The short answer

Grok Bot's alternatives split into two groups. Hosted always-on agents, ChatGPT's dots, Manus and Claude, suit people who want nothing to run. Self-hosted platforms, OpenClaw, Hermes Agent, Rakazo, MausBot and gawkbot, suit people who want model choice and their own hardware. None imports Grok Bot templates; the written brief is what moves.

This is a documentation comparison, checked on October 7, 2026 against each product's own docs, README, license and pricing page. We have not run the same task in all of them, so there is no quality ranking. Grok Bot itself is included with Cursor Pro from $20 a month or a linked SuperGrok from $30; see our plan guide.

Documentation: Grok Bot overview ↗ Grok Bot security: models and data ↗ Cursor plans and billing for Grok Bot ↗ OpenAI docs: Meet dots ↗ OpenAI docs: ChatGPT pricing for Work ↗ Claude Help: Claude Cowork architecture overview ↗ Claude pricing ↗ Manus help: current membership pricing ↗ OpenClaw repository and README ↗ Hermes Agent repository and README (Nous Research) ↗ Nous Portal plans and Hermes Cloud pricing ↗ Rakazo repository and README ↗ MausBot pricing ↗ gawkbot repository and README ↗

ProductMade byWhere it runsModelEntry price (October 2026)
Grok BotSpaceXAI, on Cursor's cloudOne cloud computer per user, shared by all your BotsChosen by Cursor; no model pickerCursor Pro $20 a month, or linked SuperGrok $30
ChatGPT dots and WorkOpenAIDots: its own cloud computer and browser. Work: cloud, or your desktopOpenAI models; dots run on GPT-6 AstraDots: ChatGPT Pro ($100, $200 or $500 a month) or Business Premium. Work: from the Free plan
Claude (with Cowork)AnthropicA temporary cloud sandbox per session; local files through Claude DesktopClaude modelsClaude Pro $20 a month, or $17 billed yearly
ManusManus AIHosted; a Cloud Computer for always-on work is sold separatelyManus's own agent tiersFree plan; Pro from $20 a month
OpenClawOpenClaw Foundation, MIT licenseA Gateway on your Mac, Linux, Windows or a VPSAny provider by API key, a Claude Code or Codex login, or a SuperGrok sign-inFree software; you pay for models and hosting
Hermes AgentNous Research, MIT licenseYour machine or server, sandbox backends, or hosted Hermes CloudAny model: Nous Portal, OpenRouter, OpenAI, your own endpointFree software; Nous Portal Plus $20 a month; Hermes Cloud from $0.56 a day plus usage
RakazoInbox Zero, Apache 2.0, betaDocker, E2B, Daytona, CreateOS, Box or localYour own model credentialsFree software; you pay for models and compute
MausBot (OpenMausBot)Milind Soni, Apache 2.0 except an enterprise folderYour machine; per-Bot cloud desktop or local VMYour installed claude, codex or grok CLIFree locally; cloud workspaces $29 to $99 a month, AI usage not included
gawkbotNex, Sustainable Use LicenseYour machineYour Claude Code, Codex or Opencode CLI, Ollama, Hermes Agent or OpenClawFree for internal or personal use

Choose by what you want to stop doing

Most people looking for an alternative want to escape one specific constraint of Grok Bot. Match the constraint to the group that removes it, then read that product's own documentation before you move anything.

Documentation: OpenClaw getting started ↗ Hermes Agent repository and README (Nous Research) ↗ gawkbot repository and README ↗ MausBot (OpenMausBot) repository and README ↗ OpenAI docs: Meet dots ↗ Claude Help: Claude Cowork architecture overview ↗

If you want…Look atWhat you give up
To pick or switch the modelOpenClaw, Hermes Agent, Rakazo, MausBot, gawkbotA managed computer; you run and update the software
Files and logins on hardware you controlOpenClaw, Hermes Agent, MausBot or gawkbot locallyAlways-on work stops when your machine sleeps, unless you run a server
To talk to the agent in Telegram, WhatsApp, Slack or DiscordOpenClaw or Hermes AgentGrok Bot's own desktop and mobile apps
An approval click before every external writegawkbot, or MausBot's permission brokerA young, single-maintainer or early project instead of a vendor with support
A hosted always-on agent from a vendor you already payChatGPT dots on Pro, or Claude on Pro and MaxGrok Bot's named, long-lived Bots on one shared computer
Each task isolated from the othersClaude, which gives each cloud session its own temporary sandboxLogins that persist across tasks

Stay on Grok Bot if

You want to describe a job and have it running today without a terminal, with Bots that keep working when your laptop is closed and mobile apps that reach the same Bots. You accept that Cursor chooses the model with no picker, that all your Bots share one cloud computer and one set of logins, and that usage is a weekly allowance with optional on-demand billing. The docs say isolation is per user, not per Bot.

If a reliability problem is what sent you looking, check Is Grok Bot down? first: several September and October incidents were on Cursor's side and resolved without any action from users.

