Compare facts only, no winner
Hermes Agent vs Perplexity Computer
Facts only, side by side. Listed as alternatives to each other. No winner: which one fits depends on your country, plan and what you need it to do.
Facts checked up to
Hermes Agent : Available worldwide , Free , macOS, Windows, Linux, Self-host, Slack, WhatsApp
Perplexity Computer : Available · no country list published , From $200/mo (Perplexity Max) , Web, iOS, Android, Slack, macOS, Windows, Linux
Main differences (from vendor pages)
| Fact | Hermes Agent | Perplexity Computer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | From $200/mo (Perplexity Max) |
| Where | Available worldwide | Available with no country list published |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, Linux, Self-host, Slack, WhatsApp | Web, iOS, Android, Slack, macOS, Windows, Linux |
| Messages you first | Yes | Partly |
| Voice | Yes | Partly |
| Smart home | Yes | — |
Access
10 rows| Fact | Hermes Agent | Perplexity Computer |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Hermes Agent: Nous Research nousresearch.com | Perplexity Computer: Perplexity perplexity.ai |
| Kind | Hermes Agent: Self-hosted | Perplexity Computer: Work agent |
| Status | Hermes Agent: Available Regular stable releases; latest v0.22.5, published on GitHub 2026-10-23 (release notes dated Oct 22), after v0.22.4 on 2026-10-21. github.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: Available "Computer is available to users with an active subscription." Launched for Max on 2026-02-25; now included with Pro (weekly usage) and Max/Enterprise plans (credits). perplexity.ai · checked |
| Launched | Hermes Agent: Jul 22, 2025 api.github.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: Feb 25, 2026 perplexity.ai · checked |
| Where | Hermes Agent: Worldwide hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
| Excluded | Hermes Agent: None stated | Perplexity Computer: None stated |
| Platforms | Hermes Agent: macOS, Windows, Linux, Self-host, Slack, WhatsApp hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: Web, iOS, Android, Slack, macOS, Windows, Linux perplexity.ai · checked |
| Requires | Hermes Agent: Not stated | Perplexity Computer: An active paid Perplexity subscription (Pro, Max, Enterprise Pro or Enterprise Max); tasks use credits or Pro's weekly included usage perplexity.ai · checked |
| Minimum age | Hermes Agent: Not stated | Perplexity Computer: Not stated |
| Price from | Hermes Agent: Free Open source (MIT) hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: $200/month Perplexity Max perplexity.ai · checked |
What it can do
13 rows
| Fact | Hermes Agent | Perplexity Computer |
|---|---|---|
| Hermes Agent: Yes Receives and replies to email over IMAP/SMTP (Gmail, Outlook, etc.) in-thread. hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: Yes Manages email: monitors your inbox and can send results via your connected Gmail (e.g. email a slide deck to the team). perplexity.ai · checked | |
| Calendar | Hermes Agent: Not stated | Perplexity Computer: Partly Monitors your calendar and flight status with condition-based triggers. perplexity.ai · checked |
| Browses the web | Hermes Agent: Yes Web search and browser automation. hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: Yes Real browser in its isolated sandbox; Personal Computer controls the Comet browser. perplexity.ai · checked |
| Files | Hermes Agent: Yes read_file / write_file / patch tools with a write denylist and optional write sandbox. hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: Yes Real filesystem in its sandbox; creates documents, slides and spreadsheets. Personal Computer can read, write and search local folders you connect. perplexity.ai · checked |
| Writes / runs code | Hermes Agent: Yes Terminals and Python RPC scripts. hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: Yes Writes code, builds and deploys web apps (an app build typically uses 15,000+ credits). perplexity.ai · checked |
| Messages you first | Hermes Agent: Yes Scheduled jobs run unattended and deliver results to a chat platform, e.g. "Every morning at 9am … send me a summary on Telegram." hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: Partly Supports scheduled jobs and proactive actions like morning briefings and deadline reminders; the help page does not say how they reach you. perplexity.ai · checked |
| Memory | Hermes Agent: Yes MEMORY.md and USER.md in ~/.hermes/memories/ injected each session; auto-generated skills. hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: Yes Persistent memory across sessions; Brain (research preview on Max) builds a model of your projects, people and files. perplexity.ai · checked |
| Multiple agents | Hermes Agent: Yes Isolated subagents with their own conversations and terminals. hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: Yes Breaks goals into tasks and creates sub-agents using different models. perplexity.ai · checked |
| Runs when app is closed | Hermes Agent: Yes Cron jobs (natural language or cron expressions) run via the gateway; a stopped local agent does not run tasks; hosted agents in Nous Portal. hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: Yes Runs tasks in the background while you're away, with scheduled jobs and condition-based triggers; Personal Computer on a Mac mini runs 24/7. perplexity.ai · checked |
| App connectors | Hermes Agent: Yes MCP servers and a plugin catalog; smart home via the official Home Assistant plugin (docs/user-guide/messaging/homeassistant). hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: Yes Hundreds of app connectors incl. Gmail, Outlook, GitHub, Linear, Slack, Notion, Snowflake, Databricks, Salesforce, plus plugins that bundle connectors and skills. perplexity.ai · checked |
| Voice | Hermes Agent: Yes Voice mode across CLI and messaging: talk by microphone, spoken replies, live Discord voice channels, wake word. hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: Partly Voice mode in the Personal Computer desktop app. perplexity.ai · checked |
| Smart home | Hermes Agent: Yes Official Home Assistant integration through the homeassistant plugin. hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: Not stated |
