Paperclip alternatives in 2026: 7 tools compared

The best Paperclip alternative depends on which part of Paperclip you want. If you want a board where people assign tasks to agents, look at Multica. If you want a desktop app to watch parallel coding agents, look at Orca or Paradev. If you want to build your own agents in code, look at CrewAI. If you want one autonomous coding agent, look at OpenHands, Claude Code or Codex.

This guide compares seven tools with Paperclip and says who each one fits.

The short list

What Paperclip does, so you can compare

Paperclip is open-source software that runs teams of AI agents on shared tasks. Four things set it apart from the tools below.

It is multi-player. Your whole team shares the agents, the tasks and the history in one web app. Roles, permissions and private projects decide who sees what.

Work continues when you are away. Agents wake when a task is assigned, when someone comments or when a routine starts on a schedule. A task can require review or approval before it closes.

It has spending limits. A budget pauses an agent, a project or the company at 100% of its limit.

It mixes vendors. One team can run Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Cursor, OpenCode and Hermes together.

Pick Paperclip if your team shares agents, if you want review before work ships or if you need a hard stop on spending.

Skip Paperclip if you want a native desktop app to watch one agent at a time. Paperclip has a web UI only. Also skip it if you need a hosted product today. Paperclip Cloud is in an invitation-only beta and is not generally available. Most teams run the server themselves today, and you can join the waitlist.

For a full description, see What is Paperclip AI?.

1. Multica

Multica is project management for people and AI coding agents. You assign a task to an agent the same way you assign it to a colleague. It has shared skills, scheduled autopilots and chat integrations, and its README says it works with 29 coding tools.

Multica has a desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux, plus a web app. You can use the cloud version or self-host with Docker Compose or Helm. The source is public under the Multica License, which is Apache 2.0 with extra conditions. Use inside your own organization is free. Offering it to others or embedding it in a product you sell needs a commercial license.

Pick Multica if your team already works from a board and wants agents on it, with a native desktop app.

Compared with Paperclip: both are built for teams. Multica moves finished work to review and shows the cost of each run. Paperclip adds budgets that pause work at a limit, and it uses the MIT license. See Paperclip vs Multica.

2. CrewAI

CrewAI is an open-source Python framework for building multi-agent workflows. You define agents, tasks and tools in Python, or in the visual editor on CrewAI’s platform. The paid CrewAI AMP Suite adds managed deployment, observability and governance. The Basic plan is free and includes 50 workflow executions a month. Enterprise pricing is custom.

Pick CrewAI if you are a developer and want to design your own agents and their workflow in Python.

Compared with Paperclip: CrewAI is a framework for building agents. Paperclip is an app that runs agents that already exist, such as Claude Code and Codex. CrewAI fits when you design the agents yourself. Paperclip fits when you already use agents such as Claude Code and want a team to share them.

3. OpenHands

OpenHands is an open-source platform for software engineering agents. It includes a GUI called Agent Canvas, a CLI and an SDK. Agent Canvas runs the OpenHands agent, and it can also run Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Pi and OpenCode. Agents can run in Docker, in VMs or on company infrastructure.

Agent Canvas is free to self-host. OpenHands Cloud is a hosted option if you don’t want to run a server. The Teams plan costs $500 a month for up to 10 users and adds multi-user identity, access roles, budget controls and SSO. Enterprise pricing is custom.

Pick OpenHands if you want an open-source autonomous coding agent with sandboxed runs. The paid Teams plan fits if you also need a self-hosted team edition with support.

Compared with Paperclip: OpenHands Agent Canvas also runs several agents and automations. Its multi-user roles, budgets and SSO are in the paid Teams plan. Paperclip includes its team features in the free open-source app.

4. Orca

Orca is a desktop environment for running coding agents in parallel. Each agent works in its own git worktree, and you get terminals, chat, a browser and diffs in one window. Stably AI makes it. It is free and MIT licensed, and its homepage lists 27 supported agents.

Orca runs on macOS, Windows and Linux. It has companion apps for iOS and Android, and it can connect to remote servers.

Pick Orca if you want to stay close to the code and watch several agents from a desktop app or your phone.

Compared with Paperclip: Orca centers on one developer’s desktop, and agents can keep running on a remote server. Paperclip centers on a team that shares tasks, reviews and budgets in one web app. See Paperclip vs Orca.

5. Paradev

Paradev, formerly Superset, is a desktop app that runs many coding agents in parallel. Each task gets its own git worktree and branch, and you review diffs and open pull requests in the app. It works with any CLI agent.

The macOS app is the main version. The Linux build is experimental, and Windows is not available yet. The Free plan covers one user with local workspaces. Pro costs $20 per user a month, and Team costs $60 per user a month and adds cloud workspaces.

