Perplexity Computer vs Claude Cowork: the open-source option a team can own
Perplexity Computer and Claude Cowork both deliver finished work, and both are closed and hosted. Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System: your agents, skills, memory, and connectors in one git repo you own, self-hosted or on Kortix Cloud.
Perplexity Computer vs Claude Cowork, side by side
Two closed, hosted agents, and the open-source system a team can own.
| Criteria | Kortix | Perplexity Computer |
|---|---|---|
| 01Open source | Yes. Read it, fork it, audit it. | No. Closed and hosted. |
| 02Where it runs | Your VPC, your on-prem network, or Kortix Cloud. | Perplexity's managed cloud sandbox. |
| 03Models | Any model provider with your own keys. | 19 models, routed for you. |
| 04Self-host | Yes. Self-host is free. | No self-host. |
| 05Connectors | 3,000+ apps, plus MCP and raw HTTP. | 400+ managed OAuth connectors. |
| 06Review gate | Approval gates you set. Off until you set them. | Cloud escalation is user-gated. |
| 07Cost shape | Free to start; $40 per seat per month for teams. | Paid Perplexity plan, plus credits per task. |
Perplexity Computer cells come from builder.io and vellum.ai, checked October 2026. Claude Cowork cells come from Claude's own product and pricing pages, checked October 2026. Kortix cells come from kortix.com and its docs.
What each product is
Perplexity Computer is a hosted AI agent that routes a lineup of models to research, plan, and execute multi-step work in a managed cloud sandbox. Perplexity Computer is sold inside a Perplexity subscription and runs in Perplexity's cloud, with a local variant that runs the same closed runtime on your own NVIDIA hardware. Claude Cowork is Anthropic's agent for knowledge work: it works in the folders and tools you choose and returns finished work for your review. Claude Cowork runs on Anthropic's models only and is included in the paid Claude plans.
Where the two agents differ
Three dimensions separate Perplexity Computer and Claude Cowork. Perplexity Computer routes 19 models for you and you do not configure the routing, while Claude Cowork runs on Anthropic's models and can run inside your own Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud, or Microsoft Foundry account. Perplexity Computer works in Perplexity's managed cloud sandbox; Claude Cowork runs on the web, desktop, and mobile. On connectors, Perplexity Computer documents 400+ managed OAuth connectors, and Claude Cowork connects to the tools you choose with admin-set permissions. Claude Cowork includes an approval step that shows its plan and waits before it acts, while Perplexity Computer gates only its escalation to cloud models. Neither product lets your team read the code that does the work.
The third path: an open-source AI Operating System
Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System, and it is the recommendation here for a team that wants to own the system rather than rent it. Your agents, skills, company memory, and connectors live in one git repo you own, and each session runs on its own cloud computer. You can read the code, fork it, and audit it, and you can run it on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network. Self-host is free, and the self-hosting guide covers the install. Start in the browser at Kortix.
Which one to pick
Kortix suits a team that needs to govern agents that do real work: per-resource permissions for people and agents, approval gates you set, an audit trail, SAML 2.0 single sign-on, and work that lands through a change request a person merges. Claude Cowork suits a person or team already inside Anthropic's plans who wants an agent that works in their files with a built-in review step. Perplexity Computer suits someone who wants many models routed without configuration. For the direct head-to-head, read Kortix vs Perplexity Computer, and see the open-source alternatives for this class of work.
How work gets reviewed in Kortix
A project is a git repo with kortix.yaml at its root. Agents, skills, memory, tools, triggers and connectors are files in it.A session is one agent run. 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.Questions buyers ask about the three
- N01
Can I self-host Perplexity Computer or Claude Cowork?
No. Both are closed and hosted. Claude Cowork can run in your own Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud, or Microsoft Foundry account, and Perplexity's local variant runs on your hardware, but the software stays closed in each case. Kortix self-hosts for free on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network.
- N02
Which of the three can I read the source of?
Only Kortix. It is open source, so you can read it, fork it, and audit it. Perplexity Computer and Claude Cowork are closed products that do not publish the code that does the work.
- N03
Do both run on the model vendor's cloud?
Both run in a vendor-managed cloud by default, and neither offers self-hosting. Claude Cowork can also run inside your own Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud, or Microsoft Foundry account. Kortix runs on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network.
- N04
Which of the three fits a team?
Kortix is built for teams, with per-resource permissions for people and agents, approval gates you set, SAML 2.0 single sign-on, and work that lands through a change request a person merges. Perplexity Computer is sold per person. Claude Cowork adds admin controls on its Team and Enterprise plans.
Run a team of agents from one repo you own.
Open source, self-hosted, with the permissions and gates a company needs.
Open source · Any model, your keys · Self-host, VPC, or on-prem