# Kognitos vs Windmill API + MCP

> Kognitos scores 57 (C) to Windmill's 55.9 (C) for workflow automation. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kognitos-vs-windmill
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kognitos-vs-windmill.md (~2,750 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kognitos-vs-windmill.min.md (~780 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kognitos-vs-windmill.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: 2026-10-21

Kognitos scores 57 (C) on agent readiness against Windmill API + MCP's 55.9 (C), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Windmill API + MCP leads on schema & documentation, agent ergonomics, payments & pricing and maintenance & community. Both do workflow automation.

- Kognitos: grade C, 57/100, rank #708 of 1197. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kognitos.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kognitos.json
- Windmill API + MCP: grade C, 55.9/100, rank #736 of 1197. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/windmill.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/windmill.json
- Best workflow automation platforms with APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/workflow-automation/index.md
- All 170 workflows comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/workflow-automation/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Kognitos (C)

Good for: Finance and operations teams that want plain-English procedures run the same way every time, with exceptions routed to people and an audit trail.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 58 against 40
- Security & auth, 74 against 60

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card
- No incidents deducted, where Windmill API + MCP loses 5 points for them

Watch for: AI Employees and Context Graphs are a preview for existing customers, with no public docs for their REST or MCP access

### Windmill API + MCP (C)

Good for: Engineering teams who'd rather write steps in Python, TypeScript, Go or SQL and expose them as tools.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 79 against 71
- Agent ergonomics, 73 against 53
- Payments & pricing, 35 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 87 against 45

Also in its favour:
- Open source

Watch for: The default MCP URL puts the token in `?token=` unless a superadmin turns that off


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Kognitos | Windmill API + MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 58 | 40 | Kognitos +18 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 71 | 79 | Windmill API + MCP +8 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 53 | 73 | Windmill API + MCP +20 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 74 | 60 | Kognitos +14 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 35 | Windmill API + MCP +15 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 45 | 87 | Windmill API + MCP +42 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 67 | 65 | Kognitos +2 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -5 | |
| **Total** | | **57 · C** | **55.9 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Kognitos | Windmill API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Kognitos, Inc. | Windmill Labs |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://app.us-1.kognitos.com/api/v1` | `https://app.windmill.dev/api` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under Kognitos's Terms of Service (published 19 November 2025, California law, courts in Santa Clara). The OpenAPI file, the Node.js SDK and the coding-agent plugin repositories are MIT | AGPL-3.0 (core), Apache-2.0 (clients and OpenAPI), commercial for enterprise-only parts |
| Tools exposed | 19 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-21 | 2026-10-01 |
| Terms last updated |  | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated |  | no date given |
| Customer content may train models |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | couldn't be read |
| Popularity | 0 stars | 18k stars, 126k npm/wk, 218k PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | 3.3/5 (4) | 3/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**Kognitos.** Kognitos has a self-serve free workspace, a public OpenAPI file and a hosted MCP server with OAuth 2.1 and scoped, expiring tokens. The 21 October AI Employees and Context Graphs are in preview for existing customers only, and their REST and MCP access isn't documented, so an outside agent can reach the automation platform but not the new parts.

**Windmill API + MCP.** Token scopes down to a single script path, with expiry. The default MCP URL puts the token in `?token=` unless a superadmin turns that off.

## Before you call either

### Kognitos

1. Don't plan on Context Graph or AI Employee calls. Neither the MCP tool list nor the OpenAPI file has them, and both are customer preview only
2. Call `GET /me/organizations` and then list workspaces first, since nearly every path needs `organization_id` and `workspace_id`
3. Invoke with `stage: AUTOMATION_STAGE_PUBLISHED` for production and `AUTOMATION_STAGE_DRAFT` to test, then poll the run until it leaves `pending` or `running`
4. Treat a `waiting` run as a question for a person. Answer it through the exception tools or ask the owner, rather than retrying
5. Use OAuth with callback port 3777 for the MCP server. Another port can fail with a callback URL mismatch

### Windmill API + MCP

1. Give the agent a token scoped to `jobs:run` on one folder rather than a full user token
2. Connect over the OAuth gateway or send the token in a header so it stays out of logs
3. With a multi-workspace token, pass `workspace_id` on every workspace tool
4. Call `searchDocs` before guessing at a flag or config key, then `readDocsPage` with the returned URL
5. Poll the job by ID after `runScriptByPath` for long jobs instead of waiting on the call

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Kognitos or Windmill API + MCP?

Kognitos scores 57 (C) on agent readiness against Windmill API + MCP's 55.9 (C), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Windmill API + MCP leads on schema & documentation, agent ergonomics, payments & pricing and maintenance & community.

### Do Kognitos and Windmill API + MCP need an API key?

Both take an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

### Can an agent call Kognitos and Windmill API + MCP without installing anything?

Yes. Kognitos has a hosted endpoint at https://app.us-1.kognitos.com/api/v1 and Windmill API + MCP at https://app.windmill.dev/api.

### Are Kognitos and Windmill API + MCP open source?

No open-source release is listed for Kognitos. Windmill API + MCP is open source (AGPL-3.0 (core), Apache-2.0 (clients and OpenAPI), commercial for enterprise-only parts).


## For agents

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

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