Agentastic vs Orca
Last updated
Orca and Agentastic both give every coding agent its own git worktree and wrap it with terminals, an editor, a browser, and review. Orca is a free, MIT-licensed Electron app for macOS, Windows, and Linux, with a Monaco editor, Chromium browser panes, SSH and self-hosted servers, and iOS and Android companions in beta. Agentastic is a native Swift app for macOS only, with Ghostty terminals, Docker or Apple container isolation, built-in cloud agents on your own accounts, and multi-vendor review passes.
Who should choose each option
Agentastic
Choose Agentastic if you work on a Mac and want a native app with Ghostty terminals, container isolation, multi-vendor review passes, and cloud agents built in.
Orca
Choose Orca if you need Windows or Linux, an MIT-licensed codebase, or an Android companion app.
Feature comparison
| Agentastic | Orca | |
|---|---|---|
| Form factor | Native macOS app (Swift) | Electron app (TypeScript) |
| Platforms | macOS 14+ (Apple Silicon and Intel) | macOS, Windows, Linux |
| Terminal | GPU-accelerated Ghostty | xterm.js with WebGL rendering |
| Supported agents | 55 built-in definitions plus any terminal agent | 41 listed in its docs, plus any CLI agent |
| Worktree per agent | Yes, with setup and teardown scripts | Yes, and you can fan one prompt out to five agents |
| Built-in editor | Yes, with LSP, search, and source control | Yes: Monaco, the editor from VS Code |
| Built-in browser | Agents drive it with the dev browser CLI; Design Mode; Share Live Preview | Chromium browser per worktree with Design Mode |
| Code review | Claude, Codex, CodeRabbit, or Greptile review passes; merge GitHub PRs in the app | Comment on diff lines for the agent; CI, conflicts, and PRs in the app |
| Issue intake | Linear, Sentry, Slack, and schedules start agent runs | GitHub, Linear, and Jira; scheduled automations from the CLI |
| Remote agents | Any SSH host | SSH worktrees and self-hosted Orca servers |
| Cloud agents | Free: Modal, Fly.io, or Vercel Sandbox on your own account | Experimental Cloud VM recipes on your own account (Vercel Sandbox, Fly, Modal) |
| Container isolation | Docker or Apple Container per task | Local Docker through an experimental recipe |
| Usage tracking | Quota meters and past usage across accounts | Claude and Codex usage, rate-limit resets, and Codex account hot-swap |
| Automation | The dev CLI | The orca CLI |
| Mobile | iPhone app in public beta on TestFlight (iOS 18+) | iOS app on the App Store and an Android APK, both in beta |
| License | Free, closed source | Open source (MIT) |
Pricing
Agentastic
Free. Cloud agents, remote SSH, Linear and Sentry intake, browser automation, review passes, and the iPhone beta are all in the free app. Bring your own agent subscriptions.
Orca
Free and open source under MIT. Bring your own agent subscriptions and cloud accounts; enterprise support is by contact.
Using them together
They cover the same layer, so most people pick one. Both run official agent CLIs on ordinary git branches, so switching later costs you nothing but muscle memory.
Frequently asked questions
Is Orca open source?
Yes. Orca is MIT-licensed on GitHub (stablyai/orca). Agentastic is free but closed source.
Does Orca run on Windows and Linux?
Yes. Orca ships for macOS, Windows, and Linux. Agentastic is Mac only (macOS 14 or later), but it can drive agents on Linux machines over SSH.
Native or Electron: what actually differs?
The shell around the agents. Agentastic is written in Swift and renders terminals with Ghostty. Orca is an Electron app with xterm.js terminals and the Monaco editor from VS Code, which is what lets it run on three operating systems.
Which one runs agents in the cloud?
Both use your own cloud account. Agentastic runs cloud agents on Modal, Fly.io, or Vercel Sandbox as a built-in feature. Orca's Cloud VM mode sits under its experimental settings: an agent writes a recipe for your repo, and Orca boots it per workspace.
Can I use the same agents in both?
Yes. Both run the official CLIs, such as Claude Code, Codex, and Gemini CLI, with your existing subscriptions. Orca's docs list 41 agents (supported agents) and Agentastic ships 55 built-in definitions; both accept any agent that runs in a terminal.
Does Orca have a mobile app?
Yes, a companion for iOS (App Store) and Android (APK), in beta, for watching agents, replying, and checking source control from your phone (mobile docs). Agentastic's iPhone app is a public TestFlight beta for iOS 18 or later; there is no Android version.
Further reading
- Orca alternatives — other agent workspaces for Mac, Windows, and Linux
- The worktree problems nobody warns you about — dependencies, ports, and env files across parallel checkouts
- Cloud agents documentation — how cloud agents run on your own account
- AI coding agent orchestration tools — the wider roundup this comparison sits inside
See also
Agentastic vs Paseo
Agentastic is a native Mac IDE with Ghostty terminals, containers, and review. Paseo is an Apache 2.0 agent da…
Agentastic vs Superset
Both run CLI coding agents in parallel git worktrees. Agentastic is native Swift and free for cloud, SSH, and …
Agentastic vs Nimbalyst
Nimbalyst is an open-source visual workspace for Claude Code and Codex. Agentastic is a native Mac IDE running…
Agentastic vs Conductor
Both run coding agents in parallel git worktrees on macOS. Agentastic is native Swift with any CLI agent and f…
Agentastic vs cmux
cmux is a free, open-source Ghostty-based terminal for coding agents. Agentastic is a native Mac IDE with work…