# Vellum vs OpenClaw > Personal AI assistant vs self-hosted open-source agent gateway > Last updated: September 3, 2026 > Comparison: https://www.vellum.ai/compare-assistants/vellum-vs-openclaw ## Overview Vellum is a voice-first personal AI assistant that brings the power and flexibility of tools like OpenClaw to everyone, not just hackers. It works alongside you and in the background, learns how you work, and can improve itself over time. It shares one memory across your devices and apps, and runs in the cloud or on your own machine, without terminals or config files. ## The contenders ### Vellum Website: https://vellum.ai Vellum is a voice-first personal AI assistant that learns how you work and can improve itself around your habits. Its companion works alongside you in real time, or takes on longer tasks in the background. It follows you across devices and apps with one shared memory, and can run in Vellum Cloud or on your own machine. Why choose Vellum: - Model agnostic: Use any frontier AI model, open or proprietary, and switch anytime. - Truly yours: Give it a name and personality. It learns you, your work, and your tools. - Self-improving: Gets better the more you use it, with one memory across every device. - Private by design: Credentials stay secure, and you choose where your data lives, including self-hosting. - Built for busy business owners: Offload work and make more time for life. ### OpenClaw Website: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw OpenClaw is a personal AI assistant built for hackers and power users. It’s open source and designed to be deeply customized. You can choose your models, connect your own tools, add skills, and control where it runs. Rather than hiding the system behind a polished interface, OpenClaw gives you the pieces to build the assistant you want. It’s less of a finished product and more of a powerful playground for people who like to tinker. Why choose OpenClaw: - Self-hosted on your hardware, MIT licensed, and free to run if you already have the infrastructure - One Gateway serves many messaging channels, including niche ones like Matrix, Signal, iMessage, and Nostr - Built for coding agents, with per-agent workspaces, multi-agent routing, and a plugin marketplace (ClawHub) - An extremely active community shipping releases multiple times per week ## The scorecard ### channels Vellum: 9 surfaces, one memory iOS app with Home Screen widgets, native Mac app, web app, voice, email, Slack, Telegram, Microsoft Teams, and Discord, now an official channel with a setup wizard. Sent messages can be edited in place in Slack and Telegram. Every surface shares the same memory and identity. Vellum runs natively on Mac and iOS with Home Screen widgets, plus web app, voice, email, Slack, Telegram, Microsoft Teams, and Discord. Sent messages can be edited in place in Slack and Telegram. Every surface shares the same memory, so you can start a task on your Mac and pick it up on your phone or in a chat. OpenClaw: 24 messaging channels, plus mobile nodes Twenty-four messaging channels you wire up individually, including Matrix, Signal, iMessage, and Nostr. iOS and Android pair as nodes to your self-hosted Gateway for camera, screen, and voice workflows. The primary surface remains the Gateway and its Control UI. ### execution Vellum: One sentence to real output Build me a habit tracker gets you a working, interactive app in the conversation. Read this page uses the browser extension to read your open tabs and act on the page you are looking at. Call the dentist and reschedule places an actual phone call with its own voice. OpenClaw: Built for coding agents Excellent if the work you want is code on your own machine. Real-world actions outside the terminal depend on the channels, plugins, and tools you wire up yourself. ### hosting Vellum: On-device, managed cloud, or self-hosted Run on-device as a native Mac app, on Vellum's managed cloud, or self-host on your own VPS. Vellum gives you the full range: run the native Mac app entirely on your own hardware, use Vellum Cloud for managed uptime and cross-device sync, or self-host on your own VPS for full infrastructure control. OpenClaw: Self-hosted daemon, plus hosted team coordination The Gateway runs on a machine you own and operate. Version 2.0 added cloud sessions and team.openclaw.ai for shared team coordination, but the core product still assumes you run and maintain the Gateway yourself. ### integrations Vellum: 50+ managed OAuth integrations Native agent skills plus 1-click integrations with 50+ services through managed OAuth, including native Calendly and Eventbrite. Your assistant acts in real services without you touching tokens or API keys. Vellum connects to 50+ services through managed OAuth: Google, Slack, Notion, GitHub, Linear, Calendly, Eventbrite, and more. Your assistant acts in real services on your behalf without you handling tokens or API keys. OpenClaw: 24 channels, BYO API keys Twenty-four messaging channels supported, but you bring your own API keys per provider and manage rotation yourself. The ClawHub plugin marketplace extends what the Gateway can do. ### memory Vellum: Structured memory that builds itself, everywhere Vellum builds a structured memory of your projects, people, and preferences automatically, across every surface. It sharpens with every conversation and correction, and there is nothing to configure: no files to curate, no engine to pick, no embedding provider to wire up. Vellum builds a structured memory graph of your projects, people, and preferences across every surface. It sharpens over time through use and explicit corrections, so each conversation picks up where the last left off. OpenClaw: Built-in markdown memory, on by default Version 2.0 ships real memory: USER.md for stable