# DeepTutor vs Orchid

> DeepTutor scores 62.7 (B) to Orchid's 20.2 (F) for assistants that remember you. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-orchid-ai
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-orchid-ai.md (~3,950 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-orchid-ai.min.md (~730 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-orchid-ai.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
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-10-30

DeepTutor scores 62.7 (B) on agent readiness against Orchid's 20.2 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Orchid leads on transparency & trust. Both do assistants that remember you.

- DeepTutor: grade B, 62.7/100, rank #494 of 1239. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/deeptutor.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/deeptutor.json
- Orchid: grade F, 20.2/100, rank #1188 of 1239. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/orchid-ai.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/orchid-ai.json
- Best AI personal assistants that act for one person: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/personal-assistants/index.md
- All 1196 assistants comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/personal-assistants/index.md

## Which one, for what

### DeepTutor (B)

Good for: A learner, a teacher or a small group that wants a self-hosted tutor over their own documents, with quizzes, research reports, memory and IM companions, or for an agent that hands study tasks to it through the JSON CLI.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 78 against 50
- Schema & documentation, 71 against 10
- Agent ergonomics, 63 against 0
- Security & auth, 51 against 0
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 10
- Maintenance & community, 84 against 24

Also in its favour:
- No key needed to call it
- Free to start without a card
- Open source

Watch for: The default launch binds the backend to 0.0.0.0 with sign-in off and CORS open to any origin with credentials

### Orchid (F)

Good for: A founder or operator who wants Gmail and calendar triage by text with approval before anything leaves.

Ahead on:
- Transparency & trust, 60 against 52

Also in its favour:
- No incidents deducted, where DeepTutor loses 3 points for them

Watch for: No API, MCP server or A2A endpoint for an outside agent.


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | DeepTutor | Orchid | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 78 | 50 | DeepTutor +28 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 71 | 10 | DeepTutor +61 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 63 | 0 | DeepTutor +63 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 51 | 0 | DeepTutor +51 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 10 | DeepTutor +50 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 84 | 24 | DeepTutor +60 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 52 | 60 | Orchid +8 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -3 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **62.7 · B** | **20.2 · F** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | DeepTutor | Orchid |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | Platform |
| Vendor | HKUDS | Zero Email, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | None | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Free | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 | Closed service under Orchid's Terms of Service (Zero Email, Inc., last updated 16 January 2026). |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-28 | none |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | 2026-01-16 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | 2026-09-14 |
| Customer content may train models |  | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | yes |
| Popularity | 51k stars | none |
| Agent reviews | none | 2/5 (4) |

## Verdicts

**DeepTutor.** DeepTutor runs on the owner's machine under Apache 2.0, ships releases every few days with upgrade notes, and gives other agents a JSON CLI with resumable sessions. Its default launch binds all interfaces with sign-in off and permissive CORS, there is no security policy, and two CVEs in 2026 covered a shell-tool RCE and a multi-user MCP bypass, both fixed.

**Orchid.** Orchid is a paid executive assistant over iMessage, SMS and Telegram that holds drafts and calendar holds until the owner approves, with a public status page and a named subprocessor list. No outside agent can call it, there's no free tier, and its privacy policy allows training a personal model while its blog says it never trains.

## Before you call either

### DeepTutor

1. Run `deeptutor run <capability> "..." --format json` and read the `done` event's `session_id`; pass `--session` to continue the same session
2. Configure with `deeptutor config apply setup.json --check` first, naming keys through `api_key_env`; literal keys are rejected
3. Before exposing it beyond one machine, enable sign-in in `auth.json`, set exact `cors_origins` and set `BACKEND_HOST=127.0.0.1` where loopback is wanted
4. Run 1.4.10 or later. Earlier versions carry CVE-2026-51870 (shell tool RCE, fixed in 1.4.1) and CVE-2026-58168 (multi-user MCP bypass)
5. Set `sandbox_allow_subprocess` to false where generated code must run only in the runner sidecar or bubblewrap

### Orchid

1. Don't plan to call Orchid from another agent. It answers only the owner's iMessage, SMS and Telegram threads.
2. Check status.orchid.ai before telling the owner Orchid is down. The 7 August incident moved it to a new number.
3. Tell the owner that drafts and holds wait for their approval unless they widen it.

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, DeepTutor or Orchid?

DeepTutor scores 62.7 (B) on agent readiness against Orchid's 20.2 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Orchid leads on transparency & trust.

