# Caddy vs Hermes Agent > Hermes Agent scores 67.9 (B) to Caddy's 16.7 (F) for proactive personal assistants. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side. - Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-hermes-agent - Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-hermes-agent.md (~3,500 tokens) - Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-hermes-agent.min.md (~630 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts) - JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-hermes-agent.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 Hermes Agent scores 67.9 (B) on agent readiness against Caddy's 16.7 (F), and leads in every scored category. Both do proactive personal assistants. - Caddy: grade F, 16.7/100, rank #996 of 1010. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/caddy-app.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/caddy-app.json - Hermes Agent: grade B, 67.9/100, rank #244 of 1010. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/hermes-agent.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/hermes-agent.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 ### Caddy (F) Good for: People who want a free assistant in iMessage or RCS that watches mail, calendars and work tools and asks before acting. Also in its favour: - No incidents deducted, where Hermes Agent loses 3 points for them Watch for: No API, MCP server or A2A endpoint for an outside agent. ### Hermes Agent (B) Good for: A technical owner who wants one always-on agent across chat apps with memory and scheduled jobs, on their own machine or a small server, with any model. Ahead on: - Reliability, 57 against 10 - Schema & documentation, 80 against 10 - Agent ergonomics, 80 against 0 - Security & auth, 75 against 0 - Payments & pricing, 60 against 30 - Maintenance & community, 84 against 55 - Transparency & trust, 63 against 52 Also in its favour: - No key needed to call it - Free to start without a card - Open source Watch for: The default terminal backend runs commands on the host, and the default `smart` mode lets an auxiliary model approve commands it rates low-risk ## Score by category | Category | Weight | Caddy | Hermes Agent | Edge | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 10 | 57 | Hermes Agent +47 | | Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 10 | 80 | Hermes Agent +70 | | Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 0 | 80 | Hermes Agent +80 | | Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 0 | 75 | Hermes Agent +75 | | Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 60 | Hermes Agent +30 | | Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 55 | 84 | Hermes Agent +29 | | Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 52 | 63 | Hermes Agent +11 | | Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -3 | | | **Total** | | **16.7 · F** | **67.9 · B** | | ## Facts side by side | Fact | Caddy | Hermes Agent | | --- | --- | --- | | Kind | Platform | Agent harness | | Vendor | Caddy Technologies Inc. | Nous Research | | Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) | | Transports | | | | Auth | OAuth or key | None | | Pricing | Free | Free | | x402 | no | no | | Licence | Closed service under Caddy's Terms of Service (Caddy Technologies Inc., last updated 27 April 2026). | MIT | | Read-only variant documented | yes | no | | llms.txt | yes | yes | | Last release | 2026-10-13 | 2026-10-11 | | 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 | 253k stars | ## Verdicts **Caddy.** Caddy is a free iMessage and RCS assistant in public beta that watches connected mail, calendars and work apps and asks before sending email or changing data. No outside agent can call it, and no status page, changelog or security contact was found, though its iOS app ships every week or two. **Hermes Agent.** Card payments always ask first and are refused in unattended sessions, and the messaging gateway denies every sender until an allowlist is set. Shell commands run on the host by default with a model judging risk, and sending mail through the Google Workspace skill is held back only by an instruction to the model. ## Before you call either ### Caddy 1. Don't plan to call Caddy from another agent. It answers the owner's text messages, Siri and group chats it's added to. 2. Expect Caddy to ask the owner before it sends email or creates an invite. ### Hermes Agent 1. Set `approvals.mode: manual` before giving it real accounts. The default `smart` lets an auxiliary model approve commands 2. Run the gateway with `terminal.backend: docker` or the project's Docker image when it reads mail, web pages or group chats 3. Set `memory.write_approval: true` and `skills.write_approval: true` to review what it saves about the owner 4. Leave `approvals.cron_mode` and `approvals.unattended_mode` at `deny` for scheduled and webhook runs 5. Set `TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS` or the matching allowlist per channel. Never set `GATEWAY_ALLOW_ALL_USERS=true` ## Questions ### Which is better for AI agents, Caddy or Hermes Agent? Hermes Agent scores 67.9 (B) on agent readiness against Caddy's 16.7 (F), and leads in every scored category. ### Are Caddy and Hermes Agent open source? No open-source release is listed for Caddy. Hermes Agent is open source (MIT). ## For agents - This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-hermes-agent.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-hermes-agent.min.md - Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "caddy-app", "b": "hermes-agent"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare caddy-app hermes-agent` - Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/caddy-app.