13 Grok Bot Alternatives: AI Agents Compared by Pricing, Free Options, and Availability [2026]

Hi, Hoda here.

Grok Bot itself is xAI’s personal and team AI agent, and its usage allowance is shared with Grok and Cursor under The X Subscription. In this follow-up article, I’ve narrowed the commonly mentioned alternatives down to 13 and compared them on pricing, whether they’re free, where they’re available, and what they can do.

Here’s the conclusion up front. If you already have a Claude or ChatGPT subscription and want to try something for free first, MausBot, the self-hostable Rakazo, and Codync are realistic options. If you want an agent that keeps running when you close your laptop and runs entirely in a big vendor’s cloud, Muse and (in a staged rollout) OpenAI dots are the candidates. Claude Duet, on the other hand, is officially a US-only research preview. And if you want to keep Grok Bot’s package of “multiple bots + an official cloud PC + Slack,” and your only reason for looking at alternatives is price or model choice, staying on Premium or higher is also a valid choice.

Why Look for a Grok Bot Alternative Now?

Most people searching for a Grok Bot alternative are probably in one (or both) of these situations. The first is that Grok Bot requires The X Subscription’s Premium tier or higher, and they’d rather build a similar team using the Claude or ChatGPT subscription they already pay for. The second is that they want to choose their own models, keep data on their own PC, or find a major always-on agent they can use right now in their region.

I use Grok Bot heavily myself, but I was mainly a Cursor user to begin with, and Grok Bot came bundled with it. If it had been a separate charge, I might have used a different agent.

As a baseline for comparison, let’s first pin down Grok Bot’s pricing and capabilities from official sources.

What Grok Bot Can Do

The core features confirmed in the official materials (x.ai/bot, Get started, Settings and notifications) are:

• Run multiple Bots in parallel and have them hand work off to each other
• Each Bot uses a cloud computer, operating apps and websites the way a person would (the official site says it keeps running even if you close your laptop)
• “Show a Bot how it’s done” (show it a task once and it learns the steps)
• Routines (schedules), memory, and improvement suggestions
• Connectors (Connect apps; on Teams / Enterprise, admins can restrict them)
• Humans and Bots working in the same thread in Slack, according to the official homepage
• Invite a Bot to Google Meet / Zoom
• Vault (secrets such as logins and cards; the official docs say the Bot never sees the values themselves)
• Auto-review (approval rules), voice input and voice chat, and template Bots

Desktop support covers macOS (Apple silicon / Intel), Windows (x64 / Arm64), and Linux (x64 / Arm64). On mobile, iOS 18+ and Android 9+ reach the same Bots, conversations, routines, and cloud computers (official Get started).

On models, the official docs state plainly: “Grok Bot manages model selection, so there is no model picker.” It isn’t a product you run on top of an existing Claude or ChatGPT subscription.

Grok Bot Pricing (The X Subscription)

Pricing is based on the official x.ai/pricing and the Pricing documentation, last updated October 11, 2026 (excluding tax).

Grok Bot is available on Premium / Super / Ultra. It isn’t included in Free or Plus. Usage comes from a weekly pool shared across Grok, Grok Bot, and Cursor: Premium gets 4x Plus, Super gets 15x, and Ultra gets 50x.

According to the official docs (cursor.com/help/grok-bot/plans, Get started), it may also be available through legacy paid Cursor plans, SuperGrok-type plans, X Premium+ links, and Grok Business seats. Top-ups when you exceed your limit and usage resets through referrals are described in the official Settings documentation.

For Enterprise and Teams, the official FAQ says it is “generally available.” I wasn’t able to fully confirm the individual-user GA date or the original beta announcement text from primary pages this time.

Grok Bot Constraints That Make Alternatives Appealing

To be fair, here are the constraints visible from the official information:

• The entry price is Premium or higher. It isn’t available on the $8/month Plus plan.
• You can’t choose the model. Grok picks one based on the task.
• The usage allowance is shared with Grok and Cursor. Heavy Bot use also reduces your allowance for other features that week.
• The source is closed (no mention of open source in the official materials). It needs cloud data storage, and the official docs say Privacy Mode Legacy requires switching.

If those points bother you, the 13 tools below are the options. Alternatives to Cursor itself (editor comparisons) are out of scope. This article is limited to “agent teams / always-on agents like Grok Bot.”

How to Choose an Alternative (4 Axes)

Before listing all 13, here are the axes I’m using.

1. Is it free, or can you bring a subscription you already pay for? In most cases, “free” means the app or harness is free while model usage is billed separately by Anthropic, OpenAI, and so on. Grok Bot, Claude Duet, OpenAI dots, and Muse are the type that’s included in (or offered as part of) the main plan.

2. A big vendor’s cloud agent, or a harness you host yourself? Anthropic (Claude Duet), OpenAI (dots), and Meta (Muse) provide both the model and the computer. MausBot, Rakazo, and similar tools are on the other side: they bundle Claude Code, Codex, and other tools you’re already signed in to into a team.

