# NanoClaw vs Zo Computer

> NanoClaw scores 68.3 (B) 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/nanoclaw-vs-zo-computer
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-zo-computer.md (~2,700 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-zo-computer.min.md (~730 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-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

NanoClaw scores 68.3 (B) on agent readiness against Zo Computer's 43.1 (E), and leads in every scored category. Both do assistant proactive.

- NanoClaw: grade B, 68.3/100, rank #229 of 986. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/nanoclaw.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/nanoclaw.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

### NanoClaw (B)

Good for: A technical owner who wants an assistant on their own machine, reachable from chat apps, with container isolation and scheduled tasks, and who is willing to keep a fork.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 78 against 15
- Schema & documentation, 82 against 73
- Agent ergonomics, 70 against 34
- Security & auth, 74 against 37
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 40
- Maintenance & community, 78 against 68
- Transparency & trust, 65 against 60

Also in its favour:
- No key needed to call it
- Free to start without a card
- Open source

Watch for: The Claude provider runs with `permissionMode: 'bypassPermissions'`, so shell, file and web tools run inside the container with no prompt

### 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.

Also in its favour:
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
- No incidents deducted, where NanoClaw 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 | NanoClaw | Zo Computer | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 78 | 15 | NanoClaw +63 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 82 | 73 | NanoClaw +9 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 70 | 34 | NanoClaw +36 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 74 | 37 | NanoClaw +37 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 40 | NanoClaw +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 78 | 68 | NanoClaw +10 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 65 | 60 | NanoClaw +5 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -5 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **68.3 · B** | **43.1 · E** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | NanoClaw | Zo Computer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | HTTP API |
| Vendor | NanoCo, Inc. | Zo Computer Company |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://api.zo.computer/mcp` |
| Transports |  | HTTP |
| Auth | None | API key |
| Pricing | Free | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT | Proprietary service under Zo Computer Company's terms of service |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-09 | 2026-09-14 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | 2025-08-08 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | 2026-05-20 |
| Customer content may train models |  | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 31k stars | none |

## Verdicts

**NanoClaw.** Each session runs in an unprivileged Docker container and API keys stay in a credential gateway on the host, so a manipulated agent cannot read them. Inside the container the agent runs with permission prompts off, network egress is open by default, and it can message any chat it is wired to without approval.

**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

### NanoClaw

1. Install with `git clone` and `bash nanoclaw.sh`. There is no registry package, and setup needs Docker, Node 22 or later and a Claude or Codex credential
2. Set `NANOCLAW_EGRESS_LOCKDOWN=true` before giving an agent credentials or an audience of strangers. The default leaves egress open
3. Put chats with different audiences in separate agent groups. Every session of a group shares one read-write workspace and memory tree
4. Turn on per-request approval for a secret in the gateway when its use should wait for a person. It is off unless configured
5. On OneCLI installs, move the gateway to 1.42.0 by the upgrade guide before updating to 2026.10.0. The updater stops until that is done

### 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, NanoClaw or Zo Computer?

NanoClaw scores 68.3 (B) on agent readiness against Zo Computer's 43.1 (E), and leads in every scored category.

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

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

### Are NanoClaw and Zo Computer open source?

NanoClaw is open source (MIT). No open-source release is listed for Zo Computer.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with NanoClaw or Zo Computer

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