OpenWork AI is a free, open-source desktop app that lets AI agents do real work on your own files, and it is built on OpenCode as an alternative to Claude Cowork.
It comes from Different AI, Inc., it runs on macOS, Windows and Linux, and the desktop app is MIT-licensed, so a business can try it without buying a single seat.
You choose the model, so you can use a ChatGPT subscription you already pay for, your own API key, or a local model that costs nothing per task.
In this post I'll explain what OpenWork is and what it costs, and then I'll show you how a business, an agency or a creator would actually use it, job by job.
I have not invented any income numbers here, and every product fact was checked against OpenWork's own repo, docs and pricing page on 10 October 2026.
What OpenWork Is, In Plain English
OpenWork is an app you install on your computer.
You point it at a folder, choose an AI model and type the job you want done.
The agent then reads the files, uses tools, drives a built-in browser and gives you finished work.
OpenWork's README describes it as "the free, open-source alternative to Claude Cowork and Codex".
It is built on OpenCode, which is the open-source agent I walk through in the video above.
Different AI, Inc. makes OpenWork, and its founder and CEO is Ben Shafii.
The company is listed in Y Combinator's Spring 2026 batch, and its site is openworklabs.com.
The code is public at github.com/different-ai/openwork, which had about 24,000 stars when I checked.
The latest release was version 0.18.57, published on 7 October 2026.
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What OpenWork Costs A Business
This is the part most owners ask me about first.
| Plan | Price | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | A solo owner or a team of up to five gets the MIT desktop app, their own keys and the first 5 Cloud seats. |
| Team | $10 per seat per month | A growing team gets unlimited users, SSO, the Extension Marketplace, shared keys and cloud automations. |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing | A larger company gets SCIM, desktop policies, an audit log and internal white-labelling. |
OpenWork's pricing page lists two add-ons for paid plans.
OpenWork Cloud Computer is $50 per member per month, and it gives each member a cloud computer in the browser.
OpenWork models is $10 per user per month, and it gives you managed inference so nobody has to bring keys.
The pricing page says Team is billed monthly and you can cancel anytime.
It also says self-hosting the control plane is free for organisations with up to 5 users.
The bit people miss is that the app being free does not make the model free.
You pay for tokens through whichever provider you connect, unless you run a local model.
The Problem OpenWork Solves For A Business
Most teams have the same three problems with AI agents.
The first is that the good agent tools live in a terminal, and most staff will never open one.
The second is that every person builds their own prompts, so nothing is shared.
The third is that the business gets tied to one model provider and one price.
OpenWork goes after all three.
It is a normal desktop app, so non-technical people can use it.
It lets a team share skills and MCP servers, so one good workflow reaches everyone.
It works with any model, so you can put cheap models on routine jobs and expensive ones on hard jobs.
How To Get OpenWork Running In Your Business
You can be working inside it in about ten minutes.
- Download OpenWork from openworklabs.com/download for macOS, Windows or Linux.
- Open it and pick a folder, because OpenWork only works in folders you authorise.
- Connect a model under Settings › AI Providers.
- Type "Summarize this folder" as your first task.
On a Mac you can also install it with brew install --cask openwork.
OpenWork's docs warn you not to run npx openwork, because that npm package is a different project.
For the model, you have three sensible choices.
If you already pay for ChatGPT Plus or Pro, you can sign in with that subscription.
If you want Claude, you can add an Anthropic API key.
If you want zero cost per task, you can run a local model through Ollama from the built-in Ollama screen in Settings.
OpenWork's docs are honest that small local models often struggle to call tools, so keep a cloud model as a fallback for long jobs.
Seven Jobs A Business Can Give OpenWork
Each of these maps to a feature OpenWork documents, and I've said which one.
1. Summarise And Organise A Client Folder
This is the first task OpenWork's own docs recommend.
You point it at a client folder and ask for a summary of what's inside and what's missing.
It is the safest starting job, because the agent only reads.
2. Turn Spreadsheets Into Answers
OpenWork treats Excel workbooks as first-class files.
You drop in a .xlsx file and ask questions like "Which rows on the Pipeline sheet close this quarter?"
The agent can read any sheet or range, and it can write a new workbook back with numbers kept as numbers.
The built-in tools don't make charts, pivot tables or macros, so keep the requests to data and formulas.
3. Do Web Research In A Visible Browser
OpenWork has a built-in browser that the agent drives.
It can open pages, read them, fill forms and take screenshots.
An agency could use it to gather competitor pages for a pitch, and an owner could use it to collect supplier prices.
Clicks and typing ask for your approval each time, which is what you want when it's signed in to your accounts.
4. Turn Your Best Process Into A Skill
This is where the real leverage is.
You do a job once in chat, such as writing a client report the way you like it.
Then you type, "Turn what we just did into a reusable skill for me."
OpenWork saves the steps as a skill in the same SKILL.md format Claude uses.
Next week the agent follows your process instead of guessing.
5. Share That Skill With The Whole Team
A skill only you have is a personal shortcut.
A skill your team has is a standard operating procedure.
OpenWork Cloud lets you share a skill and pick the people or teams who can use it.
The docs say that creating a skill does not publish it, so sharing is always a choice you make.
6. Connect The Apps You Already Use
OpenWork connects to Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Slack, Notion and Linear through its Connect feature.
That route needs an OpenWork Cloud sign-in and an organisation that has enabled the service.
If you want to stay fully local, you can add your own MCP server under Settings › Library instead.
7. Run Recurring Work On A Schedule
OpenWork can run a prompt on a schedule, which suits a weekly report or a Monday inbox tidy.
I'd treat this one with care for now.
The roadmap marks scheduled tasks as "Partial", automations need a Cloud sign-in, and cloud automations are part of the Team plan.
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How An Agency Would Roll OpenWork Out
I run an agency, so this is how I'd think about it.
| Stage | What you do | What it costs |
|---|---|---|
| Week one | One person installs the free app and tests three real jobs on a backed-up folder. | You pay only for model usage. |
| Week two | That person turns the best job into a skill and writes down what failed. | You pay only for model usage. |
| Week three | You create an OpenWork Cloud organisation and invite up to five people on the free seats. | The first 5 Cloud seats are free. |
| Later | You move to Team if you need more seats, SSO or cloud automations. | Team costs $10 per seat per month. |
The team control plane is called OpenWork Den.
Admins use it to invite teammates, control which model providers each team can use, and publish skills and plugins.
The pricing page says a team can also bring its own LLM keys and distribute them to members.
That matters for an agency, because one bill for models is easier to manage than twenty personal ones.
How A Creator Would Use OpenWork
A creator's version is smaller and cheaper.
You'd keep one folder per project, with scripts, notes and research inside it.
You'd connect the ChatGPT plan you already pay for, or a local model.
You'd build two or three skills, such as one for research notes and one for repurposing a script.
You wouldn't need the Team plan at all.
My January Test Was A Different Openwork
I need to flag something so nobody gets confused by my older videos.
In January 2026 I tested an app called Openwork on camera, and that app was distributed from accomplish.ai.
It was a different project from the one on this page.
That project was later renamed, and its GitHub repo now says it is no longer supported.
In that test, Claude Cowork finished the same tasks much faster, and I said so in the video.
I haven't run a full side-by-side of today's OpenWork from Different AI yet.
So please don't apply my January speed results to this product, in either direction.
OpenWork vs Claude Cowork vs Hermes Desktop vs My Agent OS
Here is the fair comparison for a business buyer.
| Question | OpenWork | Claude Cowork | Hermes Desktop | My Agent OS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What is it? | An open-source agent workspace for files and browser work | Anthropic's agent workspace | The official desktop app for Hermes Agent | A dashboard running a crew of agents under one shared memory |
| What does the app cost? | Free | It needs a paid Claude plan | Free | It is included with the AI Profit Boardroom |
| Which models? | Any provider, or local | Built around Claude | The model you set for Hermes | Several agents, including Claude Code, Hermes and Codex |
| Team features | Shared skills, SSO on Team, self-hosting | Team and Enterprise plans | I use it as a single-user app | Built for an operator and their business |
| Maturity | Version 0.18, moving fast | The most finished of the four | A stable app | The system I run my own business on |
Claude Cowork is ahead on polish.
Anthropic's help page says Cowork runs on desktop, web and mobile, with scheduled tasks and projects.
OpenWork's own comparison table marks several of its features as "Partial", including automations, sandboxing and memory across chats.
OpenWork wins on model choice, on price and on being able to self-host.
Hermes Desktop is the better pick if your business already runs on Hermes Agent.
My Agent OS is for operators who want several agents sharing one memory, which is a different job from a single workspace.
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Limits A Business Should Know First
- The free app does not include a model, so you still have a token bill unless you go local.
- OpenWork is on version 0.18, so expect things to change between releases.
- The docs say there is no result cache, so rerunning the same task costs tokens again.
- Memory across chats is a lookup the agent does when asked, not automatic recall.
- Gmail, Slack and the other managed connections need a Cloud sign-in and an organisation.
- Credentials and conversation history do not move over if you migrate from Claude Cowork.
- The team control plane uses a source-available licence, and production use above five users needs a subscription.
OpenWork's docs also give five ways to keep spend down, and they are worth copying.
- Keep prompts short and specific.
- Use focused skills for repeat work.
- Attach only the files the task needs.
- Ask for narrow outputs before broad analysis.
- Turn any task that loops through many tools into a skill once it works.
My Verdict For Business Owners
OpenWork is a serious option for a business that wants Cowork-style help without being locked to one model provider.
The free tier is generous enough to prove the idea with five people.
I'd start with read-only jobs, build one skill that saves your team real time, and only then pay for seats.
If you already pay for Claude and you're happy, Claude Cowork is still the smoother experience today.
Related Reading
- AI automation for small business covers where agents save the most time.
- Herald OS is another free agent desktop, built around Hermes Agent.
- The best Hermes Agent alternative shows where OpenWork fits against the rest.
- The best Hermes Agent use cases gives you more jobs to hand to an agent.
Also On Our Network
- 🌐 The OpenWork install and setup walkthrough
- 🌐 OpenWork's features explained and scored one by one
- 🌐 Where OpenWork fits in an Agent OS workflow
- 🌐 Which models to run in OpenWork, with real benchmark scores
FAQ: OpenWork AI
What is OpenWork AI?
OpenWork is a free, open-source desktop app where AI agents work on your own files.
Different AI builds it on top of OpenCode and positions it as an open-source alternative to Claude Cowork.
How much does OpenWork cost for a team?
The desktop app is free, and the first 5 Cloud seats are free.
The Team plan costs $10 per seat per month, and model usage is paid separately.
Can a business use OpenWork without sending files to the cloud?
OpenWork's README says your files stay local and the cloud is optional.
If you also use a local model, the docs say your prompts and files stay on your machine.
Does OpenWork work with Gmail, Slack and Notion?
It does, but those managed connections need an OpenWork Cloud sign-in and an organisation that has enabled them.
Without signing in, you can still add your own MCP server.
Is OpenWork better than Claude Cowork for a small business?
Claude Cowork is the more finished product, and it needs a paid Claude plan.
OpenWork is free to install and works with any model, but some of its features are still marked partial.
Can I move my Claude Cowork skills to OpenWork?
You can, because OpenWork uses the same SKILL.md format and has a migration guide.
Conversation history doesn't transfer, and you have to reconnect each app.
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About Julian
I'm Julian Goldie, an SEO entrepreneur, author and founder of the AI Profit Boardroom, which has 3,400+ members.
I help business owners scale with AI agents, automation and SEO.
- I run Goldie Agency, a 7-figure SEO and link building agency based in Bangkok.
- I've grown a YouTube channel to 400,000+ subscribers.
- I wrote "Link Building Mastery", which is available on Amazon.
- I run GoldieBench, where I score AI models on real one-shot builds.
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Give it one read-only job on a backed-up folder this week, and you'll see quickly what your business can hand to OpenWork AI.
