Compare/Head to head

Hermes Agent vs Kortix

Same facts, side by side: starting price, free tier, MCP, API and what each one is actually built for.

Starting price

Hermes Agent

Quote Free tier

Hermes Agent is Nous Research's open-source personal agent and OpenClaw's main rival. It runs on your own machine, remembers what it learns and turns finished work into reusable skills. Free under MIT; model costs are yours, or bundled through an optional Nous Portal plan.

Where Hermes Agent fits

  • Technical recruiters who want a self-hosted agent that improves over time
  • Agency owners automating research and outreach routines
  • Teams that want model choice without vendor lock-in

Kortix

$50/mo Free tier

Open-source platform, which Kortix calls a CompanyOS, where a whole team shares AI agents that run work around the clock on your own tools: qualify every inbound lead into HubSpot, research candidates for every search, draft the weekly LinkedIn post. It connects to 3,000+ apps and MCP servers, works with any model, and runs on Kortix Cloud or on your own servers. Free covers one project; paid plans are credits from $50/mo with unlimited members.

Where Kortix fits

  • Agencies and teams that want shared AI agents across the desk
  • Running candidate research or lead qualification on autopilot
  • Companies that need self-hosting and their own model keys
  • Teams already using Slack or Microsoft Teams for daily work

At a glance

DetailHermes AgentKortix
Starting priceQuote$50/mo
Free tier✓Yes✓Yes
MCP server–No–No
Public API–No✓Yes
Listed underAI assistantsAI assistants, Workflow automation

Where they pull apart

Hermes Agent

Stands out: Hermes is built to get better the longer it runs: every solved task can become a saved skill, and its memory carries across restarts. Five sandbox options make it easier to test safely than most self-hosted agents.

Watch out: Like any self-hosted agent, you set it up and keep it secure. Nous advises isolating deployments, never exposing them publicly and reviewing third-party skills, which matters if it touches candidate or client data.

Not the right fit for

  • Users who want a polished hosted app
  • Teams with nobody to own setup and security

Kortix

Stands out: Members are free and unlimited, so a whole recruiting desk can share the same agents, skills and memory for one credit pool, and everything lives as files in a git repo the company owns. An international executive search firm uses it for agents that research and profile candidates for every search, with consultants choosing the shortlist.

Watch out: It is a builder's platform, not a ready-made recruiting tool: you define the agents, skills and guardrails yourself, and nothing is restricted until you set allow, ask or block rules. Costs move with agent computer time and model usage rather than a flat fee, and audit log export and SSO are Enterprise only. There are no outside reviews yet.

Not the right fit for

  • Recruiters who want an out-of-the-box sourcing or ATS tool
  • Teams with no one to set up agents and permissions

Pros and cons

Hermes Agent

  • Free and open source under MIT
  • Writes reusable skills from completed work
  • Five sandbox options for safer runs
  • Self-hosted, so setup and security are on you
  • Model and tool costs vary with usage
  • Business edition still being built out

Kortix

  • Open source and self-hostable
  • Unlimited members on one credit pool
  • Works with any model, including your ChatGPT subscription
  • Free plan with every feature
  • Needs setup: agents, skills and guardrails are yours to build
  • Usage-based costs are harder to predict
  • SSO and audit log export are Enterprise only

What each one costs

Hermes Agent

Quote

Hermes Agent is free and open source under the MIT license; you can run it with your own model provider at no charge from Nous. The optional Nous Portal adds model and tool credits: Free ($0, free models only), Plus ($20/mo, $22 in monthly credits), Super ($100/mo, $110 in credits) and Ultra ($200/mo, $220 in credits). Model providers and hosted services you connect bill separately. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 16 Oct 2026

Kortix

$50/mo

Free is $0 for 1 project and 500 credits a month, with your own API key or ChatGPT subscription for models. Credits plans start at $50/mo for 5,000 credits and scale to $50,000/mo, with unlimited members sharing one credit pool and up to 200 projects. One credit is $0.01 and buys about 5 minutes of agent computer. Model calls on your own keys are free up to $1,000 a month, then 5% is charged; Kortix-managed models cost the provider price plus 5.5%. Enterprise adds SSO, SCIM, audit logs and VPC or on-prem deployment on a quote. Self-hosting the open source software is free. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 6 Nov 2026

Common questions

Can you try Hermes Agent or Kortix for free?
Hermes Agent and Kortix carry a free tier on our listing.

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Editorial listings, never paid rankings. Prices checked 16 Oct 2026. Confirm current terms on the vendor site. Spot an error?