Murage vs Claude (Cowork)

Cowork is Claude’s agent for work, inside the Claude app. Murage runs Claude through Claude Code on the same plan, as part of a standing team with other engines.

The short answer

Keep using Claude’s app. When a job needs a team, Murage puts Claude on one, next to whatever else suits the work.

Which should you choose?

Murage

The app is free
On your computer
The AI you choose

Who does the work: A Chief of Staff and a team

Claude (Cowork)

Pro $20 a month
Your folders plus Anthropic’s cloud
Claude models only

Who does the work: One main agent with helpers

Download Murage

Checked against official pages and the sources below on September 25, 2026.

Murage sits above Claude Code.

You talk to one Chief of Staff. It builds the team, and each bot runs the engine that suits its job, on the plan or key you already have. An engine is the AI that does a bot’s thinking. To run teams and use tools, pick a tool-capable one: Claude Code, Codex, Hermes, or the built-in Fuigo engine with a supported model. A plain OpenAI-compatible endpoint works for chat and drafting only. Portraits made with Murage’s own avatar generator. See every engine

Murage runs Claude through Claude Code, not through Claude (Cowork) itself

Keep Claude. Murage makes it a whole team.

Cowork stays in Claude’s own app, and you can keep using it. Murage works one level up: your Chief of Staff and its teams run Claude through the unmodified Claude Code, signed in with your own Claude plan, next to whichever other engines suit the job.

What Murage adds on top

A Chief of Staff that takes the brief, plans the job and hands out the work
Teams of named bots, each with its own face, voice, personality and memory on your computer
1,500+ apps (Gmail, Slack, Notion, GitHub) through Flux Router credits or your own connected-apps key
Voice calls with any bot, plus your Chief on Telegram, Slack and Discord: send a voice message and get a voice reply
New bots start on Ask, and on Full access a stop line holds back the few outside actions that wait for your yes, unless you allow it for the task or turn it off. On Hermes and other ACP engines, Ask and the stop line cover only shell commands and file edits
Swap engines whenever you like. Your team, memory and approvals stay put

Why the app is free Every engine Murage runs

At a glance.

Ten things buyers weigh up, including the ones where they’re ahead.

What matters

Murage

Claude (Cowork)

The app itself is free
Before your AI plan or key, which you pay for either way
Yes
Free, with no paid tier
Source
No
Needs a paid Claude plan, from Pro at $20 a month
Source
You choose which AI company does the work
Per bot or per task, from different vendors
Yes
Per bot: Claude Code, Codex, Hermes, a local model and more
No
Claude models
Source
Named agents that keep their memory
A standing team that lasts beyond one task
Yes
Named bots, each with its own notebook and managed memory
Not stated
Not stated on the Cowork product page
Source
Asks before acting outside, by default
Messaging someone new, posting, paying, deleting
Yes
New bots start on Ask; on Full access the stop line judges what each engine asks
Source
Partly
Manual, Auto and Skip modes; deleting needs approval
Source
Memory stored on your computer
Not in a vendor’s cloud
Yes
Memory, files and chats on your computer
Partly
Your files stay in your folders; memory is in Anthropic’s cloud
Source
Open source
A license you can read
Yes
AGPL-3.0
Source
No
Closed source
Reach it from your phone
Briefs and approvals away from the desk
Yes
The web app, plus your Chief in Telegram, Slack or Discord
Yes
Dispatch sends a task from your phone to your desktop (limited beta)
Source
Keeps working with your computer off, today
Hosted or on a server
No
Murage Cloud isn’t open yet
Yes
“Close your laptop, it keeps going”
Source
Native phone app
An iOS or Android app, not a web app or chat bot
Coming
iPhone and Android app coming
Yes
Claude’s mobile app; Cowork there is in beta
Source
SOC 2 report
What a procurement team will ask for
No
No SOC 2 report
Yes
Anthropic’s SOC 2 report

Each of Claude (Cowork)’s marks links the page it comes from, checked September 25, 2026. “Not stated” means we couldn’t find it on the page named, not that it’s missing.