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/hermes-agent.json ## Other comparisons with Caddy or Hermes Agent - [asaply vs Caddy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-caddy-app.md) - [asaply vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [Asmi vs Caddy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-caddy-app.md) - [Asmi vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [Boba vs Caddy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-caddy-app.md) - [Boba vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [Brea vs Caddy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-caddy-app.md) - [Brea vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [Caddy vs Del](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-del.md) - [Caddy vs HireAlpha](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-hirealpha.md) - [Caddy vs OpenInstinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-openinstinct.md) - [Caddy vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-orbits.md) - [Caddy vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Caddy vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-szn.md) - [Caddy vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Caddy vs Zapia](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-zapia.md) - [Del vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [Hermes Agent vs HireAlpha](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-hirealpha.md) - [Hermes Agent vs OpenInstinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-openinstinct.md) - [Hermes Agent vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-orbits.md) - [Hermes Agent vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Hermes Agent vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-szn.md) - [Hermes Agent vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Hermes Agent vs Zapia](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-zapia.md) - [AstrBot vs Caddy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-caddy-app.md) - [AstrBot vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [Boski vs Caddy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boski-vs-caddy-app.md) - [Boski vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boski-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [Caddy vs CowAgent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-cowagent.md) - [Caddy vs folk](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-folk-nozomio.md) - [Caddy vs GAIA](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-gaia.md) - [Caddy vs Gemini Spark](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-gemini-spark.md) - [Caddy vs Grok Bot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-grok-bot.md) - [Caddy vs Haven](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-haven.md) - [Caddy vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-instinct.md) - [Caddy vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-ironclaw.md) - [Caddy vs Leon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-leon.md) - [Caddy vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-lindy.md) - [Caddy vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-nanobot.md) - [Caddy vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [Caddy vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-openai-dots.md) - [Caddy vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-openclaw.md) - [Caddy vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Caddy vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-poke.md) - [Caddy vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-qwenpaw.md) - [Caddy vs Town](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-town.md) - [Caddy vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-zeroclaw.md) - [Caddy vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-zo-computer.md) - [CowAgent vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [folk vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [GAIA vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [Gemini Spark vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [Grok Bot vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [Haven vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [Hermes Agent vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-instinct.md) - [Hermes Agent vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-ironclaw.md) - [Hermes Agent vs Leon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-leon.md) - [Hermes Agent vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-lindy.md) - [Hermes Agent vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-nanobot.md) - [Hermes Agent vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [Hermes Agent vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-openai-dots.md) - [Hermes Agent vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-openclaw.md) - [Hermes Agent vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Hermes Agent vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-poke.md) - [Hermes Agent vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-qwenpaw.md) - [Hermes Agent vs Town](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-town.md) - [Hermes Agent vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-zeroclaw.md) - [Hermes Agent vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-zo-computer.md) - [Caddy vs Natura tinyNature](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-natura.md) - [Caddy vs Pally](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-pally.md) - [Caddy vs Tomo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-tomo.md) - [Caddy vs Wajo (Fo)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-wajo.md) - [Hermes Agent vs Natura tinyNature](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-natura.md) - [Hermes Agent vs Pally](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-pally.md) - [Hermes Agent vs Tomo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-tomo.md) - [Hermes Agent vs Wajo (Fo)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-wajo.md) - [Caddy vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-talorys.md) - [Hermes Agent vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-talorys.md) ## Disclosure - Caddy 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.