# OpenClaw vs PicoClaw

> OpenClaw scores 67.1 (B) to PicoClaw's 46.1 (D) for assistant proactive. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-picoclaw
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-picoclaw.md (~2,550 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-picoclaw.min.md (~530 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-picoclaw.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

OpenClaw scores 67.1 (B) on agent readiness against PicoClaw's 46.1 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do assistant proactive.

- OpenClaw: grade B, 67.1/100, rank #270 of 986. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openclaw.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openclaw.json
- PicoClaw: grade D, 46.1/100, rank #879 of 986. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/picoclaw.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/picoclaw.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

### OpenClaw (B)

Good for: A technical owner who wants an assistant on their own machine across many chat apps, with their choice of model and files they can read and delete.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 75 against 54
- Schema & documentation, 84 against 51
- Agent ergonomics, 77 against 66
- Security & auth, 74 against 51
- Maintenance & community, 86 against 22
- Transparency & trust, 68 against 56

Watch for: Without configuration the default is full access. Host exec runs with no approval and sandboxing is off

### PicoClaw (D)

Good for: A person who wants a chat-app assistant on a cheap Linux board, an old Android phone or a home server, with reminders, web search and file memory, and who accepts running software its maker calls pre-production.

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

Watch for: No commit on main since 19 August 2026 and no release since v0.3.1 on 3 July 2026. An issue of 6 October calls the repository unmaintained, with no reply


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | OpenClaw | PicoClaw | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 75 | 54 | OpenClaw +21 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 84 | 51 | OpenClaw +33 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 77 | 66 | OpenClaw +11 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 74 | 51 | OpenClaw +23 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 60 | even |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 86 | 22 | OpenClaw +64 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 68 | 56 | OpenClaw +12 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -8 | -7 | |
| **Total** | | **67.1 · B** | **46.1 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | OpenClaw | PicoClaw |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Vendor | OpenClaw Foundation | Sipeed |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | OAuth or key | None |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-10-12 | 2026-07-03 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | 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 | 392k stars | 30k stars |

## Verdicts

**OpenClaw.** Self-hosted under the MIT licence, with state, memory and credentials kept on the owner's machine and no paid tier. A fresh install runs tools on the host with full access, no approval prompt and no sandbox, and the project has published 722 security advisories since January 2026, 14 of them critical.

**PicoClaw.** Self-hosted under the MIT licence, with 19 documented chat channels, scheduled and heartbeat tasks, and local file memory. The repository has had no commit since 19 August 2026 and no release since 3 July, and 15 CVEs are listed against it with no advisory or security policy from the project.

## Before you call either

### OpenClaw

1. Set a session permission mode of `guarded` or `workspace`, or `tools.exec.mode`, before connecting mail. The default runs host commands without approval
2. Turn on `agents.defaults.sandbox` for any agent that reads mail, web pages or attachments. Sandboxing is off by default
3. Set `tools.message.crossContext.allowAcrossProviders` and `allowWithinProvider` to `false` to confine sends to the current conversation
4. Route incoming mail to a restricted reader agent, as the IMAP and Gmail guides show, and deny `gateway`, `cron`, `sessions_spawn` and `sessions_send` for it
5. Run `openclaw security audit` after setup, and treat the Gateway token as an owner credential. `POST /tools/invoke` accepts it with full operator access

### PicoClaw

1. Set `allow_from` to the owner's user ID on every channel before starting the gateway. An empty list accepts messages from anyone
2. Set `tools.exec.allow_remote` to `false` unless chats must run shell commands. The shipped default is `true`, whatever docs/guides/configuration.md says
3. Set `isolation.enabled` to `true` on Linux (needs `bwrap`) or run in a container. The deny patterns do not inspect child processes
4. Use `PICOCLAW_KEY_PASSPHRASE` for credential encryption. One docs page names `PICOCLAW_CREDENTIAL_PASSPHRASE`, which the source does not read
5. Treat the README's ClawdChat line (read a remote skill file and follow it) as untrusted third-party instructions

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, OpenClaw or PicoClaw?

OpenClaw scores 67.1 (B) on agent readiness against PicoClaw's 46.1 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.

### Are OpenClaw and PicoClaw open source?

Yes. OpenClaw is open source (MIT). PicoClaw is open source (MIT).


## For agents

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

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