Agent Zero vs Hermes Agent
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Agent Zero
Open-source agent framework that works in its own Linux computer
Hermes Agent
Open-source AI agent with persistent memory and a messaging gateway
Where they differ
- Agent Zero is free. Hermes Agent starts at $20 per month for the optional Nous Portal Plus tier; the agent is free.
- Hermes Agent also covers chat assistant and workflow automation.
At a glance
| Agent Zero | Hermes Agent | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $20 per month for the optional Nous Portal Plus tier; the agent is free |
| Free plan | The whole framework is free and open source under the MIT license, with no paid edition or hosted tier. You supply the machine it runs on and your own model access, which the provider bills separately. | Hermes Agent is free and open source under the MIT license. You connect your own model provider, or a free Nous Portal account that is limited to free models. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | Agent Zero, s.r.o. | Nous Research, Inc. |
| Price read from | agent-zero.ai | hermes-agent.nousresearch.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Agent Zero
- Developers who want an agent whose prompts and tools they can inspect and change
- Keeping an agent sandboxed in Docker instead of running it on the host
- Running on local models through Ollama or LM Studio
Hermes Agent
- Developers who want an agent on their own machine, server or VPS
- Reaching one agent from Telegram, Discord, Slack or WhatsApp
- Unattended scheduled jobs such as reports and briefings
Worth knowing
Agent Zero
- The site lists no hosted version: you install it with the Launcher, a terminal installer or Docker on a machine you provide.
- Model access is not included. You connect a cloud provider, an AI account such as ChatGPT or GitHub Copilot, or a local model server.
- The Launcher is offered for macOS, Windows and Linux; the installation page lists no iOS or Android app.
- The project funds itself through its A0T crypto token, not paid plans; a beta LLM API with a daily quota is open only to people who stake A0T.
Hermes Agent
- The agent is free, but paid models cost extra: your own provider's rates, or Nous Portal tiers from $20 a month.
- Desktop apps are offered for macOS and Windows; on Linux the install is through the terminal.
- The platform support page lists no iOS version, and Android runs only through a prerelease Termux package.
- Hermes Cloud needs $2 of Nous credit or an active subscription to deploy, and bills inference separately from the instance.
Key features
Agent Zero
- Linux desktop in a container
- The agent gets an XFCE desktop session inside its Docker container, where it runs terminals, file tools and GUI software. You see each action and share the same mouse and keyboard.
- Browser with annotation
- A built-in browser opens pages, clicks, types, uploads files and takes screenshots. In Annotate mode you click a page element to have it changed, inspected, copied or commented on.
- Document cowork
- A Markdown editor and LibreOffice Writer, Calc and Impress are built into the workspace, so you and the agent edit the same document, spreadsheet or slide deck.
- Projects, memory and secrets
- Projects keep files, instructions, memory, secrets, Git repositories and model presets separate per workspace. A Memory Dashboard is used to review and manage what is stored.
- A0 CLI Connector
- An optional command-line bridge lets a sandboxed instance request access to files, a terminal and a Chromium-based browser on your own computer.
- Plugin Hub, MCP and A2A
- More than 100 community plugins install from the Web UI, each scanned for risks first. The agent also connects to MCP servers and Agent-to-Agent flows.
Hermes Agent
- Messaging gateway
- One gateway connects the agent to Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, Matrix, email, Microsoft Teams and other platforms, more than 20 in all, sharing a single memory.
- Memory and self-written skills
- The agent keeps memory across sessions, creates reusable skills from work it has done and revises them in use. Skills follow the open agentskills.io format.
- Scheduled automations
- Built-in cron accepts natural-language schedules for reports, backups and briefings and delivers the results to any connected platform.
- Subagents
- Isolated subagents with their own conversations and terminals handle parallel workstreams without filling the main agent's context.
- Terminal backends and sandboxing
- Commands run locally or in Docker, over SSH, or on Daytona, Singularity, Modal or Vercel Sandbox, with command approval and container isolation.
- Nous Portal and Hermes Cloud
- A Portal subscription supplies credits for 200+ models and hosted web search, image generation, text-to-speech and browser tools. Hermes Cloud hosts an always-on agent, billed daily.
Plans
Agent Zero
Agent Zero (MIT licensed)Free
The complete framework, installed with the desktop Launcher, a terminal installer or Docker, with a model provider of your choice.
Hermes Agent
Hermes Agent$0
The complete MIT-licensed agent, run on your own machine or server with a model provider of your choice.
Nous Portal Free$0
Free models only, standard rate limits and no monthly credits.
Nous Portal Plus$20
per month
$22 of monthly credits (a 10% bonus) with a $10 rollover cap, 200+ models, hosted tool usage and high rate limits.
Nous Portal Super$100
per month
$110 of monthly credits with a $50 rollover cap, plus the same models, hosted tools and rate limits as Plus.
Nous Portal Ultra$200
per month
$220 of monthly credits with a $100 rollover cap, plus the same models, hosted tools and rate limits as Plus.
Hermes CloudFrom $0.56
per day while running, billed from Nous credit
Optional always-on hosting: Medium is $0.56 a day and Large $1.09 while running, $0.03 a day stopped. Inference and tool usage are billed separately.
