Perplexity Computer vs ChatGPT Work: two closed agents, one open-source system you own
Perplexity Computer and ChatGPT Work are two closed agents a team picks between, and Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System that runs the same class of work in a repo you own. The comparison table sets the three side by side on source, hosting, models, configuration, review gate, and cost floor.
Perplexity Computer vs ChatGPT Work, with the open-source system beside them
Each rival column states what its own product pages document, checked October 2026.
| Criteria | Kortix | Perplexity Computer |
|---|---|---|
| 01Open source | Yes. Read it, fork it, audit it. | No, closed source |
| 02Self-host | Self-host is free; Kortix Cloud, your VPC, or on-prem. | None. Cloud only. |
| 03Where it runs | Your VPC, on-prem network, or Kortix Cloud. | Managed Linux sandbox in Perplexity's cloud. |
| 04Models and keys | Any model provider with your own keys. | About 19 hosted models, auto-routed. |
| 05Configuration | Files in a git repo you own. | Inside Perplexity's product. |
| 06Review gate | Work reaches main through a change request a person approves. | Cloud escalation is user-gated; no branch step. |
| 07Cost floor | Self-host is free; team plan is $40 per seat per month. | $200/month on Max plus per-task credits. |
Two closed agents, and the open-source system beside them
Perplexity Computer is Perplexity's hosted agent: it routes about 19 hosted models across a task, runs in a managed cloud sandbox, and is sold inside a paid Perplexity subscription (Builder.io's hands-on review). ChatGPT Work is OpenAI's agent inside ChatGPT, launched July 9, 2026 and powered by the GPT-6 family, and it turns a goal into finished documents, decks, sheets, and sites across the tools a team connects (OpenAI's ChatGPT Work page). Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System and the leading open-source alternative to Claude Cowork and ChatGPT Work, so it is the system a team reads, runs, and governs rather than rents.
Where each one runs
Perplexity Computer keeps every session in a managed Linux sandbox inside Perplexity's cloud, and its local Portable Computer runs the same closed runtime on an NVIDIA DGX Spark or a Linux machine with an RTX GPU (Vellum's breakdown). ChatGPT Work runs on web and mobile in OpenAI's cloud, and on the desktop app it can also use local files and apps (OpenAI's help center). Kortix boots one isolated sandbox per session on infrastructure you name, from a laptop to your VPC or your own on-prem network, running source you can read.
What a team can and cannot own
On Perplexity Computer and ChatGPT Work the configuration, the model choice, and the connector set live inside the vendor's product. On both, the source is closed and there is no self-host, so a team cannot read or audit the code that touches its data. Kortix keeps the same pieces as files in one git repo you own, and self-host is free, so the configuration has an owner and a history. Any model provider with your own keys, or the ChatGPT plan you already pay for.
The repo and change-request difference
Kortix runs one agent per session on its own branch, and session work reaches main through a change request that a person reviews as a diff. Merge is default-deny for agents, and approval gates you set, off until you set them, hold a tool call until a person decides. That is the structure the two closed agents do not expose: a versioned repo for the configuration and a review step a person controls before work lands. To run the whole system on hardware you control, start with self-hosting Kortix. For the direct Perplexity comparison, read Kortix vs Perplexity Computer; for the cost detail, see what Perplexity Computer costs; and for the wider field, see the open-source alternatives. Teams weighing the two closed agents for a company can start with Perplexity Computer for teams.
One session, one branch, one change request.
A session runs one agent in its own sandbox. The sandbox clones the repo and works on a new branch.The agent commits, pushes the session branch, and opens a change request against the project's default branch.A person with the project.gitops.merge permission reviews the change request and merges it into the default branch.A session can merge its own change request only when its agent's kortix_permissions grant in kortix.yaml includes project.gitops.merge.Questions buyers ask about the three
- N01
Can a team self-host Perplexity Computer or ChatGPT Work?
No. Both are closed and hosted. Perplexity Computer runs in Perplexity's cloud, with a local variant on your own NVIDIA hardware, and ChatGPT Work runs in OpenAI's cloud. Kortix self-hosts for free on your VPC or on-prem network.
- N02
Do the two closed agents run on the same models?
No. Perplexity Computer routes about 19 hosted models for you, and ChatGPT Work runs on the GPT-6 family chosen by OpenAI. Kortix names the model per agent, per session or per message, with any provider and your own keys.
- N03
Where does each one's work actually run?
Perplexity Computer runs in a managed Linux sandbox in Perplexity's cloud. ChatGPT Work runs on web and mobile in OpenAI's cloud, and the desktop app can also use local files.
- N04
Does either closed agent give a team a review gate?
ChatGPT Work has Plan mode and an auto-review step on actions, and Perplexity Computer gates its cloud escalation, but neither lands work through a versioned branch. Kortix lands session work through a change request a person merges.
- N05
How does the cost floor compare?
Kortix self-hosts for free, and the team plan is $40 per seat per month with 2,500 credits per month per seat, pooled. Perplexity Computer has a $200-a-month Max floor plus per-task credits, and a ChatGPT Business Standard seat is $20 per user per month billed annually.
Run the open-source system you can own.
Start on Kortix Cloud or self-host for free, with any model and your own keys.
Open source · Any model, your keys · Self-host, VPC, or on-prem