Comparison
Pivra Desk vs OpenClawWhich personal AI agent fits you?
Checked · OpenClaw documentation as of the latest stable release, 2026.9.8 (published 3 October 2026) · Pivra Desk 0.2.18 · By the Pivra team, who make Pivra Desk
The short answer
Choose OpenClaw if you want open-source software you host yourself, that you can message from WhatsApp, Telegram or iMessage, that can keep working on a server while your laptop is closed, and you are comfortable running and configuring a gateway.
Choose Pivra Desk if you want a desktop app for your Mac or Windows PC that works from your own files and apps, uses a model on your computer or your own key, and asks before it sends, pays or changes anything without you having to set that up.
Facts, side by side
What each one is, from its own documentation.
Each OpenClaw cell links to the page it came from. The Pivra Desk column comes from our security page and help centre.
| Topic | Pivra Desk | OpenClaw |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | ||
| What it is | A desktop app. You give agents jobs and they work from your files, browser and apps on your computer. | An AI assistant you run on your own infrastructure. The Gateway is the always-on control plane; you talk to the assistant through chat apps. Source |
| Licence and price | ||
| Licence and price | Proprietary. Free, or Plus at US$6 (A$9) a month. | Open source under the MIT licence. Stewarded by the OpenClaw Foundation, a 501(c)(3) funded by donations, with no paid tier and no hosted service. Source 1Source 2 |
| Where it runs | ||
| Where it runs | Your Mac with Apple silicon, or your 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 PC. | The Gateway runs on macOS, Linux or Windows (native, or in WSL2), or on a VPS. Companion apps for macOS, Windows and Linux, and mobile nodes for iOS and Android. Source |
| How you install it | ||
| How you install it | A signed .dmg or .exe. No account for the free plan. | A signed Windows Hub installer (Windows 10 20H2 or later, or 11), a macOS menu bar app (macOS 15 or later), or an installer script. The CLI and Gateway need Node 24.16+ or 26.1+, which the script installs if missing. Source 1Source 2Source 3 |
| How you talk to it | ||
| How you talk to it | In the app. Approval cards can also go to your own Slack or Teams bot. No phone app. | From messaging apps including Discord, Google Chat, iMessage, Signal, Slack, Telegram and WhatsApp, plus WebChat, voice and the macOS panel. Source |
| Models | ||
| Models | A built-in model on your computer, or your own key for Anthropic, OpenAI, OpenRouter or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint (Ollama, LM Studio, vLLM). | Anthropic, MiniMax, OpenAI, OpenRouter and others, with per-agent routing and failover. Local models through a managed llama.cpp server, LM Studio, Ollama and others (vLLM, MLX, SGLang). Source 1Source 2 |
| Running commands, by default | ||
| Running commands, by default | Mac: inside the operating system’s own sandbox. Windows: in Docker, or not at all until you allow it. Running directly on the computer is off unless you turn it on. | For a trusted single operator, host commands on the gateway or a node run without approval prompts by default. Exec approvals (allowlists and ask modes) and sandboxing can be configured. Source 1Source 2 |
| Sandboxing | ||
| Sandboxing | On by default on a Mac. Docker on Windows for now; a built-in Windows sandbox is planned. | Off by default. When enabled, tool execution moves into a Docker, Podman, SSH or other backend while the Gateway stays on the host. Source |
| Approvals | ||
| Approvals | Built in: reading and searching run on their own; sending, publishing, paying and changing wait for a card; money, deletes and deploys need Touch ID on a Mac or a typed phrase. | Exec approvals combine policy, an allowlist and optional user approval. Requests can be approved with buttons in chat channels such as Slack. Source 1Source 2 |
| With your computer off | ||
| With your computer off | No. Routines run while your computer is on. | Yes, if you run the Gateway on a server or VPS and message it from anywhere. Source |
| Sharing with a team | ||
| Sharing with a team | Made for one person on their own computer. | A shared gateway is supported for people who trust each other; one gateway is one trust boundary. Source |
| Extensions | ||
| Extensions | Six built-in templates, MCP servers, Google Calendar and GitHub; Gmail with your own Google app. | ClawHub, the public registry for OpenClaw skills, code plugins and bundle plugins. Source |
| What the maker receives | ||
| What the maker receives | App analytics are off unless you opt in. Signing in to a paid plan contacts pivra.ai to fetch a signed entitlement, and the app checks our download server for updates. | A daily update check with the OpenClaw version, OS, Node version and CPU architecture; optional anonymous statistics are off by default. Source |
Fair is fair
Where OpenClaw is stronger.