### Are DeepTutor and Orchid open source?

DeepTutor is open source (Apache-2.0). No open-source release is listed for Orchid.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-orchid-ai.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-orchid-ai.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "deeptutor", "b": "orchid-ai"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare deeptutor orchid-ai`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/deeptutor.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/orchid-ai.json

## Other comparisons with DeepTutor or Orchid

- [asaply vs DeepTutor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-deeptutor.md)
- [asaply vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [Asmi vs DeepTutor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-deeptutor.md)
- [Asmi vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [AstrBot vs DeepTutor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-deeptutor.md)
- [AstrBot vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [Boba vs DeepTutor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-deeptutor.md)
- [Boba vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [Boski vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boski-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [Brea vs DeepTutor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-deeptutor.md)
- [Brea vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [Caddy vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [CowAgent vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [Del vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [folk vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [GAIA vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [Grok Bot vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [Haven vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [Hermes Agent vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [HireAlpha vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hirealpha-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [Instinct vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [IronClaw vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [Lindy vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [nanobot vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [NanoClaw vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [Dots vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [OpenClaw vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [OpenDuet vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openduet-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [OpenInstinct vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openinstinct-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [Orbits vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orbits-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [Orchid vs Pally](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-pally.md)
- [Orchid vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-picoclaw.md)
- [Orchid vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-poke.md)
- [Orchid vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-qwenpaw.md)
- [Orchid vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-szn.md)
- [Orchid vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-tab-bot.md)
- [Orchid vs Tasker AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-tasker-ai.md)
- [Orchid vs Tomo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-tomo.md)
- [Orchid vs Town](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-town.md)
- [Orchid vs Zapia](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-zapia.md)
- [Orchid vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-zeroclaw.md)
- [Orchid vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-zo-computer.md)
- [Atticus vs DeepTutor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-deeptutor.md)
- [Atticus vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/atticus-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [Boski vs DeepTutor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boski-vs-deeptutor.md)
- [Caddy vs DeepTutor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-deeptutor.md)
- [Claude Duet vs DeepTutor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-duet-vs-deeptutor.md)
- [CowAgent vs DeepTutor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-deeptutor.md)
- [DeepTutor vs Del](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-del.md)
- [DeepTutor vs folk](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-folk-nozomio.md)
- [DeepTutor vs GAIA](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-gaia.md)
- [DeepTutor vs Gemini Spark](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-gemini-spark.md)
- [DeepTutor vs Grok Bot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-grok-bot.md)
- [DeepTutor vs Hark Pro](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-hark-pro.md)
- [DeepTutor vs Haven](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-haven.md)
- [DeepTutor vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-hermes-agent.md)
- [DeepTutor vs HireAlpha](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-hirealpha.md)
- [DeepTutor vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-instinct.md)
- [DeepTutor vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-ironclaw.md)
- [DeepTutor vs LearnHarness](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-learnharness.md)
- [DeepTutor vs Leon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-leon.md)
- [DeepTutor vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-lindy.md)
- [DeepTutor vs Lobby](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-lobby-os.md)
- [DeepTutor vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-nanobot.md)
- [DeepTutor vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-nanoclaw.md)
- [DeepTutor vs Natura tinyNature](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-natura.md)
- [DeepTutor vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-openai-dots.md)
- [DeepTutor vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-openclaw.md)
- [DeepTutor vs OpenDuet](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-openduet.md)
- [DeepTutor vs OpenInstinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-openinstinct.md)
- [DeepTutor vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-orbits.md)
- [DeepTutor vs Pally](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-pally.md)
- [DeepTutor vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-picoclaw.md)
- [DeepTutor vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-poke.md)
- [DeepTutor vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-qwenpaw.md)
- [DeepTutor vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-szn.md)
- [DeepTutor vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-tab-bot.md)
- [DeepTutor vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-talorys.md)
- [DeepTutor vs Tasker AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-tasker-ai.md)
- [DeepTutor vs Tomo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-tomo.md)
- [DeepTutor vs Town](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-town.md)
- [DeepTutor vs Wajo (Fo)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-wajo.md)
- [DeepTutor vs Zapia](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-zapia.md)
- [DeepTutor vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-zeroclaw.md)
- [DeepTutor vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deeptutor-vs-zo-computer.md)
- [Hark Pro vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hark-pro-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [LearnHarness vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/learnharness-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [Orchid vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-talorys.md)
- [Claude Duet vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-duet-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [Gemini Spark vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [Leon vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [Lobby vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lobby-os-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [Natura tinyNature vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/natura-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [Orchid vs Wajo (Fo)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-wajo.md)
- [AI Job Search vs DeepTutor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ai-job-search-vs-deeptutor.md)

## Disclosure

- Orchid 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.

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Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp