Head-to-head
OpenWork vs Kortix: local-first desktop app or open-source AI Management System
Kortix is the open-source AI Management System, and OpenWork is a free, open-source desktop app. The OpenWork vs Kortix decision comes down to scope, because one is a workspace for a person's own files and the other is a system a whole company runs on. For a company that wants its agents, skills, memory and connectors in one repo it owns, Kortix is the pick; OpenWork is the better fit for one person working from a laptop.
The short answer
For a company that runs agents as shared infrastructure, choose Kortix. It keeps the agents, the skills they share, your company memory and every connector in one repo you own, runs each session on an isolated Linux sandbox, and lands every change as a diff a person approves before it merges. OpenWork is the better fit for one person or a small team that wants a free desktop app, keeps files on the local machine, and shares skills and MCP servers between teammates. Both are open source; the deciding factor is what each one is built to own, and how far that scales.
What OpenWork is
OpenWork is a free, open-source desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux where AI agents work on files on your own computer. It is built on OpenCode and runs local-first: the app and the files stay on your machine, prompts go to the model provider you connect, and no OpenWork account is needed to start. It runs any model across 50+ providers through your own API keys, a ChatGPT sign-in, or local models via Ollama.
Teams get sharing. A teammate imports skills, MCP servers, plugins and configuration from a single link, and a remote MCP gateway exposes the same capabilities to other agents. The desktop app and core are MIT licensed; the org control plane, OpenWork Den, sits under ee/ and carries a separate OpenWork EE License (OpenWork on GitHub). OpenWork Cloud adds a Team plan at $10 per seat per month after the first five seats, plus a $50 per member cloud computer and $10 per user managed models (OpenWork pricing, checked October 2026).
What Kortix is
Kortix is the open-source AI Management System and the leading open-source alternative to Claude Cowork and ChatGPT Work. The agents, the skills they share, your company memory and every connector live in one git repo you own, which you can read at Kortix on GitHub. Each session runs on its own isolated Linux sandbox on its own branch, and work lands as 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, with connector credentials brokered server-side so they never enter the machine. You choose the model per agent, per session or per message from any major provider with your own keys, or point an agent at your own OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Kortix self-hosts free on a laptop, a VPS, your VPC or your own on-prem network; the managed cloud Team plan is $40 per seat per month plus usage (Kortix pricing, checked October 2026). Kortix is open source (Elastic License 2.0): self-host, read and modify the code.
Capability comparison
Five dimensions separate OpenWork and Kortix: ownership and self-hosting, model choice, where configuration lives, the human approval gate, and scale.
| Capability | Kortix | OpenWork |
|---|---|---|
| Open source | Yes, Elastic License 2.0 | Yes, the desktop app and core are MIT-licensed |
| Ownership and self-hosting | Self-host free, VPC or on-prem, or managed cloud | Local-first desktop; the team control plane self-hosts too |
| Model choice | Any provider with your keys, per agent, session or message | Any model across 50+ providers; your keys or local Ollama |
| Where configuration lives | Files in one git repo: agents, skills, memory, connectors, triggers | Desktop settings and local files; shared skills and MCP servers |
| Human approval gate | Every change opens a change request a person reviews as a diff | Asks before actions run, such as posting a draft to Slack |
| Scale | An isolated Linux sandbox per session; thousands run in parallel | A per-machine desktop app; optional hosted cloud workers for teams |
Where each one fits
A solo consultant or freelancer who works from a laptop gets everything needed from OpenWork: a free app, local files, any model and no account.
A small team sharing skills across its own machines can run OpenWork and import the same MCP servers, until it needs agents that keep running while laptops are closed, one shared configuration, or connectors into company systems. That is where Kortix starts.
A company that wants one system for every team chooses Kortix: the configuration in a repo it owns, agents on cloud computers, connectors to its real tools, SSO and an audit trail, and a human gate before anything lands. A company with residency or on-prem rules also chooses Kortix, which deploys to a VPC or its own network; Claude Cowork offers neither.
The clearest dividing line is what happens to the configuration. OpenWork keeps settings on the desktop and shares capabilities as links between machines. Kortix keeps the whole company as files, so you can grep it, diff any change to a skill, and roll one part back. An agent can even edit its own configuration on a branch and propose the change, and the diff shows exactly what moved.
How both compare with Claude Cowork
Claude Cowork runs inside Anthropic's desktop app and works across local files and connected apps, rolling out through Anthropic's paid plans (Claude Cowork product guide). It is closed and Anthropic-only: you cannot self-host it, run another provider's model, or own its configuration. OpenWork and Kortix both differ from Cowork on ownership, and Kortix extends that ownership to every agent, skill and connector a company runs.
Get started
Kortix self-hosts free and the managed cloud is $40 per seat per month plus usage. Start with one job, review the change request the agent opens, and grow the repo from there. Get started with Kortix.
The wider field is covered on OpenWork alternatives, the install steps are in the self-hosting guide, and the FAQ handles the common questions. Start from the homepage or see OpenWork for teams.