Codex Live Bar vs Pi Companion
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
Codex Live Bar
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Keep Codex limits visible while you work. Codex Live Bar shows session, weekly, and model-specific usage in a focused Live Activity on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island. Create two private Shortcuts automations and the Live Activity can appear when ChatGPT opens and disappear when it closes. Refresh from the app, Shortcuts, or the Live Activity itself. Everything runs on your device. Authentication tokens stay in the iOS Keychain, usage is fetched directly from OpenAI, and there are no analytics, ads, tracking, accounts, or developer servers. Codex Live Bar is an independent client and is not affiliated with or endorsed by OpenAI. The app relies on an undocumented OpenAI endpoint that may change.
Pi Companion
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Pi Companion is an unofficial iOS companion app for the Pi coding agent (pi.dev) โ 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 โ 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 โ no cloud, no accounts, no analytics. Use tools like Tailscale to reach your Mac from anywhere. FEATURES โข Projects and workspaces: the folders you choose, grouped by git repo, with branches and live status โข Full chat history: messages, thinking blocks, tool calls, and images โข Send messages: continue any session from your phone; the terminal picks up exactly where you left off โข New sessions and git worktrees, started from your phone โข Model picker: Pi's full catalog across 15+ providers, switchable mid-session โข 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
Verdict
Codex Live Bar and Pi Companion are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters โ price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them โ neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | Codex Live Bar | Pi Companion |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad โ better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 26.0 |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bohdan Podvirnyi | MRL TECHNOLOGY LIMITED |
In-app purchases
Codex Live Bar
No in-app purchases
Pi Companion
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Codex Live Bar free?
Is Pi Companion free?
Do Codex Live Bar or Pi Companion have ads?
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