Gptme vs Orca (2026): Which Vibe Coding App Is Better?
Both are popular terminal coding agents. Here is how Gptme and Orca stack up on price, strengths and weaknesses, and which one we would pick.
Gptme
Provider-agnostic terminal AI agent with shell, Python, file and browser tools
7.5 /10
Pricing: Open source
Pros
- Model-agnostic (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, xAI, DeepSeek, OpenRouter, local llama.cpp) rather than locked to one vendor
- Mature and actively maintained: MIT, ~4.4k stars, 4,500+ commits, recent v0.33.0 release (Aug 2026) adding sandboxed execution
- Broad tool set out of the box: shell, Python REPL, incremental file patching, browser automation, vision, plus a plugin/skills/hooks system
Cons
- Executes arbitrary shell and Python commands on your machine at the model's direction — real risk if run unsupervised without its guardrail features enabled
- Autonomous/persistent-agent mode needs careful configuration (task selectors, pre-commit checks) to use safely
Orca
An ADE for running fleets of coding agents in parallel worktrees, from desktop or mobile
8.0 /10
Pricing: Open source
Pros
- Runs multiple coding agents in parallel isolated worktrees with diff comparison
- Free, open source (MIT), backed by Y Combinator
- Mobile companion apps for monitoring/steering agents remotely
Cons
- No hosted/managed tier documented — you bring your own agent subscriptions
- Extremely fast recent star growth is worth watching, even though the activity looks organic
Gptme vs Orca at a glance
| Gptme | Orca | |
|---|---|---|
| Editor score | 7.5 / 10 | 8.0 / 10 |
| Pricing model | Open source | Open source |
| Starting price | Free | Free |
| Reader upvotes | 0 | 0 |
| Best for | terminal-agent, cli, python | ade, parallel-agents, claude-code |
| Agent Skills support | No | No |
| Subagents support | No | No |
| MCP support | No | No |
| AGENTS.md support | No | No |
| Plugins support | No | No |
| Hooks support | No | No |
| Rules support | No | No |
| Agent skills in this directory | 0 | 0 |
| Subagents & agents in this directory | 3 | 3 |
| MCP servers in this directory | 0 | 0 |
Our pick
Orca edges it with a score of 8.0 versus 7.5. Orca is the better fit if you value: runs multiple coding agents in parallel isolated worktrees with diff comparison, free, open source (mit), backed by y combinator. Choose Gptme instead if you need: model-agnostic (anthropic, openai, google, xai, deepseek, openrouter, local llama.cpp) rather than locked to one vendor, mature and actively maintained: mit, ~4.4k stars, 4,500+ commits, recent v0.33.0 release (aug 2026) adding sandboxed execution.
Other terminal coding agents to consider
Full ranking →Claude Code Paid
Anthropic's agentic coding tool for the terminal, IDE, desktop and web
🔥 Claude Pro billed annually: $17/month instead of $20OpenAI Codex Freemium
OpenAI's coding agent for the terminal, IDE and cloud, included with ChatGPT plans
OpenCode Open source
Open-source terminal coding agent that works with any model provider
Amp Freemium
Frontier coding agent for the terminal and editor, from the makers of Sourcegraph