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It's a split decision.
Hermes Agent is a general-purpose agent for messaging, scheduled work, persistent memory and subagents. OpenCode is a coding agent built for working with code through desktop, terminal, phone or SDK. Both are open source and can run on your machine. Choose Hermes when you want one agent across chat platforms and automation backends; choose OpenCode when model-provider choice, MCP servers, parallel coding sessions and integration into scripts or CI matter more.
01Side by side
| Hermes Agent | OpenCode | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free core; paid hosting tiers and credit top-ups | Free core; Go subscriptions and Extra Usage |
| Free tier | Free models; standard limits, no hosted tools | Free models without an account |
| Open source and licence | Open source under the MIT licence | Open source; licence not specified |
| Self-hosting | Local, Docker, SSH, Singularity and Modal | Runs on your machine |
| API and SDKs | CLI and desktop; no SDK listed | SDK for scripts, CI jobs and tools |
| Integrations | Messaging platforms, email and model providers | 200+ providers, MCP servers and listed services |
| Deployment model | Local agent or optional cloud hosting | Local coding agent; use desktop, terminal or phone |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, Linux and CLI | macOS, Windows, Linux, terminal, iPhone and SDK |
Hermes Agent Choose Hermes Agent if
- Choose Hermes Agent if you want one agent across messaging platforms.
- Choose Hermes Agent if persistent memory and scheduled tasks are central.
- Choose Hermes Agent if you need Docker, SSH or Modal sandboxes.
OpenCode Choose OpenCode if
- Choose OpenCode if you want a coding agent for projects.
- Choose OpenCode if you need an SDK for scripts or CI.
- Choose OpenCode if you want to connect 200+ model providers.
02Pricing at real usage
Both products have a free path, but paid usage works differently. Hermes Agent is free and open source; its free tier is limited to free models, standard rate limits and no hosted tools or cloud hosting. The pricing page lists Plus at $20 per month, Super at $100 and Ultra at $200. Those plans include hosted tools and one cloud agent with different usage amounts and compute allocations. Extra or larger cloud agents are billed daily from credits, and pay-as-you-go top-ups are available; the cost depends on usage.
OpenCode also offers free models without an account. Its Go plan is $10 per month, and Go Plus is $40. The pricing page gives estimated requests per five hours for Kimi K3 and DeepSeek V4 Pro, with higher estimates on Go Plus. Extra Usage credit top-ups are available, but their price is not published. Neither set of listed prices includes annual billing.
03API, SDKs and integration
Hermes is installed as a desktop app or through its terminal installer, then connected to a model provider. The homepage lists Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, email and CLI as agent surfaces. It also describes a gateway for unattended scheduled tasks, plus subagents that can use terminals and Python RPC scripts. The docs walk through configuring messaging integrations. The homepage does not list a general-purpose SDK.
OpenCode can be used through its desktop app, terminal, phone or SDK. Its homepage says the SDK can drive OpenCode from scripts, CI jobs and tools, but does not name SDK languages. The terminal install options include a shell script, npm, Bun, Homebrew and paru. OpenCode connects to 200+ model providers and local models, and supports local and remote MCP servers, plugins and custom agents. Listed service integrations include GitHub, Linear, Figma, Sentry, Notion, Slack, Supabase and Stripe. Its desktop app includes sessions, tabs, diffs, a built-in browser and extensions.
04Open source, self-hosting and lock-in
Hermes Agent is open source under the MIT licence and can run locally or in the cloud. Its sandbox options are local, Docker, SSH, Singularity and Modal. The homepage says conversations, memories and skills persist between sessions, and advises backing up the Hermes data directory when moving computers. You can use your own model provider or connect to Nous Portal, so the model choice need not be tied to one service.
OpenCode is open source and runs on your machine; its product pages do not name its licence. It connects to 200+ model providers, including local models, which gives developers provider options. The vendor does not publish an export path on its product pages. For either tool, expect some migration work if you rely on product-specific sessions, memory, skills, prompts or configuration. Check what can be exported before making either agent part of a long-lived workflow.
Questions people ask
What does Hermes Agent actually do?
Hermes is a general-purpose AI agent you can run locally or deploy to the cloud. It connects to messaging platforms and CLI, retains conversations, memories and skills, schedules tasks, browses the web and can delegate work to subagents. It also offers sandbox backends including Docker, SSH and Modal.
What is the difference between Hermes Agent and OpenCode?
Hermes is designed to operate across messaging platforms and handle persistent, scheduled tasks. OpenCode is a coding agent for working with code through desktop, terminal, phone or SDK. Both are open source and can run on your machine, but OpenCode emphasizes coding workflows and model-provider choice.
Can developers use OpenCode from their own code?
Yes. OpenCode lists an SDK for driving it from scripts, CI jobs and tools. Its homepage does not name the SDK languages. Hermes lists a CLI and Python RPC scripts for subagents, but does not list a general-purpose SDK.
Can Hermes Agent run without cloud hosting?
Yes. Hermes is free and open source, and its homepage provides desktop and terminal installation options. It lists local, Docker, SSH, Singularity and Modal sandbox backends. Cloud hosting is optional; the free tier does not include hosted tools or cloud agent hosting.