Comparison

Sidecar ML vs Codetether

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

Head to head
About

Sidecar ML

Features
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Turn your iPhone into a private, on-device AI server for your whole network. Sidecar ML runs a lightweight HTTP server on your iPhone that exposes Apple's built-in machine-learning models to any device on your local network. Tap Start Server, scan the QR code, and your Mac, PC, Raspberry Pi, or browser can call powerful on-device AI over plain REST — no cloud, no accounts, no API keys, no usage fees, and no data leaving your network. Everything runs on the phone. Nothing is uploaded to a server and there's nothing to pay for. (The one exception, music recognition, matches against Apple's catalog and tells you so up front.) ONE IPHONE, A DOZEN AI CAPABILITIES • Chat with the on-device large language model through a chat-completions endpoint that's compatible with the popular OpenAI API format — streaming, JSON mode, and structured output included. Point existing tools and SDKs at your phone and they just work. • Generate images from a text prompt in a choice of art styles. • OCR — pull text out of photos, receipts, and screenshots with per-line boxes and multi-language support. • Read barcodes and QR codes (EAN, Code128, and more). • Classify images across roughly a thousand categories, or produce image embeddings for similarity search. • Remove backgrounds and isolate subjects or people as clean PNG cut-outs. • Detect faces and facial landmarks, body pose, and hand pose. • Scan documents with automatic edge detection and perspective correction. • Convert speech to text and text to speech, with a wide range of voices (including Personal Voice). • Translate text between languages completely offline. • Analyse text: language, sentiment, named entities, tokens, and embeddings. • Classify sounds across hundreds of categories, or identify the music that's playing. BUILT FOR DEVELOPERS AND MAKERS • Clean REST + Server-Sent Events API — call it from curl, Python, JavaScript, or any HTTP client. • Chat endpoint compatible with the OpenAI format, so many existing tools and SDKs work unchanged. • Automatic discovery on your network via Bonjour. • Honest capability reporting: ask the server what it can do and it tells you exactly what's available on your device, and why. • Optional bearer-token authentication to lock the server down on shared networks. FREE WEB CONSOLE AND CODE EXAMPLES A ready-to-use web console — plus Python examples, a command-line client, and full API documentation — is free and open-source. Download the single-file console and browse the source here: https://github.com/AndersFB/Sidecar-ML-Console/ Open the console in any browser, enter your phone's address, and try every capability with a friendly UI — nothing to install. GOOD TO KNOW • The on-device large language model and image generation require an Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone. The other capabilities run on a much wider range of devices. • The server runs while the app is in the foreground; a keep-awake option helps during longer sessions. • Some features (offline translation language pairs and certain speech models) download their models on first use. Turn the iPhone in your pocket into a private AI endpoint for your projects, your home lab, and your prototypes — Sidecar ML.

About

Codetether

Control your AI coding agent from your phone. Monitor live sessions, approve permissions, review code changes, and send instructions remotely. Your code remains secure on your machine.

Highlights
  • Follow AI coding sessions live
  • Approve/reject tool permissions
  • Answer agent's questions
  • Review code diffs
  • Browse project files
  • Compose with commands and attachments
  • Connect to multiple servers
Features
Read full description

Codetether puts the opencode AI coding agent in your pocket. Run opencode on your computer, then follow the work from your phone: watch replies stream in, approve permissions, review diffs and send the next instruction from anywhere. Your code never leaves your machine. The app connects to your own opencode server — over your local network, Tailscale or an end-to-end encrypted relay — and no account is needed. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Follow sessions live: streaming replies, reasoning and tool calls • Approve or reject permissions from your phone, the lock screen or Apple Watch • Answer the agent's questions without leaving the app • Review every diff the agent produced, file by file, and revert changes • See what each session costs: usage by day, project and model • Live Activities and the Dynamic Island show every session at a glance • Browse and read your project files • Compose with @ files, / commands, ! shell and photo attachments • Keep several servers (LAN, Tailscale, relay) with automatic reconnect • Available in 33 languages SETUP On your computer, run: npx ocremote --pair A QR appears; scan it once and you are connected. Keep the terminal running while you work. No computer at hand? Tap “Try the demo” to explore the app with sample data — nothing is sent anywhere. opencode is an open source AI coding agent by its authors; this app is an independent client for it.

Screenshots

Sidecar ML4 screens
Codetether4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Sidecar ML at none against Codetether's 1. Codetether's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs monthly) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, 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. Codetether sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Sidecar ML asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sidecar ML ships an update monthly, Codetether every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Sidecar ML versus Codetether: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSidecar MLCodetether
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAnders Fog BunzelRaul Alonso Pardo

In-app purchases

None

Sidecar ML

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Codetether

One-time1
  • Unlock opencode remote$9.99

Questions

Is Sidecar ML free?
Sidecar ML is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Codetether free?
Codetether is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Sidecar ML or Codetether have ads?
Neither Sidecar ML nor Codetether shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sidecar ML or Codetether?
Sidecar ML ships an update monthly, and Codetether every 2 weeks. Most recently, Sidecar ML was updated on October 29, 2026 and Codetether on October 31, 2026.

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