What a year costs.

The Murage app is

Free

Your Claude Pro plan costs $240 a year either way. Murage adds nothing to that bill, and gives you a Chief of Staff and a team.

A year, one person, entry plan

Claude (Cowork) on its own · Claude Pro, billed monthly$240

Claude Pro with Murage · same plan, plus a team$240 + free app

Already on Claude? Then Cowork is included, and Murage uses that same plan through Claude Code. Murage runs it the way you’ve set it up, so that cost stays the same. Prices from official pricing pages, billed monthly, checked September 25, 2026.

Where your work lives.

Murage

Your computer

MemoryFilesChats

Your memory, files and chats are stored on your computer. What a bot sends to your AI, and to any app or service you connect, goes to them.

Claude (Cowork)

You

Files

Their cloud

MemoryChats

Your files can stay in your folders; memory and cloud tasks live on their servers.

Who does the work.

You brief one Chief of Staff. It builds a team of specialists for the job, and the team keeps its memory for next time. You can put a reviewer on any team to check work before it reaches you. Portraits made with Murage’s own avatar generator.

Claude (Cowork)

One main agent that hands parts of a task to helpers, inside the Claude app.

What Murage adds for a Claude (Cowork) user.

The brief

“Go through my inbox before I get in. Draft replies in my voice. Send nothing.”

What came back

Twelve emails came in. The team drafted eight replies, set four aside, and left two questions only the owner could answer. Nothing was sent.

Needs from you, in the team’s own report

Dana Brooks, Acme Studio · RenewalThe prior contract terms
Jordan Lee, Brightline Design · Pricing for 20 seatsThe per-seat price, and whether we offer a pilot
Priya S. · Export to PDF?Confirm the exact steps
Ben C. · Refund requestMoney. Check the billing record first

Replay of a real run on demo data. The company is made up. Engine: Flux Auto, worked 1m 41s. Watch the run

A standing team

Brief a Chief of Staff once. It builds a team of named bots, each with its own face, voice, personality and memory, and they’re still there tomorrow. Cowork’s subagents work inside a single task.

Claude, and every other engine

Murage runs Claude through Claude Code on your own Claude plan, and puts Codex, Hermes, Grok Build or an API key on the other bots. Cowork runs Claude only.

Reach it from your chat apps

Message your Chief from Telegram, Slack or Discord. Dispatch works through Claude’s own apps.

Free, open source, memory at home

The app costs nothing, the code is public, and what your team remembers is stored on your computer.

Talk to it

Call any bot and just talk, or send your Chief a voice message in Telegram, Slack or Discord and get a voice reply. Voice runs on Flux credits or your own keys.

Where Claude (Cowork) is ahead.

Fair’s fair. If one of these matters most to you, it may be the better choice today.

1
Nothing extra to install
It’s part of the Claude app on every surface, from the same company that makes the model.
2
Cloud and scheduled tasks
Scheduled tasks run remotely: “Close your laptop, it keeps going.” Murage runs while your computer is on, until Murage Cloud opens.
3
Phone app and compliance
Claude’s mobile app (Cowork there is in beta), and Anthropic’s SOC 2 report. Murage has neither today; its iPhone and Android app is coming.
4
Nothing extra for subscribers
If you already pay for Claude, Cowork is included.

Which should you choose?

Keep using Claude’s app. When a job needs a team, Murage puts Claude on one, next to whatever else suits the work.

Choose Murage if

You want Claude on a team next to Codex, Hermes or a local model, with named bots that are still there tomorrow
You want your Chief in Telegram, Slack or Discord, and memory stored on your own computer
You want standing teams with memory that lasts
You want everyone on your staff to have it, with no Murage seat fees

Download Murage

Choose Claude (Cowork) if

You want scheduled work that runs with your laptop closed, today (“Close your laptop, it keeps going”)
You want it inside Claude’s own apps, including web, mobile (beta) and ChromeOS, with nothing else to install
Your company runs on Claude Enterprise

Still deciding? Read how we check that a job is finished, then try one of your own.