Open source
MIT-licensed, so you can read the code, change it and host it yourself. Pivra Desk is closed source. Source
No paid tier
The OpenClaw Foundation has no product to sell: no paid tier and no hosted service. Pivra Desk has a free plan, and Plus is paid. Source
Works with your laptop closed
Run the Gateway on a server and it keeps going. Pivra Desk runs only while your computer is on. Source
Many more channels
Message it from WhatsApp, Telegram, iMessage, Signal, Discord and more. Pivra Desk is used in the app, with approvals in your own Slack or Teams bot. Source
More platforms
Linux, a VPS and mobile nodes for iOS and Android, as well as macOS and Windows. Pivra Desk is Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows only. Source
A bigger ecosystem
Extensive documentation and ClawHub’s skills and plugins. Pivra Desk has fewer integrations. Source
Our view
Where Pivra Desk differs.
This part is our judgement, not a measurement. We make Pivra Desk, so weigh it accordingly.
- It is an app you install, not a gateway you operate: no Node, no config files and no server, and a model on your computer is one of the first-run choices.
- Asking first is the default, not a setting: consequential actions wait for your approval out of the box, and critical ones need Touch ID or a typed phrase.
- On a Mac, commands run in the operating system’s sandbox by default, with network access only as you set it.
- It is built for one person’s work on their own files, with templates for jobs like bookkeeping, research and articles, rather than a chat assistant reached from many channels.
Pivra Desk at a glance
- Type
- Local-first personal AI agent: a desktop app, not a browser tab or a hosted service
- Platforms
- macOS on Apple silicon (M1 and later) and 64-bit Windows 10 or 11
- Execution
- On your own computer. A cloud model is used only if you choose one. Routines run while your computer is on
- Models
- A model that runs on your computer, or your own key for Anthropic, OpenAI, OpenRouter or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint (Ollama, LM Studio, vLLM)
- Primary control
- Reading and searching run on their own. Sending, publishing, paying and changing wait for your approval. Money, deletes and deploys need Touch ID on a Mac or a typed phrase
- Price
- Free. Plus is US$6 (A$9) a month
- Company
- Pivra.ai
- Last verified
- 8 October 2026
The details behind each line are on security and privacy and in the Desk help centre.
Methodology
How we made this comparison.
- On 8 October 2026 we read OpenClaw’s public documentation at docs.openclaw.ai and its GitHub repository, when the latest release was the latest stable release, 2026.9.8 (published 3 October 2026). Every OpenClaw statement links to its source.
- The Pivra Desk column is taken from security and privacy and the Desk help centre, which describe the released app.
- This is a documentation review. We give no scores, ratings or rankings.
- We will update this page when either product changes. Found a mistake? Email support@pivra.ai and we will correct it.
What we could not verify
- We did not install or run OpenClaw for this page. Nothing here is a hands-on test of its setup time, reliability, speed or answer quality.
- Whether the Windows Hub and macOS app first-run setup changes the documented defaults for approvals or sandboxing. We describe the defaults as the documentation states them.
- The size of the OpenClaw community and how widely it is used.
- How individual ClawHub skills and plugins behave.
- Pivra Desk has not been tested by an independent party either. Its column comes from our own security page and help centre.
Sources checked
All read on 8 October 2026.
Try Pivra Desk on your own computer.
Free for Mac and Windows. Your model, your approvals.