OpenBot vs Claude Cowork: A Local Alternative

OpenBot runs the provider tools you already use, with the plans you already pay for: Codex with your ChatGPT plan, Claude Code with your Claude plan, Gemini with your Google AI Pro or Ultra plan, Grok CLI with your Grok account or an xAI API key, Cursor CLI with your Cursor plan or a Cursor API key, Cline with your Cline account, and Muse Code with your Meta account or a Meta API key. OpenCode runs free models, or your own model on any OpenAI-compatible server, also one on your computer. Pi runs the providers you sign in to with /login, and Inception's Mercury models run with an Inception API key. Any agent that speaks the Agent Client Protocol, such as Goose, Qwen Code or GitHub Copilot, runs as a custom agent. You choose the provider, the model and the reasoning effort for each agent. When a plan reaches its limit or a provider is down, the agent can move to a backup model. When you move an agent to a different provider, it keeps its role, workspace and conversation.

Claude Cowork runs on Claude models, and it is available on the paid Claude plans: Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise. Companies can also use it through Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud or Microsoft Foundry. Anthropic describes no way to use models from other companies. Cowork uses your plan's limits faster than chat.

OpenBot runs on the computer that hosts it. Agent workspaces, conversations and app data stay on that computer, so it must stay on while its agents work. Run it on a desktop or a server that stays on, and your agents keep working while your laptop is closed. On macOS and Windows, Keep this computer awake stops sleep while the computer is on power, so routines run on time. If you do not want to keep a computer on, use a hosted OpenBot server. It is a Linux server in the EU (Germany, Finland or France), from €20 or $25 a month, and it keeps the workspaces and chats of its agents. Local-first is not offline: an agent that uses a hosted provider still sends its requests to that provider.

Claude Cowork sessions run in the cloud by default: the agent loop and the code run on Anthropic's servers, and sessions and files are saved to your Claude account. They keep working when you close your laptop, and scheduled tasks run with no device online. Existing desktop setups can still run sessions locally, in a Linux virtual machine on your computer, but from 6 October 2026, new tasks on Pro and Max run only in the cloud. On Team plans, cloud sessions are on by default; on Enterprise, an owner turns them on.

The OpenBot apps for iPhone and Android, and the web app, connect to the computer that runs your agents. From anywhere, you chat with them, follow their progress, approve their actions and send files, and from the phone you can drive their browser. The connection goes directly between your devices when it can, it is encrypted, and no cloud stores your chats or files. You set up no VPN or tunnel. Turn on Private network, and devices connect only over Tailscale or the same Wi-Fi. The phone app locks with Face ID, Touch ID or a PIN. Agents can also answer in Slack, Discord and Telegram. Remote access needs an OpenBot account.

Claude Cowork runs on the web and in the Claude apps for iPhone and Android, in beta, on Pro, Max and Team plans, and on Enterprise plans where an admin turns it on. You start a task on one device, steer it from another, and pick up the result anywhere, because the session runs in Anthropic's cloud.

In OpenBot, each agent is a full coding agent: Codex, Claude Code, Gemini, Grok CLI, Cursor CLI, Cline, OpenCode, Pi, Muse Code or an agent of your own, each with its own job and workspace. A lead agent can give parts of a task to other agents in a shared channel. You follow their work and step in when a decision needs you. For a team of people, one computer runs the host and the others join it; the chats and files stay on the host. Roles set which agents each member can view, chat with or manage.

Claude Cowork is one agent that can break a complex task into smaller parts and give them to sub-agents that work at the same time. You cannot share a session with other people, but you can share the artifacts it makes. On Team and Enterprise plans, members can share projects, and owners can turn Cowork off for the organisation.

OpenBot keeps workspaces, conversations, attachments and browser data in a SQLite database on the computer that runs it. OpenBot keeps no other copy. On a hosted OpenBot server, the database is on that server in the EU. An account holds your profile, team memberships, invitations, sign-in sessions, the settings that let devices find each other, and any agent templates that you publish. Product analytics, which never include chat content, are on by default and linked to your account when you sign in; you can turn them off in Settings.

Cloud sessions and their files are saved to your Claude account. Local files that a cloud session opens through the desktop app are processed on Anthropic's servers, not only on your computer. On Pro and Max, you can opt out of model training; if you allow it, Anthropic can keep your data for up to 5 years. A deleted conversation leaves Anthropic's storage within 30 days.