Every detail.

Question	Murage	Claude (Cowork)
Price to start	Free. No paid tier	A paid Claude plan: Pro $20 a month ($17 billed yearly). Not on Free
Usage	Nothing from us. Your AI provider bills as usual. Flux Router, Ferrox Labs’ optional credit-billed service, covers AI models, connected apps, voice, images and web search if you use it; your own keys work instead	Five-hour and weekly plan limits, then optional credits at API rates
Where it runs	On your computer	Folders you choose on your computer, plus Anthropic’s cloud for cloud and scheduled tasks
Which AI	The engine you choose, per bot: Claude Code, Codex, Hermes, Grok Build, Cursor, Google Antigravity, Kimi, Qwen, Droid, OpenCode, Pi, Fuigo (built in), local models (Ollama, LM Studio) and any OpenAI-compatible API (chat only). OpenClaw is coming.	Anthropic’s Claude models
Where memory lives	On your computer, open to read and edit	Anthropic’s cloud; your files stay in your folders
Open source	Yes, AGPL-3.0	No
Keeps working with your laptop closed	Not today. It runs while your computer is on; Murage Cloud isn’t open yet	Yes, for cloud and scheduled tasks
Approvals	New bots start on Ask. On Full access, a bot stops before messaging anyone new, posting publicly, paying, or deleting outside its folder, unless you have allowed it for that task. Replies in an existing conversation go ahead on Auto and Full access. No limits turns the stop line off. On Claude Code and Codex, the stop line also covers tools from MCP servers you add. On Hermes and other ACP engines, Ask and the stop line cover only what the engine asks Murage about: Hermes asks before shell commands and file edits, but not before MCP or connected-app tools.	Manual, Auto and Skip modes; deleting needs approval; folder scoping
Teams	A Chief of Staff builds and runs a team for each job	Subagents inside a task
From your phone	Message your Chief of Staff on Telegram, Slack or Discord	Dispatch sends a task to your desktop while it’s awake (limited beta on Pro and Max, in Claude’s apps)
Platforms	Mac, Windows and Ubuntu; Telegram on your phone. iPhone and Android apps coming	Mac, Windows, Linux and ChromeOS, plus web and mobile (beta)

Questions about Murage and Claude (Cowork).

Does Murage run Cowork itself?

No. Murage runs Claude through the unmodified Claude Code, signed in with your own Claude subscription. Cowork stays in Claude’s app, and you can use both.

Can I use my Claude subscription with Murage?

Yes, through Claude Code: you sign in to it with your own Claude plan, and any bot can use it. Murage adds no fee on top.

Is this allowed under Anthropic’s terms?

Yes. Murage never signs you in, and never sees, stores or passes on your Claude login. It helps you install the official Claude Code, you sign in to Claude Code yourself on Anthropic’s own screen, and Murage runs it as a bot’s engine. Anthropic’s policy says its rules don’t “prevent an end user from signing in to the unmodified Claude Code binary with their own Claude subscription” (Claude Code legal and compliance, checked September 26, 2026).

Your usage counts against your own plan, as it would if you ran Claude Code yourself. A team of bots gets through that allowance faster than one chat, so for heavy work you can give any bot an Anthropic API key instead. Murage is not affiliated with or endorsed by Anthropic.

Does Murage make slides, documents and websites?

Yes. Murage bots on Claude Code or Codex build slides, docs and web pages as files in your folders, and make images with Flux or your own OpenAI key. Video isn’t built in, but a bot can use a video service you connect.

Can I switch engines later?

