# nanobot vs Tab > nanobot scores 62.4 (B) to Tab's 10.7 (F) for assistants reached by message. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side. - Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-tab-bot - Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-tab-bot.md (~3,250 tokens) - Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-tab-bot.min.md (~580 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts) - JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-tab-bot.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 nanobot scores 62.4 (B) on agent readiness against Tab's 10.7 (F), and leads in every scored category. Both do assistants reached by message. - nanobot: grade B, 62.4/100, rank #446 of 1010. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/nanobot.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/nanobot.json - Tab: grade F, 10.7/100, rank #1003 of 1010. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/tab-bot.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/tab-bot.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 ### nanobot (B) Good for: A technical owner who wants an assistant on their own machine across many chat apps, with file-based memory and a free choice of model. Ahead on: - Reliability, 70 against 5 - Schema & documentation, 77 against 0 - Agent ergonomics, 74 against 0 - Security & auth, 63 against 4 - Payments & pricing, 60 against 0 - Maintenance & community, 82 against 58 Also in its favour: - No key needed to call it - Open source Watch for: No per-action approval was found in the docs or source. The agent sends messages, runs shell commands and edits files without asking ### Tab (F) Good for: A person who wants a texting assistant that browses, calls and buys with tight checkout controls. Also in its favour: - No incidents deducted, where nanobot loses 6 points for them Watch for: Private beta behind a waitlist. ## Score by category | Category | Weight | nanobot | Tab | Edge | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 70 | 5 | nanobot +65 | | Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 77 | 0 | nanobot +77 | | Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 74 | 0 | nanobot +74 | | Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 63 | 4 | nanobot +59 | | Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 0 | nanobot +60 | | Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 82 | 58 | nanobot +24 | | Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 48 | 45 | nanobot +3 | | Negative events | ≤15 | -6 | 0 | | | **Total** | | **62.4 · B** | **10.7 · F** | | ## Facts side by side | Fact | nanobot | Tab | | --- | --- | --- | | Kind | Agent harness | Platform | | Vendor | HKUDS | Terrasoft, 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 Tab's Terms of Use (Terrasoft, Inc., effective 2 September 2026). | | Read-only variant documented | no | no | | llms.txt | yes | no | | Last release | 2026-09-15 | none | | 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 | 49k stars | none | ## Verdicts **nanobot.** nanobot runs on the owner's machine under the MIT licence, with no telemetry found in its source and memory kept as files the owner can read and restore. No per-action approval step was found, and the shell sandbox and workspace restriction are off by default. Five security advisories were published between March and September 2026, all with fixes. **Tab.** Tab is a private-beta texting assistant with a detailed security page on credential isolation and checkout binding, and a public updates page. No outside agent can call it, no price is published, and its privacy policy says nothing on training with user content. ## Before you call either ### nanobot 1. Set `tools.restrictToWorkspace` to true and `tools.exec.sandbox` to `bwrap` or `seatbelt` before giving it real accounts. Both are off by default 2. Run 0.3.0 or later. Earlier versions carry the published SSRF flaw in web fetch (GHSA-vc5v-6vwm-wf9m) 3. Keep `allowFrom` narrow on every channel and never set `["*"]` on Email, which has no pairing 4. Write secrets as `${VAR}` references in `~/.nanobot/config.json`. Plain values are stored in clear text 5. Use `nanobot -m "..."` for a one-shot run, and keep `nanobot gateway` running for channels, schedules and heartbeat ### Tab 1. Don't plan to call Tab from another agent. It answers only the owner's Messages or WhatsApp thread. 2. Tell the owner that access needs a waitlist place and no price is published. ## Questions ### Which is better for AI agents, nanobot or Tab? nanobot scores 62.4 (B) on agent readiness against Tab's 10.7 (F), and leads in every scored category. ### Are nanobot and Tab open source? nanobot is open source (MIT). No open-source release is listed for Tab. ## For agents - This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-tab-bot.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-tab-bot.min.md - Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "nanobot", "b": "tab-bot"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare nanobot tab-bot` - Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/nanobot.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/tab-bot.json ## Other comparisons with nanobot or Tab - [asaply vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-nanobot.md) - [asaply vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Asmi vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-nanobot.md) - [Asmi vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-tab-bot.md) - [AstrBot vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Boba vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-nanobot.md) - [Boba vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Boski vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boski-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Brea vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-nanobot.md) - [Brea vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Caddy vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-tab-bot.md) - [CowAgent vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Del vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-nanobot.md) - [Del vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-tab-bot.md) - [folk vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-tab-bot.md) - [GAIA vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Grok Bot vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Haven vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Hermes Agent vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-tab-bot.md) - [HireAlpha vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hirealpha-vs-nanobot.md) - [HireAlpha vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hirealpha-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Instinct vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-tab-bot.md) - [IronClaw vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Lindy vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-tab-bot.md) - [nanobot vs OpenInstinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-openinstinct.md) - [nanobot vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-orbits.md) - [nanobot vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [nanobot vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-szn.md) - [nanobot vs Zapia](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-zapia.md) - [NanoClaw vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Natura tinyNature vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/natura-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Dots vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-tab-bot.md) - [OpenClaw vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-tab-bot.md) - [OpenInstinct vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openinstinct-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Orbits vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orbits-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Orchid vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Pally vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pally-vs-tab-bot.md) - [PicoClaw vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Poke vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-vs-tab-bot.md) - [QwenPaw vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwenpaw-vs-tab-bot.md) - [szn vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/szn-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Tab vs Tomo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/tab-bot-vs-tomo.md) - [Tab vs Town](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/tab-bot-vs-town.md) - [Tab vs Zapia](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/tab-bot-vs-zapia.md) - [Tab vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/tab-bot-vs-zeroclaw.md) - [Tab vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/tab-bot-vs-zo-computer.md) - [AstrBot vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-nanobot.md) - [Boski vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boski-vs-nanobot.md) - [Caddy vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-nanobot.md) - [CowAgent vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-nanobot.md) - [folk vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-nanobot.md) - [GAIA vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-nanobot.md) - [Gemini Spark vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-nanobot.md) - [Grok Bot vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-nanobot.md) - [Haven vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-nanobot.md) - [Hermes Agent vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-nanobot.md) - [Instinct vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-nanobot.md) - [IronClaw vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-nanobot.md) - [Leon vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-nanobot.md) - [Lindy vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-nanobot.md) - [nanobot vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [nanobot vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-openai-dots.md) - [nanobot vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-openclaw.md) - [nanobot vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-picoclaw.md) - [nanobot vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-poke.md) - [nanobot vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-qwenpaw.md) - [nanobot vs Town](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-town.md) - [nanobot vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-zeroclaw.md) - [nanobot vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-zo-computer.md) - [nanobot vs Natura tinyNature](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-natura.md) - [nanobot vs Pally](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-pally.md) - [nanobot vs Tomo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-tomo.md) - [nanobot vs Wajo (Fo)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-wajo.md) - [Gemini Spark vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Leon vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-tab-bot.md) - [nanobot vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-talorys.md) - [Tab vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/tab-bot-vs-talorys.md) - [Tab vs Wajo (Fo)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/tab-bot-vs-wajo.md) ## Disclosure - Tab 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.