# OpenInstinct vs Tab (slim)

> OpenInstinct scores 21.8 (F) to Tab's 10.7 (F) for assistants reached by message. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openinstinct-vs-tab-bot.md (~3,350 tokens) · this version ~480 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openinstinct-vs-tab-bot.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openinstinct-vs-tab-bot
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · Updated: 2026-10-13

OpenInstinct scores 21.8 (F) on agent readiness against Tab's 10.7 (F), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Both do assistants reached by message.

- OpenInstinct: F 21.8, rank #988 of 1010 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openinstinct.min.md
- Tab: F 10.7, rank #1003 of 1010 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/tab-bot.min.md
- OpenInstinct, good for Developers comfortable running their own iMessage assistant on Vercel with a browser agent and Link wallet. Ahead on Reliability, 33 against 5; Payments & pricing, 50 against 0; Maintenance & community, 66 against 58; Transparency & trust, 59 against 45. Also Open source.
- Tab, good for A person who wants a texting assistant that browses, calls and buys with tight checkout controls.

| Category | OpenInstinct | Tab |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 33 | 5 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 0 | 0 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 0 | 0 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 0 | 4 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 50 | 0 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 66 | 58 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 59 | 45 |

| Fact (where they differ) | OpenInstinct | Tab |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | Merit Systems, Inc. | Terrasoft, Inc. |
| Pricing | Free | Paid |
| Licence | MIT (Copyright 2026 Merit Systems, Inc.). | Closed service under Tab's Terms of Use (Terrasoft, Inc., effective 2 September 2026). |
| Last release | 2026-10-05 | none |