# Orca vs Sculptor

> Orca scores 57.4 (C) to Sculptor's 53.1 (D) for agent harnesses. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-sculptor
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-sculptor.md (~4,350 tokens)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (the key docs and every listing in one file, at most 16 MB, about 4 million tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- DNS: dig +short TXT <slug>.grade.anchorterminal.com (the grade as a DNS TXT record, for a sandbox with no HTTP where names still resolve; also top., best.<category>. and <a>.vs.<b>. under the zone, and the same under grade.letme.dev)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-11-07

Orca scores 57.4 (C) on agent readiness against Sculptor's 53.1 (D), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Sculptor leads on security & auth and payments & pricing. Both do agent harnesses.

- Orca: grade C, 57.4/100, rank #795 of 1510. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/orca.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/orca.json
- Sculptor: grade D, 53.1/100, rank #966 of 1510. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/sculptor.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/sculptor.json
- Best agent harnesses and coding agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/agent-harnesses/index.md
- All 1500 harnesses comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-harnesses/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Orca (C)

Good for: Developers who want an orchestrator agent to split work across parallel coding agents, on desktop or mobile.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 58 against 43
- Schema & documentation, 65 against 45
- Agent ergonomics, 70 against 50

Watch for: Anonymous usage data collected by default, with an opt-out

### Sculptor (D)

Good for: Developers who want parallel coding agents in isolated workspaces and are fine with a research preview.

Ahead on:
- Security & auth, 57 against 43
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 40

Watch for: Labelled an experimental research preview that may change drastically


## Why the edge

### Schema & documentation: Orca +20

- Orca (65): Harness reading. A docs site with CLI orchestration and native chat pages (65).
- Sculptor (45): Harness reading. A README, specs and agent docs in the repository; no API reference (45).

### Agent ergonomics: Orca +20

- Orca (70): Harness reading. An orchestrator agent that splits work across workers in their own workspaces, chat or raw CLI, a browser and a CLI in one app (70).
- Sculptor (50): Harness reading. Workspaces as isolated copies, review and merge back, and built-in skills (50).

### Payments & pricing: Sculptor +20

- Orca (40): Scored on the cloud option. No protocol (0). The cloud price wasn't found on the pages read (0). The desktop app is free and MIT with no card (20). The local app needs no sign-up that we found (20). 0 + 0 + 20 + 20 = 40.
- Sculptor (60): Free self-hosted software with nothing to buy, so 0 for a protocol and 20 each for public pricing, a free tier and onboarding with no sign-up, 60.

### Reliability: Orca +15

- Orca (58): Local software. Desktop and mobile builds and a Homebrew cask (20). Unit, end-to-end and platform test workflows; pass state not read (15). GitHub issues and pull requests weren't read (GitHub's pages refuse these sessions), so that line is scored absent (0). Tags to v1.4.251, no changelog file (8). Version 1.4 (15). 20 + 15 + 0 + 8 + 15 = 58.
- Sculptor (43): Local software. Desktop downloads for Mac (Apple Silicon), Linux and Linux ARM64 (20). checks.yml and a PR gate run on the repository; pass state not read (15). GitHub issues and pull requests weren't read (GitHub's pages refuse these sessions), so that line is scored absent (0). sculptor-v tags up to v0.49.0, no changelog file (8). 0.x and labelled a research preview (0). 20 + 15 + 0 + 8 + 0 = 43.

### Security & auth: Sculptor +14

- Orca (43): Harness reading. Anonymous usage data with an opt-out, per the README's link to its telemetry docs (15 of 30). Worktrees per agent and a sandboxed Linux build (12 of 20). No prompt-injection guidance (5). No audit log (5). A dependency-security workflow (6 of 20). 15 + 12 + 5 + 5 + 6 = 43.
- Sculptor (57): Harness reading. Product analytics, error reporting and session recording default to off in the user config, and the app asks for a telemetry level and privacy consent at first run; PostHog runs on the front end only for now (25 of 30). Each workspace is an isolated copy of the code (14 of 20). No prompt-injection guidance (5). No audit log (5). SECURITY.md (8). 25 + 14 + 5 + 5 + 8 = 57.

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Orca | Sculptor | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 58 | 43 | Orca +15 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 65 | 45 | Orca +20 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 70 | 50 | Orca +20 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 43 | 57 | Sculptor +14 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 60 | Sculptor +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 75 | 75 | even |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 54 | 57 | Sculptor +3 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **57.4 · C** | **53.1 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Orca | Sculptor |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Vendor | Lovecast Inc. | Imbue, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | None | None |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | no |
| Last release | 2026-11-06 | 2026-11-06 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | no document linked |

## Verdicts

**Orca.** An open-source orchestrator for coding agents with worker agents in their own worktrees, chat and terminal views, a browser and a CLI, on desktop and mobile, with heavy test automation. It collects anonymous usage data by default, and the cloud option's pricing wasn't found.

**Sculptor.** Imbue's open-source app for parallel coding agents in isolated workspaces, with telemetry off until you choose otherwise. It's an experimental research preview that warns of bugs and drastic changes, Mac and Linux only, with no changelog.

## Before you call either

### Orca

1. See the telemetry docs on onorca.dev to opt out of anonymous usage data
2. Use the orchestration CLI to hand a large task to one agent that starts workers

### Sculptor

1. Download from the README's links, connect a repository and create a workspace before prompting
2. Review the diff before merging a workspace back to main

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Orca or Sculptor?

