Comparison

Orca IDE vs Juneau

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

Head to head
About

Orca IDE

Control your desktop coding environment and AI agent sessions remotely from your iPhone. This app mirrors your terminal, allowing full keyboard input and seamless switching between projects. It ensures all your code and agents remain securely on your desktop.

Highlights
  • Live desktop terminal mirror
  • 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

Juneau

Manage code repositories, review plans, and submit GitHub pull requests directly from your iPhone. This app offers a native iOS workspace client for autonomous developer coding agents, ensuring secure connections and real-time task updates.

Highlights
  • Manage code repositories
  • Review implementation plans
  • Inspect git diffs
  • Submit GitHub pull requests
  • Zero-tracking direct connection
  • Real-time task session streaming
  • Interactive plan approvals
Features
Read full description

Juneau is your native iOS workspace client for autonomous developer coding agents. Designed for developers on the go, Juneau empowers you to manage code repositories, review implementation plans, inspect side-by-side git diffs, and submit GitHub pull requests directly from your iPhone. Key Features: - Zero-Tracking Direct Connection: Connect directly to your remote coding workspace using your developer personal access token. All credentials stay securely stored in your device's hardware-encrypted iOS Keychain. - Real-Time Task Session Streaming: Live streaming status updates and 'Juneau is thinking' animated liquid glass typing indicators. - Interactive Plan Approvals: Review, authorize, or adjust multi-step agent plans before code execution. - Visual Git Code Diffs & PRs: Inspect modified files and create pull requests with a single tap. - Native iOS Liquid Glass UI: Smooth gesture-based navigation, auto-hiding top/bottom bars, and dark mode support. Compatibility: Juneau is an independent developer client designed to connect to your remote workspace. An existing developer account with personal access token is required. Following Standard Apple Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Orca IDE4 screens
Juneau4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Orca IDE at none against Juneau's 3. Orca IDE also leads on ratings volume (58 vs 1) and chart position (#22 vs unranked). Juneau's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7). 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. Juneau sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Orca IDE asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Juneau holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Orca IDE has 58 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Orca IDE ships an update every 4 days, Juneau every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Orca IDE versus Juneau: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOrca IDEJuneau
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (58 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews84.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings58 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
Best chart rank#22 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better26.5
Further details — not scored
Size46 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLovecast LLCZhaonian Luan

Customer experience

Orca IDE

All ratings58 ratings
Positive91.4%
Neutral6.9%
Negative1.7%
Written reviews59 reviews
Positive84.7%
Neutral10.2%
Negative5.1%

Juneau

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Orca IDE

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Juneau

Subscriptions2
  • Juneau Unlimited Monthly3 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Juneau Unlimited Annual3 Days trial$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Juneau Unlimited Lifetime$79.99

Questions

Is Orca IDE free?
Orca IDE is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Juneau free?
Juneau is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Orca IDE or Juneau?
Juneau is rated higher. Orca IDE averages 4.7 out of 5 from 58 ratings, while Juneau averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Orca IDE or Juneau have ads?
Neither Orca IDE nor Juneau shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Orca IDE or Juneau?
Orca IDE ships an update every 4 days, and Juneau every 3 days. Most recently, Orca IDE was updated on October 31, 2026 and Juneau on October 26, 2026.

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