Alternatives to Grok Bot: six personal agents, from their own docs
Updated on
If you want an alternative to Grok Bot, the options split into two groups: open-source agents you install and run on your own machine or server, and hosted agents from other big AI companies. This page puts six of them next to Grok Bot using only what each project or company publishes: who makes it, where the work runs, whether you get one agent or several, and how you get access.
Status: Not tested yet. We have not run any of these on the same job, so there is no winner and no score of our own. Sources were checked on 2026-11-02, and all of these products change often.
The short version
Grok Bot gives you several Bots, each with its own job, working on one persistent cloud computer in Cursor's cloud. It keeps working when your laptop is closed, and access comes with certain X Subscription, Cursor, SuperGrok and Grok Business plans. The alternatives differ from it on one or both of two questions: who runs the computer, and whether you get one agent or a team.
- Open source, on your own machine: OpenMausBot, Hermes Agent and OpenClaw. You install them, pick the model, and pay that model's provider. They keep working only while the machine they run on is on.
- Hosted by another company: OpenAI dots, Meta Muse and Claude Cowork. Each runs in its maker's cloud and comes with that maker's plans.
Side by side
| Made by | Open source | Where the work runs | One agent or several | How you get it | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grok Bot | xAI | No | One persistent cloud computer per account, in Cursor's cloud | Several Bots, one job each | Premium, Super and Ultra on The X Subscription; some legacy Cursor, SuperGrok, X Premium+ and Grok Business plans |
| OpenMausBot | Milind Soni and contributors | Yes, Apache 2.0 (except an enterprise folder) | Your computer by default; also a local VM, a Boat cloud desktop, your own server, or a paid MausBot Cloud workspace | Several bots, each on its own engine and model | Free download; bring your own agent CLI or API key; optional paid Cloud plans |
| Hermes Agent | Nous Research | Yes, MIT | Your machine or a backend you choose: local, Docker, SSH, Modal, Daytona or Vercel Sandbox | One agent that can spawn subagents | Free software; you pay the model provider you connect |
| OpenClaw | OpenClaw Foundation (Peter Steinberger and the community) | Yes, MIT | Your own computer, through one Gateway; it can also be shared as a team deployment | A personal assistant; a Gateway can be shared by a team | No subscription and no hosted tier; you bring the model |
| OpenAI dots | OpenAI | No | Its own cloud computer and browser; your laptop only if you give permission | One primary dot; more planned | ChatGPT Pro and Business Premium in eligible markets; Enterprise beta |
| Meta Muse | Meta | No | Muse Secure VM, a dedicated cloud computer with its own browser | One personal agent | US and Canada; free for most use, with paid plans |
| Claude Cowork | Anthropic | No | Anthropic's cloud, from web, desktop and mobile; the desktop app adds folders on your computer | One Claude that splits big projects into parallel chunks | Paid Claude plans: Pro, Max, Ultra, Team standard and premium seats, Enterprise |
Sources for every row are listed at the end of this page. We link pricing pages instead of quoting prices.
Open-source alternatives
OpenMausBot
OpenMausBot, also called MausBot, is the closest in shape. Its README calls it "the open-source Grok Bot alternative": a desktop chat app where every bot in the sidebar is a real agent with its own personality, model, computer and connected apps. It says it is an independent project inspired by Grok Bot and not affiliated with xAI.
Each bot runs on an agent CLI already on your computer. The engines doc lists Claude, Codex, Grok, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Hermes and several others, and you sign in to each one yourself. Apps connect through Composio and cloud desktops come from Boat, which are third-party services with their own terms. The website says bots on the free setup stop while the host computer is asleep or off. A paid MausBot Cloud plan, or your own server, keeps them running. Builds exist for macOS, Windows and Ubuntu 24.04, and the README calls the project "early but real".
Hermes Agent
Hermes Agent is Nous Research's MIT-licensed agent. Its README calls it "the agent that grows with you": it saves skills from experience, keeps memory across sessions, and can run on a small VPS, a GPU cluster or serverless backends that hibernate when idle. You talk to it in a terminal or through one gateway process for Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp and Signal. You pick the model provider. It is one agent that can spawn isolated subagents, not a roster of named Bots. More in our Hermes Agent guide.
OpenClaw
OpenClaw is an MIT-licensed assistant that, in its README's words, "runs on your own computer and meets you in the channels you already use", from WhatsApp and Telegram to Slack, Discord and iMessage. The OpenClaw Foundation, an independent US 501(c)(3), stewards it. Its website says there is no subscription, no hosted tier and no paid version, and that state lives on your machine. You bring hosted, subscription-backed or local models. One Gateway can run it for one person on a laptop or be shared by a team.
Hosted alternatives
OpenAI dots
OpenAI announced dots on September 29, 2026. Each dot runs on GPT-6 Astra with its own cloud computer and browser, connects to over 4,000 apps through plugins, and can be reached in ChatGPT, Slack and Teams. You start with one primary dot; OpenAI says teams of dots are planned. It is rolling out to ChatGPT Pro and Business Premium in eligible markets, with an Enterprise beta. Our Grok Bot vs Muse vs Dots page covers regions and approvals in more detail.
