Zum Inhalt springen
Comparison · as of Oct 25, 2026

Hermes Agent vs. OpenClaw: which agent fits you?

Both are open source, both run on your own machine, both answer on WhatsApp and Telegram. The difference is what they are built for.

The short version

Hermes Agent is the better employee: it learns from every task, works on a schedule and splits into separate profiles. OpenClaw is the better companion on your phone: apps with voice, camera and on-device actions, plus the larger community.

The comparison at a glance

Hermes Agent OpenClaw
Origin Nous Research Open-source project, formerly Clawdbot and Moltbot
On GitHub since July 2025 November 2025
Language Python TypeScript (Node.js)
License MIT, free MIT, free
GitHub stars about 257,000 about 393,000
Messengers 20+, including Telegram, WhatsApp, Slack, Teams, Signal, email 20+, including WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, iMessage, Teams
Interfaces Terminal, desktop app (Mac, Windows, Linux), web dashboard Browser Control UI, terminal, apps for Mac, iOS, Android, Windows, Linux
Learning Turns completed tasks into skills and reloads them later Skills and plugins, plus the ClawHub directory
Models Almost any provider plus local models, switch anytime Hosted and local models, Claude or Codex as swappable plugins
Stand-out feature Profiles for separate agents, built-in schedules, plugin catalog Companion apps with voice, camera, screen and on-device actions

Stars and start date according to GitHub on Oct 25, 2026. Stars measure popularity, not quality.

Choose Hermes Agent if ...

  • ✓the agent should handle tasks for your business every day, even without being asked
  • ✓it should learn from completed tasks and keep procedures as skills
  • ✓you need several separate agents, for example for sales and bookkeeping
  • ✓you want a desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux

Choose OpenClaw if ...

  • ✓you mainly use the assistant on your phone, with voice and camera
  • ✓it should take actions directly on your devices
  • ✓you work in Node.js and want to extend it yourself
  • ✓the largest community matters to you

To be clear

Why I use Hermes

My AI system B.R.A.I.N. has run on Hermes Agent since February 2026. Skills made the difference for me: once the agent has solved something, it gets it right on its own next time. With around 100 scheduled tasks, that is the difference between constant rework and letting things run.

My operations run on Hermes. The information about OpenClaw on this page therefore comes from its documentation and repository, not from running it in production myself.

Moving from OpenClaw to Hermes

Hermes ships an official import plugin for this. It reads your ~/.openclaw folder (older Clawdbot or Moltbot folders too) and creates a backup before changing anything. On a fresh install, hermes setup even asks whether to import OpenClaw.

$ hermes plugins install agent-importers

Once per profile: installs the official import plugin.

$ hermes import-agent openclaw --dry-run

Preview only: shows what would be imported, changes nothing.

$ hermes import-agent openclaw

The actual migration. Shows the preview first, then asks to confirm.

$ hermes import-agent openclaw --migrate-secrets

Same, but including API keys and bot tokens. Hermes only imports those when you ask.

Comes along

  • Persona (SOUL.md) and memory
  • Skills from all OpenClaw folders
  • Models and custom providers
  • MCP servers
  • Telegram, Discord, Slack, Signal, Matrix
  • Approval rules and text-to-speech

Needs to be set up again

  • Cron jobs (with hermes cron create)
  • Plugins and hooks
  • WhatsApp (pair again)
  • Multiple agents (as profiles in Hermes)

Anything without a direct match goes into an archive, so nothing is lost.

Hermes not installed yet? Here is the install guide.

Migration without the effort?

We move your setup into B.R.A.I.N., our AI system built on Hermes: on managed hosting at Mittwald in Germany, and the server belongs to you.

See B.R.A.I.N.

FAQ

Which is better, Hermes Agent or OpenClaw?

It depends on the job. Hermes Agent is strong when an agent should work for your business every day, learn and run scheduled tasks. OpenClaw is strong when you want companion apps on your phone with camera, screen and voice, and you are at home in Node.js. Both are open source under the MIT license.

Can I switch from OpenClaw to Hermes Agent?

Yes, with one command. After hermes plugins install agent-importers, hermes import-agent openclaw brings over persona (SOUL.md), memory, skills, models, MCP servers and messenger settings. Hermes shows a preview first and creates a backup automatically.

Are my OpenClaw cron jobs migrated?

No, not automatically. Hermes archives cron jobs, plugins and hooks during the migration. Recreate the schedules afterwards with hermes cron create. WhatsApp also has to be paired again.

Are Hermes Agent and OpenClaw free?

Both are open source under the MIT license and free. With both, you pay for the language model, per use through an API or via a subscription, and for a server if needed.

As of Oct 25, 2026. Sources: github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent, github.com/openclaw/openclaw, Hermes documentation "Migrate from OpenClaw". Unofficial, sponsored by neither Nous Research nor OpenClaw. Back to the Hermes guide