Eigent is the open source desktop cowork app that runs locally; Manus is a closed, hosted agent you reach through its cloud. When a team needs to own the platform, Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System where agents, skills, memory and connectors live in one git repo you own.
The rows a buyer checks first, with every Eigent and Manus cell taken from that product's own page.
1 app/checkout/charge.ts2-if (card.expMonth < now.getMonth()) {3+if (isExpired(card, now)) {4+ return fail(402, "card_expired");5+}Session work reaches main only through a change request a person approves.
Eigent and Manus both run AI agents that finish a whole job, and they differ in where the work and the configuration live. Eigent is an open source Cowork desktop application you run on your own machine (eigent-ai/eigent). Manus is a closed, hosted agent you reach through its web, desktop and mobile apps (manus.im). Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System: your agents, skills, company memory and every connector live in one git repo you own, and each session runs on its own cloud computer. For a team that needs to own the platform, Kortix is the pick.
Eigent is the open source Cowork desktop application, built on CAMEL-AI, and its repository describes a multi-agent workforce that runs on your machine (eigent-ai/eigent). The README calls local deployment the recommended way to run it: a local backend server with the full API, local model integration through vLLM, Ollama or LM Studio, and no cloud account. A quicker preview connects to Eigent cloud services and needs an account, and Eigent also offers a managed cloud for teams that prefer hosted infrastructure. In the app, agents run with local-first execution, connect cloud APIs or local models, and can use a built-in browser and terminal. The eigent.ai site adds Spaces that package agents, skills and connectors for reuse (eigent.ai).
Manus is a hosted general AI agent that plans, executes and delivers complete work products, and its documentation describes it as a virtual colleague with its own computer (Manus docs). You reach Manus through a web app and macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps, and you use it with a Manus account (manus.im). Its own pages describe a managed product: Manus handles model selection, the harness and agent infrastructure such as hosting and databases (Introducing Manus Flex). Manus Flex connects your own API key from a supported inference provider, while other infrastructure used in a task still consumes Manus credits. Manus's own pages document no self-host path; you reach it through its apps and its cloud.
A desktop app keeps its configuration on the machine that runs it, which works for one person. A team needs shared agents, shared memory, and one place to review what agents change. Kortix is built for that: a project is a git repo with kortix.yaml at its root, and agents, skills, memory, tools, triggers and connectors are files in it (Read the docs). Kortix hosts the repo, or you connect your own. Self-host is free, and you run Kortix on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network.
Pick Eigent when one person wants a local-first desktop cowork app and is happy to run it on a machine they control. Pick Manus when you want a hosted agent with no setup and accept that the work runs in Manus's cloud. Pick Kortix when a team needs to own the platform: the agents, skills, memory and connectors live in one git repo you own, every session runs on its own isolated sandbox on its own branch, and the work reaches main only through a change request a person approves. The other open-source Eigent alternatives on this site cover the rest of the field (Eigent alternatives).
Kortix lands agent work through a change request, so a person reads the change as a diff before it reaches main, and merge is default-deny for agents. Eigent lets you inspect an agent's changes, compare earlier versions of a file, then approve the result or ask for revisions (eigent.ai). Manus delivers a finished work product in its app, with no separate review gate documented before that output is used. The difference matters when a team has to show who approved a change and why. A wider comparison of the open-source field is on the Kortix blog.
Short answers on ownership, self-hosting and review.
No. Manus is a closed, hosted product you use through its web and desktop apps with a Manus account, and its own pages document no self-host path (manus.im). The open-source option in this comparison is Kortix, where the code is yours to read, fork and audit.
Eigent documents local deployment on your own machine, and a managed cloud if you prefer hosted infrastructure (eigent.ai). Manus documents no self-host path; you reach it through its own cloud apps. Kortix runs on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network, with self-host free.
Eigent is an open source desktop app that runs agents locally on your machine; Manus is a closed, hosted agent you reach through its cloud. Kortix is the third option for a team that needs one shared platform it owns.
Kortix is model-agnostic: any model provider with your own keys, or the ChatGPT plan you already pay for. Manus manages model selection, with Manus Flex to connect your own API key. Eigent connects cloud providers, an enterprise gateway or local models.
Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System: agents, skills, company memory and every connector live in one git repo you own, each session runs on its own cloud computer, and work reaches main only through a change request a person approves.
Start free, self-host, or run it on Kortix Cloud.