3. Local-first, or an always-on cloud? If you want it to keep running when you close your laptop, you need an official cloud (Grok Bot, Duet, dots, Muse), a tool’s paid hosted tier, or a VPS you rent yourself. Free local setups mostly run only while that PC is on.

4. Regional availability. Claude Duet is US-only. OpenAI dots is rolling out in stages, with the EEA, Switzerland, and the UK excluded. Muse launched in Japan on October 23, 2026, its first launch outside North America. For the rest, no regional restrictions are stated in the official materials.

I also use the term “open source” strictly here. MausBot, Rakazo, Codync, and Noodle are Apache-2.0; Hermes Agent (Nous Research) and Clawboo are MIT; kwant is AGPL-3.0. OpenBot publishes its source, but its current license is PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0, which doesn’t count as open source by the OSI’s definition. Bloks uses the Functional Source License 1.1 (each release converts to MIT after two years). For AppuBot, I couldn’t confirm the license listed on GitHub this time.

Also watch out for similarly named projects. Three points on this are covered later: OpenBot (openbot.run) is separate from CopilotKit’s OpenBot; don’t mix up Nous Research’s official Hermes with FlyHermes, an independent service on hermes-agent.ai; and Clawboo is a separate project from OpenClaw.

Comparison Tables

The following is based on what I confirmed on official pages as of November 12, 2026. ○ / △ / × reflect only what could be confirmed officially, and items I couldn’t confirm are marked “unconfirmed.” △ means conditional (paid option, beta, limited, and so on).

Table A: Pricing, Deployment, Platforms, and Availability

Table B: Features and Licenses Compared to Grok Bot

13 Alternatives by Situation

From here, we go through the 13 tools in order. First come the three big-vendor cloud agents, then source-available tools where you bring your own subscriptions, and finally options whose licenses or positioning are a little different. Each section follows the same order: official links → what it is → pricing → how it differs from Grok Bot → availability → pros and cons → who it’s for.

First, the type where the vendor provides both the model and the computer.

1. Claude Duet: A US-Preview, Proactive Agent

Official: claude.com/product/claude-duet / Introduction (2026-10-23) Claude Duet / Help

What it is.

Anthropic’s proactive agent. It gives you a morning brief, keeps working in a cloud VM while you’re away, and asks for confirmation before sending, paying, signing, deleting, and similar actions. It’s powered by Claude Opus 5.5. You use it through standalone iOS / Android apps, and on a computer via the web at claude.ai. You don’t need to keep your own PC on.

Pricing (official, as of November 12, 2026).

During the research preview, it’s included in Claude Pro / Max / Ultra at no additional charge. Usage is shared with regular Claude, and background checks consume it too. During the preview, limit-reset grants are 3 for Pro and 1 for Max / Ultra, and unused ones expire on December 15, 2026 (official Help). Team / Enterprise aren’t supported yet. I haven’t re-fetched the official pricing page for Claude’s own plan prices (for example, Pro’s monthly fee), so I’m not listing them here.

How it differs from Grok Bot.

The biggest practical difference is availability: officially, the research preview is US-only, and it requires a US Claude account and a waitlist (or invitation). Feature-wise, it’s centered on a single Duet rather than a product where you “hire a team of Bots” like Grok Bot. The model is fixed to Opus 5.5, so there’s no picker here either. The official page cites 6,000+ connectors, and it carries over your Claude account’s memory, skills, and connectors. On the other hand, the Help notes that during the preview you can’t watch or take over browser work, Microsoft 365 isn’t supported, phone calls and SMS to other people aren’t possible, and personal errands (such as booking tickets) aren’t as strong as work use cases. The experience of multiple Bots collaborating in Slack, or of watching a cloud PC while teaching it, is at a different level of maturity right now.

Availability.

Officially limited to the US research preview.

Who it’s for. People in the US who already use Claude Pro or higher and want to try a proactive cloud agent as an official research preview. It isn’t an “available right now” alternative for readers outside the US.

2. OpenAI dots: An Always-On Agent Included with ChatGPT Pro

Official: Introducing dots / Getting started with your dot (Help)

What it is. OpenAI’s always-on agent. It uses a dedicated cloud computer and 4,000+ apps (plugins), and learns from feedback. It was announced on September 29, 2026, GPT-6.1 Terra was added in the November 3, 2026 update, and the main model is described as GPT-6 Astra. You operate it from the ChatGPT desktop app, web, and mobile, and you can message it from Slack and Teams too. You can optionally connect your own laptop (off by default, per the official docs).

Pricing (official, as of November 12, 2026). Your first dot is included in ChatGPT Pro or Business Premium in eligible regions at no additional charge. Conversations generally don’t count against ChatGPT’s normal limits, while Codex and ChatGPT Work tasks count as usual. For the first month after launch, limits are raised, according to the official docs. I haven’t opened the official pricing page this time, so I’m not listing ChatGPT Pro’s own price. For Enterprise / Edu / Healthcare, it’s a beta that admins enable (off by default).