preferences, MEMORY.md for durable facts, daily notes, and a background dreaming sweep that promotes short-term recall into long-term memory. Hybrid semantic plus keyword search, with your choice of engine: SQLite built in, Honcho or LanceDB as plugins. It can import memory from Codex, Claude Code, and Hermes. ### modularity Vellum: Adapts to you personally Builds its own skills, learns your tone, and adapts based on what you reward and correct. Install new skills from a growing library, or just ask and it figures out a way. Vellum adapts at the individual level: it learns your communication style, builds custom skills from your instructions, and updates its behavior based on your feedback. Each assistant is shaped by the specific person using it. OpenClaw: Manual configuration only Behavior is configured by hand via prompts and config files. No automatic learning or adaptation loop. ### open-source Vellum: Open source under MIT Open source under MIT license. Full codebase available on GitHub. Vellum is open source under the MIT license. The full codebase is on GitHub and can be self-hosted, audited, and extended. OpenClaw: MIT-licensed open source Open source under MIT license. Full codebase available on GitHub. ### pricing Vellum: Free Base, paid from $30/mo Free Base plan with free credits to start. Paid plans from $30/mo (Mighty), $100 (Super), and $200 (Ultra) with pay-as-you-go credits, configurable compute and storage, and your assistant's own email and subdomain on higher tiers. Vellum offers a free Base plan with credits to start. Paid plans run from $30/mo (Mighty) to $100 (Super) and $200 (Ultra) with pay-as-you-go credits, configurable compute and storage, and a personal assistant email and subdomain on higher tiers. OpenClaw: Free codebase, infrastructure costs apply Free codebase under MIT license, but you pay for infrastructure, model API usage, and ongoing maintenance to run it. ### privacy Vellum: Local or cloud, always yours Run locally on Mac, in Vellum Cloud, or self-host. Vellum never has access to your data on any deployment path. Vellum gives you three deployment paths: native Mac app on your own hardware, Vellum Cloud with per-customer isolation, or self-hosted on your own infrastructure. On every path, Vellum never has access to your data. OpenClaw: Self-hosted, host-dependent Self-hosted by default, but privacy depends entirely on how you configure your machine and exposed services. ### schedules Vellum: Built-in scheduling, always running Built-in scheduling for daily briefings, weekly reports, and hourly checks that just run on a cadence. Vellum has native scheduling for recurring tasks: daily briefings, weekly reports, hourly checks. Scheduled tasks run in the cloud whether or not you have a session open. OpenClaw: No native scheduler No built-in scheduler. Rely on cron, launchd, or external triggers to run anything on a cadence. ### security Vellum: Isolated credential vault Credentials live in an isolated vault and never enter the model layer, so prompt injection can't exfiltrate your keys. Every sensitive action asks permission with a risk badge before it runs, and guardian approvals land in one inbox. Vellum stores every connected service credential in an isolated vault that never touches the LLM inference layer. Prompt injection attacks cannot reach your API keys or OAuth tokens. OpenClaw: Security is your job Credentials and API keys live in host config you own and manage, and the model assumes a trusted operator running the Gateway. Version 2.0 shipped a security overhaul including a patched RCE (CVE-2026-25253) and secret egress host binding. ### setup Vellum: Sign up and start talking No terminal, no API keys, no daemon. Voice-first onboarding is the default: your first experience is speaking, not configuring. Free, no credit card, up in minutes. Vellum setup is sign up and start talking. Create an account and your first sentence gets real output. Voice is the default first experience. No terminal, no config files, no API keys, no infrastructure to provision. OpenClaw: npm install plus a guided quick-start npm install -g openclaw, then openclaw onboard. The 2026.9.1 quick-start lane detects existing Claude Code or Codex logins and API keys, and their docs now claim 5 minutes to first chat. Realistic for a developer who already lives in a terminal with API keys on hand. ### storage Vellum: Storage Vellum Cloud: 3 GB RAM and 4 GB storage by default. Mac app runs on standard Mac hardware. OpenClaw: Storage Needs 1+ GiB RAM to start, 2+ GiB to update versions. Resource-constrained hardware like Raspberry Pi can struggle. ### trust Vellum: Permissions you can see Every sensitive action asks first with a risk badge, guardian approvals land in one inbox, and you can export or delete your data at any time. The trust model is written down in the docs. OpenClaw: Approval cards, operator accountable Approval cards delivered to your chat channels, with sandboxing and policy you configure yourself. Accountability defaults to the operator: the person running the Gateway is the security boundary. ## Where they split ### Which one is right for you? OpenClaw is for hackers. Developers and tinkerers who want to build, customize, and run the whole stack themselves. Vellum is for the rest of us. No code, terminal, or config. Open the app, say what you want, and it gets done. ### Which setup fits you best? OpenClaw supports many channels. You connect and configure each one yourself, with its self-hosted Gateway as the main hub. Vellum works everywhere out of the box. Mac, iOS, Android, Microsoft, voice, email, Slack, and more, with the same assistant and memory across all of them. ### How do you want privacy and security handled? OpenClaw puts the control over privacy and security in your hands. You manage