Comparison

Remote Pi vs Pi Companion

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

Head to head
About

Remote Pi

Control AI coding agents on your machines from your phone. Securely pair devices, monitor agent activity live, and approve tool calls remotely. Your phone acts as a trusted authenticator for your development environment.

Highlights
  • Remote control for AI coding agents
  • Secure device pairing via QR code
  • Live monitoring of agent sessions
  • Approve/reject tool calls
  • Seamless machine switching
  • Open source and self-hostable
Features
Read full description

Remote Pi turns your iPhone into the control surface for the AI coding agents running on every machine you work from. Pair your phone once by scanning a QR code on your Mac. From then on your devices form a mesh: the agents on your machines talk to each other, and your phone is the trusted key that authorizes new peers and lets you step in from anywhere. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Scan a QR code to pair with a machine in seconds • See every active agent session across all your paired machines in one list • Follow the conversation live as your agent streams its work • Approve or reject tool calls with a tap — you stay in control of what runs • Move between machines without losing context YOUR PHONE IS JUST THE AUTHENTICATOR You don't run the heavy work on your phone. The agents live on your computers; your phone holds the cryptographic identity that vouches for new devices and gives you a window into what's happening. Pairing uses Ed25519 device keys over TLS. WORKS WITH THE HARNESS YOU USE Remote Pi rides alongside the coding-agent setup you already run on your machines instead of replacing it. OPEN SOURCE & SELF-HOSTABLE Remote Pi is open source. Start with the public relay, or point the app at your own self-hosted relay so the connection between your devices runs on infrastructure you control. Built for developers who want their agents within reach — on the couch, on the move, or away from the desk.

About

Pi Companion

Features
Read full description

Pi Companion is an unofficial iOS companion app for the Pi coding agent (pi.dev) — browse your projects, read full chat history, and keep talking to your agents while away from your Mac. Start a task in your terminal, go for a walk, keep directing the agent from your phone, and come back to continue on the desktop — same session, no restarts. HOW IT WORKS A small open-source companion server runs on your Mac. It reads Pi's session files and drives Pi over its documented RPC protocol. The app connects directly to your Mac over your own network — no cloud, no accounts, no analytics. Use tools like Tailscale to reach your Mac from anywhere. FEATURES • Projects and workspaces: the folders you choose, grouped by git repo, with branches and live status • Full chat history: messages, thinking blocks, tool calls, and images • Send messages: continue any session from your phone; the terminal picks up exactly where you left off • New sessions and git worktrees, started from your phone • Model picker: Pi's full catalog across 15+ providers, switchable mid-session • Diffs: review each workspace's changes on your phone REQUIREMENTS A Mac running Pi (pi.dev), Bun, and the free companion server (link on the support page). This app is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Pi project.

Screenshots

Remote Pi4 screens
Pi Companion4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Remote Pi at 18.0 against Pi Companion's 26.0. 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.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Remote Pi versus Pi Companion: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRemote PiPi Companion
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (6 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings6 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 10 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJacob MouraMRL TECHNOLOGY LIMITED

In-app purchases

None

Remote Pi

No in-app purchases

None

Pi Companion

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Remote Pi free?
Remote Pi is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pi Companion free?
Pi Companion is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Remote Pi or Pi Companion have ads?
Neither Remote Pi nor Pi Companion shows ads.

Other comparisons