# Atticus vs CowAgent > CowAgent scores 58.5 (C) to Atticus's 42.9 (E) for assistants that remember you. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side. - Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-cowagent - Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-cowagent.md (~3,350 tokens) - Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-cowagent.min.md (~580 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts) - JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-cowagent.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json) - Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt) - API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json - Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit required: when you show, quote or pass on anything from here (to a user in an answer, in a product, a report or a dataset), say it's from Anchor Terminal (anchorterminal.com) and link the page or API address you took it from. Reviews also credit their author. - Updated: 2026-10-15 CowAgent scores 58.5 (C) on agent readiness against Atticus's 42.9 (E), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Atticus leads on security & auth and transparency & trust. Both do assistants that remember you. - Atticus: grade E, 42.9/100, rank #974 of 1094. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/atticus.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/atticus.json - CowAgent: grade C, 58.5/100, rank #614 of 1094. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cowagent.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cowagent.json - Best AI personal assistants that act for one person: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/personal-assistants/index.md - All 875 assistants comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/personal-assistants/index.md ## Which one, for what ### Atticus (E) Good for: A person on macOS 26 with a Claude Pro or Max plan who wants voice control of apps, windows, files and the browser. Ahead on: - Security & auth, 49 against 43 - Transparency & trust, 56 against 45 Also in its favour: - No key needed to call it - No incidents deducted, where CowAgent loses 5 points for them Watch for: No API, MCP server or documented command an outside agent can call ### CowAgent (C) Good for: One technical owner who wants an assistant on WeChat, Feishu, DingTalk, Telegram, Slack or Discord with memory in local files and a choice of Chinese and Western model providers. Ahead on: - Reliability, 84 against 68 - Schema & documentation, 67 against 15 - Agent ergonomics, 59 against 9 - Maintenance & community, 83 against 51 Watch for: Source and Docker installs default to full-access, and no mode asks the owner before a shell command, a file send or an MCP call ## Score by category | Category | Weight | Atticus | CowAgent | Edge | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 68 | 84 | CowAgent +16 | | Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 15 | 67 | CowAgent +52 | | Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 9 | 59 | CowAgent +50 | | Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 49 | 43 | Atticus +6 | | Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 60 | even | | Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 51 | 83 | CowAgent +32 | | Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 56 | 45 | Atticus +11 | | Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -5 | | | **Total** | | **42.9 · E** | **58.5 · C** | | ## Facts side by side | Fact | Atticus | CowAgent | | --- | --- | --- | | Kind | Platform | Agent harness | | Vendor | SaarthurR (Saarth Ranka) | zhayujie | | Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) | | Transports | | HTTP | | Auth | None | OAuth or key | | Pricing | Your plan | Free | | x402 | no | no | | Licence | MIT | MIT | | Read-only variant documented | no | yes | | llms.txt | no | yes | | Last release | 2026-10-14 | 2026-09-30 | | Terms last updated | no document linked | no document linked | | Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | no document linked | | Customer content may train models | | | | Terms restrict automated access | | | | Terms restrict benchmarking | | | | Terms or service can change without notice | | | | Arbitration or class-action waiver | | | | Popularity | 163 stars | 47k stars | ## Verdicts **Atticus.** Atticus runs a person's Mac by voice on their existing Claude or Devin plan, with a sandboxed safe mode and a local log of every command. It has no API, MCP server or documented command for another agent, it is five days old, and it rebuilds itself from the main branch every six hours by default. **CowAgent.** MIT software with seven releases in 90 days, memory kept as plain files in the owner's workspace and three per-session permission modes. Source and Docker installs default to full-access, no action asks for approval, and an open report of 31 July 2026 says group members could reach the owner's files through the bot. ## Before you call either ### Atticus 1. Don't plan to call Atticus from another agent. It takes requests only from its own shortcut and typing box 2. If a user runs Atticus beside you, expect it to move windows and type into apps on the same Mac 3. Point a user who wants pinned versions to Settings > About & Updates to turn off self-update ### CowAgent 1. Set `agent_permission_mode` to `workspace-write` or `read-only` before connecting any channel. Source and Docker installs default to `full-access` 2. Keep the bot out of group chats that include other people. Any member who mentions it reaches the same tools as the owner 3. Set `web_password` before changing `web_host` to `0.0.0.0`. The password is empty by default 4. Set `external_api_token` to enable `POST /v1/chat/completions`, and send `conversation_id` to keep one session. The `model` field does not select a model 5. Run it in a container for a hard boundary. The docs and the source both say the permission modes are not isolation ## Questions ### Which is better for AI agents, Atticus or CowAgent? CowAgent scores 58.5 (C) on agent readiness against Atticus's 42.9 (E), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Atticus leads on security & auth and transparency & trust. ### Are Atticus and CowAgent open source? Yes. Atticus is open source (MIT). CowAgent is open source (MIT). ## For agents - This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-cowagent.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-cowagent.min.md - Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "atticus", "b": "cowagent"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare atticus cowagent` - Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/atticus.