your code using a smart on-screen keyboard. All your data remains on your desktop, with secure, end-to-end encrypted local network connections.
- Live desktop terminal mirror
- AI agent session management
- Full keyboard input
- Multi-worktree support
- Phone-fit zoom and smart keyboard
- Background command execution
- End-to-end encrypted pairing
Read full descriptionHide 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.
DualMac
Access and control your Mac remotely from your iPad or iPhone. Connects directly to macOS Screen Sharing without needing extra software on your Mac. Offers features like clipboard sharing, hardware keyboard support, and multi-display switching.
- Direct VNC connection to macOS Screen Sharing
- No Mac companion app required for basic VNC
- Local network, Tailscale, or SSH tunnel connectivity
- Save and manage multiple Macs
- Full touch, pointer, keyboard, and Apple Pencil support
- Clipboard sharing and file transfer (with companion app)
- Multi-display switching and adaptive quality
Read full descriptionHide full description
DualMac is a VNC remote desktop for iPad and iPhone that shows and controls the Mac you own. No account needed. Nothing to install on the Mac • Connects straight to macOS Screen Sharing, the remote desktop built into every Mac. Standard VNC (RFB) with Mac authentication. No Companion needed for VNC. • Works on your local network, through your own Tailscale network when away, or over an SSH tunnel with keys. DualMac never exposes VNC to the public Internet and never routes your screen through a relay. • Ideal for a headless Mac mini, a studio Mac or a build machine you check from the couch. All your Macs, one library • Save every Mac you own and open any of them in one tap. • Touch and hold the app icon for your recent Macs, or open any Mac by name with Siri or Spotlight. • Observe or control, per session. Built for iPad • Direct touch, pointer, hardware keyboard, trackpad and Apple Pencil. • Mac shortcuts and Mission Control in one tap, configurable toolbar. • Multi-display switching, adaptive quality, on-device dictation. • Clipboard sharing, Face ID lock, hidden previews in the App Switcher. • Shortcuts, URL schemes, Stage Manager windows, optional iCloud sync of your library (off by default). On iPhone Duo • Open iPhone Duo and DualMac switches to its iPad layout, with your Mac on the inner display. • With iPhone Duo closed, DualMac keeps the iPhone layout on the outer display. Companion for more Install DualMac Companion on the Mac, available from dualmac.app, to add: • Enhanced H.264 streaming • File transfer with pause and resume, rich clipboard • Wake the Mac through your other Mac, privacy curtain, lock and sleep • Remote display selection Enhanced requires DualMac Companion plus Tailscale on both devices. Privacy DualMac has no account and no advertising, and the only service the developer runs is in-app support. Your Macs' names and addresses, screens, files and clipboard never reach the developer. Credentials stay in Keychain. Screen, clipboard and file traffic goes directly between your devices, never through a developer server. DualMac is not affiliated with or endorsed by Apple or Tailscale. Requirements • iPad with iPadOS 17.6 or later, or iPhone with iOS 17.6 or later, including iPhone Duo • A Mac you own or are authorized to control, with Screen Sharing enabled • For Enhanced: DualMac Companion, Tailscale on both devices, and the required macOS privacy permissions Enjoy every feature and unlimited use with DualMac Pro: a yearly subscription with a 7-day free trial, or a one-time purchase. Family Sharing included. Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Orca IDE at none against DualMac's 2. Orca IDE also leads on ratings volume (76 vs 15) and chart position (#18 vs #77). DualMac's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and review sentiment (100% vs 86%). 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
Both are free to download. DualMac sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Orca IDE asks for nothing beyond the download.
DualMac holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Orca IDE has 76 ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 86% of Orca IDE's written reviews are positive against 100% of DualMac's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Orca IDE | DualMac |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (76 ratings) | 5.0 (15 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 86.1% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 76 — better | 15 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days | Every 4 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #18 — better | #77 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 47 MB | 42 MB |
| Age rating | +4 | 4+ |
| Developer | Lovecast LLC | MARIUS LABS |
Customer experience
Orca IDE
DualMac
In-app purchases
Orca IDE
No in-app purchases
DualMac
- DualMac Pro7 Days trial$9.991 Year
- DualMac Pro Lifetime$24.99






