LobstackHow Lobstack compares.
Against always-on agents, workflow tools and AI gateways. Every claim about them is quoted from their own pages, with the date we read it, and every page says where they are better.
Agents with a computer of their own.
Grok Bot, Muse and dots work on a vendor’s cloud computer and keep going with yours off. Lobstack’s agents work on your computer and stop before every change.
xAI
Grok Bot
Grok Bot gives you named agents on xAI’s cloud that keep working with your laptop shut and stop for sensitive actions. Lobstack runs agents on your own computer and stops before every change.
Read 1 Oct 2026CompareMeta
Muse
Muse is a personal agent for everyday errands, reached in its app or WhatsApp, running on Meta’s secure VM and checking with you before sensitive actions. Lobstack runs agents on your computer for work in your repos and tools, and stops before every change.
Read 1 Oct 2026CompareOpenAI
dots
OpenAI’s dots are always-on agents on OpenAI’s cloud, reached in ChatGPT, Slack or Teams, with over 4,000 apps and approval for sensitive actions. Lobstack runs agents on your own computer and stops before every change.
Read 1 Oct 2026Compare| Tool | Where the work runs | When it stops for you | With your computer off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grok Bot | A persistent cloud computer with a browser, files and a terminal, shared by all your Bots. | Sensitive actions, as judged by a separate review model. You can add “Ask first” rules for more. | Keeps working. The cloud computer does not need your laptop. |
| Muse | Muse Secure VM: a dedicated virtual machine that holds the agent and your data. | Sensitive actions, such as sending an email or making a purchase. | Keeps working after you close the app, and comes back when it needs you. |
| dots | A cloud computer of its own, on OpenAI’s side. | Sensitive actions, by default rules plus an auto-review model; approval can sometimes be given in advance. Custom Rules add limits. | Keeps working toward your goals around the clock. |
| Lobstack | On your computer: Windows, macOS or Linux. Prompts go to the model; the rest stays local. | Every step that changes something, by default: a write, a command, a push or a message, with the exact change in front of you. | Nothing runs. Schedules run only while the app is open. |
Workflows that run on a server.
Sim, n8n, Zapier and Make run automations you build, on their servers or yours. Lobstack runs agents you describe a job to, on your computer.
Workflow tool
Sim
Sim is a hosted or self-hosted place to build agent workflows on a canvas, with cost per run in its logs. Lobstack is a desktop app where agents work on your own computer and stop for your yes before each change.
Read 2 Oct 2026CompareWorkflow tool
n8n
n8n is a workflow builder with a large node library that you can host yourself and run around the clock. Lobstack is a desktop app where agents do the work on your computer and ask before each change.
Read 2 Oct 2026CompareWorkflow tool
Zapier
Zapier connects more apps than anyone in this comparison and runs your Zaps on its own platform, not on your computer. Lobstack is a desktop app where agents work on your computer and ask before each change.
Read 2 Oct 2026CompareWorkflow tool
Make
Make builds automations as visual scenarios across thousands of apps, and runs them on Make. Lobstack is a desktop app where agents work on your computer and ask before each change.
Read 2 Oct 2026Compare| Tool | Where it runs | How you build | Approval before an action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sim | Sim's cloud, or your own with Docker or Kubernetes. The desktop app is macOS-only. | A visual canvas, a chat, or code. | A Human in the Loop block you add where a run should pause for a person. |
| n8n | n8n Cloud, or your own servers. Self-hosted without a licence key is the free Community edition. | A visual canvas, with code where you need it. | Human review for an AI agent's tool calls: the workflow pauses until someone approves or denies. |
| Zapier | Zapier's hosted platform. Private networks are reached through VPC peering. | Zaps (a trigger, then steps), with Tables, Forms and Canvas alongside. | Human in the Loop: a Request Approval step pauses a Zap for reviewers. Needs a paid account. |
| Make | Scenarios run on Make. An Enterprise on-premise agent reaches apps on your local network. | Scenarios made of modules, in a visual editor. AI Agents are in beta. | A Human in the Loop app, on the Enterprise plan. |
| Lobstack | On your computer: Windows, macOS and Linux. Public beta, signed on Windows and macOS. Prompts go to the model. | Give an agent a job in plain words and it proposes the steps. A finished run can become a schedule. There is no visual workflow canvas. | On by default. Every step that changes something waits for your yes, with the exact call in front of you. |
Every gateway routes. Ask what comes back.
OpenRouter, LiteLLM and Lobstack pick a model for you, and LiteLLM does it free and open source. The questions are about what the caller gets back on each response.
AI gateway
OpenRouter
OpenRouter will tell you which models it considered and which one it picked. It will not tell you what the others would have cost.
Verified 9 Nov 2026CompareAI gateway
LiteLLM
LiteLLM computes the counterfactual too. The difference is where it goes: their savings figure reaches the operator, in a rollup, after the fact — ours reaches the caller, on the request, in the response.
Verified 9 Nov 2026CompareAI gateway
Portkey
Portkey is not trying to pick a model for you, and does not pretend to be. It computes cost accurately and keeps it in the dashboard — the response carries four headers and none of them is money.
Verified 9 Nov 2026Compare| Tool | Picks a model for you | Tells the caller why | Cost in the response | Prices the road not taken |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenRouter | Routes | Yes — opt-in header | Yes — usage.cost, always on | No |
| LiteLLM | Routes · beta | Model only; tier stays in logs | Yes — response header | Yes — to the operator, aggregated |
| Portkey | No routing | Your own rules | No — dashboard only | No |
| Lobstack | Yes — complexity tiers with a spend ceiling | Yes — on every response, no opt-in | Yes — response headers | Yes — per request, on the response |
Two qualifications on ours: with stream: true the cost and savings figures move to the final frame, and asking for auto names no model, so the baseline becomes the most expensive one your plan allows and baseline_reason says which you are reading. Both are in the metering docs.
What a routing receipt is
Savings percentages are the currency of this category, and almost none of them are proved on a single request.
Questions, answered.
From each vendor’s own pages: docs, pricing and announcements. Every claim is quoted and dated, and each comparison links its sources.
Because the right tool depends on the job. Every comparison says plainly where the other tool is better.
A logo on a page that argues with its owner reads as an endorsement. These pages use the vendors’ names only.
Each shelf shows the date it was read. Every shelf is re-checked within sixty days, and the site’s build fails when one goes stale.
Write to hello@lobstack.ai with the page and the claim you found out of date, and a link to the vendor page that says otherwise.
Read the comparison. Then try it on your computer.
Free to start. A verified account gets $5 of Gateway credit once for 30 days, whether it starts with the API or the app. No card.