credentials, hosting, and how your setup is exposed. Vellum gives you secure defaults with more choice. Run locally, use Vellum Cloud without sharing data with the model, or use open models. ## Lingering questions ### Vellum vs OpenClaw: which should I choose for a personal AI assistant? Choose Vellum if you want a personal AI assistant that works out of the box across native Mac app, iOS, web app, voice, email, Slack, Telegram, Microsoft Teams, and Discord, with persistent memory and managed credentials. OpenClaw is an open-source, self-hosted Gateway you configure per channel and per API key, now with built-in memory and guided setup since 2.0. For most people, Vellum is the faster path to a working assistant and the lower operational lift over time. ### When should you choose OpenClaw over Vellum? OpenClaw is a strong choice if you want to self-host everything. It is MIT licensed, runs on your own hardware, and connects twenty-four messaging channels including niche ones like Matrix, Signal, Nostr, and BlueBubbles for iMessage. Version 2.0 added real reasons to pick it: built-in markdown memory, shared multiplayer sessions, hosted team coordination at team.openclaw.ai, and a guided quick-start. If you already maintain a host and work in a terminal, it covers that setup well. Vellum gives you the same data-ownership guarantee without the per-channel configuration, and it works for people who never open a terminal at all. ### Is OpenClaw free compared to Vellum? The OpenClaw codebase is free and MIT licensed, but running it is not free. You pay for the host, model API usage, and the operational time to keep the daemon, channels, and credentials healthy. Vellum offers a free Base plan, then paid plans from $30/mo with pay-as-you-go credits, configurable compute and storage, and your assistant's own email and subdomain on higher tiers. For most people the all-in cost of OpenClaw plus model fees lands close to a Vellum paid plan, without the maintenance work. ### How long does it take to set up OpenClaw vs Vellum? OpenClaw setup is npm install -g openclaw, then openclaw onboard, and their docs now claim 5 minutes with the 2026.9.1 quick-start lane, which detects existing Claude Code or Codex logins and API keys. That speed is real for a developer who already lives in a terminal with API keys on hand. Vellum is sign up and start talking: no terminal, no API keys, no daemon. Voice is the default first experience, and your first sentence gets real output. ### How does OpenClaw remember context across sessions? OpenClaw 2.0 ships a built-in memory system that is on by default: USER.md for stable preferences, MEMORY.md for durable facts, daily notes, and a background dreaming sweep that promotes short-term recall into long-term memory. Search is hybrid semantic plus keyword, you choose the engine (SQLite built in, Honcho or LanceDB as plugins), and it can import memory from Codex, Claude Code, and Hermes. Vellum builds a structured, persistent memory of your work, people, and patterns automatically, shared across every surface, with nothing to configure or curate. ### What integrations does Vellum support that OpenClaw doesn't? Vellum focuses on real read-write actions across the apps people use every day: email, calendar, Slack, GitHub, Notion, X, and more, all through managed OAuth with no API keys to handle. OpenClaw focuses on messaging channels (twenty-four of them), with each channel configured manually and credentials managed by you. ### Does OpenClaw work on iPhone or only desktop? OpenClaw is a Node Gateway daemon you run on a desktop, server, or VPS, with an optional macOS menu bar app. iOS and Android can pair as nodes to a running gateway, but the primary experience is the daemon and its CLI. Vellum ships as a native Mac app, an iOS app, and a web app, with voice, email, Telegram, and Slack surfaces, all syncing the same memory. ### Is OpenClaw secure for storing API keys? OpenClaw keeps credentials and API keys in host config you own and manage, and its security docs describe a trusted-operator model where the person running the Gateway is the security boundary. Version 2.0 shipped a security overhaul including a patched RCE (CVE-2026-25253) and secret egress host binding. Vellum keeps credentials in an isolated vault that the model layer never sees, so prompt injection cannot exfiltrate your keys, and every sensitive action asks permission with a risk badge before it runs. ### Can I run Vellum on my own machine like OpenClaw? Yes. Vellum runs as a native Mac app on your own machine, with iOS, web app, voice, email, Slack, Telegram, Microsoft Teams, and Discord surfaces in sync. If you want continuous 24/7 background work without keeping your laptop open, Vellum Cloud handles it on paid plans from $30/mo with pay-as-you-go credits, configurable compute and storage, and your assistant's own email and subdomain on higher tiers. Both modes give you the same assistant, memory, and identity. ### Can I use both Vellum and OpenClaw at the same time? Yes, you can run both, since they target different layers. Some developers experiment with OpenClaw for niche messaging channels while keeping Vellum as their day-to-day personal AI assistant. Most people consolidate on one once they see how Vellum's persistent memory and managed integrations replace the manual setup work. ### Is OpenClaw or Vellum better for a non-technical user? Vellum is built for every human, with native Mac app, iOS, web app, voice, email, Telegram, and Slack surfaces. No terminal, no API keys, and no daemon to babysit. OpenClaw is a self-hosted Node Gateway daemon that assumes Node, a terminal, host administration, and per-provider key management. --- Full comparison index: https://www.vellum.ai/compare-assistants Try Vellum: https://www.vellum.ai