Which agent to use for which job, what it costs, and where to spend money first.
Last verified: 21 September 2026 · 12 minute read · Start here
Who this guide is for
Anyone who wants the answer without reading fifteen guides. This page tells you which agent to use for which job, what it'll cost, and where to spend money first. Every recommendation links to the full guide behind it, so you can check the reasoning.
The one idea that makes all of this simpler
People say "AI agent" about quite different things. Sort them into these groups and most of the confusion disappears:
| Kind | What it does | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Coding and file agents | work directly in a folder: files, documents, code | Claude Code |
| Always-on assistants | run on your machine or a server, message you from your phone, work while you sleep | Hermes, OpenClaw, NanoClaw, ZeroClaw, n8n-claw |
| All-in-one paid agents | subscription products that plan, browse and deliver finished work | Claude, Grok Bot, Perplexity Computer, Manus |
| Agent managers | run a team of agents with budgets and approvals | Paperclip |
| Browser agents | click through websites that have no API | browser-use and others |
| Building blocks | for people building their own product | Frameworks, Jev |
And one guide that isn't about a tool at all: agentic commerce, about AI becoming the shopper, and what that means for being found online.
Pick by the job you want done
| I want to… | Use | Runner-up | Avoid for this |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work on files, documents, reports or a website | Claude Code | Claude | browser agents |
| Get finished decks and docs, no terminal | Claude | Manus | frameworks |
| Have jobs run every morning while I sleep | Hermes | NanoClaw | anything that needs your laptop open |
| Text an assistant from WhatsApp | OpenClaw | Hermes | |
| Keep client data locked down | ZeroClaw | NanoClaw | cloud-only products |
| Click through portals and forms | browser-use as a skill | Grok Bot | when an API exists |
| Run a team of 5+ agents | Paperclip | Paperclip for 1 or 2 agents | |
| Research a big, multi-part project | Perplexity Computer, plan first | Manus | |
| Sort, score or filter things at volume | Jev | a cheap chat model | expensive chat models |
| Build my own agent product | a framework | building when a ready-made one works |
Everything side by side
| Cost | Setup | Works while your laptop's off | Self-host | Safe by default | Verdict | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Code | Pro $20/mo+ | 5 min | scheduled cloud jobs | ❌ | asks, plan mode | 🟢 Run it |
| NanoClaw | free + model | one command | with a server | ✅ | containers, keys in a vault | 🟢 Run it, if you use Claude |
| Hermes | free + model (~$20) | ~10 min | ✅ built-in scheduler | ✅ | rules you set | 🔵 Trial, first for scheduled work |
| OpenClaw | free + model | ~1 hour | with a server | ✅ | approves unknown senders | 🔵 Trial it |
| Claude | Pro $20/mo | minutes | cloud tasks | ❌ | asks before acting | 🔵 Trial, not heavy client work yet |
| Grok Bot | from $20/mo | minutes | ✅ its own cloud computer | ❌ | 🔵 Trial, if you already pay | |
| Paperclip | free + every agent's model | ~15 min | with a server | ✅ | budgets with hard stops | 🔵 Trial, at 5+ agents |
| ZeroClaw | free + model | hardest | with a server | ✅ | asks for risky, blocks dangerous | 🔵 Trial, if security matters most |
| Jev | $0.042 per million input tokens | 5 min | n/a | ❌ | can't write, only decide | 🔵 Trial, for classifying |
| Perplexity Computer | $17/mo + credits | minutes | ✅ | local options | 🟡 Watch it | |
| Manus | $20/mo + credits | minutes | ✅ | ❌ | 🟡 Watch it | |
| n8n-claw | ~$12/mo in one test | 30 to 60 min | ✅ | ✅ | silent checks | 🟡 Watch it |
| Browser agents | free + model | varies | varies | ✅ | 🟡 Only when nothing cheaper works |
"Free + model" means the software costs nothing and you pay the AI provider for use. Full costs, with sources, are in each guide.
