AGNT vs Vellum
Vellum’s assistant is an open-source personal AI that remembers you, takes on a personality you shape, and runs locally or in Vellum Cloud. AGNT is an agent operating system for running many agents, workflows and goals with receipts. Closer neighbours than most — here is where each wins.
What each one is
A personal AI assistant
An open-source personal AI assistant with long-term memory and fine-grained permissions. Native on Mac and reachable on iOS, Android, web, voice, email, Telegram, Slack and the terminal. Runs locally, or in Vellum Cloud from $30/month.
An agent operating system
A local-first agent operating system: a desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux that runs agents, visual workflows, autonomous goals, memory, skills and MCP tools on your own machine, reachable from the web and your phone, with a receipt for every run. It can delegate to Codex, Claude Code, Hermes and other agent engines rather than replacing them. Community Core is free with unlimited local runs; Personal Cloud ($29/mo) keeps it running when your laptop is closed.
AGNT vs Vellum, property by property
| Property | AGNT | Vellum |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An agent operating system | A personal AI assistant |
| Runs locally | Yes | Yes |
| Source | Source available | Open source |
| Desktop, web and mobile access | Desktop, web and the AGNT Chat mobile app, paired by QR — remote through your own server or Personal Cloud | Mac, iOS, Android and web |
| Chat with it from Telegram, Slack and email | Telegram and Slack are integrations agents act in | Yes — the same assistant on each channel |
| Personality and identity customisation | Per-agent instructions | A designed feature: tone, style and persona |
| Personal-assistant polish | Built for operations first | The design target |
| Built-in Google Workspace, Slack and Notion skills | Integrations and tool nodes | Built-in skills |
| Model choice | 20+ providers and local runtimes | OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, open weights via Ollama |
| Visual workflow builder | Yes | No — conversation and schedules |
| Autonomous goal loop with grading | Plan, execute, evaluate against criteria, replan | Recurring background tasks |
| Many agents with separate budgets and tools | Yes | One assistant with your identity |
| Permissions before risky actions | Approval gates per step | Fine-grained permissions until marked trusted |
| Audit trail | A receipt per run, with reasoning and cost | Task and chat history |
| Delegates to coding agents | Codex, Claude Code, Hermes and more | Writes code itself |
| Team features | Business Cloud: seats, shared vault, approvals | Personal-first |
| Skills and plugins | Skills, plugins, marketplace | Community plugins and custom skills |
| Cloud price entry | $29/mo Personal Cloud | $30/mo Vellum Cloud |
| Cost to run locally | $0 | $0 |
| Voice | Voice in the AGNT Chat mobile app | Voice interface |
| Extensibility | Plugins, skills, MCP and a marketplace | Community plugins and custom skills |
| Best fit | Operators running repeatable work | Individuals who want an assistant that knows them |
Across 22 properties: AGNT leads on 6, Vellum leads on 3, and 13 are a genuine draw. Polish as a personal assistant: a personality you shape, one identity and memory across chat channels like Telegram, Slack and email, with built-in skills for Google Workspace, Notion and your filesystem.
Reviewed 23 September 2026 against Vellum’s own documentation, listed below. Both products ship often — check current capabilities and plans before you choose.
Which one you should actually use
Choose Vellum if…
You want one assistant that knows you, has a personality you shaped, answers you in Telegram, Slack and email, and handles busywork in the background, with an open-source codebase you can inspect.
Choose AGNT if…
You run repeatable operations rather than personal errands: several agents with separate tools and budgets, workflows on a canvas, goals graded against criteria, coding delegated to Codex or Claude Code, and receipts for every run.
Using both
The overlap is real, so pick by the shape of the work. A single assistant for a person points to Vellum; a system of agents and workflows for a person or team points to AGNT.
Frequently asked
Is Vellum open source?
Vellum says its assistant is open source and runs locally by default, with an optional Vellum Cloud.
How much does Vellum Cloud cost?
Vellum lists cloud plans at $30, $100 and $200 a month. Running locally is free.
Is AGNT a Vellum alternative?
Yes, where the job is running agents and workflows. For a single personal assistant with a personality you shape, Vellum is the closer fit.
Can I use AGNT from my phone?
Yes. AGNT serves a web app and pairs the AGNT Chat mobile app by QR code, locally or remotely through your own server or Personal Cloud.