Honest comparison
OpenClaw is a powerful AI agent you host yourself. Taby is a small assistant for your day that you just download. Here’s which one fits you.
The short answer
Pick OpenClaw if you’re happy in the terminal and want an agent that can do almost anything on your computer. Pick Taby if you want the easy way to use local AI: Taby picks, sets up and tests the model for you, then helps with your day. No API key and no bill.
OpenClaw
OpenClaw connects chat apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Signal and iMessage to an AI agent that runs on your own machine. The agent can run commands, browse the web, read and write files, handle email and manage your calendar.
It’s free and open source (MIT), and run by the nonprofit OpenClaw Foundation. You pay for the AI model you connect to it.
Taby
Taby is a little assistant at the top of your screen: the notch on a Mac, a thin bar on Windows. Its AI model comes with the app and runs on your computer, for free. Taby picks and sets up the model, so there’s nothing to choose.
It keeps your tasks and notes, sets reminders, plans your day, closes distractions and talks with you. Think Clippy, but one that actually helps.
You install OpenClaw with a script in the terminal or with npm, which needs a recent Node.js. Then you run its onboarding, connect your chat apps and add an AI model.
On Windows there’s a Windows app, and WSL2 for the most complete setup. For local models it works with Ollama or LM Studio, and its docs suggest at least 8 GB of memory and the strongest model you can run.
An agent that can run commands and read your files is powerful, so it needs care. OpenClaw’s own docs cover this well: a built-in security audit, only listening on your own computer by default, and a clear warning to treat other people’s skills as untrusted code.
Early in 2026, researchers found many setups open to the internet and malicious skills on its skill store. The project has added fixes since. Taby takes a smaller approach: it doesn’t run terminal commands at all.
Setting up Taby
With OpenClaw you choose an AI model, then add a key or run it through Ollama or LM Studio. With Taby you download the app and it sets up its own model. No key, no model files.
Taby’s Local Brain is Qwen 3.5 4B, an open model from Alibaba. Taby picked it because it scored highest on Taby’s own test of 114 real tasks: about 96 of 114, against about 72 for Gemma 4 E2B. It’s mostly better at actually doing things, like moving, snoozing and completing tasks. Taby tuned it for everyday jobs like tasks, reminders and notes.
It needs 8 GB of memory or more (a graphics card on Windows). No graphics card? Taby Cloud runs the AI for you instead.
Side by side
| OpenClaw | Taby | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An AI agent you host yourself and message from chat apps | A personal assistant at the top of your screen |
| Setup | Terminal install, onboarding, and an AI key or local model | Download and open |
| Where you talk to it | WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Signal, iMessage and more | Top of your screen, by typing or voice |
| AI model | Your own key from OpenAI, Anthropic and others, or a local model through Ollama or LM Studio | A local model comes with it. Taby Cloud is optional |
| Picking a model | You choose. Its docs suggest the strongest model you can use | Taby picks one, sets it up and tests it for you |
| Which local model | Any model Ollama or LM Studio can run | Qwen 3.5 4B, picked on Taby’s own 114-task test |
| Cost | Free software. You pay for the AI you connect | Free. Taby Cloud is €8.99 a month |
| Runs commands, controls a browser, edits files | Yes | No |
| Yes | No | |
| Calendar | Yes | Google, Outlook, Apple |
| Tasks, reminders, notes, habits, focus timer | Possible with skills and scheduled jobs | Built in |
| Works offline | Only with a local model | Yes |
| Computers | Mac, Windows, Linux, plus phone apps | Apple Silicon Mac, Windows. Linux soon |
| A little face that reacts | No | Yes, or hide it |
Checked October 2026. Both projects change often.
Quick answers
OpenClaw is a free, open-source AI agent that you host yourself. You connect it to chat apps like WhatsApp or Telegram and to an AI model, and it can run commands, browse the web, manage files, email and your calendar for you.
You install it with a script in the terminal or with npm (it needs a recent Node.js), then run its onboarding. On Windows there is a Windows app, or you can use WSL2. You also connect an AI model, usually with an API key. It’s comfortable for developers and a lot for everyone else.
It can be set up carefully, and its docs help: there is an openclaw security audit command, it listens only on your own computer by default, and the docs say to treat third-party skills as untrusted code. Early in 2026, researchers found many exposed setups and malicious skills on its skill store, and the project has added fixes since. An agent that can run commands deserves care.
Yes, through Ollama or LM Studio. Its docs recommend the strongest model you can use, and say small local models are weaker and lack the safety filters of hosted ones.
Not all of it, on purpose. Taby doesn’t run terminal commands, send email or control your browser. It focuses on everyday jobs: tasks, notes, reminders, focus, your calendar and planning your day, with a local model that needs no setup.
Yes. The app and its local AI are free, with no account and no API key. Taby Cloud is an optional €8.99 a month upgrade with a bigger brain.
One Local Brain for everyone: Qwen 3.5 4B, an open model that runs on your computer. Taby picked it because it scored highest on Taby’s own test of 114 real tasks. You don’t choose models, keys or settings. It needs 8 GB of memory or more (a graphics card on Windows).
Yes. They do different jobs and run side by side. Use OpenClaw for big automations you message from your phone, and Taby for your day on your computer.
Download Taby, open it, and ask it to plan your day. No terminal, no API key, no monthly bill.