# GAIA vs Zo Computer

> GAIA scores 49.5 (D) to Zo Computer's 43.1 (E) for assistant proactive. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-zo-computer
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-zo-computer.md (~2,700 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-zo-computer.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-zo-computer.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: 2026-10-12

GAIA scores 49.5 (D) on agent readiness against Zo Computer's 43.1 (E), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Zo Computer leads on schema & documentation and payments & pricing. Both do assistant proactive.

- GAIA: grade D, 49.5/100, rank #813 of 986. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/gaia.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/gaia.json
- Zo Computer: grade E, 43.1/100, rank #911 of 986. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/zo-computer.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/zo-computer.json
- Best AI personal assistants that act for one person: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/personal-assistants/index.md
- All 190 assistants comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/personal-assistants/index.md

## Which one, for what

### GAIA (D)

Good for: It suits one person who wants mail triage, meeting briefs, todos and scheduled workflows from one assistant reachable on WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord or iMessage, and who wants to read the source.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 67 against 15
- Agent ergonomics, 54 against 34
- Security & auth, 54 against 37
- Maintenance & community, 78 against 68

Watch for: The default approval mode in the source is `always_allow`, commented as nothing gated, while the privacy policy and the 26 August release notes say destructive actions wait for approval.

### Zo Computer (E)

Good for: One person who wants a hosted assistant with its own Linux machine, reachable by text message and chat apps, and who accepts that the assistant acts on connected accounts without a documented approval step.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 73 against 51
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 20

Also in its favour:
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
- No incidents deducted, where GAIA loses 5 points for them

Watch for: The access token for the API and MCP endpoint grants full access to the workspace, with no scoped or read-only token documented


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | GAIA | Zo Computer | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 67 | 15 | GAIA +52 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 51 | 73 | Zo Computer +22 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 54 | 34 | GAIA +20 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 54 | 37 | GAIA +17 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 40 | Zo Computer +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 78 | 68 | GAIA +10 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 60 | 60 | even |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -5 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **49.5 · D** | **43.1 · E** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | GAIA | Zo Computer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Platform | HTTP API |
| Vendor | The Experience Company | Zo Computer Company |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://api.zo.computer/mcp` |
| Transports |  | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth | API key |
| Pricing | Paid | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | PolyForm-Noncommercial-1.0.0 | Proprietary service under Zo Computer Company's terms of service |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-09-14 | 2026-09-14 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-08-14 | 2025-08-08 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-08-07 | 2026-05-20 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 308 stars | none |

## Verdicts

**GAIA.** GAIA's source is public, so its approval gate, memory store and token handling can be read. Three approval modes and per-tool overrides exist, but the default mode in the source runs every action unasked, which the privacy policy and release notes do not say. Pro costs $30 a month and self-hosting is limited to noncommercial use.

**Zo Computer.** Zo publishes an OpenAPI file, Markdown docs, plan prices and a named list of the providers that receive user content. One access token grants full access to the workspace, no approval step before sending or buying was found in the reviewed docs, and no status page, rate limit or SLA is published.

## Before you call either

### GAIA

1. Set Settings > Approvals to Always ask or Auto before connecting mail. The default in the source runs every action, including send and delete, without asking.
2. Expect no public API on the hosted service. The backend turns off its OpenAPI document in production, so reach GAIA through its apps, bots or CLI.
3. Check the plan before relying on the hosted service. The README and docs describe a Free plan, and the pricing page says GAIA is a paid product.
4. For self-hosting, prepare Docker, Node.js 20, a WorkOS account and a model key first, and confirm the use is noncommercial under the licence.
5. Add outside tools as MCP servers by URL on the Integrations page. GAIA asks before adding a server in every approval mode.

### Zo Computer

1. Send `POST https://api.zo.computer/zo/ask` with `Authorization: Bearer zo_sk_...` and an `input` string. The owner creates the token under Settings > Advanced
2. Pass `persona_id` for a persona with a narrow tool set. The token itself carries every permission the owner has
3. Set `memory_mode` to `off` to keep workspace memory out of a request. The field is in the OpenAPI file and absent from the API guide
4. Do not retry `/zo/ask` blindly after a timeout. No idempotency key is documented and the request may already have sent a message
5. Append `.md` to any guide or reference URL for Markdown

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, GAIA or Zo Computer?

GAIA scores 49.5 (D) on agent readiness against Zo Computer's 43.1 (E), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Zo Computer leads on schema & documentation and payments & pricing.

### Can an agent call GAIA and Zo Computer without installing anything?

No hosted endpoint is listed for GAIA. Zo Computer has a hosted endpoint at https://api.zo.computer/mcp.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with GAIA or Zo Computer

- [AstrBot vs GAIA](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-gaia.md)
- [AstrBot vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-zo-computer.md)
- [CowAgent vs GAIA](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-gaia.md)
- [CowAgent vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-zo-computer.md)
- [GAIA vs Gemini Spark](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-gemini-spark.md)
- [GAIA vs Grok Bot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-grok-bot.md)
- [GAIA vs Haven](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-haven.md)
- [GAIA vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-hermes-agent.md)
- [GAIA vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-instinct.md)
- [GAIA vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-ironclaw.md)
- [GAIA vs Leon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-leon.md)
- [GAIA vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-lindy.md)
- [GAIA vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-nanobot.md)
- [GAIA vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-nanoclaw.md)
- [GAIA vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-openai-dots.md)
- [GAIA vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-openclaw.md)
- [GAIA vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-picoclaw.md)
- [GAIA vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-poke.md)
- [GAIA vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-qwenpaw.md)
- [GAIA vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-zeroclaw.md)
- [Gemini Spark vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-zo-computer.md)
- [Grok Bot vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-zo-computer.md)
- [Haven vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-zo-computer.md)
- [Hermes Agent vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-zo-computer.md)
- [Instinct vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-zo-computer.md)
- [IronClaw vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-zo-computer.md)
- [Leon vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-zo-computer.md)
- [Lindy vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-zo-computer.md)
- [nanobot vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-zo-computer.md)
- [NanoClaw vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-zo-computer.md)
- [Dots vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-zo-computer.md)
- [OpenClaw vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-zo-computer.md)
- [PicoClaw vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-zo-computer.md)
- [Poke vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-vs-zo-computer.md)
- [QwenPaw vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwenpaw-vs-zo-computer.md)
- [ZeroClaw vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/zeroclaw-vs-zo-computer.md)