Apache Maka vs Google Stitch: Features, Pricing & Which Is Better (2026)
A side-by-side comparison of Apache Maka and Google Stitch — features, pricing, and ideal use cases — to help you decide which AI tool fits your workflow.
Apache Maka
The Apache Software Foundation
Apache-licensed local-first agent workspace that runs tools in a sandbox and records every model message and tool call as a recoverable execution log.
Key features
- Append-Only Execution Record: Model messages, tool calls, tool results, permission decisions, and turn termination events are written down durably, so the transcript is evidence rather than a disposable chat buffer.
- Context Trimming Without Data Loss: Old tool output can be omitted from the next prompt to shorten context while the full saved history remains intact and inspectable.
- Single Runtime Host: Desktop, terminal, and evaluation all execute through one runtime, so behavior does not diverge between how you develop and how you benchmark.
- Sandboxed Tool Boundary: Built-in Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Glob, and Grep tools run under a sandbox; anything leaving that boundary requires approval, and Computer Use and catalog skills are opt-in.
- Crash Recovery and Resume: Runs can be aborted, failures are classified, and an interrupted turn can optionally be resumed rather than restarted from scratch.
- Session Branching and Search: The desktop workspace supports creating, archiving, searching, renaming, retrying, regenerating, and branching sessions from any turn.
- Bring Your Own Model: Connect a cloud API, a locally hosted model, or a compatible gateway, with streaming output, thinking, usage reporting, and clearer provider errors.
- Declarative Evaluation Harness: maka eval expands multi-arm experiments into task by repetition by subject cells with immutable per-cell attempts and a result kernel covering score, normalized usage, attributable cost, duration, and failure reason.
- Local-First Storage: Sessions, settings, artifacts, and run records stay on the machine by default, with local memory and optional web search when configured.
Best for
- Auditable Agent Runs: Keeping a defensible record of exactly what an agent did and which permissions were granted during a task.
- Long Coding Sessions: Working through a multi-turn refactor with branching and resume instead of losing state when a turn fails.
- Agent Benchmarking: Running reproducible multi-arm experiments comparing models, prompts, or external agent subjects on the same task set.
- Air-Gapped or Regulated Work: Running an agent workspace where sessions and artifacts must remain on local infrastructure.
- Cost and Usage Analysis: Attributing token usage, cost, and duration per experiment cell to decide which model configuration to ship.
- Terminal Workflows: Driving an agent from the current project directory or scripting a single non-interactive turn from CI or a shell.
- Open-Source Agent Research: Building on a permissively licensed runtime whose execution semantics and architecture are fully documented.
Google Stitch
Google LLC
Generates UI designs for mobile and web from prompts, sketches, or images to speed design ideation and prototyping.
Key features
- Prompt-to-UI Generation: Produces UI screens for mobile and web from natural-language prompts, sketches, or images to accelerate ideation and mockup creation.
- Sketch and Image Import: Accepts user sketches or images as input and converts them into UI layouts and visual designs to jumpstart the design process.
- Gemini CLI Extension: Provides a Gemini CLI extension enabling natural-language interaction with a Stitch MCP server for generating UIs and managing requests from the terminal.
- MCP Server & Proxy Tooling: Offers an MCP (Managed Control Plane) workflow and proxy utilities to host a Stitch MCP server, route requests, and facilitate local development/testing.
- GCP Integration & Authentication: Integrates with Google Cloud tooling (gcloud) for authentication, Application Default Credentials, project selection, and IAM role setup required to enable the Stitch API.
- CLI-based Setup & Diagnostics: Includes command-line installers and setup commands (e.g., npx @_davideast/stitch-mcp init) that automate installation, enable APIs, configure credentials, and diagnose setup issues.
- Generates UI designs for mobile and web from prompts, sketches, or images
- Hosted Stitch web application for interactive design ideation
- Stitch MCP API for programmatic access and server integration
- Gemini CLI extension to interact with Stitch via natural language commands
- MCP proxy server capability for local/dev proxying of Stitch MCP
- CLI-driven setup and provisioning (npx init, gemini extensions install)
- Google Cloud authentication support (gcloud auth, Application Default Credentials)
- IAM-based access control requirements and project-level service enablement
Best for
- Rapid Design Ideation: Quickly generate multiple UI concepts from a brief or sketch to explore interface directions during early-stage product design.
- Sketch-to-Prototypes: Convert hand-drawn sketches or screenshots into digital UI screens that designers can refine and iterate on.
- Developer Handoff Automation: Produce consistent UI outputs that designers can export or hand off to developers along with configuration for Stitch MCP to streamline implementation.
- CLI-driven Design Workflows: Integrate UI generation into terminal-driven workflows using the Gemini CLI extension for teams that prefer code/CLI environments.
- Enterprise Self-hosting & Control: Deploy and run a Stitch MCP server with GCP integration and IAM controls to maintain access governance and combine Stitch with internal toolchains.
- Local Development & Testing: Use the MCP proxy and diagnostic commands to test Stitch-generated UIs and API interactions in local or staging environments before production rollout.
- Rapid design ideation and exploration of mobile/web UI concepts
- Convert sketches or screenshots into polished UI screens for prototyping
- Automated UI generation in developer workflows via CLI or API
- Integrating AI-driven UI generation into a Google Cloud-based toolchain
- Local development and testing using an MCP proxy server
- CI/CD automation to generate or refresh design assets programmatically