# OpenWork for enterprise: governance, perimeter, and the open-source alternative

> OpenWork for enterprise builds on an open-source desktop app and adds Den, a control plane for SSO, SCIM and an audit trail. A company still chooses what it rents and what it owns. Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System: run it on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network.

URL: https://openworkalternative.com/openwork-for-enterprise

## OpenWork Enterprise and the open-source alternative, side by side

Kortix is the open-source system a company owns; OpenWork layers governance on a desktop app.

| | Kortix (recommended) | OpenWork |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Open source | Open source. Read it, fork it, audit it. | Yes for the app and core; the control plane is separate. |
| SSO and directory | SAML 2.0 single sign-on and SCIM 2.0. | SAML SSO on Team, SCIM provisioning on Enterprise. |
| Audit trail | Every action is recorded. Reading the audit log depends on the plan. | A full audit trail on Enterprise, exportable to a SIEM. |
| Deployment perimeter | Kortix Cloud, your VPC, or your own on-prem network. | A managed private instance, or self-hosted in your VPC. |
| Access control per resource | Per-resource permissions for people and agents. Roles and groups. | Published skills, plugins and model access per member or team. |
| What you own, what you rent | Open source, and self-host is free. | The control plane needs a subscription; free up to five people. |

OpenWork rows come from openworklabs.com and its repository; Kortix rows come from the Kortix docs. Checked October 2026.

_The record_

## From session to reviewed change

`from session to reviewed change`

```
project (git repo + kortix.yaml)
└─ session ──> isolated sandbox on branch "<uuid>"
└─ agent commits + pushes
└─ change request ──> merge ──> default branch
```

Source: kortix.com/docs

## What OpenWork Enterprise adds

OpenWork Enterprise starts from the free, open-source desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux where agents work on local files, then adds a control plane, Den, that provisions inference and manages members, teams and access. The enterprise tier documents SAML SSO and SCIM provisioning, a full audit trail exportable to a SIEM, desktop policies and version controls, usage and spend analytics per member, and white-labeling. A company runs a managed private instance the vendor operates, or self-hosts the stack in its own VPC, and it can point inference at AWS Bedrock, Azure AI Foundry, OpenRouter or models in its own VPC ([OpenWork Enterprise](https://openworklabs.com/enterprise), checked October 2026).

## What a company has to provision

OpenWork's controls center on each member's computer: which skills, plugins and model access a seat receives, which app versions the team allows, and which people may use which model. Work runs where the app runs, on the machine in front of each person, and a hosted cloud computer is an optional add-on at $50 per member per month. A company buys seats and, if it wants work off the laptop, cloud computers; it brings model keys or pays for managed inference as an add-on at $10 per person per month. Past five people, the Team tier is $10 per seat per month, and the enterprise controls are a separate tier on top ([OpenWork pricing](https://openworklabs.com/pricing), checked October 2026). The [OpenWork for teams page](/openwork-for-teams) covers the governance side of the rollout.

## Who rents and who owns

Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System: your agents, their skills, your company memory, and every connector in one git repo you own. Its governance sits in the platform rather than the desktop app, so a rule applies to a session whoever started it, whether a person, an agent or a trigger. Run it on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network. Self-host is free. One isolated sandbox per session. Each session has its own isolated machine and branch. Session work reaches main through a change request. The code is public at [Kortix on GitHub](https://github.com/kortix-ai/suna), so a reviewer reads exactly what the company runs, and the [self-hosting guide](/self-hosting) lists what the instance puts on disk.

## The controls a review asks about

A company reviewing either tool gets asked the same questions, and Kortix answers each with a mechanism a reviewer can check. Identity: SAML 2.0 single sign-on and SCIM 2.0. Access: per-resource permissions for people and agents. Roles, groups, and an audit trail. Approval gates you set. Off until you set them. Session work reaches main through a change request. Merge is default-deny for agents. Every action is recorded. Reading, exporting and streaming the audit log depend on the plan. Secrets are encrypted at rest with a key per project. Connector credentials are brokered server-side and never enter the machine. The [OpenWork vs Kortix comparison](/openwork-vs-kortix) shows the same facts as a table.

## Which one a company picks

OpenWork fits a company that wants to keep its AI stack on employee machines, values a local-first desktop app, and is willing to subscribe to a control plane for SSO, SCIM and audit. Kortix fits a company that wants the perimeter, the configuration and the review to be its own: the platform self-hosts for free, the whole company is a repo a reviewer can read, and every change lands as a change request a person approves. The [pricing page](/openwork-pricing) covers what each option costs, and the [FAQ](/faq) answers the questions a procurement call raises.

## Questions a procurement call raises

Each answer is sourced to the page it comes from.

### Is OpenWork open source?

The desktop app and core are free and open source; the control plane for a whole organization is a separate layer whose production use needs a subscription, free for organizations up to five people ([OpenWork pricing](https://openworklabs.com/pricing)).

### Where do OpenWork's agents run, and what does that add to the bill?

On each member's computer, inside the desktop app. A hosted cloud computer is an optional add-on at $50 per member per month, and managed inference is another add-on ([OpenWork pricing](https://openworklabs.com/pricing)).

### What does a Kortix rollout cost?

Free is $0 with 200 credits per month and 1 project. The team plan is $40 per seat per month with 2,500 credits per month per seat, pooled. Self-host is free ([Kortix pricing](https://kortix.com/pricing)).

### Can a company evaluate both before deciding?

Yes. OpenWork's desktop app is free to use, and Kortix self-host is free, so a company can run either without a subscription while it decides.

## Run the whole rollout from one repo you own

Self-host for free, or start on managed cloud; every change lands through review.

[Try Kortix](https://kortix.com) · [See the comparison](https://openworkalternative.com/openwork-vs-kortix)

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