How it differs from Grok Bot. The skeleton is similar: an always-on cloud computer, the ability to view and operate the screen, schedules, memory, and connectors. The big difference is that there’s currently one main dot, and multiple dots working as a team is, per the official announcement, something they “imagine” for the future. The model is also OpenAI’s own, so it isn’t a product where you bring Claude or similar. Text messaging is described as coming soon in the announcement, and in the Help as a beta for some US Pro users, not available for Business / Enterprise. The Help also notes caveats such as regions without SMS support, no texts from other people, and no end-to-end encryption (it goes through Linq). Mobile web isn’t supported. Its current feature scope differs from Grok Bot, which puts multiple Bots and Slack collaboration up front from the start.

Availability. The official Help says it’s “rolling out progressively to Pro users 18 and older, in regions other than the EEA, Switzerland, and the UK.” Because it’s a staged rollout, it can take a few days to reach your account, so you’ll need to check whether it opens for you.

Who it’s for. People who already use ChatGPT Pro in an eligible region and want to try an always-on agent inside ChatGPT at no extra cost.

3. Muse: Meta’s Personal Agent

Official: muse.ai / Meta Newsroom, Japan launch (2026-10-23) / Pricing Help

What it is. Meta’s personal AI agent. You hand it goals or tasks, and it carries them out in a dedicated cloud Linux machine (Muse Secure VM) and browser. It has approvals (for sending email, purchases, and so on) and audit logs, and Sentinel manages network access. According to the official announcement, it doesn’t share conversation or VM data with ad systems, and you can opt out of training. You use it through iOS, Android, and muse.ai.

Pricing (official Help as of November 12, 2026, USD). The free plan has usage limits, but the specific free token allowance isn’t stated in the Help. Power is $20/month with 500 million Muse tokens per week, and Maximum is $100/month with 3 billion Muse tokens per week. You subscribe in the mobile app or at muse.ai, with auto-renewal. Perks vary by region and account, according to the Help. There’s no official table of prices in other currencies, and reports that tax-inclusive prices differ between app and web come from secondary sources, so check the checkout screen.

How it differs from Grok Bot. It’s close on the dedicated cloud VM, approvals, connectors, and work that continues after you close the app. The official positioning leans toward a personal agent for daily life and achieving goals rather than a “multi-bot team + Slack” for work. The models are Meta’s own, such as Muse Spark, and it isn’t a product where you bring a Claude or ChatGPT subscription. The integrations in the Japan announcement are Gmail, Google Calendar, Instagram, Stripe, Shopify, Trip.com, Agoda, and Klook, and the announcement says it will move forward with integrations with local services. Advanced voice mode, Realtime Avatar (English only), and a dedicated Muse email address are to be announced separately for availability, per the official materials. The announcement doesn’t say whether WhatsApp or a Mac-only app are included (unconfirmed). It also isn’t specified officially how many actual tasks a token allowance equals.

Availability. Among the 13, it has the clearest official regional announcement of the big-vendor clouds. It launched in Japan on October 23, 2026 (Japan time), its first launch outside North America. The official Help also describes it as “trial operation, limited regions,” and some features arrive later in some regions.

Who it’s for. People who want to try an officially supported cloud agent starting from a free tier, especially for everyday life, bookings, and goal-oriented tasks.

Next is the type where you bring the Claude, ChatGPT, or other subscription (or API key) you already pay for, and build a team on your own machine or self-hosted. Tools whose licenses match the OSI-style definition of open source (Apache-2.0, MIT, AGPL-3.0) come first.

4. MausBot: An Open-Source Grok Bot Alternative

Official: mausbot.com / Pricing / GitHub milind-soni/OpenMausBot (Apache-2.0)

What it is. Made by Omkar Satpute and Milind Soni, it’s a chat-app-style AI bot team that officially calls itself “The open source Grok Bot alternative.” It’s local by default (~/.openmausbot). On desktop it runs on macOS (Apple silicon / Intel), 64-bit Windows, and x86-64 Linux (.deb and AppImage). iOS / Android are companions, distributed via Discord according to the FAQ, and bots don’t run on the phone alone. For models, it uses your existing Claude Code, Codex, Grok, and similar CLIs or API keys, and the partner list on the site also shows Cursor, Kimi, Hermes, Pi, and others.

Pricing (official as of November 12, 2026, USD). The app itself is $0 (Apache-2.0). Paid Cloud is for always-on use: Starter $15, Pro $49 (with $10 of Claude credit per month), and Max $99 (with $20 of Claude credit per month). Team is $169 (up to 5 people), Business $599, and Business self-hosted $299. Extra computer time is $0.05/hour, and allowances reset on the 1st of each month (UTC). Model usage is billed by the provider. Slack / Telegram / iMessage are listed as “Coming soon (Pro/Max)” on the pricing table.

How it differs from Grok Bot. The biggest differences are that you can bring existing subscriptions and choose your model, and that you can self-host it under Apache-2.0. The skeleton is close: multiple bots, schedules, connectors (Gmail / Slack / GitHub / Notion and more via Composio), and computer use. On the other hand, the free setup requires your own PC to be on and connected, and the official managed always-on option that Grok Bot has is on the paid Cloud side. The official FAQ says approvals aren’t a guarantee that every action will be stopped. External chat channels also aren’t as prominent as Grok Bot’s Slack, with some still marked Coming soon.

