I build Morphy, so read this with that in mind. Orca is one of the best free tools for running coding agents in parallel, it's open source, and it ships a new version almost every day. For a lot of developers it's the better pick. Here's where, and where it isn't.
What are they?
Orca (sometimes called Orca IDE) is a free, open-source desktop app for Windows, Mac and Linux by Stably AI, a Y Combinator company, with about 113,000 stars on GitHub. Its idea is the worktree: you fan a task out to several agents, each in its own git worktree, and compare and merge the results. Agents run in Orca's own fast terminals, with splits, next to a VS Code-style editor, a Chromium browser and a review pane. Its README names more than 30 command-line agents (Claude Code, Codex, Grok, Cursor, Copilot, OpenCode, Hermes Agent, Goose, Cline and more), "+ any CLI agent".
Morphy is a desktop app for Windows, Mac and Linux with a canvas: every chat is an agent, and you can put as many of them as you like next to each other, on Claude, Codex, Copilot, Antigravity, Grok, OpenCode, Hermes Agent, Junie, OpenRouter, Ollama or (on Pro) any OpenAI-compatible API. Each project is a group on the canvas with its own folder and terminals, focus views tile the agents you're working with, and Morphy's own assistant can start and check on the others for you.
How do they compare?
| Orca | Morphy | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on | Windows, macOS, Linux, plus iOS and Android companion apps | Windows 10/11, macOS 11+, Linux |
| Agents | Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, Cursor, Copilot, OpenCode, Amp, Grok, Antigravity, Pi and any other CLI agent | Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, Antigravity (Gemini), Grok, OpenCode, Hermes Agent, Junie, OpenRouter, Ollama, and (on Pro) any OpenAI-compatible API or your own ACP agent |
| Keeps agents apart | A git worktree per task | Optional: a chat can work in its own copy (a git worktree on its own branch); otherwise chats in a project share its folder |
| Price | Free | Free plan (3 agents at a time, 2 projects, 3 cards); Pro by the month or year, at a price you keep; you use your own AI plans |
| Open source | Yes (MIT) | No |
| Best for | The closest free, open-source match for Conductor on Windows | Seeing many agents, on any AI, at once |
And feature by feature:
| Orca | Morphy | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free plan (3 agents at a time, 2 projects, 3 cards); Pro by the month or year, at a price you keep |
| Open source | Yes (MIT) | No |
| How an agent looks | Its own command-line app, in a terminal | A chat: its steps fold into lines you can open (and it can switch to its agent's own terminal screen) |
| A separate copy of the project per agent | Yes, every task, with .worktreeinclude for your .env | Optional, per chat: Its own copy, a git worktree on its own branch, .env files included |
| Diff, line comments, commit, push, pull request | Yes, in the app, with checks | For a chat in its own copy: its changed files and the diff, then bring them into your folder or commit them to its branch; no line comments or pull requests |
| GitHub and Linear | Pull requests, issues and boards in the app | No |
| Agents on another machine | Yes, over SSH | No |
| Move work to another AI | Hand work off to another agent through the Orca CLI | The same chat switches AI and brings its conversation along |
| When a plan's limit runs out | Account switcher and usage for Claude and Codex | Continue with another AI in a new chat, in the same folder; several Claude, Codex or Grok accounts to switch between |
| Phone | iOS and Android apps, on your Wi-Fi, through Orca's relay (with an Orca account) or Tailscale | Morphy Remote in your phone's browser, over your own Wi-Fi (Pro) |
| Agents that run other agents | Yes: with Orca's orchestration skill, one agent sends work to others (say, Codex from Claude) and gets the results back | Yes: Morphy, an assistant you ask in plain words, starts and checks on chats on any AI |
| More than code | No | Live cards, voice typing, Flows (Pro) |
| Usage analytics | Anonymous, to PostHog; you can turn it off | No third-party analytics in the app; a daily "opened" note to Morphy's own server |
Where is Orca better?
- It's free, with no limits, and open source. Orca has no paid plan and no cap on agents. Morphy's free plan runs 3 agents at a time in 2 projects; Pro takes the limits off. And Orca's code is on GitHub under the MIT license.
- Isolation is the default. Every task gets its own git worktree, and Orca can copy your
.envand share big folders into each one. Morphy gives a chat its own copy only when you turn it on; otherwise agents in one project share its folder. - Review and ship, built in. Comment on any line of a diff and send it back to the agent, then commit, push, open the pull request and wait on its checks, all in the app. GitHub and Linear issues and boards are there too, and you can start a worktree from any task. Morphy's review is simpler: for a chat in its own copy, it lists the files it changed and opens the diff, and pull requests stay on GitHub.
