comparison
Pane vs Traycer
TL;DR
Traycer is a desktop app with a free plan and a paid team plan where agents plan work as specs and tickets, message each other, spawn helpers and run in parallel worktrees, with a phone app, multiple hosts and automatic account switching when you hit a limit. Pane is a free, open-source desktop app where each agent runs in its own real terminal and worktree, with a Changes panel, git buttons and an orchestrator, and no account. Pick Traycer for a plan-first, multi-agent workflow and team sharing; pick Pane if you want everything local and open source, every agent in its real terminal, and commit and merge in the app.
which one should you pick?
pick traycer if
- → you want a plan-first workflow where agents write specs and tickets you comment on
- → you juggle several Claude, Codex or Grok accounts and want automatic routing at the limit
- → you work across several machines and want a phone app
- → you share tasks and transcripts with teammates
pick pane if
- → you don't want an account or a cloud between you and your agents
- → you want any CLI agent in its real terminal
- → you want to commit, push and merge from the app
- → you're on Windows ARM64, or keep code inside WSL
at a glance
yespartly, or with a catchno
| pane12 yes · 2 partly · 0 no | traycer6 yes · 5 partly · 3 no | |
|---|---|---|
| basics | ||
| what it is | desktop app: real terminals for agents, side by side | desktop app and cloud: specs, tickets and agents that hand off |
| open source | yes, AGPL-3.0 | clients MIT; host and cloud closed |
| price | free | free; team plan $20/user/month; optional credits |
| platforms | ||
| Windows | yes (x64 and ARM64) | yes, signed (x64 only) |
| repos inside WSL | yes: agents, terminals and git run in the distro | Linux app under WSLg as a separate host |
| macOS | yes | yes |
| Linux | yes (x64 and ARM64) | yes (x64 and ARM64, needs systemd) |
| agents | ||
| agents | any CLI | 22; 3 as real CLIs, the rest as chat |
| agents that run agents | Sessions and the runpane CLI | agent-to-agent messages and helpers |
| multiple accounts | each agent's own login | profiles with automatic switching at the limit |
| everyday work | ||
| worktree per task | yes, on by default | yes |
| planning | plans as files your agents read; Sessions hands them out | specs and tickets as shared documents |
| commit, push, merge | buttons and shortcuts | not in the app |
| remote and teams | ||
| phone | iOS and Android app coming soon; browser app via Remote Pane today | iOS and Android apps |
| safety and setup | ||
| analytics | on by default; one switch in Settings | on, linked to your account, no opt-out |
| account needed | no | yes, for everything |
basics
what it is
pane
traycer
desktop app and cloud: specs, tickets and agents that hand offopen source
pane
traycer
clients MIT; host and cloud closedprice
pane
traycer
free; team plan $20/user/month; optional creditsplatforms
Windows
pane
traycer
yes, signed (x64 only)repos inside WSL
pane
traycer
Linux app under WSLg as a separate hostmacOS
pane
traycer
yesLinux
pane
traycer
yes (x64 and ARM64, needs systemd)agents
agents
pane
traycer
22; 3 as real CLIs, the rest as chatagents that run agents
pane
traycer
agent-to-agent messages and helpersmultiple accounts
pane
traycer
profiles with automatic switching at the limiteveryday work
worktree per task
pane
traycer
yesplanning
pane
traycer
specs and tickets as shared documentscommit, push, merge
pane
traycer
not in the appremote and teams
phone
pane
traycer
iOS and Android appssafety and setup
analytics
pane
traycer
on, linked to your account, no opt-outaccount needed
pane
traycer
yes, for everythingFacts checked on October 3 and 4, 2026: Traycer Desktop v1.4.2 and Pane v2.4.157. Rechecked against Traycer's site, docs and releases on November 5, 2026: Traycer Desktop v1.5.3.
the real difference: a planning cloud or local terminals
Traycer centres on shared plans in its cloud. Pane centres on agents running locally.
Traycer's workflow starts with planning: agents write specs and tickets as shared documents, you comment, and tickets fan out to parallel child agents that can message each other. Tasks, chats and drafts sync to Traycer's cloud, its host and cloud are closed source, and you can't open a folder without signing in.
Pane starts with the agent: a pane per task with its own worktree and the agent's own terminal. Plans live as files in your repo where every agent can read them, and Sessions, Pane's orchestrator, starts agents in other panes, hands them work and reads back their reports. Nothing goes through a Pane cloud.
agents and git
Traycer wraps most agents in chat. Pane runs every agent in its terminal.
Of Traycer's 22 agents, only Claude Code, Codex and OpenCode run as their real CLI; Cursor, Amp, Copilot, Droid and the rest go through its chat integration, and there's no custom agent. Its diff view has no commit, push, pull request or merge. Pane runs any CLI in its own terminal, and commit, push and merge are buttons and shortcuts.
account, privacy and price
Traycer needs an account and collects analytics with no opt-out. Pane needs neither.
Traycer's analytics are linked to your account with no documented opt-out, and with Privacy Mode off for individuals, prompts may be logged for up to 30 days. Its free plan covers your own agents; the Sync plan is $20 per user a month for teams, and optional credits carry a 20% markup. Pane is free and open source, with no account; its analytics are on by default and one switch in Settings turns them off.
our verdict
Traycer is the richest plan-first, multi-agent workspace, if you're happy with an account and a cloud. If you want parallel agents in their real terminals, fully local and open source, with git in the app, Pane is the better fit.
how we checked
On October 4, 2026 we installed Traycer Desktop 1.4.2 on Windows 11 and stopped at its sign-in screen, because we don't create accounts for these tests; everything past that comes from Traycer's docs, changelog, source and issues. Pane 2.4.155 ran on the same PC with WSL2 (Ubuntu 24.04).
Facts about each product come from its own docs, release notes, issue tracker and source code, checked on October 3 and 4, 2026.
- What we ran
- → Pane 2.4.155 on Windows 11, native and WSL2 (Ubuntu 24.04) repos
- → Traycer Desktop 1.4.2 installed on the same PC up to its sign-in screen
- Who wrote this
- We make Pane, so we have a stake in this. We tried to be fair: Traycer's strengths are listed as plainly as Pane's, every claim was checked against the product itself or its docs and source, and the screenshots are unedited captures from our own runs.
- Corrections
- If anything here is wrong or out of date, tell us and we'll fix it and update the date at the top. Open an issue on GitHub
- Sources
frequently asked questions
more comparisons
By Parsa Khazaeepoul, co-founder of Pane. .