# OpenClaw vs ChatGPT Work: the open-source option a team can own

> Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System. ChatGPT Work runs in OpenAI's cloud, OpenClaw runs as a personal assistant on your own computer, and only one of the three keeps everything in a repo you own.

URL: https://openclaw-alternative.com/openclaw-vs-chatgpt-work

## Kortix, OpenClaw and ChatGPT Work side by side

Kortix is the open-source option a team owns; OpenClaw is a personal assistant on your machine, and ChatGPT Work is an agent inside ChatGPT on OpenAI's cloud.

| | Kortix (recommended) | OpenClaw | ChatGPT Work |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Open source | Yes | Yes | No |
| Built for | A company’s work in one repo | A personal AI assistant | Longer, multi-step work in ChatGPT |
| Where work runs | Its own cloud computer per session | Your own computer, the Gateway host | OpenAI's cloud |
| Your configuration | Files in one git repo you own | Configuration on your machine | Settings inside ChatGPT |
| Models | Any provider, your own keys | Hosted and local models you configure | OpenAI's models only |
| Chat apps | Slack, Microsoft Teams and email | Discord, iMessage, Slack, Teams, Telegram, WhatsApp and more | Slack and Microsoft Teams through plugins |
| Self-host | Free on Kortix Cloud, VPC or on-prem | Runs on your own machine | No self-host |

OpenClaw and ChatGPT Work facts come from each product's own documentation, checked October 2026.

## Install Kortix

`terminal`

```sh
curl -fsSL https://kortix.com/install | bash
kortix init
kortix ship
```

Source: https://kortix.com/docs

## What OpenClaw vs ChatGPT Work compares

ChatGPT Work is an agent OpenAI ships inside ChatGPT. It can take action across your apps and files, stay with a project for hours, and turn a goal into finished work, and it runs on OpenAI's cloud ([ChatGPT Work](https://openai.com/index/chatgpt-for-your-most-ambitious-work)). OpenClaw is an open-source personal assistant that runs on your own computer and meets you in the chat apps you already use ([OpenClaw on GitHub](https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw)). One lives on a vendor's cloud, where the vendor sets the terms; the other is software on hardware you own.

## The open-source alternative to ChatGPT Work

Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System: your agents, their skills, your company memory, and every connector in one git repo you own, with the agents working on real cloud computers. That is what separates it from both. ChatGPT Work holds your context inside OpenAI's product, and OpenClaw holds a personal configuration on one machine. Kortix holds a company's configuration in a repo that can be cloned, diffed, reviewed and rolled back. Any model provider with your own keys. Or the ChatGPT plan you already pay for.

## What you keep when the vendor changes

ChatGPT Work settings, connected tools and context live inside ChatGPT. Kortix keeps those facts as files in a repo you own. Connector credentials are brokered server-side and never enter the machine. One isolated sandbox per session. Each session has its own isolated machine and branch.

## Where the work runs

Run it on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network. Self-host is free. ChatGPT Work runs on OpenAI's cloud, and OpenClaw runs on the machine you point the Gateway at. A team that has to keep the work in its own infrastructure has one option of the three that fits.

The [Kortix vs OpenClaw comparison](https://kortix.com/blog/kortix-vs-openclaw) covers the personal-assistant side. To stand this one up yourself, read [self-hosting an OpenClaw alternative](/self-host-openclaw-alternative), [OpenClaw alternatives](/openclaw-alternatives) for the wider field, and [Kortix vs OpenClaw](/kortix-vs-openclaw) on this site.

## Questions people ask before switching

### Is Kortix an open-source alternative to ChatGPT Work?

Yes. Kortix is open source, runs on your own infrastructure or its managed cloud, and keeps the agents, skills, memory and connectors in one git repo you own.

### Can ChatGPT Work run on your own infrastructure?

No. ChatGPT Work runs on OpenAI’s cloud. Enterprise admins manage who has access, which tools it connects to, and what actions it can take.

### Does ChatGPT Work work from a phone?

Yes. It starts on web and mobile and continues on desktop, and Scheduled Tasks keep a project moving while you are away.

### Which of the three can you self-host?

Kortix self-host is free and runs on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on-prem. OpenClaw runs on your own machine. ChatGPT Work is hosted by OpenAI only.

## Move the work into a repo you own

Open source, self-host free, and any model with your own keys.

[Try Kortix](https://kortix.com) · [Self-host guide](https://openclaw-alternative.com/self-host-openclaw-alternative)

Open source · Any model, your keys · Self-host, VPC, or on-prem