MXterm Pro vs Orca
A side-by-side of two tools that overlap but start from different places. Facts come from each vendor's own pages, checked 2026-10-20.
| MXterm Pro made by us | Orca | |
|---|---|---|
| platforms | macOSWindowsLinux | macOSWindowsLinuxiOSAndroid |
| price | FreemiumFree plan, no account (unlimited terminal panes, up to 5 SSH servers, 1 Control Room with 2 agents). Pro: lifetime licence from $29 for 3 devices for the first 100 licences, then from $8.9/month (seen 2026-10-20 on mxterm.net). | FreeFree; site says 'Free and open source' (seen 2026-10-20). Enterprise page exists, pricing not checked. |
| source | Proprietary | Open source |
| SSH | ✓ yes | ✓ yes |
| SFTP | ✓ yes | ? not verified |
| Tabs | ✓ yes | ? not verified |
| Split panes | ✓ yes | ✓ yes |
| Port forwarding | ✓ yes | ✓ yes |
| Jump host | ? not verified | ? not verified |
| X11 | ? not verified | ? not verified |
| Serial | ? not verified | ? not verified |
| Telnet | ? not verified | ? not verified |
| Mosh | ? not verified | ? not verified |
| Cloud sync | ? not verified | ? not verified |
| Team sharing | ? not verified | ? not verified |
| Scripting / API | ? not verified | ✓ yes |
| AI agents | ✓ yes | ✓ yes |
| MCP | ? not verified | ? not verified |
| Phone control | ? not verified | ✓ yes |
| Mobile app | ✓ yes | ✓ yes |
| Multi-agent | ? not verified | ✓ yes |
| Git worktrees | ? not verified | ✓ yes |
+ Orca is stronger at
- MIT-licensed with source on GitHub and desktop builds for macOS, Windows and Linux
- Each task runs in its own git worktree; the site lists 27 supported agent CLIs plus any other CLI agent
- Remote work over SSH with auto-reconnect and port forwarding, plus a CLI agents can drive
- Mobile companion on iOS and Android for watching agent status and usage
+ MXterm Pro is stronger at
- Runs several AI coding agent CLIs side by side in a Control Room, optionally one git worktree per agent
- SSH hosts, an SFTP panel with an editor, and local terminal panes live in the same tabbed window
- Local-first: conversation records stay on your machine and provider keys sit in the OS keychain
- Free plan needs no account and has no pane limit
~/which to pick
- pick Orca if
- Developers who want a free, open-source, cross-platform app to run several coding agents side by side in separate worktrees.
- pick MXterm Pro if
- Developers who run AI coding agents and SSH sessions together and want one native window, plus phone access to those sessions.
- skip Orca if
- Users who want a plain terminal emulator or SSH client without agent and git-worktree workflow.
- skip MXterm Pro if
- Anyone who needs an X11 server, RDP/VNC, serial consoles or a hosted team vault today.