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OpenWork vs Claude Cowork
25 capabilities, checked against each vendor's own docs. Yes, Partial, or No for what ships today.
| Capability | Claude Enterprise | Claude on 3P | OpenWork |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where you use it | |||
| Desktop app for macOS and Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop app for Linux | Partial1 | Partial2 | Yes |
| Full workspace in a web browser | Yes | No | Yes3 |
| Start work from Slack | Yes | No | Yes4 |
| Phone app | Yes | No | NoPlanned |
| Your skills and connections inside Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor | No | No | Yes5 |
| What the agent can do | |||
| SKILL.md skills and Claude-format plugins | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MCP connectors with OAuth, set up once for everyone | Yes | Yes6 | Yes |
| Built-in browser the agent drives | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Computer use with desktop apps | Partial7 | No | Yes8 |
| Artifacts and interactive app views | Yes | Yes | Yes9 |
| Projects to group related chats and files | Yes | Yes | Partial10 |
| Memory across chats | Yes | Yes11 | Partial12 |
| Isolated sandbox for agent commands | Yes | Yes | Partial13 |
| Automations | |||
| Scheduled and triggered tasks | Yes | Yes | Partial14Planned |
| Keeps running with your laptop closed | Yes15 | No16 | Yes17 |
| Run history, retries, and approvals | Yes | Yes | Partial18Planned |
| Control and deployment | |||
| Any model, including open-weight and self-hosted | No | Partial19 | Yes |
| Prompts stay in your cloud, vendor telemetry off | No20 | Yes21 | Yes |
| Share skills, plugins, and MCP servers with your team | Yes | Partial22 | Yes |
| SSO, SCIM, teams, and custom roles | Yes | Partial23 | Yes |
| Desktop policies and version control | Yes | Yes | Yes24 |
| Spend limits per team or person | Yes | Partial25 | Yes |
| Usage analytics, OpenTelemetry, and audit log | Yes | Partial26 | Partial27Planned |
| Self-host the control plane, with open source code | No | No | Yes |
| Yes, of 25 | 19+2 partial | 12+6 partial | 18+6 partial |
| Price per person, per month | $20 + usage | No seat fee | Free, or from $10 |
- 1Claude Desktop on Linux is in beta. Source
- 2Linux settings are documented, but the 3P install guide lists only macOS and Windows. Source
- 3OpenWork Web runs on OpenWork Cloud or your own deployment. Source
- 4An admin turns on OpenWork in Slack for the organization. Source
- 5One MCP URL carries your organization's skills and connections. Source
- 6Admins push managed MCP servers, including OAuth, by console or MDM. Source
- 7In beta, on macOS and Windows. Source
- 8On macOS and Windows. Source
- 9Artifacts, live artifacts, and MCP Apps in chat and on dashboards. Source
- 10Work is organized in workspaces and folders. Claude projects are not migrated automatically yet. Source
- 11Stored on the device. Chat-history search is not available on 3P. Source
- 12The agent can search and read past chats when asked; nothing is remembered automatically. Source
- 13Agent work can run in isolated cloud computers; there is no local sandbox yet. Source
- 14Automations run on a schedule on desktop or in the cloud; event triggers are next. Source
- 15Scheduled tasks can move to the cloud. Source
- 16Sessions run on the device. Source
- 17Cloud Automations run in OpenWork Cloud or on your own runners. Source
- 18Run history, receipts, and missed-run recovery ship; approvals in the middle of a run are next. Source
- 19Claude models; others only through an Anthropic-compatible gateway you run. Source
- 20Inference runs on Anthropic's API. Source
- 21On Bedrock or Vertex. On Foundry, Anthropic processes conversations. Source
- 22Through a plugin marketplace you host in git or over HTTPS, plus MDM. Source
- 23Through the Enterprise Admin Console, hosted by Anthropic and provisioned on request. Source
- 24Model access, allowed versions, and agent permissions for commands, file edits, websites, and local skills and MCP servers. Source
- 25Per-user token limits; dollar budgets live in your cloud or gateway. Source
- 26OpenTelemetry export; the Compliance API only in Admin Console organizations, and no Analytics API. Source
- 27Usage analytics and an audit log with API and CSV export ship; OpenTelemetry export is next. Source
Planned links to the public roadmap and never counts as Yes. Sources, checked 2026-10-27:3P feature matrix3P overview3P plugins and MCPClaude Desktop on LinuxClaude in SlackClaude computer useClaude Enterprise pricingOpenWork roadmapOpenWork pricing
Cost calculator
What will your team spend?