Availability. No regional restrictions are stated officially. The official store distribution of the mobile apps is via Discord, so it’s worth checking the latest status before relying on it.

Who it’s for. People who want to try an open-source, Grok Bot-style team on the desktop for free first.

5. Rakazo: Self-Hosting with Any Model and a Sandbox

Official: rakazo.com / Pricing / GitHub elie222/rakazo (Apache-2.0, by Elie Steinbock)

What it is. An open-source Grok Bot alternative that, according to the official site, uses any model and a sandbox. The site itself literally calls it an “open-source Grok Bot alternative,” which made me laugh. The main path is self-hosting (your own machine or server, Docker, and so on), which is free.

Hosted Cloud is officially in Beta. Download options cover desktop, mobile, and web. Messaging works through Slack, and when self-hosted, also iMessage / SMS, WhatsApp, and Telegram. Models include Claude, ChatGPT, OpenRouter, Grok, Ollama, and LM Studio, and you can vary them per bot.

Pricing (official as of November 12, 2026, USD). Self-hosting is free. The hosted Your model / Standard plan is $15/month ($12/month billed annually), with 25 bot-computer hours per month, 4 vCPU / 8GB, and a 7-day trial (10 hours included). Pro is $49 (100 hours, 8 vCPU / 16GB) and Max is $99 (200 hours, 16 vCPU / 32GB). Rakazo credits start at $10. Per the official docs, models are charged from the catalog at provider prices (no markup) plus computer time.

How it differs from Grok Bot. It offers a broader choice of models and sandboxes, and when self-hosted there’s no official cap on computer hours. On the other hand, the official FAQ states that Claude Pro / Max subscriptions don’t include API credits, so “just log in to Claude and it works” doesn’t apply. You need an Anthropic API key. The hosted version is a time-allowance computer, and Cloud is in Beta. The division of operational responsibility differs from Grok Bot’s official managed VM and all-in-one, no-model-picking offering.

Availability. No regional restrictions on self-hosting are stated officially. I haven’t tested how polished the app is in practice.

Who it’s for. People who plan to host it themselves and want fine-grained control over models and execution environments.

6. Codync: Use Coding Agents from Your iPhone, with a Free Product

Official: codync.dev / GitHub leepokai/Codync (Apache-2.0, built in Rust)

What it is. A tool that uses 40+ agents already signed in on your computer, including Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Cursor, Copilot, and OpenCode, as bots via ACP. The FAQ says Codync never logs in or calls the APIs itself. The host runs on macOS / Windows / Linux (headless works too). The native client is a SwiftUI iPhone app, and there’s an SSH TUI as well. There’s no mention of an Android app on the official homepage (unconfirmed, probably unsupported). Per the official docs, data isn’t copied to Codync, and communication is end-to-end encrypted (the relay sees only ciphertext). Codync Cloud (beta) uses your own Boat (EU) or InstaBox (US) account.

Pricing (official as of November 12, 2026). Codync itself is $0, with no paid plans or in-app purchases. Cloud computer costs go to Boat / InstaBox, and model costs go to each agent.

How it differs from Grok Bot. It leans toward “talking to, approving, and monitoring coding agents from your phone.” It has a skeleton of multiple bots, groups, bot-to-bot requests, routines, and memory, but the official homepage doesn’t foreground an official managed VM like Grok Bot’s, or Slack as a first-class workplace. Always-on operation also depends on your own machine or a cloud VM you contract yourself. The design where a fallback agent takes over the same turn, memory, and folder when you hit a usage limit is an idea that model-locked Grok Bot doesn’t have. Bot coordination across computers is in beta.

Availability. No regional restrictions on self-hosting are stated officially. The lack of an official Android app could be a limitation for some readers.

Who it’s for. Developers who already use Claude Code or Codex and want to drive them from an iPhone with approvals.

7. Hermes Agent: Nous Research’s Self-Improving Agent (Separate from FlyHermes)

Official (main): hermes-agent.nousresearch.com

What it is. A self-improving agent from Nous Research. The official description covers persistent memory, reusable skills, tools, cron, browser automation, code execution, and multi-agent delegation. Self-hosting (your own machine or server) is the baseline, and you can optionally use Nous Portal’s cloud agents. Installation works on macOS / Linux / Windows. Messaging covers Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Email, the CLI, and more. Models are the provider you configure yourself or the Portal catalog.

Pricing (official as of November 12, 2026, Nous Portal). The software itself is MIT and $0. The Portal has Free (pay-as-you-go, free models only, no Cloud hosting), Plus at $20/month (Cloud 4GB RAM / 25GB disk), Super at $100/month (5x Plus, Cloud 4GB / 100GB), and Ultra at $200/month (10x Plus, Cloud 8GB / 100GB).

Hosted tools (search, images, voice, cloud browser) are on the paid-plan side. You can cancel anytime, and included usage has daily / weekly / monthly limits.

FlyHermes (independent, not affiliated) has its own official pricing: $49/month or the equivalent of $39/month billed annually ($468/year), 490 AI credits per month (4,680 up front for annual billing), top-ups from $10, an iPhone app in beta, and Telegram / WhatsApp / Slack / Discord / Web, according to that pricing page. This is separate from Nous’s Plus at $20 and the others.

How it differs from Grok Bot. It’s closer to an “agent platform / runtime you run yourself” than Grok Bot is. The learning loop, skills, and many chat channels are central, and the official materials also contrast it by noting that setup and operations are on you.

Availability. No regional restrictions on self-hosting are visible on the homepage.

Who it’s for. People who want to host an agent themselves and grow it over a long period on messengers, and who will read Nous’s official pricing and FlyHermes’s separately.

8. kwant: Self-Hosted, with Verification and Space Separation Up Front

Official: kwant.si

What it is. A self-hosted AI agent team that runs as a single binary (the binary is named kwnt). You open a web app on your own laptop or VPS. For models, it uses your existing Claude Code / Codex / Grok, API keys, Ollama, and OpenAI-compatible endpoints, and when you hit a limit it fails over to the next account and shows that in the chat. Official features include shared chat with @-handoffs, spaces that separate things like work and home, routines, an Inbox, a Truth Ledger (which holds contradictory facts), confirmation before payments, and rollback. The official site positions “verified Done” as its differentiator.

Pricing (official as of November 12, 2026). The software is free. For a commercial license, the official site says to contact contact@kwant.si.

How it differs from Grok Bot. It isn’t an official managed cloud VM product; you run it on your own machine or VPS. Its selling points are approvals for risky actions, browser operation where a human handles sign-in and CAPTCHAs, per-space separation, and verification with diff review. Compared with Grok Bot’s “ready to use from the start, with an official cloud PC + official mobile apps + Slack,” the onboarding is less smooth.

The license is AGPL-3.0, which requires you to provide modified source if you offer it over a network (some versions before the switch remain MIT OR Apache-2.0, and the terms were last updated October 25, 2026). The project itself is new: the repository was created on October 22, 2026, and the site lists version 0.9.1 as released on November 12, 2026.

Availability. No regional restrictions are stated. In practice, the bigger issue is installer signing. The Mac build isn’t notarized, so on first launch you have to open it from “Privacy & Security.” Windows / Linux are in beta, and Windows is unsigned and requires getting past SmartScreen, according to the official docs. The official site says “On your phone too,” but the supported OS details are unconfirmed.

Who it’s for. People who want to self-host and move agent “done” states forward with verification and approvals. If you’re not comfortable with unsigned installers, think carefully.

9. Clawboo: An Orchestrator for Multiple Runtimes (Separate from OpenClaw)

Official: claw.boo / Docs / GitHub clawboo/clawboo (MIT)

What it is. A TypeScript orchestrator that ties together heterogeneous agent runtimes. A leader splits up requests, and you follow progress on a board and in chat. Install with npx clawboo@latest or npm install -g clawboo, with no account required and no product analytics, according to the official docs. Data lives in ~/.clawboo/clawboo.db, and keys go in a vault. It runs on macOS, Linux, and Windows and requires Node.js 22.12+. The built-in Native option covers 11 providers, and you can optionally connect Claude Code, Codex, Hermes, and OpenClaw as peers.

The important point here is that Clawboo is a separate project from OpenClaw (openclaw.ai). Clawboo can treat OpenClaw as one of its connection targets, but they aren’t the same product.

Pricing (official as of November 12, 2026). Free (MIT). Model usage is paid at the connected target.

How it differs from Grok Bot. They sit at different layers. Grok Bot is a product that bundles a cloud PC, official mobile apps, Slack, and Vault. Clawboo is on the side of “coordinating multiple runtimes you already use on one board,” and its homepage doesn’t mention a cloud VM product or official native mobile apps. Shared memory, verification gates (independent review of repository changes), budget caps, and nesting / fan-out limits are the official features. Cron as a routine is limited on the homepage. The official FAQ itself says “It is early and moves fast.… Expect rough edges at the margins,” acknowledging that some parts are rough.

Availability. No regional restrictions are stated, as long as you meet the Node.js version requirement. The lack of an official mobile app makes it less convenient than Grok Bot for operating on the go.

Who it’s for. Developers who already use Claude Code, Hermes, OpenClaw, and others side by side and want to assign work among them on one board.

10. Noodle: A Free Agent Leaning Toward Mac and Apple Intelligence

Official: usenoodle.app / GitHub pdparchitect/noodle (Apache-2.0, Enterprise excepted)

What it is. A personal AI agent for Mac (and iPhone / iPad). The author handle is pdp / pdparchitect. The main app is for Mac, and the GitHub download badge is a macOS 26 / arm64 DMG. The homepage doesn’t mention a Windows / Linux desktop version. On the other hand, the README says you can set up a Noodle Computer for agents on Linux / macOS / Windows. Mobile is a TestFlight beta. Models are your existing accounts (Codex, Claude Code, Grok Build, Muse Code, OpenCode, and others), plus Apple Intelligence and local models (the README lists Qwen3, Llama, and Gemma 4). Noodle Hub shares an always-on Mac, and Suite runs a team’s agents on one Mac in the office, according to the official site.

Pricing (official as of November 12, 2026). Personal use is free (Apache-2.0), and the homepage even says “Everything is free.” Enterprise is a license exception, and I didn’t fetch the pricing details page this time, so the amount is unconfirmed.

How it differs from Grok Bot. It leans toward Apple’s ecosystem, especially new macOS and Apple silicon. It isn’t a cross-platform official cloud VM product like Grok Bot. Always-on operation is also based on the idea of “making someone’s Mac the Hub.” Handing it a signed-in browser, opening tools the agent built (Applets), on-device speech transcription, and Shortcuts and Spotlight integration are close to what Mac users want. On Intel Macs or macOS earlier than 26, the distribution format itself may rule you out (official wording on Intel support is unconfirmed).

Availability. No regional restrictions are stated. In practice, the constraint is the OS requirement: you first need macOS 26 and Apple silicon.

Who it’s for. People whose main machine is an Apple silicon Mac on recent macOS and who want to try a free, local-leaning agent.

Finally, tools whose source is public but whose license doesn’t match the OSI’s open-source definition, or that still carry early-access wording. They’re perfectly viable as alternatives, but in this article I won’t stop at just calling them “open source.”

11. OpenBot: A Local-First Desktop Workspace (Separate from CopilotKit’s)

Official: openbot.run / Pricing / GitHub nightly-labs/openbot

What it is. A local-first desktop workspace from Synthetify Labs (Nightly Labs; the GitHub lists Norbert Bodziony as the main developer). It teams up Codex, Claude Code, Gemini, Grok, OpenCode, Cursor, Cline, Muse Code, Pi, Mercury, ACP-compatible agents, OpenAI-compatible endpoints, Ollama / LM Studio, and more in one persistent workspace. It supports macOS 13+ (Apple silicon / Intel), Windows 10+ x64, and Linux x64/arm64 (AppImage). iOS / Android are companions that “connect to your computer.”

Since it’s easy to confuse, I’ll say this up front: CopilotKit’s OpenBot (GitHub CopilotKit/OpenBot, homepage open.bot) is a separate project. This article covers only openbot.run / nightly-labs/openbot.

Pricing (official as of November 12, 2026. The pricing page lets you switch between EUR / USD / PLN, and the figures below are extracted in EUR). For personal, non-commercial use on your own PC, it’s €0 with no feature limits (only AI provider fees). Hosted servers get 20% off with annual billing: Starter is Sold out (€20/month, or €16 billed annually), Standard is €50/month or €40/year, and Pro is €100/month or €80/year. The pricing page shows commercial licensing as “Free until December 1, 2026,” after which a Starter license (1 person) is €10/month or €7.20 billed annually, and a Team license (2 people included) is €70/month or €50.40, among others. I wasn’t able to extract exact USD prices this time.

How it differs from Grok Bot. The biggest difference is that it teams up multiple existing CLIs on your own PC. You can choose models, and data is stored on the machine you run it on, per the official docs. Multiple agents, handoffs, workflows and approvals, shared channels, and a built-in browser are close to Grok Bot’s skeleton. Official managed always-on operation is on the Hosted server side, so it isn’t a “cloud PC comes with it from the start” product like Grok Bot. The official FAQ warns that agents can change files, run commands, access the network, and use the browser without confirming each time. Although the source is public, the current license is PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 (limited to non-commercial use; v0.1.11 and earlier remain Apache-2.0). Commercial use needs a separate license, and workplace use may incur fees starting December 1, 2026, which differs both from Grok Bot (included in the subscription) and from Apache / MIT-style alternatives.

Availability. No regional restrictions are stated.

Who it’s for. Individuals (non-commercial) who want to bring several coding agents they already use into one workplace on their own PC. For workplace adoption, check the license deadline first.

12. Bloks: Cheap Remote Access and Group-Chat-Style Agents

Official: bloks.dev / Pricing / GitHub hamedgitty/bloks

What it is. A local-first personal AI agent that treats agents as contacts and rooms as group chats. Execution is on your own machine by default, and Bloks Cloud is an end-to-end relay for reaching it and doesn’t move where things run, per the official site. Always-on operation needs the Hosting add-on. It supports Mac (Apple silicon / Intel), Windows, Linux, and iPhone (free over your home Wi-Fi, Cloud when you’re away). There’s no official Android mention this time (unconfirmed). Models are your existing Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Grok CLI, and others, various keys, local models like Ollama, and optionally the paid Bloks AI.

Pricing (official as of November 12, 2026, USD). The $0 app includes all features, unlimited agents, and iPhone on your home network. Cloud is $5/month ($45/year), Team is $10/month ($80/year), and Bloks AI is $20/month (monthly only). Hosting Standard adds +$15/month to Cloud / Team (2 vCPU, 4GB, 10GB, always on). Bundles are Bloks Hosted at $35 and Team Hosted at $40. Hosting Lite (+$5) is listed as coming soon and isn’t on sale yet. The pricing table says Telegram works even on the free plan, while Slack / Discord / WhatsApp / agent email are on the paid-plan side.