Documentation: Grok Bot overview ↗ Grok Bot FAQ ↗ Grok Bot security: models and data ↗

Hosted alternatives: ChatGPT dots, Claude and Manus

OpenAI's documentation describes a dot as an always-on agent that keeps work moving across your tools; it is powered by GPT-6 Astra, lives in the cloud, and has its own computer and browser. You reach it in ChatGPT, Slack, Microsoft Teams or a call. Access is on the Pro 100, 200 and 500 plans outside the EEA, UK and Switzerland, rolling out on Business Premium, and off by default on Enterprise. Before an action affects your accounts, a review decides whether it can proceed, needs your approval, or must be handed to you. ChatGPT agent itself is retired in favor of ChatGPT Work; our three-way comparison covers Work and Claude in more depth.

Anthropic merged Cowork into Claude on September 16, rolling out to Pro and Max first. Cloud sessions run on Anthropic's servers, each in its own sandbox that is destroyed when the session ends, and scheduled tasks keep running with your computer off. Claude Pro is $20 a month, or $17 billed yearly.

Manus describes itself as an action engine that executes tasks and automates workflows. Its help center lists a free plan with 300 daily refresh credits and two scheduled automations, and Pro from $20 a month with 20 concurrent tasks; it says the pricing page is authoritative. Always-on work uses Manus Cloud Computer, a dedicated cloud machine sold separately. Manus 2.0 launched on September 28, and Manus says it resumed independent operations on September 1, 2026, after joining Meta in December 2025.

Documentation: OpenAI docs: Meet dots ↗ OpenAI docs: ChatGPT Work ↗ Anthropic: Claude Cowork and chat are now one Claude (September 16, 2026) ↗ Claude Help: Claude Cowork architecture overview ↗ Claude pricing ↗ Manus help: current membership pricing ↗ Manus: Manus Cloud Computer ↗ Manus: Introducing Manus 2.0 (September 28, 2026) ↗ Manus: resumes independent operations (September 1, 2026) ↗

Self-hosted platforms: OpenClaw and Hermes Agent

OpenClaw is an open-source assistant that runs on your own computer and meets you in the chat apps you already use, including Discord, iMessage, Microsoft Teams, Signal, Slack, Telegram and WhatsApp. It is MIT-licensed, stewarded by the OpenClaw Foundation, and its README says it has no paid tier or hosted service. Models are swappable plugins; setup needs a Claude Code or Codex login or a provider API key. Its docs say a workspace is the default working directory, not a hard sandbox, and sandboxing is off by default. It had about 392,000 GitHub stars on October 7. Our Grok Bot vs OpenClaw guide goes deeper.

Hermes Agent is Nous Research's MIT-licensed, self-improving agent. It runs on your machine, a server or one of several sandbox backends, works with any model, and talks to you through Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal and a command line from one gateway. It has a built-in scheduler. Its default approval mode uses a second model to assess risk, auto-denies clearly dangerous commands and escalates uncertain ones to you, and timeouts fail closed. Nous Research's portal lists a free tier, Plus at $20 a month, and Hermes Cloud, a hosted always-on option priced per day plus inference. It had about 252,000 stars.

Documentation: OpenClaw repository and README ↗ OpenClaw getting started ↗ OpenClaw sandboxing ↗ SpaceXAI: Use Grok in OpenClaw (May 19, 2026) ↗ Hermes Agent repository and README (Nous Research) ↗ Hermes Agent security documentation ↗ Nous Portal plans and Hermes Cloud pricing ↗ SpaceXAI: Connect Grok to Hermes Agent (May 15, 2026) ↗

Open-source look-alikes: Rakazo, MausBot and gawkbot

Rakazo describes itself as an open-source Grok Bot alternative and copies the shape closely: persistent Bots with memory, routines, Bot-to-Bot delegation, and browser, terminal, file and desktop access, through web, desktop and mobile apps. The differences are bring your own model, choose your own sandbox (Docker, E2B, Daytona, CreateOS, Box or local), and run the whole stack yourself. Tools come through Composio, Pipedream, Treg, remote MCP and OpenAPI, and voice through your own ElevenLabs, OpenAI, Cartesia or Fish Audio key. It is Apache 2.0, in beta, from the company behind Inbox Zero, and says a hosted version is coming.

MausBot, formerly OpenMausBot, is a chat app where each Bot drives a command-line agent you already have, claude, codex or grok, with per-Bot model choice. Each Bot can use a cloud Linux desktop, a local VM or your own computer, with 500-plus apps through Composio, and a permission broker turns risky actions into decisions you make. Its README now also documents installing a full multi-Bot team from one Markdown file, with a review screen before anything is created, and an "Auto" room mode that routes an un-mentioned message to the best Bot. Install with npx openmausbot (Node 24 or later) or a desktop build. The local app is free and Apache 2.0 outside an enterprise folder; its pricing page lists cloud workspaces at $29, $49 and $99 a month that keep scheduled tasks running with your laptop off, with AI usage not included. Its README says API keys are stored as plaintext in a private config file.

gawkbot runs always-on Bots on your machine on a CLI you already pay for and holds every send, commit, purchase and delete for your approval; reads are free. Each Bot gets its own routines, self-written tools and data tables, and workspace state lives under ~/.wuphf/. Install with npx gawkbot. Its Sustainable Use License limits use to internal business or non-commercial personal purposes, and it is a young project from one maintainer, first committed in March 2026; its README marks the packaged routine runner as still to come.

Documentation: Rakazo repository and README ↗ Rakazo: Grok Bot alternative page ↗ MausBot (OpenMausBot) repository and README ↗ MausBot pricing ↗ gawkbot repository and README ↗ gawkbot LICENSE (Sustainable Use License) ↗

What you take on when you self-host

Running any of the self-hosted options means keeping the process and its sandbox healthy, managing model keys and their spend, upgrading quickly moving codebases, and watching an approval queue so work does not stall. A laptop that sleeps stops an agent that runs on it. In exchange you can read every action, switch models per task, and keep files and browser sessions on infrastructure you control.

Grok Bot's trade is the reverse: setup takes minutes and mobile is built in, but every Bot on your account shares one cloud computer and set of logins, Cursor chooses the model, and usage above the weekly allowance bills on demand up to a monthly limit that does not stop a run already in progress. Our shared-computer guide and weekly usage guide cover both sides of that.

Documentation: Grok Bot FAQ ↗ Cursor plans and billing for Grok Bot ↗ OpenClaw getting started ↗

Moving work between them

Nothing here imports a Grok Bot template, and Grok Bot does not import theirs. The official Marketplace lists Import Bot, a third-party template that says it brings setups from Claude Cowork, Codex, ChatGPT, OpenClaw and Hermes into Grok Bot; it is a community-made Bot, not a built-in importer, and we have not tested it. Move the brief instead: the outcome, sources, steps and acceptance checks. Then rebuild tools and permissions in the destination.

To compare two candidates, give each the same frozen document and brief, score the results against an answer key you wrote first, and record setup, run and review time. The afternoon test in our OpenClaw comparison has the full protocol and a copyable brief.

Documentation: Grok Bot Marketplace (Import Bot listing) ↗

Changes to this page

October 8, 2026: rechecked every repository and README. MausBot's README now documents installing a full team of Bots from one Markdown file and an "Auto" room mode that routes unmentioned messages; added one sentence on that. Rakazo's tool-source list, OpenClaw's Node requirement and channel list, and MausBot's $29/$49/$99 cloud pricing were rechecked and found unchanged from this page's prior facts.

October 7, 2026: new page. It replaces our separate Grok Bot vs Rakazo, vs OpenMausBot and vs gawkbot comparisons, whose addresses now redirect here, and keeps their facts after rechecking each README. Added OpenClaw, Hermes Agent, Manus, ChatGPT dots and Claude, and MausBot's new cloud pricing.

Quick answers

What is the best Grok Bot alternative?

It depends on what you want to stop doing. If you want an always-on agent without running anything, look at ChatGPT's dots (on ChatGPT Pro), Manus or Claude. If you want to choose the model and keep data on your own hardware, look at OpenClaw or Hermes Agent. If you want Grok Bot's named-Bots-in-a-chat-app design on your own machine, look at Rakazo, MausBot or gawkbot. We have not tested any of them head to head.

Is there a free Grok Bot alternative?

The software is free for OpenClaw and Hermes Agent (MIT), Rakazo (Apache 2.0), MausBot's local app (Apache 2.0 outside its enterprise folder) and gawkbot (free for internal or personal use under its Sustainable Use License). In every case you still pay for the model, through API keys or a subscription you already have, and for any machine that has to stay on.

Can I use Grok models in one of these?

Yes, in some. SpaceXAI announced on May 19, 2026 that you can sign in with a SuperGrok or X Premium subscription inside OpenClaw, and on May 15 that you can connect a Grok account to Hermes Agent. MausBot can drive the grok command-line tool. That is Grok the model, not Grok Bot the product.

Can I import my Grok Bot templates into an alternative?

No. None of these imports Grok Bot templates or skills, and Grok Bot does not import theirs. The official Marketplace lists Import Bot, a third-party template that says it brings setups from other agents into Grok Bot; we have not tested it. What reliably transfers is the written brief: the outcome, sources, steps and acceptance checks.

Is gawkbot open source?

Not in the usual sense. Its README calls it an open-source Grok Bot, but its LICENSE file is the Sustainable Use License, which limits use to internal business or non-commercial personal purposes and is not OSI-approved. Read it before building a paid or resold service on gawkbot.

Sources & next steps

Capabilities are grounded in the documentation below. The workflow design and acceptance checks are editorial suggestions.

Build your own workflow brief ↗