Borel vs Claude Code for iPhone apps
A coding agent that works on your Mac, or an app builder that runs everything for you.
Claude Code is a coding agent that works in your own project; its iOS Simulator pane needs a Mac with Xcode. Borel is an app builder that runs all of that for you: describe an iPhone app, and Borel writes native SwiftUI, compiles it on its own Mac and streams the simulator to your browser, from $16 a month billed yearly.
Borel
Claude Code
What it is
iOS Simulator without a Mac
On your own iPhone
On the free plan
Paid plans from
Why Borel
No Mac and no Xcode: Borel's Mac builds the app, and the simulator streams to your browser.
Describe the app in a chat. No repository, terminal or project setup.
Install on your iPhone with Borel Companion and publish to the App Store, both on Pro.
Native iPhone features, built in
- SwiftUI, with Liquid Glass
- Face ID
- Reminders and notifications
- Camera and scanning
- Location and Apple Maps
- AI chat
- Accounts, data and files
- Photo library
- Pictures from words
- Haptics
- Steps and motion
- Subscriptions and purchases
- Voice and speech
- Calendar
- Contacts
Choose Borel if
- You don't have a Mac.
- You want to describe the app rather than manage a codebase.
- You want installing and publishing done for you.
What Borel costs
Free
5 credits a day, up to 30 a month
Pro
From $20 a month, or $16 a month, billed yearly
iOS Simulator
Free for everyone
Borel and Claude Code: questions
Claude Code can write Swift in your project, and on a Mac with Xcode it can drive the iOS Simulator. Borel runs the whole path for you without a Mac: the AI writes SwiftUI, Xcode compiles it on Borel's Mac and the simulator streams to your browser.
With Borel, yes, on Pro: Borel Companion for Windows and Mac installs the real app on your iPhone with your Apple ID, a free one included. A cable the first time, then Wi-Fi.
Yes. Borel's free plan gives 5 credits every day, up to 30 a month, and the iOS Simulator is free for everyone, so you can build and watch an app run before you pay.
Yes. Build the app in Borel, download the SwiftUI project on any plan, and open it wherever you like, a coding agent included. The project comes with an XcodeGen project.yml for Xcode.
Yes. Borel builds your SwiftUI app and submits it to Apple from the browser on Pro, from $20 a month. Apple asks for its paid Developer Program for every App Store app, and the app you submit is the one you tested.
Yes. AI, data, sign-in and storage are built into every Borel app, with no keys to paste or services to set up. Describe a feature, such as accounts or saved notes, and Borel wires it into your SwiftUI app.
Try it with your own idea
Describe the app you want and see its first screens before you pay anything.
See your app free