Where to put your money first
This was the question that started this library. Our recommendation for a small business or agency, in order. It's our judgement, drawn from the guides, not a measurement.
| Step | Spend | What you get | Why first |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Claude Pro, $20/mo | Claude Code and Claude together | covers files, documents, decks, reports and website edits: most daily work |
| 2 | $0 to $25/mo | Hermes on a $5 server or free hosting | jobs that run while you sleep, which nothing in step 1 does as well |
| 3 | $0 | Grok Bot, only if you already pay for Cursor Pro or SuperGrok | it's already included; test it before buying anything new |
| 4 | pay per use | Jev, only if you classify or score at volume | could cut that part of your costs sharply |
| 5 | $0 | Paperclip, only once you run 5+ agents | not before |
| Hold | Perplexity Computer, Manus | credit-based billing that's hard to forecast |
A realistic starting stack costs about $25 to $45 a month. Set a spending cap on every AI account before you begin.
The seven rules that apply to every agent
The same lessons came up in almost every guide. If you remember nothing else, remember these.
- Set a spending cap first. Runaway loops and credit systems caught people out with Perplexity, Grok Bot and Paperclip, and in production agents generally.
- Start read-only. Give access to things it can only look at, then widen. One Grok Bot user had a production website deleted.
- Draft, approve, then send. Nothing goes to a client or the public unreviewed.
- Silent on success, loud on change. Automations that report everything get muted. Ones that stay quiet until something matters get kept.
- You own every account. The agent borrows a key. A Manus user lost a database that lived in an account only the agent could reach.
- Treat web pages as strangers. Anything an agent reads online can contain instructions aimed at it. Tell your agent to report them, not follow them.
- Verify, don't trust. Make agents re-check their sources, and re-check the page after every click.
Seven things most articles get wrong
While researching this library, we found seven widely repeated claims that were out of date or wrong. Each is corrected in its guide, with the source.
| Widely repeated | What we found | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Grok Bot needs the $300 plan | included with Cursor Pro at $20 since 26 Aug 2026 | 03 |
| Meta owns Manus | China blocked the deal; it was unwound and Manus is independent | 05 |
| Claude Cowork is a separate product | merged into Claude on 16 Sep 2026 | 06 |
| ZeroClaw is a 3.4MB binary | current downloads are 20 to 30MB | 08 |
| NanoClaw isolates agents in microVMs | its docs say Docker containers | 09 |
| AutoGen is a leading framework | in maintenance mode, no new features | 11 |
| AI shopping traffic is up 4,700% | that was July 2025; by May 2026 it was about 138% a year | 14 |
And one that keeps changing: whether a Claude subscription can power third-party agents. Anthropic changed the rule three times in 2026 and currently has the change on hold. Check its current policy before relying on it. Details in the NanoClaw guide.
If you run a marketing or SEO agency
| Agency job | Start with |
|---|---|
| On-page changes and technical audits | Claude Code |
| Client reports and pitch decks | Claude or Claude Code |
| Content briefs and planning | Claude Code |
| Overnight monitoring and client checks | Hermes |
| Catching journalist requests and link opportunities | Hermes or OpenClaw |
| Classifying scraped leads | Jev |
| Directory listings | a browser agent, one site at a time, with approvals |
| A team of specialist agents | Paperclip with the agency-agents template |
| Getting clients recommended by AI | the checklist in agentic commerce |
How we researched this library
- Every guide is built from the project's own documentation, repository and pricing page, checked on 21 September 2026.
- Where a page needed a real browser to load, we used one, rather than relying on someone else's summary.
- Star counts come from the GitHub API on the day of writing.
- Community quotes carry their upvote counts. They're anecdotes, not measurements.
- We have not run most of these tools in production on client work. Each verdict says so. We'll update the guides as that changes.
- We use Claude every day, which is why the two Claude guides went looking hardest for criticism.
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