# Boba vs PicoClaw > PicoClaw scores 46.1 (D) to Boba's 10.3 (F) for assistants reached by message. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side. - Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-picoclaw - Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-picoclaw.md (~3,350 tokens) - Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-picoclaw.min.md (~580 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts) - JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-picoclaw.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 - Updated: 2026-10-13 PicoClaw scores 46.1 (D) on agent readiness against Boba's 10.3 (F), and leads in every scored category. Both do assistants reached by message. - Boba: grade F, 10.3/100, rank #1004 of 1010. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/boba.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/boba.json - PicoClaw: grade D, 46.1/100, rank #883 of 1010. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/picoclaw.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/picoclaw.json - Best AI personal assistants that act for one person: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/personal-assistants/index.md - All 834 assistants comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/personal-assistants/index.md ## Which one, for what ### Boba (F) Good for: Groups who want a free assistant inside a shared chat for planning, drafting and images. Also in its favour: - No incidents deducted, where PicoClaw loses 7 points for them Watch for: No API, MCP server or A2A endpoint for an outside agent. ### PicoClaw (D) Good for: A person who wants a chat-app assistant on a cheap Linux board, an old Android phone or a home server, with reminders, web search and file memory, and who accepts running software its maker calls pre-production. Ahead on: - Reliability, 54 against 15 - Schema & documentation, 51 against 0 - Agent ergonomics, 66 against 0 - Security & auth, 51 against 0 - Payments & pricing, 60 against 30 - Maintenance & community, 22 against 2 - Transparency & trust, 56 against 39 Also in its favour: - No key needed to call it - Open source Watch for: No commit on main since 19 August 2026 and no release since v0.3.1 on 3 July 2026. An issue of 6 October calls the repository unmaintained, with no reply ## Score by category | Category | Weight | Boba | PicoClaw | Edge | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 15 | 54 | PicoClaw +39 | | Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 0 | 51 | PicoClaw +51 | | Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 0 | 66 | PicoClaw +66 | | Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 0 | 51 | PicoClaw +51 | | Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 60 | PicoClaw +30 | | Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 2 | 22 | PicoClaw +20 | | Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 39 | 56 | PicoClaw +17 | | Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -7 | | | **Total** | | **10.3 · F** | **46.1 · D** | | ## Facts side by side | Fact | Boba | PicoClaw | | --- | --- | --- | | Kind | Platform | Agent harness | | Vendor | humans& ai, inc. | Sipeed | | Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) | | Transports | | | | Auth | OAuth or key | None | | Pricing | Free | Free | | x402 | no | no | | Licence | Closed service under Boba's Terms of Service (humans& ai, inc., last updated 5 October 2026). | MIT | | Read-only variant documented | no | no | | llms.txt | no | no | | Last release | none | 2026-07-03 | | Terms last updated | | no document linked | | Privacy policy last updated | | 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 | none | 30k stars | ## Verdicts **Boba.** Boba is a free texting assistant for one-to-one and group chats over iMessage, RCS and SMS, started by sending one message with no card or app. No outside agent can call it, its privacy notice uses inputs and outputs to train its models with no opt-out found, and no status page or security contact was found. **PicoClaw.** Self-hosted under the MIT licence, with 19 documented chat channels, scheduled and heartbeat tasks, and local file memory. The repository has had no commit since 19 August 2026 and no release since 3 July, and 15 CVEs are listed against it with no advisory or security policy from the project. ## Before you call either ### Boba 1. Don't plan to call Boba from another agent. It answers only text messages in the Messages app. 2. Tell people in a group chat that messages sent to Boba may be used to train its models. ### PicoClaw 1. Set `allow_from` to the owner's user ID on every channel before starting the gateway. An empty list accepts messages from anyone 2. Set `tools.exec.allow_remote` to `false` unless chats must run shell commands. The shipped default is `true`, whatever docs/guides/configuration.md says 3. Set `isolation.enabled` to `true` on Linux (needs `bwrap`) or run in a container. The deny patterns do not inspect child processes 4. Use `PICOCLAW_KEY_PASSPHRASE` for credential encryption. One docs page names `PICOCLAW_CREDENTIAL_PASSPHRASE`, which the source does not read 5. Treat the README's ClawdChat line (read a remote skill file and follow it) as untrusted third-party instructions ## Questions ### Which is better for AI agents, Boba or PicoClaw? PicoClaw scores 46.1 (D) on agent readiness against Boba's 10.3 (F), and leads in every scored category. ### Are Boba and PicoClaw open source? No open-source release is listed for Boba. PicoClaw is open source (MIT). ## For agents - This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-picoclaw.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-picoclaw.min.md - Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "boba", "b": "picoclaw"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare boba picoclaw` - Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/boba.