OpenBot vs Devin: A Local Devin Alternative

OpenBot runs the provider tools you already use, with the plans you already pay for: Codex with your ChatGPT plan, Claude Code with your Claude plan, Gemini with your Google AI Pro or Ultra plan, and Grok CLI with your Grok account or an xAI API key. OpenCode runs free models, or your own model on any OpenAI-compatible server, also one on your computer. You choose the provider, the model and the reasoning effort for each agent. When you move an agent to a different provider, it keeps its role, workspace and conversation.

Devin supports the latest models from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and Cognition, and open-source models such as DeepSeek, Kimi and GLM. You choose a model in Devin Desktop and the CLI, and a mode in Devin Cloud. Cognition's own SWE-2 model is post-trained from Kimi K3. Devin does not take your own API keys: you pay through your Devin plan, and extra use is billed at API prices. On Pro, Max and Teams, Devin Desktop can also run third-party agents such as Codex CLI, Claude Agent, OpenCode and Gemini CLI; their provider bills you directly.

OpenBot runs on the computer that hosts it. Agent workspaces, conversations and app data stay on that computer, so it must stay on while its agents work. Run it on a desktop or a server that stays on, and your agents keep working while your laptop is closed. Local-first is not offline: an agent that uses a hosted provider still sends its requests to that provider.

Devin Cloud works in virtual machines in Cognition's cloud, and it keeps working when you close your laptop. Automations start sessions from a schedule, Slack, GitHub, Linear or a webhook. Devin Desktop and the Devin CLI run on your own computer. With Outposts, commands can run on machines that you operate. In every case, the agent's planning and inference run in Cognition's cloud; Enterprise can have a dedicated deployment.

The OpenBot apps for iPhone and Android connect to the computer that runs your agents. From anywhere, you chat with them, follow their progress and send files. The connection goes directly between your devices when it can, it is encrypted, and no cloud stores your chats or files. You set up no VPN or tunnel. Remote access needs an OpenBot account.

Devin's web app can be installed on a phone from the browser, as a Progressive Web App. You can also start sessions from Slack, Microsoft Teams, Linear or Jira, from a GitHub pull request with a /devin comment, or through the Devin API. The sessions themselves run in Cognition's cloud. We found no Devin app in the App Store or Google Play.

In OpenBot, each agent is a full coding agent: Codex, Claude Code, Gemini, Grok CLI or OpenCode, each with its own job and workspace. A lead agent can give parts of a task to other agents in a shared channel. You follow their work and step in when a decision needs you. For a team of people, one computer runs the host and the others join it; the chats and files stay on the host.

Devin can give parts of a large task to a team of managed Devins that work in parallel, each in its own virtual machine, and the Devin CLI has subagents. Pro and Max run up to 10 sessions at the same time; Teams and Enterprise have no limit. The Teams plan takes up to 200 users, with shared work and an admin dashboard; Enterprise adds single sign-on and a dedicated deployment.

OpenBot keeps workspaces, conversations, attachments and browser data in a SQLite database on the computer that runs it. There is no copy on OpenBot's side. An account holds your profile, team memberships, invitations, sign-in sessions, the settings that let devices find each other, and any agent templates that you publish. Product analytics, which never include chat content, are on by default and linked to your account when you sign in; you can turn them off in Settings.

Devin processes your code and sessions in Cognition's cloud on AWS, and keeps the data for as long as you are a customer. By default, Cognition can use your data for model training; on a paid plan you can opt out, and on Enterprise it trains only with your written consent. Cognition is SOC 2 Type II certified. A deployment in your own cloud is only for Enterprise.