# IronClaw vs szn > IronClaw scores 66.7 (B) 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/ironclaw-vs-szn - Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-szn.md (~3,300 tokens) - Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-szn.min.md (~530 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts) - JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-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 IronClaw scores 66.7 (B) on agent readiness against szn's 7.3 (F), and leads in every scored category. Both do assistants reached by message. - IronClaw: grade B, 66.7/100, rank #288 of 1010. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ironclaw.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/ironclaw.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 ### IronClaw (B) Good for: One technical owner who wants a self-hosted assistant over Gmail, Calendar, Slack and Telegram with credentials kept out of the model's reach. Ahead on: - Reliability, 67 against 5 - Schema & documentation, 74 against 10 - Agent ergonomics, 69 against 0 - Security & auth, 66 against 0 - Payments & pricing, 60 against 20 - Maintenance & community, 74 against 2 - Transparency & trust, 75 against 23 Also in its favour: - Open source Watch for: Global auto-approve defaults to on in the 1.4.1 source, so tools marked ask (send, trash, delete) run without a prompt. Only financial, approval and budget effects always ask ### szn (F) Good for: A person who wants calls, emails and bookings done for them and has an access code. Watch for: Early access by access code only. ## Score by category | Category | Weight | IronClaw | szn | Edge | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 67 | 5 | IronClaw +62 | | Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 74 | 10 | IronClaw +64 | | Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 69 | 0 | IronClaw +69 | | Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 66 | 0 | IronClaw +66 | | Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 20 | IronClaw +40 | | Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 74 | 2 | IronClaw +72 | | Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 75 | 23 | IronClaw +52 | | Negative events | ≤15 | -2 | 0 | | | **Total** | | **66.7 · B** | **7.3 · F** | | ## Facts side by side | Fact | IronClaw | szn | | --- | --- | --- | | Kind | Agent harness | Platform | | Vendor | NEAR AI | Nomadic Futures | | Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) | | Transports | HTTP | | | Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key | | Pricing | Freemium | Free | | x402 | no | no | | Licence | MIT OR Apache-2.0 | 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 | no | yes | | llms.txt | yes | yes | | Last release | 2026-09-29 | none | | Terms last updated | no document linked | no document linked | | Privacy policy last updated | no date given | | | 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 | 13k stars | none | ## Verdicts **IronClaw.** Credentials stay in an encrypted store and are injected at the host boundary, and extensions declare per-tool permissions, network targets and OAuth scopes. The global auto-approve setting defaults to on in the 1.4.1 source, so tools marked ask, such as `gmail.send_message`, run unprompted until the owner turns it off. **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 ### IronClaw 1. Open Settings and turn off global auto-approve, or set send and delete tools to ask each time, before connecting mail or chat accounts 2. Install with the release installer and run `ironclaw onboard`. 1.x does not migrate 0.29 data, so use a fresh home directory 3. Call `POST /api/v1/responses` with the bearer token from `~/.ironclaw/reborn/webui-token`. Keep under 30 requests in 60 seconds 4. Resolve approval and OAuth gates in the web interface. The Responses API fails the turn instead of surfacing them 5. Connect MCP servers over HTTP only. The stdio transport is rejected ### 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, IronClaw or szn? IronClaw scores 66.7 (B) on agent readiness against szn's 7.3 (F), and leads in every scored category. ### Are IronClaw and szn open source? IronClaw is open source (MIT OR Apache-2.0). No open-source release is listed for szn. ## For agents - This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-szn.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-szn.min.md - Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "ironclaw", "b": "szn"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare ironclaw szn` - Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/ironclaw.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/szn.json ## Other comparisons with IronClaw or szn - [asaply vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-ironclaw.md) - [asaply vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-szn.md) - [Asmi vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-ironclaw.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 IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-ironclaw.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 IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-ironclaw.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 szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-szn.md) - [Del vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-ironclaw.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 IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hirealpha-vs-ironclaw.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 OpenInstinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-openinstinct.md) - [IronClaw vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-orbits.md) - [IronClaw vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [IronClaw vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-tab-bot.md) - [IronClaw vs Zapia](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-zapia.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 IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-ironclaw.md) - [Boski vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boski-vs-ironclaw.md) - [Caddy vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-ironclaw.md) - [CowAgent vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-ironclaw.md) - [folk vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-ironclaw.md) - [GAIA vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-ironclaw.md) - [Gemini Spark vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-ironclaw.md) - [Grok Bot vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-ironclaw.md) - [Haven vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-ironclaw.md) - [Hermes Agent vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-ironclaw.md) - [Instinct vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-ironclaw.md) - [IronClaw vs Leon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-leon.md) - [IronClaw vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-lindy.md) - [IronClaw vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-nanobot.md) - [IronClaw vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [IronClaw vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-openai-dots.md) - [IronClaw vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-openclaw.md) - [IronClaw vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-picoclaw.md) - [IronClaw vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-poke.md) - [IronClaw vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-qwenpaw.md) - [IronClaw vs Town](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-town.md) - [IronClaw vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-zeroclaw.md) - [IronClaw vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-zo-computer.md) - [Gemini Spark vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-szn.md) - [IronClaw vs Natura tinyNature](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-natura.md) - [IronClaw vs Pally](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-pally.md) - [IronClaw vs Tomo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-tomo.md) - [IronClaw vs Wajo (Fo)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-wajo.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) - [IronClaw vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-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.