Orca vs Conductor
A side-by-side of two tools in the same category. Facts come from each vendor's own pages, checked 2026-10-21.
| Orca | Conductor | |
|---|---|---|
| platforms | macOSWindowsLinuxiOSAndroid | macOSiOS |
| price | FreeFree; site says 'Free and open source' (seen 2026-10-20). Enterprise page exists, pricing not checked. | FreemiumFree $0; Pro $50/mo billed per person; Teams $60/mo per user (FAQ says billed per company); Enterprise custom (seen 2026-10-20). Cloud workspaces currently no extra fee; usage-based cloud pricing planned. |
| source | Open source | Proprietary |
| AI agents | ✓ yes | ✓ yes |
| Multi-agent | ✓ yes | ✓ yes |
| Git worktrees | ✓ yes | ✓ yes |
| MCP | ? not verified | ✓ yes |
| Phone control | ✓ yes | ✓ yes |
| Mobile app | ✓ yes | ✓ yes |
| SSH | ✓ yes | ? not verified |
| SFTP | ? not verified | ? not verified |
| Tabs | ✓ yes | ✓ yes |
| Split panes | ✓ yes | ? not verified |
| Cloud sync | ? not verified | ✓ yes |
| Team sharing | ? not verified | ✓ yes |
Conductor is stronger at
- Docs state each workspace is its own git worktree, with setup/run scripts, diff viewer and PR linkage on top
- Optional Conductor Cloud sandboxes shared across an organization, reachable via SSH or file sync
- Beta HTTP API and documented MCP server for managing cloud workspaces
- Free tier with local workspaces and bring-your-own subscriptions and keys
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
which to pick
- pick Conductor if
- Mac developers who want a polished manager for several parallel coding agents with review and merge flow, optionally with shared cloud workspaces.
- pick Orca if
- Developers who want a free, open-source, cross-platform app to run several coding agents side by side in separate worktrees.
- skip Conductor if
- Windows or Linux users, or anyone who requires an open-source tool.
- skip Orca if
- Users who want a plain terminal emulator or SSH client without agent and git-worktree workflow.