OpenWork vs ChatGPT Work: the open-source system your team owns
OpenWork is a free, open-source desktop app where agents work on your own files. ChatGPT Work is OpenAI's closed agent that runs in OpenAI's cloud. Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System, where your agents, skills, memory and connectors live in one git repo you own and every session runs on its own cloud computer.
OpenWork vs ChatGPT Work vs Kortix, row by row
A local desktop app, a hosted agent in OpenAI's cloud, and the open-source system that owns the configuration.
Open source
- KortixOur recommendationYesYes. Open source. Read it, fork it, audit it.
- PartlyPartly: app and core open source; the control plane is separate.
- NoNo. Closed and hosted by OpenAI.
What it is
- KortixOur recommendationThe open-source AI Operating System: one owned repo runs the company's agents.
- A free, open-source desktop app for agents on your own files.
- OpenAI's hosted agent for finished documents, spreadsheets, slides and sites.
Where agents run
- KortixOur recommendationOne isolated sandbox per session.
- On your own machine, in a desktop app; cloud workers optional.
- In OpenAI's cloud, across web, desktop and mobile.
What a team owns
- KortixOur recommendationOne git repo: agents, skills, memory, connectors.
- Your local files; shared skills and MCP servers.
- Your workspace inside ChatGPT, on OpenAI's platform.
Models
- KortixOur recommendationAny model provider with your own keys.
- 50+ providers, your own keys, or local models.
- OpenAI's own GPT models.
How work lands
- KortixOur recommendationSession work reaches main through a change request.
- Directly on your local files, on your own machine.
- Finished files in ChatGPT; you review and steer.
Self-hosting
- KortixOur recommendationSelf-host is free.
- The desktop app runs locally; the control plane self-hosts.
- No self-host; OpenAI's cloud only.
OpenWork and ChatGPT Work columns reflect each vendor's own pages, checked October 2026. Prices and model versions change, so check each vendor before you buy.
From session to reviewed change
project (git repo + kortix.yaml)└─ session ──> isolated sandbox on branch "<uuid>"└─ agent commits + pushes└─ change request ──> merge ──> default branchWhat OpenWork is
OpenWork is a free, open-source desktop app for macOS, Windows, and Linux where AI agents work on your own files. It is built on OpenCode, so it reaches more than 50 model providers through your own keys, or local models you run yourself. Your files stay on your machine, and a team adds OpenWork Den, the control plane that provisions inference, manages access, and sets desktop policies. The desktop app and core are open source, and the Den control plane is a separate layer (openworklabs.com).
What ChatGPT Work is
ChatGPT Work is OpenAI's agent inside ChatGPT. It takes action across your apps and files, stays with a project for hours, and turns a goal into finished work such as documents, spreadsheets, slides, and sites. It runs in OpenAI's cloud, and the ChatGPT desktop app can use local files, apps, and a browser. You connect tools through plugins, more than 1,400 of them on OpenAI's own count (checked October 2026), and a team can build shared pages in ChatGPT Space. Heavier tasks draw more of a plan's included usage, because ChatGPT Work follows the usage structure of Codex, and there is no self-host option (openai.com/chatgpt-work).
Is ChatGPT Work an alternative to OpenWork?
The two are shaped differently, so one is not a direct swap for the other. OpenWork is a local desktop app that works on your own files on one machine, and ChatGPT Work is a hosted agent inside OpenAI's cloud that reaches the apps and files you connect. OpenWork fits work that stays on one desk, where local files matter. A team already inside ChatGPT gets the most from ChatGPT Work. Kortix fits when the agents belong to a company and the configuration has to live in a repo you own.
Where Kortix differs
Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System: your agents, their skills, your company memory, and every connector live in one git repo you own. OpenWork keeps one person's setup inside a desktop app, and ChatGPT Work keeps the work inside OpenAI's product. Kortix keeps the agents and their configuration as files you can diff, and every session has its own isolated sandbox and branch. You bring the model: any model provider with your own keys. Connectors reach 3,000+ apps in a click, plus MCP, OpenAPI, Postman, GraphQL and raw HTTP. Work still lands through review: session work reaches main through a change request. Merge is default-deny for agents. Run it on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network. Self-host is free. Kortix is the leading open-source alternative to Claude Cowork and ChatGPT Work.
Which one fits your team
OpenWork suits one person or a small team that wants an agent beside their own files without a server. ChatGPT Work suits a team already inside ChatGPT that wants help across the apps and files it connects. Kortix suits a company that needs its agents, skills, memory, and connectors in one repo it owns, with each session on its own sandbox and every change reviewed before it lands. The OpenWork vs Kortix comparison and the OpenWork alternatives by job take the decision further, and the self-hosting guide shows the install. For the longer read, the Kortix team's Kortix vs OpenWork write-up covers the same decision in depth.
OpenWork and ChatGPT Work, answered
Is ChatGPT Work an alternative to OpenWork?
They solve different problems. OpenWork runs an agent on your own files on one machine, and ChatGPT Work is a hosted agent inside OpenAI's cloud that reaches the apps you connect. For a team, Kortix is the open-source system that keeps the agents and their configuration in a repo you own.
Can I self-host OpenWork or ChatGPT Work?
OpenWork's desktop app runs locally, and a team can self-host its control plane. ChatGPT Work is hosted by OpenAI, and the agent runs only in OpenAI's cloud. Kortix self-hosts the whole platform for free, or runs on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on-prem.
Do OpenWork and ChatGPT Work use the same models?
No. OpenWork is model-agnostic and reaches more than 50 providers through your own keys, or local models. ChatGPT Work runs on OpenAI's own models. Kortix takes any model provider with your own keys, or the ChatGPT plan you already pay for.
Which one should a team pick?
OpenWork fits one person or a small team on local files. ChatGPT Work fits a team already inside ChatGPT. A company that needs its agents, skills, memory, and connectors in one owned repo, with every change reviewed before it lands, wants Kortix.
Run your company's agents from one repo you own.
Kortix is open source, runs any model with your own keys, and self-hosts for free.
Open source · Any model, your keys · Self-host, VPC, or on-prem