# Del vs PicoClaw > PicoClaw scores 46.1 (D) to Del's 20.6 (F) for assistants reached by message. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side. - Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-picoclaw - Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-picoclaw.md (~3,350 tokens) - Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-picoclaw.min.md (~580 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts) - JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-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 Del's 20.6 (F), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Del leads on maintenance & community. Both do assistants reached by message. - Del: grade F, 20.6/100, rank #991 of 1010. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/del.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/del.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 ### Del (F) Good for: People who want tasks, notes, reminders and Gmail handled by text on the channel they already use. Ahead on: - Maintenance & community, 60 against 22 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 25 - Schema & documentation, 51 against 10 - Agent ergonomics, 66 against 0 - Security & auth, 51 against 0 - Payments & pricing, 60 against 30 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 | Del | PicoClaw | Edge | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 25 | 54 | PicoClaw +29 | | Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 10 | 51 | PicoClaw +41 | | 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) | 60 | 22 | Del +38 | | Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 57 | 56 | Del +1 | | Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -7 | | | **Total** | | **20.6 · F** | **46.1 · D** | | ## Facts side by side | Fact | Del | PicoClaw | | --- | --- | --- | | Kind | Platform | Agent harness | | Vendor | Human Interface, Inc. | Sipeed | | Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) | | Transports | | | | Auth | OAuth or key | None | | Pricing | Paid | Free | | x402 | no | no | | Licence | Closed service under Del's Terms of Service (Human Interface, Inc., a Delaware corporation, last updated 5 August 2026). | MIT | | Read-only variant documented | no | no | | llms.txt | yes | no | | Last release | 2026-10-07 | 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 **Del.** Del is a hosted texting assistant and task workspace across iMessage, WhatsApp, Telegram, SMS, Discord and Slack, with a near-daily public changelog and a card-free 14-day trial. No outside agent can call it, no status page or security contact was found, and recent updates let some email actions skip approval. **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 ### Del 1. Don't plan to call Del from another agent. It answers only the owner's messaging threads and web workspace. 2. Tell the owner web browsing tasks are limited to five a month on Standard and unlimited on Pro. ### 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, Del or PicoClaw? PicoClaw scores 46.1 (D) on agent readiness against Del's 20.6 (F), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Del leads on maintenance & community. ### Are Del and PicoClaw open source? No open-source release is listed for Del. PicoClaw is open source (MIT). ## For agents - This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-picoclaw.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-picoclaw.min.md - Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "del", "b": "picoclaw"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare del picoclaw` - Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/del.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/picoclaw.json ## Other comparisons with Del or PicoClaw - [asaply vs Del](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-del.md) - [asaply vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Asmi vs Del](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-del.md) - [Asmi vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-picoclaw.md) - [AstrBot vs Del](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-del.md) - [Boba vs Del](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-del.md) - [Boba vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Boski vs Del](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boski-vs-del.md) - [Brea vs Del](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-del.md) - [Brea vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Caddy vs Del](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-del.md) - [CowAgent vs Del](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-del.md) - [Del vs folk](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-folk-nozomio.md) - [Del vs GAIA](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-gaia.md) - [Del vs Grok Bot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-grok-bot.md) - [Del vs Haven](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-haven.md) - [Del vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [Del vs HireAlpha](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-hirealpha.md) - [Del vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-instinct.md) - [Del vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-ironclaw.md) - [Del vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-lindy.md) - [Del vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-nanobot.md) - [Del vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [Del vs Natura tinyNature](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-natura.md) - [Del vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-openai-dots.md) - [Del vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-openclaw.md) - [Del vs OpenInstinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-openinstinct.md) - [Del vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-orbits.md) - [Del vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Del vs Pally](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-pally.md) - [Del vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-poke.md) - [Del vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-qwenpaw.md) - [Del vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-szn.md) - [Del vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Del vs Tomo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-tomo.md) - [Del vs Town](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-town.md) - [Del vs Zapia](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-zapia.md) - [Del vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-zeroclaw.md) - [Del vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-zo-computer.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) - [Del vs Gemini Spark](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-gemini-spark.md) - [Del vs Leon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-leon.md) - [Del vs Wajo (Fo)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-wajo.md) - [Del vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-talorys.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 - Del 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.