Meta Muse
Meta launched Muse on September 8, 2026. It runs on Muse Secure VM, a dedicated cloud computer with its own browser, and a separate Sentinel agent has to approve anything Muse sends to the internet. You message it in the Muse app or in WhatsApp. Meta says it is free for most of what people need, with subscription plans for more. It rolled out in the US first and later in Canada, and Meta's help pages say it is not yet available everywhere.
Claude Cowork
Claude Cowork is Anthropic's agent for knowledge work, now part of the main Claude app. You give it a goal and it works across files and tools you choose, delivering a finished deck, spreadsheet or report for review. Anthropic says it keeps going when you close your laptop and can run scheduled tasks unattended. It is on paid Claude plans only. It is one Claude rather than a team of named agents, and it is not a coding agent; for code, see Claude Code vs Cowork and Grok Bot vs Claude Code.
How to choose
- Do you want to run it yourself? If yes, start with the three open-source agents, and plan for a machine that stays on. If no, compare Grok Bot with the three hosted agents.
- Do you want a team of agents or one? Grok Bot and OpenMausBot are built around several bots with separate jobs. Dots starts with one, Muse is one agent, and Cowork is one Claude.
- Which model do you want? The open-source agents let you choose. Dots uses GPT-6 Astra, Cowork uses Claude models, and Grok Bot's docs say there is no model picker.
- What do you already pay for? A paid Claude, ChatGPT, X or Cursor plan may already include one of these. OpenMausBot can also run on a Claude Code or Codex login you already have.
- Can you sign up where you live? Muse is in the US and Canada, and dots is rolling out in eligible markets only.
Limits of this page
- Everything here comes from each project's or company's own pages, checked on 2026-11-02. We have not run any of these agents for this page, so nothing here says how well they work.
- This is not a complete list. Other agents get recommended on X, and we left out ones we could not check from an official page.
- OpenMausBot's README has its own comparison table with Grok Bot, Muse and dots. That table is the project's framing, and we have not used it as a source for facts about the other products.
FAQ
What is the best alternative to Grok Bot?
We don't know yet. We have not run these agents on the same job, so we will not name one. If you want the same shape as Grok Bot, a team of bots you message, but open source and on your own machine, OpenMausBot is the project built around that idea. If you want a hosted agent from another company, look at OpenAI dots, Meta Muse or Claude Cowork, and check which one you can sign up for where you live.
Is there an open-source Grok Bot?
Several open-source agents cover similar ground. OpenMausBot describes itself as an open-source Grok Bot alternative and is licensed under Apache 2.0. Hermes Agent from Nous Research and OpenClaw from the OpenClaw Foundation are MIT-licensed agents you run yourself. None of them is made by or affiliated with xAI.
Is there a free alternative to Grok Bot?
The three open-source agents are free software, but you still pay for the model you connect, through a provider account or API key. OpenMausBot also sells optional Cloud plans, while OpenClaw says it has no subscription and no hosted tier. Among the hosted agents, Meta says Muse is free for most of what people need, with paid plans for more. Dots needs ChatGPT Pro or Business Premium, and Cowork needs a paid Claude plan.
Which alternatives keep working when my laptop is closed?
The hosted ones run on the maker's cloud: dots and Muse each have their own cloud computer, and Anthropic says Cowork keeps going when you close your laptop. The open-source ones keep working only if the machine they run on stays on. That can be a server or VPS you set up, or, for OpenMausBot, its paid Cloud workspace.
Can I use Claude or GPT models instead of Grok?
Yes, with most of these. OpenMausBot runs each bot on an agent CLI you sign in to, such as Claude Code, Codex or the Grok CLI. Hermes Agent and OpenClaw let you pick a model provider. Dots runs on GPT-6 Astra and Cowork on Claude models. Grok Bot's security docs say Grok Bot manages model selection and there is no customer-facing model picker.
Related on bests.one
- What is Grok Bot — the product these are compared against.
- Grok Bot vs Muse vs Dots — the three hosted personal agents in more depth.
- Hermes Agent: what it is and how to start
- Claude Code vs Cowork
- Grok Bot vs Claude Code
- How we test
Sources: Grok Bot (xAI docs), Grok Bot security (xAI docs), Grok Bot plans and billing, OpenMausBot README (GitHub), MausBot website, MausBot pricing, Agent engines (OpenMausBot docs), Hermes Agent README (GitHub), Hermes Agent (project site), OpenClaw README (GitHub), OpenClaw website, Introducing dots (OpenAI, September 29, 2026), Introducing Muse (Meta, September 8, 2026), Muse help pages (Meta), Meta's Muse AI agent is now available in Canada (iPhone in Canada, September 18, 2026), Claude Cowork product page (Anthropic), Plans and pricing (Anthropic). Checked on 2026-11-02.