Pick Paradev if you work on a Mac and want a fast desktop app for parallel agents with diff review.

Compared with Paperclip: Paradev is a desktop app with paid seats for teams. Paperclip is a web app where team features are free. Paradev’s comparison page quotes an older Paperclip line that called it “not a code review tool”. Paperclip tasks now have review and approval stages, and the task shows the workspace diff.

6. Claude Code

Claude Code is Anthropic’s coding agent. It runs in the terminal, in VS Code and JetBrains, in a desktop app and on the web. It can run subagents, background agents and scheduled tasks. It is included with Claude Pro at $20 a month, and Max plans start at $100 a month. An API key also works.

Pick Claude Code if one developer wants a strong single agent and runs parallel work inside their own sessions.

Compared with Paperclip: Claude Code is an agent, and Paperclip runs it. Many teams use both. Paperclip adds the shared tasks, the review stages and the budgets around it. See Paperclip vs Claude Code.

7. Codex

Codex is OpenAI’s coding agent. It comes as a CLI, an IDE extension, a desktop app and cloud tasks. The CLI is open source under Apache 2.0. Codex is included in ChatGPT plans, including Free and Plus at $20 a month. An API key works in the CLI and the IDE.

Pick Codex if you work in OpenAI’s tools and want one agent with a CLI, cloud tasks and pull request review.

Compared with Paperclip: like Claude Code, Codex is an agent that Paperclip runs. See Paperclip vs Codex.

Are OpenClaw and Hermes alternatives to Paperclip?

No. They work with Paperclip. OpenClaw is an open-source personal assistant that runs on your machine and answers through chat apps. Hermes is an open-source agent from Nous Research. Paperclip can run both as agents in a team. OpenClaw joins through the Invite an external agent flow, and Hermes is a built-in agent. See Invite a Hermes agent.

If you want one personal assistant, OpenClaw alone is enough. If you want several agents with shared tasks and budgets, add Paperclip.

What about AutoGen and LangGraph?

Some lists of Paperclip alternatives name AutoGen. Microsoft has marked AutoGen as archived, and its README sends new users to Microsoft Agent Framework. LangGraph is an MIT-licensed library from LangChain for building agents as graphs. Like CrewAI, it is a framework for developers who write their own agents.

How to choose

Start with who will use the agents.

• A team that shares agents and tasks: Paperclip or Multica.
• One developer who watches parallel coding agents: Orca or Paradev.
• One developer with one agent: Claude Code or Codex.
• A developer who builds custom agents in code: CrewAI or LangGraph.
• A team that wants a sandboxed autonomous coding agent with paid support: OpenHands.

Then check the two things that are hard to add later: the license and where the tool runs. For other comparisons, see Conductor alternatives, self-hosted AI agent stacks and all comparison pages. For the coding setup, see Paperclip for coding agents.

FAQ

What is the best Paperclip alternative?

It depends on the job. Multica is the closest match for a team board. Orca and Paradev are the closest for a desktop app with parallel coding agents. CrewAI fits developers who want to build agents in code.

Is there a Paperclip alternative with a desktop app?

Yes. Multica, Orca and Paradev have desktop apps, and Claude Code and Codex have them too. Paperclip has a web UI that you can install on a phone as a web app, but no native desktop app.

Are the alternatives free and open source?

Orca, Paradev, OpenHands and the CrewAI framework use the MIT license. The Codex CLI uses Apache 2.0. Multica is source-available with conditions on commercial use. Claude Code is proprietary. Several of the open-source tools also sell paid plans.

What are the key differences between CrewAI and Paperclip?

CrewAI is a Python framework. You write the agents and the workflow. Paperclip is an app. You connect agents that already exist, assign tasks in a web UI and review the results.

Do any alternatives have budget limits?

Among the tools here, OpenHands lists budget controls in its paid Teams plan. Other tools show usage and cost, which is not the same as a limit. Paperclip includes budgets in the open-source app, for the company, each agent and each project, with a pause at 100%. Check each tool’s docs for its current limits.

Can I use Paperclip with these tools?

With some of them. Paperclip runs Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Hermes and OpenClaw as agents. The desktop apps and the frameworks are separate products.

Sources

All sources were checked on November 11, 2026.

• Paperclip: repository and README, execution policy, costs, adapters overview
• Multica: multica.ai, repository, license
• CrewAI: repository, pricing
• OpenHands: openhands.dev, pricing, repository
• Orca: onorca.dev
• Paradev: paradev.com, pricing, comparison page, repository
• Claude Code: overview, pricing
• Codex: repository, pricing
• OpenClaw: openclaw.ai
• Hermes: repository
• AutoGen: repository
• LangGraph: repository