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Orbit vs Conductor

Conductor orchestrates multiple AI agents in parallel. Orbit is a development environment with its own agent. Different tools, different layers.

At a glance

Conductor

Free macOS app that launches Claude Code and Codex agents in parallel. Each agent works in an isolated git worktree. You review diffs and merge the best result.

Orbit

Native desktop app (Tauri + React) with its own AI agent. One agent across editor, browser, terminal, and docs. The agent takes screenshots of your running app.

Key differences

What it is
Conductor

An orchestrator. No AI of its own — it launches and manages Claude Code and Codex agents you already have.

Orbit

A development environment with its own agent (Claude SDK). Editor, browser, terminal, and vault in one window.

AI approach
Conductor

Run multiple agents in parallel on the same repo. Compare results. Merge the winner.

Orbit

One conversational agent that works across every surface. No parallelism — the agent builds step by step.

Workflow
Conductor

Spawn agents → agents work in isolated worktrees → review diffs → merge. Great for trying multiple approaches.

Orbit

Describe what you want → agent edits code, checks the browser, reads terminal output → you review.

Browser
Conductor

No built-in browser. Agents work on code only.

Orbit

Embedded browser. The agent takes screenshots, navigates, clicks, and fills forms.

Pricing
Conductor

Free. You pay for your own Claude Code or Codex subscriptions.

Orbit

Free during early access. Sign in with Claude (any plan) or bring your own API key.

Platform
Conductor

macOS only (Apple Silicon).

Orbit

macOS only (Apple Silicon). Windows and Linux coming.

Where Conductor is better

Parallel agents. Run Claude Code and Codex side by side on the same repo. Try different approaches and pick the best result.

Agent-agnostic. Conductor works with Claude Code and Codex. Orbit uses its own Claude-based agent only.

Diff-first review. Built around reviewing diffs. Integrated diff viewer with GitHub sync. Good for code review workflows.

Completely free. No subscription. You only pay for the underlying agents you already use.

Where Orbit is different

The agent sees your running app. Embedded browser with screenshots, navigation, and click-to-select. Conductor's agents work on code but can't see the result.

Full development environment. Editor, browser, terminal, and vault in one window. Conductor is a layer on top of existing agents — not a place to write code.

Built for non-developers too. Founders, PMs, and vibe coders can describe what they want and direct the agent. Conductor assumes you work with CLI agents.

No setup required. Sign in and start building. Conductor requires Claude Code or Codex to be installed and configured separately.

The honest take

Conductor and Orbit operate at different layers. Conductor is an orchestrator — it manages agents you already use. Orbit is a development environment with its own agent.

If you already use Claude Code or Codex and want to run them in parallel with diff-based review, Conductor is a great free tool. If you want a single agent that sees your running app and works across editor, browser, terminal, and docs, try Orbit.

You could use both — Conductor for parallelism, Orbit for building with visual context.

Free during early access

Sign in with your Claude account or bring your own API key.