# CowAgent vs szn > CowAgent scores 58.5 (C) to szn's 7.3 (F) for assistants reached by message. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side. - Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-szn - Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-szn.md (~3,300 tokens) - Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-szn.min.md (~580 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts) - JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-szn.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 CowAgent scores 58.5 (C) on agent readiness against szn's 7.3 (F), and leads in every scored category. Both do assistants reached by message. - CowAgent: grade C, 58.5/100, rank #592 of 1010. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cowagent.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cowagent.json - szn: grade F, 7.3/100, rank #1010 of 1010. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/szn.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/szn.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 ### 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 5 - Schema & documentation, 67 against 10 - Agent ergonomics, 59 against 0 - Security & auth, 43 against 0 - Payments & pricing, 60 against 20 - Maintenance & community, 83 against 2 - Transparency & trust, 45 against 23 Also in its favour: - Free to start without a card - Open source 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 ### szn (F) Good for: A person who wants calls, emails and bookings done for them and has an access code. Also in its favour: - No incidents deducted, where CowAgent loses 5 points for them Watch for: Early access by access code only. ## Score by category | Category | Weight | CowAgent | szn | Edge | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 84 | 5 | CowAgent +79 | | Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 67 | 10 | CowAgent +57 | | Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 59 | 0 | CowAgent +59 | | Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 43 | 0 | CowAgent +43 | | Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 20 | CowAgent +40 | | Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 83 | 2 | CowAgent +81 | | Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 45 | 23 | CowAgent +22 | | Negative events | ≤15 | -5 | 0 | | | **Total** | | **58.5 · C** | **7.3 · F** | | ## Facts side by side | Fact | CowAgent | szn | | --- | --- | --- | | Kind | Agent harness | Platform | | Vendor | zhayujie | Nomadic Futures | | Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) | | Transports | HTTP | | | Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key | | Pricing | Free | Free | | x402 | no | no | | Licence | MIT | Closed service. No terms of service were found on theszn.ai. A privacy policy and an acceptable use policy (both last updated March 2026) apply. | | Read-only variant documented | yes | yes | | llms.txt | yes | yes | | Last release | 2026-09-30 | none | | Terms last updated | no document linked | 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 | 47k stars | none | ## Verdicts **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. **szn.** szn is an errand assistant in early access that makes calls, sends emails and books for its owner, free during the preview for people with an access code. No outside agent can call it, no terms of service or legal entity appear in its policies, and its privacy policy says nothing on training. ## Before you call either ### 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 ### szn 1. Don't plan to call szn from another agent. It answers only its web app, iMessage, SMS and email for the owner. 2. Tell the owner they need an access code to start, and that the acceptable use policy makes them responsible for confirming actions. ## Questions ### Which is better for AI agents, CowAgent or szn? CowAgent scores 58.5 (C) on agent readiness against szn's 7.3 (F), and leads in every scored category. ### Are CowAgent and szn open source? CowAgent is open source (MIT). No open-source release is listed for szn. ## For agents - This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-szn.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-szn.min.md - Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "cowagent", "b": "szn"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare cowagent szn` - Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cowagent.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/szn.json ## Other comparisons with CowAgent or szn - [asaply vs CowAgent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-cowagent.md) - [asaply vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-szn.md) - [Asmi vs CowAgent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-cowagent.md) - [Asmi vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-szn.md) - [AstrBot vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-szn.md) - [Boba vs CowAgent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-cowagent.md) - [Boba vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-szn.md) - [Boski vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boski-vs-szn.md) - [Brea vs CowAgent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-cowagent.md) - [Brea vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-szn.md) - [Caddy vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-szn.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 Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-tab-bot.md) - [CowAgent vs Zapia](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-zapia.md) - [Del vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-szn.md) - [folk vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-szn.md) - [GAIA vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-szn.md) - [Grok Bot vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-szn.md) - [Haven vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-szn.md) - [Hermes Agent vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-szn.md) - [HireAlpha vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hirealpha-vs-szn.md) - [Instinct vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-szn.md) - [IronClaw vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-szn.md) - [Lindy vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-szn.md) - [nanobot vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-szn.md) - [NanoClaw vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-szn.md) - [Dots vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-szn.md) - [OpenClaw vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-szn.md) - [OpenInstinct vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openinstinct-vs-szn.md) - [Orbits vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orbits-vs-szn.md) - [Orchid vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-szn.md) - [PicoClaw vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-szn.md) - [Poke vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-vs-szn.md) - [QwenPaw vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwenpaw-vs-szn.md) - [szn vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/szn-vs-tab-bot.md) - [szn vs Tomo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/szn-vs-tomo.md) - [szn vs Town](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/szn-vs-town.md) - [szn vs Zapia](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/szn-vs-zapia.md) - [szn vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/szn-vs-zeroclaw.md) - [szn vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/szn-vs-zo-computer.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) - [Gemini Spark vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-szn.md) - [Leon vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-szn.md) - [Natura tinyNature vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/natura-vs-szn.md) - [Pally vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pally-vs-szn.md) - [szn vs Wajo (Fo)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/szn-vs-wajo.md) - [CowAgent vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-talorys.md) - [szn vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/szn-vs-talorys.md) ## Disclosure - szn 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.