How it differs from Grok Bot. Its philosophy is strongly “keep everything on your own machine,” with a cheap relay (from $5/month) for remote access. If you close your laptop without Hosting, agents and routines stop (official). Grok Bot defaults to a cloud PC, which is the biggest operational difference. Groups (leads), MEMORY.md, change Undo, audit logs, and its own browser are rich for personal local use. The license is the Functional Source License 1.1 (MIT Future License): internal use is allowed at any scale, what’s prohibited is “selling Bloks or something substantially similar to others,” and each release converts automatically to MIT two years after publication, per the official site. During the FSL period, it doesn’t strictly meet the OSI’s open-source definition.

Availability. No regional restrictions are stated. There’s an iPhone app, but the lack of an official Android app could be a limitation.

Who it’s for. People who mainly run on their own PC and occasionally want cheap remote access, and who want to use Telegram as the entry point.

13. AppuBot: Real-App Click Control and Telegram

Official: appubot.com / GitHub sarthakguptadev/appubot

What it is. An AI teammate that clicks through real apps on your own Mac (and Windows / Linux). You can also chat with it on Telegram. The official site says “Mac first,” and there are Windows / Linux versions too (the FAQ says it doesn’t have Mac-only features like keeping the machine awake with the lid closed). There’s a phone app, and with Cloud you can use it from your phone alone. Models are your signed-in Claude Code, Codex (ChatGPT), Cursor, Grok, GitHub Copilot, and OpenCode. Cloud has a limited-time Claude allowance launch offer (AppuBot AI, Haiku 5.5, and so on), which the official site says can change or end without notice and isn’t included in plan prices.

Pricing (official FAQ as of November 12, 2026, USD, excluding tax). The app on your own PC is free, with no account or card needed, and the FAQ also says it “stays free.” On the other hand, the homepage and “What is AppuBot?” also say “free during early access,” so both official wordings coexist. This article lists both. Cloud is Starter $19 (4GB), Pro $49 (8GB), Max $79 (16GB), and Ultra $109 (32GB), with no hour limits (fair use applies) and 2 months free on annual billing. Work has bases of Team $49 / Business $79 / Scale $109, plus $20 per additional member (the first is included in the base). As an example, the FAQ says 5 people on Team is $129/month. There’s a full refund within 14 days of the first payment. Payments are handled by Dodo Payments.

How it differs from Grok Bot. Clicking through real apps and chatting over Telegram are front and center, and a distinguishing feature is that you can use your own Mac as the workplace in addition to a cloud PC. Multiple bots, Teach a task, memory, routines, and connections to Gmail / GitHub / Notion and others are close to Grok Bot. On the other hand, the official site states that the Cloud host can technically see the contents (saying it doesn’t look, but access is logged). The license shows as null in the GitHub API, and I couldn’t confirm the SPDX identifier or a LICENSE file this time. Star counts are also low, so its maturity is harder to read than other source-available tools. It doesn’t yet match Grok Bot’s depth of official safety explanation, where it’s included in the subscription from the start and Vault hides secrets from the Bot.

Availability. No regional restrictions are stated. For people who use Telegram daily, the channel is familiar, though the entry point differs from Slack-first teams.

Who it’s for. People who want to try real-app control on their own Mac plus Telegram, free for now (though with early-access wording). For commercial or long-term use, re-check the license and the free-pricing policy wording before you commit.

Practical Notes Before You Choose

Here’s a roundup of what’s come up in the comparison tables and sections, in practical order.

Claude Duet is officially US-only. The research preview is limited to the US. Don’t assume that because it’s Anthropic’s agent, you can use it right away with a Claude subscription elsewhere. If you want to try a big vendor’s cloud agent right now outside the US, the options with official announcements are Muse (launched October 23, 2026) and the staged-rollout OpenAI dots (outside the EEA, Switzerland, and the UK, though you need to check whether it has reached your account).

“Free” often means only the app is free, and model costs are separate. For MausBot, Rakazo, Codync, Hermes, kwant, Clawboo, Noodle, OpenBot (personal / non-commercial), Bloks, and AppuBot (own PC), even when the harness is $0, billing from Claude or ChatGPT remains. Grok Bot / Duet / dots / Muse are the type included in an eligible plan (or as part of a plan).

Installer signing and OS requirements. kwant’s Mac build isn’t notarized and its Windows build is unsigned. If an OS warning appears on first launch, check for yourself whether it’s what the official docs expect and whether the download source is genuine. Noodle’s distribution is officially announced for macOS 26 / arm64, so it may not install on older macOS or Intel Macs (official wording on Intel support is unconfirmed).

Similarly named projects. OpenBot (openbot.run, nightly-labs) and CopilotKit’s OpenBot are different things. Don’t mix Nous Research’s official Hermes (hermes-agent.nousresearch.com) with FlyHermes, an independent service on hermes-agent.ai. Clawboo is separate from OpenClaw, and the relationship is that OpenClaw can be one of its connection targets.

Security and business use. The big vendors (Grok Bot, Duet, Muse, dots) have comparatively thorough official pages on safety, approvals, and data handling. For self-hosted tools, you’ll need to read the official docs before adopting on execution permissions, logs, and licenses (in particular OpenBot’s non-commercial license, Bloks’s FSL, kwant’s AGPL, AppuBot’s unconfirmed license, and AppuBot Cloud’s host access). This article isn’t a security audit of each tool.

