The verdict
OpenMausBot is a desktop chat app where every conversation is a real agent with its own personality, model, memory, and connected apps. It differs from Grok Bot in three ways it states plainly: bring your own agents through local CLIs, local-first data, and a choice of hands, meaning a cloud desktop, an isolated VM, or control of your own computer, plus 500 or more apps through Composio.
Pick Grok Bot if you want a hosted machine that keeps working when you are offline and you would rather not manage anything. Pick OpenMausBot if you already pay for Claude Code, Codex, or a Grok CLI, want per-bot model choice with live switching, and want approval cards before shell commands and file edits. It is the strongest fit for developers who already live in those tools.
Documentation: Grok Bot overview ↗ OpenMausBot repository and README ↗
| Grok Bot | OpenMausBot | |
|---|---|---|
| License and price | Closed; bundled with Cursor from $20/month or SuperGrok from $30 | Apache 2.0; uses the CLI subscriptions you already have |
| Model | xAI models, no picker | Per-bot choice among your installed agent CLIs, switchable live |
| Where bots run | Cursor-managed cloud computer, always on | Your machine by default; cloud desktop or VM per bot optional |
| Install | Download the app and sign in | Download .dmg, .exe, or .deb; source needs Node 24+ and one authenticated CLI |
| Always-on | Yes | Only with a VPS or serve mode you run |
| Approvals | Ask-first rules in settings | Approval cards for shell commands and file edits |
| Tools | Plugins plus browser computer use | Composio connected apps marketplace, computer panel |
| Mobile | Native iPhone and Android apps | Phone pairing to your running instance |
The trade you are making
OpenMausBot keeps everything on your hardware, which fixes the shared-cloud-computer objection people raise about Grok Bot, and it lets you route each bot to whichever model you trust for the job. The price is that always-on behavior becomes your problem, and the project is a community codebase moving quickly.
Grok Bot's fixed model and shared computer are the constraints; its always-on cloud machine and zero maintenance are the reward. Neither imports the other's setups. Move the brief, not the package.
Documentation: Billing and access FAQ ↗ OpenMausBot repository and README ↗
Test them on the same task
Use the frozen-document protocol from our OpenClaw comparison. Give each product the same file and brief, score against your answer key, and record setup, run, and review time. Add connected apps only once the basic task is useful.
Quick answers
Does OpenMausBot need its own subscription?
No. It is bring-your-own-agent: it drives the Claude, Codex, or Grok command-line tools you have already installed and authenticated, so you pay whatever those subscriptions or API keys already cost. The app is Apache 2.0 except an enterprise folder under a separate source-available license.
Does it run when my laptop is closed?
Not by default. It is local-first and stores data in a folder in your home directory. For always-on use the README points to a VPS deployment guide and a serve command with tunnel or Tailscale access.
Sources & next steps
Capabilities are grounded in the documentation below. The workflow design and acceptance checks are editorial suggestions.
Build your own workflow brief ↗