- Any terminal agent, as it is. If an agent runs in a terminal, it runs in Orca with its own interface: Droid, Amp, Kiro, Qwen Code, Rovo Dev and the rest. Morphy runs a set of AIs as chats; any other agent you'd start yourself in the project's terminal.
- A developer's workspace. Fast terminals with endless splits, a VS Code-style editor you can drag files from into a prompt, design mode (click an element in the browser to send its HTML, CSS and a screenshot to the agent; Morphy's browser does this on Pro too), agents on a remote machine over SSH, and a CLI that lets agents drive Orca itself.
- Phone apps that work away from home. Orca has native iOS and Android apps, and through its relay (with an Orca account) or Tailscale they reach your computer from anywhere. Morphy Remote (Pro) runs in your phone's browser on your own Wi-Fi.
Where is Morphy better?
- Chats, not terminals. Every agent is a chat you can read: its status (working, or waiting for you), its answer, and its steps folded into lines you can open, from each file it read or changed to each command and its output. If you'd rather not read a terminal, that's the main difference. A chat can still switch to its agent's own terminal screen when you want it.
- Every agent in view. Morphy puts every chat on one canvas, grouped by project, and focus views (Tiles, Stage, Strip and Wall) show the ones you're working with. Orca lists worktrees and terminals in its sidebar and tabs.
- Switch AIs without starting over. Move a chat from Claude to Codex (or Copilot, Gemini, Grok, OpenRouter, Ollama), and your next message brings the conversation along. When a plan runs out, Continue with opens a new chat beside it, on another AI, in the same folder, and hands it the conversation. Orca can hand work off to another agent, but each agent runs its own session, and its answer to limits is switching accounts.
- Free and local models, ready in Settings. OpenRouter's free models, Ollama on your computer and (on Pro) any OpenAI-compatible API are ordinary chats, with no command-line setup.
- An assistant you just ask. Ask Morphy to "start three Codex chats in my website folder and have them review the checkout" and it does, on any AI and in any folder; ask it later which are done and it checks every chat. Orca's version is a skill your agents use through its CLI, which is powerful, but you go through an agent to use it.
- More than code. Live cards (a dashboard, a tracker, a small tool) sit on the canvas next to your agents, voice typing turns speech into text on your own computer, and on Pro, Flows turn a job you repeat into chats joined by arrows, started by you or on a schedule.
Which should you pick?
- You want free, open source and no limits: Orca.
- You review and merge pull requests all day: Orca, or Conductor on a Mac.
- You run agents on a remote server: Orca, over SSH.
- You'd rather read chats than terminals, and see every agent at once: Morphy.
- You switch between Claude and Codex as plans run out: Morphy.
- You want more choices: see the best Conductor alternatives and the 12 best tools to run multiple AI coding agents.
Questions
Is Orca free? Yes. Orca is free and open source under the MIT license, with no paid plan. You pay only for the AI plans or keys of the agents you run in it.
Orca or Conductor? Both give every task its own git worktree and review pull requests in the app. Orca is free, open source and runs on Windows, Mac and Linux, with phone apps; Conductor is a Mac app whose Pro ($50 a month) adds cloud workspaces that keep running with your laptop closed. More in Conductor vs Morphy and the Conductor alternatives.
What are the alternatives to Orca? Emdash and Pane are free and open source too, Paradev (formerly Superset) is a Mac-first app with a paid Pro, Conductor is Mac-only, and Morphy runs agents as chats on a canvas. The roundup compares twelve.
Does Orca work on Windows? Yes: Orca has builds for Windows, macOS (Apple silicon and Intel) and Linux, and phone apps for iOS and Android. So does Morphy, minus the phone apps (Morphy Remote runs in your phone's browser).
Can I use Orca and Morphy together? Yes. Both run the same agents with your own sign-ins, in your own folders.
Comparisons in this series
- The best tools to run multiple AI coding agents
- Conductor vs Morphy
- BridgeMind vs Morphy
- Claude Code desktop vs Morphy
- Codex app vs Morphy
References
- Orca: onorca.dev, README and supported agents, worktrees, mobile, privacy and telemetry, releases
- Morphy: Chats and agents, including Its own copy and Switch to another AI, Connect your AI, Remote, Freemium and Pro, privacy
