# Brea vs NanoClaw > NanoClaw scores 68.3 (B) to Brea's 12.9 (F) for assistants reached by message. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side. - Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-nanoclaw - Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-nanoclaw.md (~3,300 tokens) - Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-nanoclaw.min.md (~580 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts) - JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-nanoclaw.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 NanoClaw scores 68.3 (B) on agent readiness against Brea's 12.9 (F), and leads in every scored category. Both do assistants reached by message. - Brea: grade F, 12.9/100, rank #1001 of 1010. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/brea.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/brea.json - NanoClaw: grade B, 68.3/100, rank #229 of 1010. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/nanoclaw.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/nanoclaw.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 ### Brea (F) Good for: An iPhone user who wants an assistant across many apps and websites with per-action approval. Also in its favour: - No incidents deducted, where NanoClaw loses 5 points for them Watch for: No API, MCP server or A2A endpoint for an outside agent. ### NanoClaw (B) Good for: A technical owner who wants an assistant on their own machine, reachable from chat apps, with container isolation and scheduled tasks, and who is willing to keep a fork. Ahead on: - Reliability, 78 against 15 - Schema & documentation, 82 against 10 - Agent ergonomics, 70 against 0 - Security & auth, 74 against 7 - Payments & pricing, 60 against 20 - Maintenance & community, 78 against 4 - Transparency & trust, 65 against 48 Also in its favour: - No key needed to call it - Open source Watch for: The Claude provider runs with `permissionMode: 'bypassPermissions'`, so shell, file and web tools run inside the container with no prompt ## Score by category | Category | Weight | Brea | NanoClaw | Edge | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 15 | 78 | NanoClaw +63 | | Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 10 | 82 | NanoClaw +72 | | Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 0 | 70 | NanoClaw +70 | | Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 7 | 74 | NanoClaw +67 | | Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 60 | NanoClaw +40 | | Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 4 | 78 | NanoClaw +74 | | Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 48 | 65 | NanoClaw +17 | | Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -5 | | | **Total** | | **12.9 · F** | **68.3 · B** | | ## Facts side by side | Fact | Brea | NanoClaw | | --- | --- | --- | | Kind | Platform | Agent harness | | Vendor | Brea AI LLC | NanoCo, Inc. | | Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) | | Transports | | | | Auth | OAuth or key | None | | Pricing | Freemium | Free | | x402 | no | no | | Licence | Closed service under Brea's terms (Brea AI LLC, last updated 2 July 2026). | MIT | | Read-only variant documented | no | no | | llms.txt | yes | yes | | Last release | none | 2026-10-09 | | 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 | 31k stars | ## Verdicts **Brea.** Brea is an iMessage assistant with a free plan that needs no card, approval by reply before it sends, deletes or pays, and one-time Link cards for purchases. No outside agent can call it, paid prices sit inside the app, and no changelog or subprocessor list was found. **NanoClaw.** Each session runs in an unprivileged Docker container and API keys stay in a credential gateway on the host, so a manipulated agent cannot read them. Inside the container the agent runs with permission prompts off, network egress is open by default, and it can message any chat it is wired to without approval. ## Before you call either ### Brea 1. Don't plan to call Brea from another agent. It answers only the owner's iMessage thread. 2. Tell the owner that replying ALWAYS stops Brea asking again for that action. ### NanoClaw 1. Install with `git clone` and `bash nanoclaw.sh`. There is no registry package, and setup needs Docker, Node 22 or later and a Claude or Codex credential 2. Set `NANOCLAW_EGRESS_LOCKDOWN=true` before giving an agent credentials or an audience of strangers. The default leaves egress open 3. Put chats with different audiences in separate agent groups. Every session of a group shares one read-write workspace and memory tree 4. Turn on per-request approval for a secret in the gateway when its use should wait for a person. It is off unless configured 5. On OneCLI installs, move the gateway to 1.42.0 by the upgrade guide before updating to 2026.10.0. The updater stops until that is done ## Questions ### Which is better for AI agents, Brea or NanoClaw? NanoClaw scores 68.3 (B) on agent readiness against Brea's 12.9 (F), and leads in every scored category. ### Are Brea and NanoClaw open source? No open-source release is listed for Brea. NanoClaw is open source (MIT). ## For agents - This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-nanoclaw.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-nanoclaw.min.md - Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "brea", "b": "nanoclaw"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare brea nanoclaw` - Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/brea.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/nanoclaw.json ## Other comparisons with Brea or NanoClaw - [asaply vs Brea](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-brea.md) - [asaply vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [Asmi vs Brea](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-brea.md) - [Asmi vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [AstrBot vs Brea](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-brea.md) - [Boba vs Brea](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-brea.md) - [Boba vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [Boski vs Brea](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boski-vs-brea.md) - [Brea vs Caddy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-caddy-app.md) - [Brea vs CowAgent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-cowagent.md) - [Brea vs Del](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-del.md) - [Brea vs folk](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-folk-nozomio.md) - [Brea vs GAIA](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-gaia.md) - [Brea vs Grok Bot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-grok-bot.md) - [Brea vs Haven](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-haven.md) - [Brea vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [Brea vs HireAlpha](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-hirealpha.md) - [Brea vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-instinct.md) - [Brea vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-ironclaw.md) - [Brea vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-lindy.md) - [Brea vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-nanobot.md) - [Brea vs Natura tinyNature](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-natura.md) - [Brea vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-openai-dots.md) - [Brea vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-openclaw.md) - [Brea vs OpenInstinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-openinstinct.md) - [Brea vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-orbits.md) - [Brea vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Brea vs Pally](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-pally.md) - [Brea vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Brea vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-poke.md) - [Brea vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-qwenpaw.md) - [Brea vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-szn.md) - [Brea vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Brea vs Tomo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-tomo.md) - [Brea vs Town](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-town.md) - [Brea vs Zapia](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-zapia.md) - [Brea vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-zeroclaw.md) - [Brea vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-zo-computer.md) - [Del vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [HireAlpha vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hirealpha-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [NanoClaw vs OpenInstinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-openinstinct.md) - [NanoClaw vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-orbits.md) - [NanoClaw vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [NanoClaw vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-szn.md) - [NanoClaw vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-tab-bot.md) - [NanoClaw vs Zapia](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-zapia.md) - [AstrBot vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [Boski vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boski-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [Caddy vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [CowAgent vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [folk vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [GAIA vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [Gemini Spark vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [Grok Bot vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [Haven vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [Hermes Agent vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [Instinct vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [IronClaw vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [Leon vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [Lindy vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [nanobot vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [NanoClaw vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-openai-dots.md) - [NanoClaw vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-openclaw.md) - [NanoClaw vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-picoclaw.md) - [NanoClaw vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-poke.md) - [NanoClaw vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-qwenpaw.md) - [NanoClaw vs Town](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-town.md) - [NanoClaw vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-zeroclaw.md) - [NanoClaw vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-zo-computer.md) - [Brea vs Gemini Spark](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-gemini-spark.md) - [Brea vs Leon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-leon.md) - [Brea vs Wajo (Fo)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-wajo.md) - [NanoClaw vs Natura tinyNature](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-natura.md) - [NanoClaw vs Pally](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-pally.md) - [NanoClaw vs Tomo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-tomo.md) - [NanoClaw vs Wajo (Fo)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-wajo.md) - [Brea vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-talorys.md) - [NanoClaw vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-talorys.md) ## Disclosure - Brea 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.