Cosine vs OpenHands (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, OpenHands grades higher than Cosine: 2.4 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Cosine grades higher on ease of use. OpenHands grades higher on the free plan and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Cosine
Coding agent for terminal, desktop and cloud, with sovereign models
OpenHands
Open-source platform for AI coding agents and automations
Which one is for you
Pick Cosine if
- Fits if you want a coding agent in the terminal with a choice of models
- Works for a developer who wants cloud agents and an air-gapped option
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to try it free, as the cheapest plan is $19 a month
- Watch out: credits are used at different multipliers by model, so 4M credits is a moving target
- Not for you if you want a Windows or Linux desktop app, as the desktop page offers Mac only
- Watch out: the pricing page lists three tiers, the billing docs six, with different names
Pick OpenHands if
- Fits if you can self-host and want coding agents on your own machine
- Makes sense if you already pay an LLM provider and want to use that key
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a hosted service, as the pricing page lists no vendor-hosted plan
- Tight if you grow, since Teams is capped at 10 users and 5,000 sessions a month
- Watch out: every plan needs your own LLM key and that cost is paid separately
- Watch out: SSO and roles are not in the free version
How we grade them
| 1.8GPACosineWeak | 2.4GPAOpenHandsFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BStarter is $19 a month for 4M credits, at the top of the cheaper quarter, but how far credits go depends on the model. | BAgent Canvas is free (MIT) on your own machine, but the LLM bill is yours. Teams is $500 a month for 10 users, $50 a seat past that. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan or trial on the pricing page. | BA free open-source program you can run on a laptop, with no caps, but with your own LLM key and one shared identity. |
| Features | CCLI, desktop, cloud agents, swarm mode and model choice, but pages disagree on the tiers. | CBring-your-own-agent canvas, event-driven automations and team controls. The listing's gaps: no roles or SSO on the free version and no vendor-hosted plan. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. The CLI is the main way in and the docs cover install and sign-in. | DNo store rating, and the route is to self-host it on a laptop or shared VM. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb, Mac, Windows and Linux with four integrations; the desktop page offers Mac only and there are no phone apps. | BWeb, with GitHub, Slack, Jira, Linear and Notion listed, plus an SDK. |
| Best for | a command-line coding agent with a desktop app | running coding agents on your own machine for free |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Cosine and OpenHands. How we grade
Price against what you get
Cosine starts at $19 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. OpenHands starts at $500 a month and scores 2.0.
They score the same, and Cosine starts $481 a month lower. Of the other AI agents on the chart, 11 score higher than Cosine for less, and 57 score higher than OpenHands for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- OpenHands is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
At a glance
| Cosine | OpenHands | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | $19 per month, including 4M credits | $500 per month for up to 10 users |
| Free plan | None | Agent Canvas is free and open source (MIT) to self-host on a laptop or shared VM, with your own LLM key and a single shared identity. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | Cosine | OpenHands |
| Price read from | cosine.sh | openhands.dev |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Cosine
- There is no free plan or free trial on the pricing page; the cheapest plan is $19 a month.
- Usage is billed in credits, and different models use them at different multipliers, so how far 4M credits goes depends on the model chosen.
- The pricing page lists three tiers, while the billing docs list six (Starter, Builder, Team, Scale, Professional and Enterprise) with different names for the $199 and $999 tiers.
- The desktop page offers a Mac download only; the CLI docs cover macOS (Apple Silicon only), Linux and Windows.
OpenHands
- You pay your LLM provider separately: every plan is bring-your-own-key.
- Teams is capped at 10 users (+$50 a month per seat) and 5,000 sessions a month.
- The free Agent Canvas has a single shared identity, with no user roles or SSO.
- Teams and Enterprise are self-hosted; the pricing page lists no vendor-hosted plan.
Key features
Cosine
- CLI coding agent
- The cos command runs the agent in a terminal alongside your editor and tests. Every agent turn is saved as a lightweight git commit, so changes can be undone.
- Desktop app
- A native app for working on local project folders, with plan review, diffs, and built-in browser and terminal panels. The product page offers a Mac download.
- Cloud agents
- Tasks can run in remote workspaces, each session in an isolated microVM, so long jobs continue after your laptop is closed. The site says 20 or more agents can run in parallel.
- Swarm mode and memory
- An orchestrator can spawn child agents that work in parallel, and project conventions persist across sessions.
- Model choice
- The model list includes Cosine's own Lumen models along with models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, each with a credit multiplier.
- Sovereign and air-gapped deployment
- For regulated organizations the company offers fully air-gapped, managed single-tenant and public cloud options.
OpenHands
- Agent Canvas
- A workspace for chatting with coding agents, customizing them and setting automations, run locally with your own LLM key.
- Bring your own agent
- Use third-party agents such as Claude and Codex alongside OpenHands, with MCP servers and secrets on every plan.
- Event-driven automations
- Start work from GitHub, Slack, Jira, Linear, schedules or other integrations, such as PR review or CI-failure fixes.
- Team controls
- Teams adds user identity and RBAC, SSO/SAML, budgeting and usage controls, and built-in OAuth integrations.
- SDK and control plane
- The product menu lists an SDK and an Agent Control Plane for building and governing agents across an organization.
Plans
Cosine
Starter$19
per month, for 4M credits a month
For solo developers and side projects. Extra credits cost $6.50 per 1M.
Team$199
per month, for 47M credits a month
For growing teams. Extra credits cost $5.00 per 1M. The billing docs name this $199 tier Scale and list a $99 tier for 23M credits.
Enterprise$999
per month, for 240M credits a month
For highly regulated industries. Extra credits cost $4.50 per 1M. The pricing page also invites teams to ask about a more custom arrangement.
OpenHands
Agent Canvas$0
Open source (MIT), self-hosted on your laptop or a shared VM; bring your own LLM key and agent.
Teams$500
per month for up to 10 users
Self-hosted, multi-user RBAC, SSO/SAML, budgeting, built-in integrations; +$50 a month per extra seat.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited seats and organizations, enterprise agreement, SLA-based support and a customer success manager.
Ways to pay less
Cosine
No public discounts listed.
OpenHands
- Other savings
30-day trial of Teams
The Teams plan is listed with a 30-day trial that can be started from the pricing page.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Cosine or OpenHands?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Cosine is cheaper to start with: $19 a month, against $500 a month for OpenHands. Cosine starts at $19 per month, including 4M credits, and OpenHands starts at $500 per month for up to 10 users.
Which has a free plan, Cosine or OpenHands?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only OpenHands has a free plan. Cosine does not.
Which platforms do Cosine and OpenHands run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Cosine lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.