Alternatives / Manus
Looking for an open source Manus alternative? We compared 3 AI agent platforms by license, self-hosting, sandboxing, integrations, and pricing. Only Agent Zero is under a standard open-source license, while LobeChat and Kortix use source-available licenses.
Written by Maxime DERAME
Last updated:
| Alternative | Best for | License |
|---|---|---|
| LobeChat | Teams of AI agents for long-running work (source available) | LobeHub Community License |
| Kortix | Auditable company-wide agents (source available) | Elastic License 2.0 |
| Agent Zero | Open-source autonomous agent in a sandbox | MIT |
We looked for projects that overlap with Manus, a general AI agent that turns instructions into actions: planning, using tools, and completing multi-step tasks. We verified each project's license, recent activity, stars, and self-hosting in its repository. Licensing matters here: two of the three use source-available licenses rather than standard open source, which we flag clearly. See our methodology for the full criteria.
Agent Zero is licensed under MIT. Kortix uses the Elastic License 2.0, which is source available and restricts offering it as a managed service. LobeChat uses the LobeHub Community License, based on Apache-2.0 with additional commercial conditions, and requires a commercial license to distribute derivative works. Check the terms before using either in a product.
Agent Zero is a framework that runs an agent on its own sandboxed computer in Docker, creating tools dynamically and managing memory with subordinate agents. Kortix is a platform for running agents across a company, with agents, skills, and memory stored as versioned files in a git repository you control, and integrations with Slack, Teams, and a CLI. LobeChat is a platform for teams of agents handling long-running work, with memory, scheduling, and a large skill library.
Autonomous agents can run code and change files, so isolation matters. Agent Zero runs in Docker, and Kortix uses isolated sandboxes with permission controls. Run any of them with limited credentials, review what they do, and avoid giving them access to production systems without safeguards.
All three are model-agnostic and work with multiple providers, including local models in some setups. You pay your model providers directly, and Kortix and LobeChat also offer hosted options.
Kortix, Agent Zero, and LobeChat were all updated within days of this update.
Manus is a proprietary hosted agent whose runs, files, and data live on its infrastructure and are billed by credits. Alternatives let you run agents on your own machine or servers, choose your own models, inspect what the agent does, and keep data under your control, at the cost of setup, model costs, and less polished autonomy.
| Alternative | Type | License | Self-hosted | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LobeChat | Agent platform | LobeHub Community License | Yes | Agent teams |
| Kortix | Company agent platform | Elastic License 2.0 | Yes | Auditable enterprise agents |
| Agent Zero | Autonomous agent framework | MIT | Yes (Docker) | Developers and power users |
Want a standard open-source autonomous agent
Agent Zero is MIT-licensed and runs in Docker on its own sandboxed computer, with dynamic tools, memory, subordinate agents, and a plugin hub.
Want company-wide agents you can audit
Kortix stores agents, skills, memory, and connectors as versioned files in a git repository you own, with sandboxes and permission controls.
Want teams of agents for ongoing work
LobeChat coordinates agents in parallel with memory, scheduling, and a large skill library, under a source-available license.