Side-by-side comparison · AI Browsers & Agents
ChatGPT Work vs Manus vs OpenClaw
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: ChatGPT users who want admin, inbox, research and reporting jobs done for them without building automations.
Pick it if: People who want to hand off whole tasks and don't want to build the automation themselves.
Pick it if: Technically confident people who want a 24/7 personal assistant on their own hardware and accept the security risk.
Overview
| Attribute | ChatGPT Work | Manus | OpenClaw |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | ChatGPT's agent mode: hand it a whole task across your email, apps, files and browser. | A general-purpose agent that takes a goal and works through it in its own browser. | A free, open-source assistant you run yourself and message on WhatsApp or Telegram. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Open source |
| Starting price | $20/mo | From $20/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | No | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | ChatGPT Work | Manus | OpenClaw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.0Winner | 3.7 | 3.2 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 1.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.0 | 3.0 | 3.5 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | ChatGPT Work | Manus | OpenClaw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | No |
| Desktop app | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Browser extension | No | Yes | No |
| API access | No | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | No |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | Yes |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Makes images | Yes | Yes | No |
| Makes video | No | Yes | No |
| Writes code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | No | No | No |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 12/ 17 | 15/ 17 | 11/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | ChatGPT Work | Manus | OpenClaw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free Free Trying a task or two on desktop. | Free Free Quick questions and seeing what it can do. | Self-hostedOur pick Free Everyone: there is no paid version. |
PlusOur pick $20/mo Handing off a few jobs a week. | ProOur pick From $20/mo, less with yearly billing Anyone who wants to hand off real research and build jobs. | ||
Pro From $100/mo Anyone running agent tasks every day. | Pro (higher tier) From $40/mo, less with yearly billing Heavier users and anyone publishing websites with it. | ||
Business See website Teams that want shared admin and no training on their data. | Team From $20/seat/mo Teams that want shared credits and admin controls. | ||
Enterprise Custom Large organisations. | |||
| Which plan to pick | Try it on Plus with a couple of real jobs. If you hand it work most days you'll run out of credits, and that's when Pro or extra credits make sense. | Try the Free plan for a week to get a feel for how many credits a real task uses, then move to the $20 Pro tier. Only go higher if you run out most months or you want it to publish websites for you. | There's nothing to buy. Budget for the AI model instead: a cheaper model or a local one keeps costs to a few dollars a month, while a top model running all day can cost $50 or more. Check your AI provider's rules first, because Google and Anthropic have both restricted using personal subscriptions with it at times in 2026. |
Key features
| Attribute | ChatGPT Work | Manus | OpenClaw |
|---|---|---|---|
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | ChatGPT Work | Manus | OpenClaw |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | ChatGPT Work | Manus | OpenClaw |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, ChatGPT Work, Manus or OpenClaw?
ChatGPT Work scores highest overall in our ratings (ChatGPT Work 4.0/5, Manus 3.7/5 and OpenClaw 3.2/5). ChatGPT Work is best for sorting inbox and calendar admin across connected apps and weekly reports and reviews on a schedule. Manus is best for multi-step research with a report at the end and lead lists and data gathering. OpenClaw is best for A personal assistant you text on WhatsApp or Telegram and morning briefings from email and calendar.
Which is cheaper, ChatGPT Work, Manus or OpenClaw?
ChatGPT Work: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $20/mo. Manus: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at From $20/mo. OpenClaw: It's free and open source.
Which is easier to use, ChatGPT Work, Manus or OpenClaw?
Manus rates highest for ease of use in our scores. People who want to hand off whole tasks and don't want to build the automation themselves.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
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