50 people, over 3 years
Same model on both (Claude Sonnet 5)
You keep $107,100
$100 vs $41 per person / month
Claude Team $180,000 vs OpenWork $72,900
OpenWork with a 70/30 mix (70% DeepSeek V4 Pro, 30% Sonnet 5)
You keep $140,024
$100 vs $22 per person / month
Claude Team $180,000 vs OpenWork $39,976
Estimate only, not a quote. OpenWork prices here are for OpenWork Cloud (hosted by us). Self-hosted deployments have their own SLA, support, and pricing. Talk to sales for a quote.
- OpenWork
- Claude
- What you keep with the same model
| Plan | Seats a year | Tokens a year | 3 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Team, Premium seatsUsage included up to plan limits | $60,000 | Included | $180,000 |
| OpenWork TeamClaude Sonnet 5 | $6,000 | $18,300 | $72,900 |
| OpenWork Team70% DeepSeek V4 Pro, 30% Claude Sonnet 5 | $6,000 | $7,325 | $39,976 |
How we calculate
- Both sides use the same Claude model; the first result compares them. The model mix result assumes that share of each person's tokens runs on the open model you pick and the rest on the Claude model. Per person figures are the monthly cost divided by team size, rounded to whole dollars. Tokens per person = input × (uncached × input price + cached × cache price) + output × output price. Light, Typical, and Heavy assume 5M, 25M, or 100M input tokens a month, 70% cached.
- SSO is included on both Team plans (Claude Team lists single sign-on on claude.com/pricing and in its Team plan article). Needing SCIM, an audit log, or desktop policies compares Claude Enterprise with OpenWork Enterprise. Claude Team: $20/seat billed annually ($25 monthly), 2 to 150 seats, usage included up to plan limits. Typical and Heavy use reach Standard seat limits, so they are priced on Premium seats ($100 annual, $125 monthly), which Anthropic positions for heavy and agentic use. Light use is priced on Standard seats. Team usage beyond limits is billed at API rates; we don't add it, so this still favours Claude.
- Claude Enterprise: $20/seat billed annually, 20 seats minimum, all usage at API rates.
- OpenWork on OpenWork Cloud: Free plan for up to 5 users; Team is $10 per user. OpenWork Enterprise on OpenWork Cloud: $20 a person a month for the first 250, $16 for seats 251–1,000, $13 above, billed annually. Tokens billed by your own provider or gateway.
- All OpenWork prices assume OpenWork Cloud. Self-hosted deployments are scoped and priced separately, with their own SLA and support terms, so they are not shown here.
- These figures are indicative. Your real cost depends on usage, model choice, and contract terms. Costs accrue monthly. List prices from models.dev (2026-09-26); Anthropic plans checked 2026-09-25. Committed-spend discounts are not included.
- Claude plansClaude Team planClaude Enterprise pricingOpenWork pricingModel prices from models.dev
Why people switch
Run local models with Ollama or LM Studio
Bring your own key or AI gateway
One app for macOS, Windows, and Linux
Share skills and MCP servers with everyone
Frequently asked questions
- Is there a free alternative to Claude Cowork?
- Yes. OpenWork is a free, open-source desktop app for macOS, Windows, and Linux.
- Does OpenWork work with local models?
- Yes. Use Ollama, LM Studio, or any OpenAI-compatible server, and nothing leaves your computer.
- Can I use my own API key or AI gateway?
- Yes. Connect keys from 50+ providers, or add your company's OpenAI-compatible gateway as a custom provider.
- Can I still use Claude models?
- Yes. Add an Anthropic key and switch to any other model at any time.
- Do my files stay on my computer?
- Yes. In desktop mode files stay local and prompts go straight to the provider you pick.
- How do I migrate from Claude Cowork?
- Open the same folder in OpenWork and connect a model; SKILL.md skills, plugins, and MCP servers use the same formats. Import your Claude chats and Claude Code sessions from Settings, and ask your agent to follow openworklabs.com/migrate.md to bring over your Cowork plugins and skills. The migration guide covers each step.
Bring your Cowork setup with you.
Skills, plugins, and MCP servers carry over.
macOS, Windows, and Linux.