Orca scores 57.4 (C) on agent readiness against Sculptor's 53.1 (D), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Sculptor leads on security & auth and payments & pricing.

### Are Orca and Sculptor open source?

Yes. Orca is open source (MIT). Sculptor is open source (MIT).


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-sculptor.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-sculptor.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "orca", "b": "sculptor"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare orca sculptor`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/orca.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/sculptor.json

## Other comparisons with Orca or Sculptor

- [Agent Zero vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-orca.md)
- [Agent Zero vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Aider vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-orca.md)
- [Aider vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Amp vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-orca.md)
- [Amp vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Antigravity CLI vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antigravity-cli-vs-orca.md)
- [Antigravity CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antigravity-cli-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Auggie CLI vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/auggie-vs-orca.md)
- [Auggie CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/auggie-vs-sculptor.md)
- [AXLR vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-orca.md)
- [AXLR vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Claude Code vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-orca.md)
- [Claude Code vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Cline vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-orca.md)
- [Cline vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Conductor vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/conductor-vs-orca.md)
- [Conductor vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/conductor-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Crush vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crush-vs-orca.md)
- [Crush vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crush-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-orca.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-sculptor.md)
- [DeepSeek Harness (dsh) vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-harness-vs-orca.md)
- [DeepSeek Harness (dsh) vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-harness-vs-sculptor.md)
- [dsh-superagent (DeepSeek) vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-superagent-vs-orca.md)
- [dsh-superagent (DeepSeek) vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-superagent-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Devin vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-orca.md)
- [Devin vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Droid CLI vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-orca.md)
- [Droid CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Pi vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-orca.md)
- [Pi vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Emdash vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/emdash-vs-orca.md)
- [Emdash vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/emdash-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Gemini CLI vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-cli-vs-orca.md)
- [Gemini CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-cli-vs-sculptor.md)
- [GitHub Copilot CLI vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-orca.md)
- [GitHub Copilot CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-sculptor.md)
- [goose vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-orca.md)
- [goose vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Harness² vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-orca.md)
- [Harness² vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-sculptor.md)
- [HarnessRouter vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harnessrouter-vs-orca.md)
- [HarnessRouter vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harnessrouter-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Jules vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jules-vs-orca.md)
- [Jules vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jules-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Junie CLI vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/junie-vs-orca.md)
- [Junie CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/junie-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Kilo Code CLI vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-orca.md)
- [Kilo Code CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Kimi Code CLI vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kimi-code-cli-vs-orca.md)
- [Kimi Code CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kimi-code-cli-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Kiro CLI vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-orca.md)
- [Kiro CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Letta vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/letta-vs-orca.md)
- [Letta vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/letta-vs-sculptor.md)
- [mini-swe-agent vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mini-swe-agent-vs-orca.md)
- [mini-swe-agent vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mini-swe-agent-vs-sculptor.md)
- [MiniMax Code vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-code-vs-orca.md)
- [MiniMax Code vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-code-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Mistral Vibe CLI vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-vibe-cli-vs-orca.md)
- [Mistral Vibe CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-vibe-cli-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Muse Code vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-code-vs-orca.md)
- [Muse Code vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-code-vs-sculptor.md)
- [OpenAI Agents API vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-agents-api-vs-orca.md)
- [OpenAI Agents API vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-agents-api-vs-sculptor.md)
- [OpenAI Codex vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-codex-vs-orca.md)
- [OpenAI Codex vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-codex-vs-sculptor.md)
- [OpenCode vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/opencode-vs-orca.md)
- [OpenCode vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/opencode-vs-sculptor.md)
- [OpenHands vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openhands-vs-orca.md)
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- [Orca vs Mirror CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-reflection-mirror.md)
- [Orca vs Rovo Dev CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-rovo-dev-cli.md)
- [Orca vs T3 Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-t3-code.md)
- [Orca vs Traycer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-traycer.md)
- [Orca vs Unstoppable](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-unstoppable.md)
- [Orca vs Verdent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-verdent.md)
- [Orca vs Vibe-Trading](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-vibe-trading.md)
- [Orca vs Warp (Warp Agent CLI and the Oz Agent API)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-warp.md)
- [Paseo vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paseo-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Prime Agent vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prime-agent-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Qoder CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qoder-cli-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Qwen Code vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwen-code-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Mirror CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/reflection-mirror-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Rovo Dev CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/rovo-dev-cli-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Sculptor vs T3 Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sculptor-vs-t3-code.md)
- [Sculptor vs Traycer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sculptor-vs-traycer.md)
- [Sculptor vs Unstoppable](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sculptor-vs-unstoppable.md)
- [Sculptor vs Verdent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sculptor-vs-verdent.md)
- [Sculptor vs Vibe-Trading](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sculptor-vs-vibe-trading.md)
- [Sculptor vs Warp (Warp Agent CLI and the Oz Agent API)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sculptor-vs-warp.md)
- [Clawboo vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clawboo-vs-orca.md)
- [Clawboo vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clawboo-vs-sculptor.md)
- [CLI Manager vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cli-manager-vs-orca.md)
- [CLI Manager vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cli-manager-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Harness vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness-autonomous-vs-orca.md)
- [Harness vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness-autonomous-vs-sculptor.md)
- [OpenMausBot vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openmausbot-vs-orca.md)
- [OpenMausBot vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openmausbot-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Orca vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-paperclip.md)
- [Orca vs Parallax](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-parallax-agents.md)
- [Paperclip vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paperclip-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Parallax vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/parallax-agents-vs-sculptor.md)

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Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp