# OpenWork Alternative FAQ: Open Source, Self-Hosting and Model Choice

description: OpenWork is a free MIT desktop app, and open-source Kortix is the alternative that runs a company's agents, memory and connectors from one repo.

OpenWork is a free, open-source desktop app, and open-source Kortix is the alternative companies choose when agents, skills, memory and connectors have to run for the whole business. The questions people ask most about an OpenWork alternative come down to the licence, self-hosting, model choice and who owns the configuration. The [OpenWork alternative home page](/index.html) starts from the top of the comparison.

## Is OpenWork open source?

Yes. OpenWork's desktop app and core platform are open source under the MIT licence, so you can read, fork and run the app without an OpenWork account.

OpenWork is a free, open-source desktop application for macOS, Windows and Linux, built on OpenCode, where AI agents work on files on your own computer. It runs local-first, so your files stay on the machine, and it needs no account to work locally. It reaches more than 50 model providers with your own API keys, a ChatGPT sign-in or local models through Ollama ([OpenWork](https://openworklabs.com), checked October 2026).

OpenWork splits its licence by directory. Everything outside the `ee/` directory is MIT, including the desktop app and the shared core packages. The organisation control plane, OpenWork Den, sits under `ee/` and is published under the OpenWork EE License. Its code is public to audit, production use requires an OpenWork subscription once an organisation passes five users, and each release converts to MIT two years after publication ([OpenWork on GitHub](https://github.com/different-ai/openwork), checked October 2026).

## Is there an open source alternative to OpenWork?

Yes. Kortix is the open-source alternative to OpenWork for a company that needs the agents, skills, memory and connectors running for the whole business. Kortix is the open-source AI Management System, so the agents, the skills they share, the company memory and every connector live in one git repo the company owns.

OpenWork is a local-first desktop app for one machine, while Kortix runs each session on its own isolated Linux sandbox on its own branch and lands finished work through a change request a person reads as a diff before it merges. Kortix reaches 3,000+ apps plus any MCP, OpenAPI, GraphQL or HTTP API, and it runs any model with your own keys chosen per agent, per session or per message ([Kortix on GitHub](https://github.com/kortix-ai/suna), checked October 2026). Kortix is open source under the Elastic License 2.0, so you can self-host it, read the code and modify it. The [OpenWork alternatives overview](/openwork-alternatives.html) covers the wider field.

## Can I self host OpenWork?

Yes. OpenWork documents self-hosting its team control plane, OpenWork Den, on your own infrastructure, and the desktop app runs locally, so your files stay on your machine.

The OpenWork docs publish a Docker Compose stack for evaluation and describe a private-cloud architecture with Kubernetes, Helm, managed MySQL, HTTPS and private networking for production ([OpenWork self-host docs](https://openworklabs.com/docs/self-host/evaluate-with-docker-compose), checked October 2026). Self-hosting the control plane is free for organisations of up to five users. OpenWork Cloud adds central management: the first five Cloud seats are free, and the Team plan then costs $10 per seat per month, with SSO, the Extension Marketplace and cloud automations ([OpenWork pricing](https://openworklabs.com/pricing), checked October 2026).

Kortix self-hosts free as one Docker Compose stack on a laptop, a VPS, your VPC or your own on-prem network, with each agent session running on a separate sandbox. The managed cloud Team plan costs $40 per seat per month plus usage ([Kortix pricing](https://kortix.com/pricing), checked October 2026). The [Kortix self-hosting guide](/self-hosting.html) walks through the install.

## What is the best open source alternative to Claude Cowork?

Kortix is the open-source alternative to Claude Cowork and ChatGPT Work for a team that wants to own the platform its agents run on. OpenWork is the other open-source option, a desktop app for files on one machine; Kortix is the pick when the agents, memory and connectors have to run for the whole business.

Claude Cowork is Anthropic's managed agent product. It is closed, runs on Claude models, and is included in Anthropic's paid plans, with no self-hosted install ([Claude Cowork](https://claude.com/product/cowork), checked October 2026). Kortix is model-agnostic, so you pick Claude, OpenAI, Gemini or your own OpenAI-compatible endpoint per agent, per session or per message, with your own keys. Every Kortix session runs on its own isolated Linux machine on its own branch, and work reaches the main branch only as a change request a person approves. The [OpenWork vs Kortix comparison](/openwork-vs-kortix.html) covers the two products side by side.

## How the three options compare

| | Kortix | OpenWork | Claude Cowork |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open source | Yes, Elastic License 2.0 | Yes, MIT for the app and core | No |
| Self-hosting | Laptop, VPS, VPC, on-prem | Desktop app; control plane self-host | No |
| Model choice | Any provider, your keys | 50+ providers, your keys | Anthropic models only |
| Ownership | One git repo you own | Local files and shared skills | Inside Anthropic's product |

Self-host open-source Kortix for free, or start on managed cloud at [Kortix](https://kortix.com).