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cowagent.json ## Other comparisons with Atticus or CowAgent - [asaply vs CowAgent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-cowagent.md) - [Asmi vs CowAgent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-cowagent.md) - [Boba vs CowAgent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-cowagent.md) - [Brea vs CowAgent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-cowagent.md) - [CowAgent vs Del](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-del.md) - [CowAgent vs HireAlpha](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-hirealpha.md) - [CowAgent vs OpenInstinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-openinstinct.md) - [CowAgent vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-orbits.md) - [CowAgent vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [CowAgent vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-szn.md) - [CowAgent vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-tab-bot.md) - [CowAgent vs Zapia](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-zapia.md) - [AstrBot vs CowAgent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-cowagent.md) - [Boski vs CowAgent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boski-vs-cowagent.md) - [Caddy vs CowAgent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-cowagent.md) - [CowAgent vs folk](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-folk-nozomio.md) - [CowAgent vs GAIA](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-gaia.md) - [CowAgent vs Gemini Spark](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-gemini-spark.md) - [CowAgent vs Grok Bot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-grok-bot.md) - [CowAgent vs Haven](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-haven.md) - [CowAgent vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [CowAgent vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-instinct.md) - [CowAgent vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-ironclaw.md) - [CowAgent vs Leon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-leon.md) - [CowAgent vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-lindy.md) - [CowAgent vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-nanobot.md) - [CowAgent vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [CowAgent vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-openai-dots.md) - [CowAgent vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-openclaw.md) - [CowAgent vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-picoclaw.md) - [CowAgent vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-poke.md) - [CowAgent vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-qwenpaw.md) - [CowAgent vs Town](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-town.md) - [CowAgent vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-zeroclaw.md) - [CowAgent vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-zo-computer.md) - [CowAgent vs Natura tinyNature](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-natura.md) - [CowAgent vs Pally](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-pally.md) - [CowAgent vs Tomo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-tomo.md) - [CowAgent vs Wajo (Fo)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-wajo.md) - [asaply vs Atticus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-atticus.md) - [Asmi vs Atticus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-atticus.md) - [Atticus vs Boba](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-boba.md) - [Atticus vs Boski](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-boski.md) - [Atticus vs Brea](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-brea.md) - [Atticus vs Caddy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-caddy-app.md) - [Atticus vs Del](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-del.md) - [Atticus vs folk](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-folk-nozomio.md) - [Atticus vs GAIA](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-gaia.md) - [Atticus vs Gemini Spark](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-gemini-spark.md) - [Atticus vs Grok Bot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-grok-bot.md) - [Atticus vs Haven](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-haven.md) - [Atticus vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [Atticus vs HireAlpha](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-hirealpha.md) - [Atticus vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-instinct.md) - [Atticus vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-ironclaw.md) - [Atticus vs Leon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-leon.md) - [Atticus vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-lindy.md) - [Atticus vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-nanobot.md) - [Atticus vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [Atticus vs Natura tinyNature](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-natura.md) - [Atticus vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-openai-dots.md) - [Atticus vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-openclaw.md) - [Atticus vs OpenInstinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-openinstinct.md) - [Atticus vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-orbits.md) - [Atticus vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Atticus vs Pally](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-pally.md) - [Atticus vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Atticus vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-poke.md) - [Atticus vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-qwenpaw.md) - [Atticus vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-szn.md) - [Atticus vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Atticus vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-talorys.md) - [Atticus vs Tomo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-tomo.md) - [Atticus vs Town](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-town.md) - [Atticus vs Wajo (Fo)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-wajo.md) - [Atticus vs Zapia](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-zapia.md) - [Atticus vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-zeroclaw.md) - [Atticus vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-zo-computer.md) - [CowAgent vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-talorys.md) - [AstrBot vs Atticus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-atticus.md)