OpenClaw vs Hermes Agent: the differences, and which to pick

At a glance

The software is free in both cases. A hosted AI model and a rented server cost extra; a local model and a computer you already leave on are also options.

Memory: a fuller notebook or a short brief

This is the clearest design difference, and it shapes how each agent feels after a few weeks of use.

OpenClaw keeps memory as ordinary Markdown files in its workspace: a long-term MEMORY.md, a USER.md about you, and a dated note for each day. Its docs make a point of there being no hidden state. A default background pass it calls dreaming reads the daily notes and distils what matters into the long-term file, and the agent has a search tool for looking things up across its memory files. You can open, edit or delete any of it in a text editor.

Hermes also keeps a MEMORY.md and a USER.md, but caps them at about 2,200 and 1,375 characters. They are loaded at the start of every session, so the essentials are always in front of it without filling the context window. Older detail is found by searching a database of the full past conversations rather than a memory file. Hermes can also plug into outside memory services such as Honcho or Mem0.

In practice: OpenClaw builds up a fuller written record, organised by day and curated over time; Hermes keeps its standing brief small and goes back to the conversations themselves for the rest. Both are plain files you can read and edit.

Skills: both now learn on their own

A skill is a saved set of instructions for a job the agent has worked out how to do, such as producing your weekly report the way you like it. Both agents use the same idea: a folder with a SKILL.md file.

Learning skills without being asked was long Hermes’s signature feature, and its README still calls it a built-in learning loop. Every so often (by default after about ten rounds of tool use), Hermes reviews its recent work in the background and can create or update a skill; a weekly curator archives agent-made skills nobody has used for 30 days.

OpenClaw has closed most of that gap. Its Skill Workshop saves a skill after hard multi-step work, fixes skills that led it astray, archives unused learned skills after 30 days and lets you undo any change. In the 2026.10.6 release this runs automatically by default; older releases needed it switched on.

So on this point the honest answer is: both do it now. If you run an older OpenClaw, check the setting.

Chat apps and where you can reach it

Both connect to the big ones: Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord, Slack, Signal, Microsoft Teams, Google Chat, Matrix, Mattermost, LINE, IRC, Feishu, WeCom, WeChat and QQ. After that the lists differ:

• Only OpenClaw lists, among others, native iMessage, Twitch, Nostr, X, Zalo and Nextcloud Talk. Its WeChat support is a separate plugin.
• Only Hermes lists, among others, email, Home Assistant, DingTalk, ntfy and SimpleX. It reaches iMessage through BlueBubbles.

OpenClaw also has its own phone apps for iPhone and Android, which Hermes does not. Hermes has a desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux; our Hermes desktop app guide covers it.

AI models

Neither agent is tied to one model. Both work with OpenRouter (which reaches most popular models), OpenAI, Anthropic’s Claude, local models through Ollama, and many other providers. Both can also use a ChatGPT or Codex subscription instead of an API key.

Two differences: Hermes has a one-step option from its own makers (a Nous Portal subscription that covers the model plus tools like web search), and OpenClaw can reuse a Claude Code login on the same machine. If Claude is your plan, see our Hermes Agent with Claude guide.

Tools: mostly a tie

Both schedule recurring jobs, browse the web in a real browser, control a computer’s screen, hand work to sub-agents, and connect to MCP servers for extra tools. OpenClaw can also act as an MCP server itself and start jobs from webhooks or new Gmail messages; Hermes offers an OpenAI-compatible API so your own apps can talk to the agent. For most people these will not decide it.

Installing each one

Both install with one command on Mac, Linux and Windows, and both bring their own runtime: Node.js for OpenClaw, Python for Hermes. OpenClaw then runs an onboarding step that installs it as a background service; Hermes runs a setup wizard and installs its gateway as a service when you ask. Our Hermes Agent install guide walks through the Hermes side step by step.

Switching between them

Both projects ship an importer for the other, so trying one does not lock you in.

• OpenClaw to Hermes: hermes setup offers to import when it finds an OpenClaw folder, or run it yourself with the official importer plugin:

hermes plugins install agent-importers
hermes import-agent openclaw --dry-run

It brings over persona and memory files, skills, model and provider settings, MCP servers and chat-app settings. API keys only come across if you add --migrate-secrets. Scheduled jobs, plugins and hooks are archived rather than converted, and WhatsApp has to be paired again.

• Hermes to OpenClaw: openclaw migrate hermes --dry-run, then openclaw migrate apply hermes --yes. It imports models, MCP servers, persona and memory files and skills; sessions, scheduled jobs and plugins are archived. It expects a fresh OpenClaw setup and makes a backup first.

Which should you pick?

OpenClaw is likely the better fit if:

• you want a phone app, or native iMessage on a Mac,
• you want a fuller written memory, with daily notes and a curated long-term file,
• you work in JavaScript and TypeScript and may want to change the code.

Hermes Agent is likely the better fit if:

• you want to reach it by email, or from DingTalk or Home Assistant,
• you want a short standing brief, with past conversations searched when needed,
• you work in Python, or want a single subscription from its makers to cover model and tools.

Either way, the agent only works while the machine it runs on is awake. For jobs that should happen while you are away, it needs a computer that never sleeps.

Where ReadyHermes fits

ReadyHermes is hosted Hermes Agent. If you pick Hermes and do not want to run a server, you get your own agent in about 10 seconds, always on, with AI included, reachable from your browser and chat apps such as Telegram and WhatsApp. It is still a full Hermes Agent: root SSH, files and backups are in Bot tools.

New to Hermes? Start with what Hermes Agent is.