OpenManus vs OWL vs Nanobrowser

Side by side, as alternatives to Manus. Rows that differ are highlighted; the strongest value in a row is marked. Unknown means no source yet.

OpenManusFoundationAgents/OpenManus

OWLcamel-ai/owl

Nanobrowsernanobrowser/nanobrowser

Manuspaid product

Cost and coverage

Price

$0 software; you run it

See pricing page source ↗

Autonomous web browsing

Partly

Yes

Deep research reports

Yes

File and code tasks in a sandbox

Partly

Yes

Slides generated from a prompt

Yes

Scheduled agent tasks

Yes

Connectors to your apps

Yes

Jobs covered

2 of 6 jobs

1 of 6 jobs

All 6

Popularity and activity (from GitHub)

Stars

58,747Top

20,151

14,136

—

Gain this week

Unknown

—

Signal

Building history

—

Commits / 4 wk

18Top

—

Latest release

v0.3.0 · 2025-04-10

Unknown

v0.3.0 · 2026-10-15Top

—

Commits / 12 wk

—

People committing / 12 mo

—

Issues opened / closed, 30 days

8 / 28

1 / 0

5 / 12

—

Facts, with sources on each project page

Runs on my machine?Differs

Yes, Python CLI on your own machine; Docker sandbox optional

Yes, Python scripts or a local Gradio web UI; Docker image also available

Yes, runs inside your own Chrome or Edge browser

Hosted by the vendor

Code licenceDiffers

MIT

Apache-2.0

—

Model weights licenceDiffers

No separate model weights; you bring your own model API key or a local Ollama model

No separate model weights; you bring a cloud API key or a local model

—

Commercial useDiffers

Yes, MIT code; model terms depend on the provider or local model you choose

Yes, Apache-2.0 code; model terms depend on the provider you choose

—

Paid services needed?Differs

An LLM API key is needed unless you run a local model through Ollama; Browser Use Cloud and Daytona sandboxes are optional

An LLM API key is needed for the main examples; an Ollama example runs a local model; other tool keys are optional

Nothing paid with a local model (Ollama, LM Studio); cloud model APIs are optional and paid per use

Subscription

HardwareDiffers

Not documented; needs Python 3.12 and Chrome or Chromium; a local model needs your own GPU

Not documented; cloud model use needs only Python; browser tasks need a multimodal model

Any machine running Chrome or Edge with a cloud model; local models work best for simple tasks and need a 16k+ context

—

Operating systemsDiffers

Windows, macOS and Linux (install steps cover each)

Windows, macOS and Linux; Python 3.10 to 3.12

Any desktop OS with Chrome or Edge; Firefox and Safari not supported

—

Setup effortDiffers

Medium; clone, install Python deps with uv or conda, edit config.toml with model keys

Medium; pip/uv/conda install plus .env API keys, or a prebuilt Docker image

Easy; install from the Chrome Web Store and connect a provider

—

Stars over time

Switch to Growth % to compare projects of different sizes fairly.

OpenManus
OWL
Nanobrowser

Focus a point, use arrow keys, or tap for its value.

Tracked daily since 16 Oct 2026. Dashed history: estimated from public records of when people starred the repo. Lines connect observations only; gaps contain no measured points.

Growth % starts at each project's first observed point in the shown range. Zero-star starts are unavailable.

Notes for a video or post

A plain summary with today's date and a link to the sources. Check each project page before you publish.

OpenManus vs OWL vs Nanobrowser (as alternatives to Manus)
Figures from RepoQuarry, 21 Oct 2026. Sources: https://repoquarry.dev/compare?ids=openmanus,owl,nanobrowser&product=manus

Manus: See pricing page
OpenManus: free software; does 2 of 6 Manus jobs
OWL: free software; does 2 of 6 Manus jobs
Nanobrowser: free software; does 1 of 6 Manus jobs

- OpenManus: 58,747 GitHub stars, 8 commits in 12 weeks, licence MIT
- OWL: 20,151 GitHub stars, 7 commits in 12 weeks, licence Apache-2.0
- Nanobrowser: 14,136 GitHub stars, 19 commits in 12 weeks, licence Apache-2.0

Where they differ:
- Runs on my machine?: OpenManus Yes, Python CLI on your own machine; Docker sandbox optional; OWL Yes, Python scripts or a local Gradio web UI; Docker image also available; Nanobrowser Yes, runs inside your own Chrome or Edge browser
- Code licence: OpenManus MIT; OWL Apache-2.0; Nanobrowser Apache-2.0
- Model weights licence: OpenManus No separate model weights; you bring your own model API key or a local Ollama model; OWL No separate model weights; you bring your own model API key or a local Ollama model; Nanobrowser No separate model weights; you bring a cloud API key or a local model
- Commercial use: OpenManus Yes, MIT code; model terms depend on the provider or local model you choose; OWL Yes, Apache-2.0 code; model terms depend on the provider you choose; Nanobrowser Yes, Apache-2.0 code; model terms depend on the provider you choose
- Paid services needed?: OpenManus An LLM API key is needed unless you run a local model through Ollama; Browser Use Cloud and Daytona sandboxes are optional; OWL An LLM API key is needed for the main examples; an Ollama example runs a local model; other tool keys are optional; Nanobrowser Nothing paid with a local model (Ollama, LM Studio); cloud model APIs are optional and paid per use
- Hardware: OpenManus Not documented; needs Python 3.12 and Chrome or Chromium; a local model needs your own GPU; OWL Not documented; cloud model use needs only Python; browser tasks need a multimodal model; Nanobrowser Any machine running Chrome or Edge with a cloud model; local models work best for simple tasks and need a 16k+ context
- Operating systems: OpenManus Windows, macOS and Linux (install steps cover each); OWL Windows, macOS and Linux; Python 3.10 to 3.12; Nanobrowser Any desktop OS with Chrome or Edge; Firefox and Safari not supported
- Setup effort: OpenManus Medium; clone, install Python deps with uv or conda, edit config.toml with model keys; OWL Medium; pip/uv/conda install plus .env API keys, or a prebuilt Docker image; Nanobrowser Easy; install from the Chrome Web Store and connect a provider

Stars show popularity, not quality. Check each project page before publishing.

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Numbers: GitHub, fetched nightly. Facts: read from each project's own documentation, with the source on its page. How we check. FoundationAgents/OpenManus ↗camel-ai/owl ↗nanobrowser/nanobrowser ↗

OpenManus vs OWL vs Nanobrowser

Stars over time

Notes for a video or post

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