# ChatGPT Work vs Kortix: The Open Source Alternative You Own
> Kortix is the open-source ChatGPT Work alternative you own: any model with your keys, self-hosted or managed, with every change landing as a reviewable diff.

Kortix is the open-source alternative to OpenAI ChatGPT Work for teams that want to own the system instead of renting it. ChatGPT Work is an agent inside ChatGPT that acts across your apps and files and returns finished documents, slides, sheets and web apps. Kortix is the open-source AI Management System, the leading open-source alternative to Claude Cowork and OpenAI ChatGPT Work, where the agents, skills, memory and connectors are files in one git repo you control.

## The verdict

Pick Kortix when the company should own its AI system: the agents, the data, the memory, the connectors and the model keys. It runs on your laptop, a VPS, your VPC or on-prem, or on Kortix's managed cloud. Kortix is open source (Elastic License 2.0): self-host, read and modify the code. Every change an agent proposes reaches your default branch as a change request you read as a diff.

Pick ChatGPT Work when you want OpenAI's hosted agent and nothing to run yourself. It is a finished product inside the ChatGPT app, with a plan-approval step, admin controls and more than 1,400 plugins, all managed by OpenAI in OpenAI's cloud on OpenAI's models.

## ChatGPT Work vs Kortix at a glance

| | ChatGPT Work | Kortix |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Agent inside ChatGPT that acts across apps and files to finish work | Open-source AI Management System: agents, skills, memory, connectors in one git repo |
| Open source | No, closed hosted product | Yes: Elastic License 2.0, self-host, read and modify the code |
| Models | OpenAI models only (GPT-6 family) | Any provider, your keys, per agent, session or message |
| Where it runs | OpenAI's cloud only; desktop app can reach local files | Your laptop, VPS, VPC or on-prem, or managed cloud |
| Where configuration lives | Inside OpenAI's product and admin console | Files in a git repo you own and version |
| Connectors and tools | Plugins for connected apps, more than 1,400 available | 3,000+ apps, any MCP/OpenAPI/GraphQL/HTTP API; credentials brokered server-side |
| Approval gate | Plan mode to approve the plan; admin controls; auto-review of important actions | Per-tool allow, ask or block; changes land as reviewable diffs |
| Pricing and access | Free to Pro individual plans; Business and Enterprise paid, usage-metered | Free $0; Team $40/seat/mo; Enterprise custom |

The ChatGPT Work cells come from OpenAI's [product page](https://openai.com/chatgpt-work/), its [launch announcement](https://openai.com/index/chatgpt-for-your-most-ambitious-work) and its [pricing page](https://chatgpt.com/pricing). The launch announcement is dated July 2026; plan details and the plugin count are as published in October 2026. The Kortix cells come from [Kortix on GitHub](https://github.com/kortix-ai/suna), [kortix.com/docs](https://kortix.com/docs) and [Kortix pricing](https://kortix.com/pricing).

## Pick ChatGPT Work when, pick Kortix when

| Pick ChatGPT Work when | Pick Kortix when |
|---|---|
| You want OpenAI's hosted agent and no infrastructure to run | You want to self-host the system on your own machines or in your VPC |
| Your work stays inside the ChatGPT app and its plugins | Your work runs across 3,000+ apps and any MCP, OpenAPI, GraphQL or HTTP API |
| You are happy on OpenAI's models in OpenAI's cloud | You want any model with your keys, switched per agent or per session |
| You want OpenAI to manage configuration and updates | You want configuration in a git repo you grep, diff and roll back |
| You want a plan-approval step inside a hosted product | You want per-tool allow, ask or block and every change landing as a reviewed diff |

## Three things you only get from Kortix

### The whole company is one git repo

Agents and skills are markdown. Memory is files that accumulate. Connectors, triggers and the machine image are declared in `kortix.yaml`. Because it is all text in a repository, you can grep the entire company, diff any change an agent makes to an agent or a skill, and roll any part of it back. ChatGPT Work keeps its configuration inside OpenAI's product, so you can read its outputs but not branch the system. You can clone and inspect the Kortix repo at [Kortix on GitHub](https://github.com/kortix-ai/suna).

### 3,000+ apps plus any API, with credentials brokered server-side

Kortix wires up Slack, docs, tickets, CRM, billing and code, then scopes which agent may touch which tool. It reaches more than 3,000 apps and any MCP, OpenAPI, Postman, GraphQL or raw HTTP API. Connector credentials are brokered server-side and never enter the session machine, and you set each tool call to allow, ask or block down to the arguments it was given. ChatGPT Work connects through plugins, more than 1,400 of them, with access controlled by workspace admins.

### An isolated Linux machine per session, with a change request gate

Every Kortix session boots its own disposable Linux sandbox on a branch named after the session. The agent can install, run and break anything; only what it commits survives. Thousands run in parallel with no crossover, and work reaches your default branch through a change request a human reads as a diff. That is the difference between an agent that returns an answer and one whose output you can review and merge. The flow is documented at [kortix.com/docs](https://kortix.com/docs).

## Start with open-source Kortix

Kortix is free to start and self-hosts on your own hardware, or you can use the managed cloud. Install it with:

```
curl -fsSL https://kortix.com/install | bash
```

Then scaffold a project with `kortix init` and ship it with `kortix ship`, or run `kortix self-host start` for one Docker Compose stack on your own box. The steps are in [how to self-host an open-source ChatGPT Work alternative](/self-hosting.html). If you are still weighing the field, start with [the open-source ChatGPT Work alternatives](/chatgpt-work-alternatives.html), the [FAQ](/faq.html) or the [home page](/), then go straight to [Kortix](https://kortix.com).