# Hermes Agent vs Orbits > Hermes Agent scores 67.9 (B) to Orbits's 15.6 (F) for assistants reached by message. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side. - Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-orbits - Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-orbits.md (~3,450 tokens) - Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-orbits.min.md (~580 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts) - JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-orbits.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 Orbits's 15.6 (F), and leads in every scored category. Both do assistants reached by message. - 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 - Orbits: grade F, 15.6/100, rank #997 of 1010. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/orbits.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/orbits.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 ### 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 15 - Schema & documentation, 80 against 10 - Agent ergonomics, 80 against 0 - Security & auth, 75 against 0 - Payments & pricing, 60 against 20 - Maintenance & community, 84 against 54 - Transparency & trust, 63 against 43 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 ### Orbits (F) Good for: Families who want one shared assistant for calendars, lists, meals, chores and household email. Also in its favour: - No incidents deducted, where Hermes Agent loses 3 points for them Watch for: No public agent API, as llms.txt states. ## Score by category | Category | Weight | Hermes Agent | Orbits | Edge | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 57 | 15 | Hermes Agent +42 | | Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 80 | 10 | Hermes Agent +70 | | Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 80 | 0 | Hermes Agent +80 | | Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 75 | 0 | Hermes Agent +75 | | Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 20 | Hermes Agent +40 | | Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 84 | 54 | Hermes Agent +30 | | Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 63 | 43 | Hermes Agent +20 | | Negative events | ≤15 | -3 | 0 | | | **Total** | | **67.9 · B** | **15.6 · F** | | ## Facts side by side | Fact | Hermes Agent | Orbits | | --- | --- | --- | | Kind | Agent harness | Platform | | Vendor | Nous Research | Nemus AI, Inc. | | Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) | | Transports | | | | Auth | None | OAuth or key | | Pricing | Free | Paid | | x402 | no | no | | Licence | MIT | Closed service under the Orbits Terms of Service (Nemus AI, Inc.). | | Read-only variant documented | no | no | | llms.txt | yes | yes | | Last release | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-13 | | 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 | 253k stars | none | ## Verdicts **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. **Orbits.** Orbits is a family household app whose assistant, Bit, runs shared calendars, lists and meals, reads household email and places restaurant calls after approval, with iOS releases every week or two. No outside agent can call it, prices appear only as App Store in-app purchases, and no status page, security contact or named subprocessors were found. ## Before you call either ### 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` ### Orbits 1. Don't plan to call Orbits from another agent. llms.txt says no public agent API is offered. 2. Tell the owner the assistant needs an Orbits subscription bought in the app, and that any trial appears only at purchase. ## Questions ### Which is better for AI agents, Hermes Agent or Orbits? Hermes Agent scores 67.9 (B) on agent readiness against Orbits's 15.6 (F), and leads in every scored category. ### Are Hermes Agent and Orbits open source? Hermes Agent is open source (MIT). No open-source release is listed for Orbits. ## For agents - This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-orbits.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-orbits.min.md - Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "hermes-agent", "b": "orbits"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare hermes-agent orbits` - Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/hermes-agent.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/orbits.json ## Other comparisons with Hermes Agent or Orbits - [asaply vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [asaply vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-orbits.md) - [Asmi vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [Asmi vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-orbits.md) - [AstrBot vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-orbits.md) - [Boba vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [Boba vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-orbits.md) - [Boski vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boski-vs-orbits.md) - [Brea vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [Brea vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-orbits.md) - [Caddy vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-orbits.md) - [CowAgent vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-orbits.md) - [Del vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [Del vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-orbits.md) - [folk vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-orbits.md) - [GAIA vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-orbits.md) - [Grok Bot vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-orbits.md) - [Haven vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-orbits.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 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) - [HireAlpha vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hirealpha-vs-orbits.md) - [Instinct vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-orbits.md) - [IronClaw vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-orbits.md) - [Lindy vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-orbits.md) - [nanobot vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-orbits.md) - [NanoClaw vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-orbits.md) - [Dots vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-orbits.md) - [OpenClaw vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-orbits.md) - [OpenInstinct vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openinstinct-vs-orbits.md) - [Orbits vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orbits-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Orbits vs Pally](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orbits-vs-pally.md) - [Orbits vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orbits-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Orbits vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orbits-vs-poke.md) - [Orbits vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orbits-vs-qwenpaw.md) - [Orbits vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orbits-vs-szn.md) - [Orbits vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orbits-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Orbits vs Tomo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orbits-vs-tomo.md) - [Orbits vs Town](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orbits-vs-town.md) - [Orbits vs Zapia](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orbits-vs-zapia.md) - [Orbits vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orbits-vs-zeroclaw.md) - [Orbits vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orbits-vs-zo-computer.md) - [AstrBot vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [Boski vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boski-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [Caddy vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-hermes-agent.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) - [Gemini Spark vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-orbits.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) - [Leon vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-orbits.md) - [Natura tinyNature vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/natura-vs-orbits.md) - [Orbits vs Wajo (Fo)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orbits-vs-wajo.md) - [Hermes Agent vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-talorys.md) - [Orbits vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orbits-vs-talorys.md) ## Disclosure - Orbits 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.