| Applies for jobs | Hermes Agent: Partly Only with the third-party Job Search plugin (agent-data) listed in the Hermes docs: it filters new postings into a digest; applying is not described. hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: Partly Perplexity's job-search page: scans job boards for matching roles, tailors résumés, writes cover letters and builds an application tracker; submitting applications is not described. perplexity.ai · checked |
Safety (as stated by the vendor)
6 rows
| Fact | Hermes Agent | Perplexity Computer |
|---|---|---|
| Data it can access | Hermes Agent: Whatever the operator's user account can reach on the host, plus connected messaging, email and MCP servers. Provider API keys and gateway tokens are stripped from shell/MCP/cron subprocesses by default, but skills and plugins can read in-process credentials. github.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: Reaches the apps you connect (Gmail, Outlook, GitHub, Slack, Notion, etc.) and the web; disconnect from Plugins/Connectors via the three-dot menu > Disconnect. Personal Computer can read and write local folders you choose and control native Mac apps. perplexity.ai · checked |
| Asks before sensitive actions | Hermes Agent: Yes Dangerous shell commands need explicit approval (approvals.mode smart|manual|off; cron/unattended default deny). SECURITY.md calls the gate a heuristic, not a security boundary. hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: Yes Stated for Personal Computer: "Sensitive actions require approval, and every session includes a full audit trail." Kill switch included. Cloud Computer "check[s] in if it truly needs you"; no general approval rule published for it. perplexity.ai · checked |
| Sees your passwords | Hermes Agent: Not stated | Perplexity Computer: Not stated |
| Trains on your data | Hermes Agent: Not clearly stated Hermes is self-hosted; training depends on the model provider you connect. Nous Portal's privacy policy says inference payloads may be used for training unless you enable Privacy Mode. portal.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: Yes, unless you opt out Free, Pro and Max: "AI data retention" for training is on by default; toggle it off in Preferences (applies only to data collected after opting out). Enterprise data is never used for training. Brain memory entries are not used to train models. perplexity.ai · checked |
| Isolation | Hermes Agent: Default terminal backend runs commands directly on the host; Docker, SSH, Modal and Singularity backends sandbox shell/file tools. Only OS-level isolation (Docker image or NVIDIA OpenShell wrapping the whole process) is a real boundary per SECURITY.md. github.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: Every task runs in an isolated cloud sandbox with a real filesystem and browser; the open-source SPACE platform behind it uses Firecracker microVMs with credentials kept outside each task's VM. Portable Computer can run fully on your own NVIDIA/AMD hardware. perplexity.ai · checked |
| Retention | Hermes Agent: Conversations, memories and skills are stored locally and kept when the agent stops. Keep a backup of your Hermes data directory when moving to another computer. hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: Personal data is kept while your account is active and removed from Perplexity's servers within 30 days of account deletion. No Computer-specific retention period is published. perplexity.ai · checked |
By country
25 rows
| Fact | Hermes Agent | Perplexity Computer |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Hermes Agent: Available hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
| Canada | Hermes Agent: Available hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
| United Kingdom | Hermes Agent: Available hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
| Ireland | Hermes Agent: Available hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
| Australia | Hermes Agent: Available hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
| New Zealand | Hermes Agent: Available hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
| Germany | Hermes Agent: Available hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
| France | Hermes Agent: Available hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
| Spain | Hermes Agent: Available hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
| Italy | Hermes Agent: Available hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
| Netherlands | Hermes Agent: Available hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
| Switzerland | Hermes Agent: Available hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
| India | Hermes Agent: Available hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
| Pakistan | Hermes Agent: Available hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
| United Arab Emirates | Hermes Agent: Available hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
| South Africa | Hermes Agent: Available hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
| Philippines | Hermes Agent: Available hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
| Vietnam | Hermes Agent: Available hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
| Indonesia | Hermes Agent: Available hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
| Malaysia | Hermes Agent: Available hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
| Hong Kong | Hermes Agent: Available hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
| Singapore | Hermes Agent: Available hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
| Japan | Hermes Agent: Available hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
| Brazil | Hermes Agent: Available hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
| Mexico | Hermes Agent: Available hermes-agent.nousresearch.com · checked | Perplexity Computer: No country list published perplexity.ai · checked |
Freshness
1 row
| Fact | Hermes Agent | Perplexity Computer |
|---|---|---|
| Last fact checked | Hermes Agent: Oct 23, 2026 | Perplexity Computer: Oct 23, 2026 |
Full details, FAQ and change history: Hermes Agent · Perplexity Computer. Where sources disagree, both claims are on the agent page.