Yes. A bot’s engine is a setting you can change at any time. Its memory, skills, routines and approvals live in Murage, not in the engine, so they stay put when you switch.

Can my staff use it too?

Yes. Each person runs Murage on their own computer, with their own AI sign-in. Build a team once, export it, and everyone imports the same bots, skills and routines; logins never travel. Bots can post drafts to your team’s Slack channels through connected apps, with your approval. Shared always-on workspaces will come with Murage Cloud, which isn’t open yet.

Is Murage made by Anthropic?

No. Murage is an independent open-source project. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Anthropic.

Sources, checked September 25, 2026

Murage is made by Ferrox Labs, a small team. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we’ll fix it.

Claude, Claude Code and Cowork are trademarks of their respective owners. Murage is not affiliated with or endorsed by Anthropic; the names and logos are used only to identify the products compared.

Other comparisons.

Keep Claude (Cowork). Add the team.

Give your first job to Murage.

Download the free app, connect the AI you already pay for, and tell your Chief of Staff what needs doing. Plan on about ten minutes from install to a working team.

Free · Download Murage

No account needed · Runs on the AI plan you already pay for

Murage vs Claude (Cowork)

Cowork is Claude’s agent for work, inside the Claude app. Murage runs Claude through Claude Code on the same plan, as part of a standing team with other engines.

The short answer

Keep using Claude’s app. When a job needs a team, Murage puts Claude on one, next to whatever else suits the work.

Which should you choose?

Murage

The app is free
On your computer
The AI you choose

Who does the work: A Chief of Staff and a team

Claude (Cowork)

Pro $20 a month
Your folders plus Anthropic’s cloud
Claude models only

Who does the work: One main agent with helpers

Download Murage

Checked against official pages and the sources below on September 25, 2026.

Murage

Claude (Cowork)

Price to start

Free. No paid tier

A paid Claude plan: Pro $20 a month ($17 billed yearly). Not on Free

Usage

Nothing from us. Your AI provider bills as usual. Flux Router, Ferrox Labs’ optional credit-billed service, covers AI models, connected apps, voice, images and web search if you use it; your own keys work instead

Five-hour and weekly plan limits, then optional credits at API rates

Where it runs

On your computer

Folders you choose on your computer, plus Anthropic’s cloud for cloud and scheduled tasks

Which AI

The engine you choose, per bot: Claude Code, Codex, Hermes, Grok Build, Cursor, Google Antigravity, Kimi, Qwen, Droid, OpenCode, Pi, Fuigo (built in), local models (Ollama, LM Studio) and any OpenAI-compatible API (chat only). OpenClaw is coming.

Anthropic’s Claude models

Where memory lives

On your computer, open to read and edit

Anthropic’s cloud; your files stay in your folders

Open source

Yes, AGPL-3.0

Keeps working with your laptop closed

Not today. It runs while your computer is on; Murage Cloud isn’t open yet

Yes, for cloud and scheduled tasks

Approvals

New bots start on Ask. On Full access, a bot stops before messaging anyone new, posting publicly, paying, or deleting outside its folder, unless you have allowed it for that task. Replies in an existing conversation go ahead on Auto and Full access. No limits turns the stop line off. On Claude Code and Codex, the stop line also covers tools from MCP servers you add. On Hermes and other ACP engines, Ask and the stop line cover only what the engine asks Murage about: Hermes asks before shell commands and file edits, but not before MCP or connected-app tools.

Manual, Auto and Skip modes; deleting needs approval; folder scoping

Teams

A Chief of Staff builds and runs a team for each job

Subagents inside a task

From your phone

Message your Chief of Staff on Telegram, Slack or Discord

Dispatch sends a task to your desktop while it’s awake (limited beta on Pro and Max, in Claude’s apps)

Platforms

Mac, Windows and Ubuntu; Telegram on your phone. iPhone and Android apps coming

Mac, Windows, Linux and ChromeOS, plus web and mobile (beta)