# PicoClaw vs Zo Computer

> PicoClaw scores 46.1 (D) 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/picoclaw-vs-zo-computer
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-zo-computer.md (~2,750 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-zo-computer.min.md (~780 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-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

PicoClaw scores 46.1 (D) on agent readiness against Zo Computer's 43.1 (E), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Zo Computer leads on schema & documentation and maintenance & community. Both do assistant proactive.

- 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
- 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

### 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.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 54 against 15
- Agent ergonomics, 66 against 34
- Security & auth, 51 against 37
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 40

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

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

### 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.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 73 against 51
- Maintenance & community, 68 against 22

Also in its favour:
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
- No incidents deducted, where PicoClaw loses 7 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 | PicoClaw | Zo Computer | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 54 | 15 | PicoClaw +39 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 51 | 73 | Zo Computer +22 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 66 | 34 | PicoClaw +32 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 51 | 37 | PicoClaw +14 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 40 | PicoClaw +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 22 | 68 | Zo Computer +46 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 56 | 60 | Zo Computer +4 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -7 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **46.1 · D** | **43.1 · E** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | PicoClaw | Zo Computer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Sipeed | 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 | no | yes |
| Last release | 2026-07-03 | 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 | 30k stars | none |

## Verdicts

**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.

**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

### 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

### 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, PicoClaw or Zo Computer?

PicoClaw scores 46.1 (D) on agent readiness against Zo Computer's 43.1 (E), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Zo Computer leads on schema & documentation and maintenance & community.

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

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

### Are PicoClaw and Zo Computer open source?

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


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with PicoClaw or Zo Computer

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