FAQ

How much does Grok Bot cost? Can I use it on a free plan?

No. On the official The X Subscription, Grok Bot is included in Premium ($30/month or $300/year), Super ($100/month or $1,000/year), and Ultra ($200/month or $2,000/year). It isn’t included in Free or Plus ($8/month). Usage is a weekly pool shared across Grok, Grok Bot, and Cursor. For details, see the official pricing page. Figures are as of November 12, 2026, and the documentation was last updated October 11, 2026.

Are there free alternatives to Grok Bot?

In the sense of “the app or harness is free,” yes. MausBot, Rakazo (self-hosted), Codync, Hermes Agent (the software), kwant, Clawboo, Noodle (personal), OpenBot (personal / non-commercial), Bloks, and AppuBot (your own PC) have an official $0 (or €0) entry point.

However, model usage is almost always billed separately. Muse has a free plan, but the official Help doesn’t give specific limits. dots and Duet have “no additional charge on eligible base plans,” but the base plans themselves are paid. Duet is US-only.

Does “open-source Grok Bot alternative” mean the same thing for all of them?

No. MausBot, Rakazo, Codync, and Noodle are Apache-2.0; Hermes (Nous) and Clawboo are MIT; kwant is AGPL-3.0. OpenBot publishes its source, but its current license is PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0, and commercial use needs a separate license. Bloks is FSL 1.1, which converts to MIT after two years, but during the FSL period it doesn’t strictly meet the OSI’s open-source definition. For AppuBot, I couldn’t confirm the license on GitHub this time. If an article or post on X lumps them all together as “open source,” I recommend checking the actual license text.

What if I want the agent to keep running when I close my laptop?

The official clouds that are the default are Grok Bot, Claude Duet (US-only), OpenAI dots, and Muse. Source-available tools mostly need your own PC to be on. For always-on operation, the official options are each vendor’s paid Cloud / Hosted / Hosting, Nous Portal, a VPS you rent yourself, or, for Noodle, an always-on Mac (Hub). Examples that explicitly say they stop when you close your laptop include Bloks (without Hosting) and MausBot’s free setup.

Which One Should You Choose?

Here’s a rundown by goal, limited to what the official information supports. I won’t call anything “the strongest.” Pricing and features are assumed to change.

You already have a Claude or ChatGPT subscription and want to start free → MausBot. If you need always-on operation, consider paid Cloud.

You want to host it yourself and fine-tune models and sandboxes → Rakazo. Claude needs an API key. The hosted version is in Beta.

You want to approve and monitor coding agents from your iPhone → Codync. The product itself is $0. There’s no official Android app.

You want to try a big vendor’s official cloud right now → Muse. Just keep in mind that the free allowance isn’t published. If you already use ChatGPT Pro and the staged rollout has reached your account, OpenAI dots is also a candidate.

You’re in the US and can try Claude’s proactive agent → Claude Duet. It’s more accurate to leave it off alternatives lists for readers outside the US.

You want to grow a messenger-resident agent platform yourself → Hermes Agent (Nous official). Read the pricing page separately from FlyHermes’s.

You want to self-host with a priority on verification, approvals, and space separation → kwant. Accept the unnotarized / unsigned installs and the fact that it’s a new project.

You already use multiple runtimes and want to assign work on a board → Clawboo. It’s separate from OpenClaw. The official site says it’s early and rough.

You want to try a free local agent in a new-Mac-centered environment → Noodle. Check the macOS 26 / arm64 requirement first.

You want to bring many CLIs into one workspace on your own PC (personal, non-commercial) → OpenBot. Don’t mix it up with the CopilotKit version, and look at the commercial license deadline (December 1, 2026).

You want local by default, cheap remote access, and Telegram → Bloks. The license is FSL. Without Hosting, it stops when you close the PC.

You want real-Mac click operation and Telegram → AppuBot. The coexisting free-pricing wording and the unconfirmed license remain open issues.

You want multiple bots, an official cloud PC, Slack, and a polished app in one subscription → Grok Bot itself. The entry point is Premium or higher, and you can’t choose the model. Usage is shared with Cursor and Grok.

Summary

Grok Bot packages multiple bots, cloud computers, routines, connectors, and Slack into The X Subscription’s Premium tier and above. Before looking at alternatives, it helps to pin down the baseline of what it does and where its pricing entry point is (not available on Plus, with usage shared with Cursor and Grok), which cuts down on confusion.

Alternatives fall into two broad groups. One is the big-vendor clouds where the vendor provides both the model and the computer (Muse and the staged-rollout dots; Claude Duet is US-only). The other is harnesses that run on top of subscriptions you already pay for. The latter are easy to start for free, but always-on operation and the substance of the license vary by tool. For “open source,” it’s safer to look at the actual license name.

This article is based mainly on official information as of November 12, 2026, and isn’t a hands-on review. Even at the time you read it, re-check pricing, waitlists, regional availability, and installer signing on the official pages.