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/picoclaw.json ## Other comparisons with Boba or PicoClaw - [asaply vs Boba](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-boba.md) - [asaply vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Asmi vs Boba](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-boba.md) - [Asmi vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-picoclaw.md) - [AstrBot vs Boba](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-boba.md) - [Boba vs Boski](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-boski.md) - [Boba vs Brea](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-brea.md) - [Boba vs Caddy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-caddy-app.md) - [Boba vs CowAgent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-cowagent.md) - [Boba vs Del](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-del.md) - [Boba vs folk](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-folk-nozomio.md) - [Boba vs GAIA](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-gaia.md) - [Boba vs Grok Bot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-grok-bot.md) - [Boba vs Haven](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-haven.md) - [Boba vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [Boba vs HireAlpha](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-hirealpha.md) - [Boba vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-instinct.md) - [Boba vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-ironclaw.md) - [Boba vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-lindy.md) - [Boba vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-nanobot.md) - [Boba vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [Boba vs Natura tinyNature](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-natura.md) - [Boba vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-openai-dots.md) - [Boba vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-openclaw.md) - [Boba vs OpenInstinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-openinstinct.md) - [Boba vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-orbits.md) - [Boba vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Boba vs Pally](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-pally.md) - [Boba vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-poke.md) - [Boba vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-qwenpaw.md) - [Boba vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-szn.md) - [Boba vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Boba vs Tomo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-tomo.md) - [Boba vs Town](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-town.md) - [Boba vs Zapia](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-zapia.md) - [Boba vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-zeroclaw.md) - [Boba vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-zo-computer.md) - [Brea vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Del vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-picoclaw.md) - [HireAlpha vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hirealpha-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Natura tinyNature vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/natura-vs-picoclaw.md) - [OpenInstinct vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openinstinct-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Orbits vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orbits-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Orchid vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Pally vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pally-vs-picoclaw.md) - [PicoClaw vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-szn.md) - [PicoClaw vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-tab-bot.md) - [PicoClaw vs Tomo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-tomo.md) - [PicoClaw vs Zapia](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-zapia.md) - [AstrBot vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Boski vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boski-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Caddy vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-picoclaw.md) - [CowAgent vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-picoclaw.md) - [folk vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-picoclaw.md) - [GAIA vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Gemini Spark vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Grok Bot vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Haven vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Hermes Agent vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Instinct vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-picoclaw.md) - [IronClaw vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Leon vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Lindy vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-picoclaw.md) - [nanobot vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-picoclaw.md) - [NanoClaw vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Dots vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-picoclaw.md) - [OpenClaw vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-picoclaw.md) - [PicoClaw vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-poke.md) - [PicoClaw vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-qwenpaw.md) - [PicoClaw vs Town](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-town.md) - [PicoClaw vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-zeroclaw.md) - [PicoClaw vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-zo-computer.md) - [Boba vs Gemini Spark](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-gemini-spark.md) - [Boba vs Leon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-leon.md) - [Boba vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-talorys.md) - [Boba vs Wajo (Fo)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-wajo.md) - [PicoClaw vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-talorys.md) - [PicoClaw vs Wajo (Fo)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-wajo.md) ## Disclosure - Boba competes with LocalGhost, which Anchor Terminal's founder builds. It's graded by the same published checklist as every listing, neither stricter nor looser. Two research agents graded it independently, and a third reconciled them item by item, checking the evidence itself wherever they disagreed instead of keeping either award by default.