# Circles vs OpenClaw: an agent in WhatsApp, or your WhatsApp for your agent > OpenClaw is a self-hosted, always-on assistant with a WhatsApp channel: you talk to it in WhatsApp, and it acts with its own tools and memory. Circles gives the agent you already use (Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, Instinct) the chats you choose on your own number. **Choose OpenClaw** if you want your own open-source agent, with tools and memory, that you talk to inside WhatsApp, and you are happy to host it (its docs recommend a separate number). **Choose Circles** if you want the agent you already use to read your existing chats, with per-chat permissions and nothing to run, on Free, Starter $9.90 or Pro $29 a month (as of October 2026). Source: https://usecircles.app/en/compare/openclaw · Updated 2026-10-27 ## OpenClaw and Circles at a glance As of October 2026. Facts about OpenClaw come from the sources listed at the end of this page. | | OpenClaw | Circles | | --- | --- | --- | | Setup | Host the OpenClaw gateway yourself, connect a model, link a WhatsApp number | Link your number from your phone (a code or a QR), then connect your agent with a tap, an address or a token | | Your personal number | Can link one over Baileys; its docs recommend a dedicated number | Yes, your existing number as a linked device. No WhatsApp Business, no second number. | | Hosted | No, you run it | Yes, always on. Nothing to install, no computer that must stay awake. | | MCP and sign-in | Not an MCP for your client: OpenClaw is the agent | Remote MCP at `https://app.usecircles.app/api/mcp`: OAuth 2.1 (paste one address and approve) or a token | | Per-chat permissions | Allowlists | Per chat: hidden, read, or read and send. Hidden chats do not exist for agents. | | Voice notes | Through the agent | Transcribed automatically, Hebrew and English, inline as text and searchable | | Photos and files | Through the agent | Photos, PDFs, documents and video handed over on request, up to 50 MB each. The agent reads them itself. | | Sending controls | The agent sends | On Pro. Off until you open a chat for it. Daily cap across all agents (default 5), never retried automatically, every request logged. | | Price (October 2026) | Free, open-source software, plus your model API bill | Free; Starter $9.90 a month; Pro $29 a month (₪99 in Israel), 14 days of Pro free | ## Two different shapes **OpenClaw is a destination.** You open WhatsApp and talk to OpenClaw, which runs on your server, uses the model you pay for, and does things with its tools. With about 393,000 stars on GitHub as of October 2026, it is one of the largest open-source agent projects. **Circles is a source.** Your WhatsApp stays your WhatsApp. Circles serves the chats you choose to the agents you already use, wherever they run: Claude on your phone, ChatGPT on the web, Codex in your terminal, or Instinct inside WhatsApp itself. The agent does the thinking, and Circles makes your chats ready for it. ## Where OpenClaw is the better choice - **A full agent** with tools and memory. - **Free and open source.** You pay only for the model. - **Yours to change.** Host it, extend it, point it at the model you like. - **An assistant on its own number**, if that is what you want: its docs recommend exactly that. ## Where Circles is the better choice - **Your own number and your own chats.** Circles works with your existing groups and history. - **The agent you already use.** Claude, ChatGPT or Codex with one address and an approval, Cursor or Grok with a token, Instinct with one tap and a send. - **No server to run.** Hosted and always on. - **Per-chat permissions** and sending off by default, with a daily cap. - **Agent-ready data**: voice notes as text, files on request, senders by name. Same terms for both. Circles, like every tool that reads a personal number, connects as an unofficial linked device, which is outside WhatsApp's terms. No one can promise WhatsApp will never disconnect a device. What Circles offers is careful defaults: reading by default, sending off until you allow it, a daily cap, no broadcast, and a dedicated IP address shared with no other customer. It makes no claim to a safer protocol. [How Circles handles your chats](https://usecircles.app/en/security). ## Want an assistant inside WhatsApp? If what draws you to OpenClaw is talking to an assistant from WhatsApp, on the go, there is a hosted route: [Instinct](https://usecircles.app/en/agents/instinct) lives in WhatsApp, and with Circles it can read the chats you choose. Ask in a WhatsApp message from the car, "what did the class group decide?", and the answer comes back in the same chat. If you run your own agent, any framework that can call a remote MCP server or an HTTP API can read Circles too: [the API](https://usecircles.app/en/whatsapp-api-personal-number). ## Questions and answers ### Is Circles an alternative to OpenClaw? Partly. OpenClaw is an agent you host and talk to in WhatsApp. Circles gives the agent you already use your WhatsApp chats. If you want an assistant inside WhatsApp, Instinct with Circles is a hosted way to get one. ### Does OpenClaw need a separate WhatsApp number? Its docs recommend a dedicated number, as of October 2026. Circles is built for your existing personal number. ### Is OpenClaw free? The software is free and open source; you pay for the model it calls and for hosting. Circles has a Free plan, Starter at $9.90 and Pro at $29 a month; your agent's own subscription is separate. ### Will I get banned for connecting WhatsApp to an AI agent? No one can promise either way: OpenClaw and Circles both connect as unofficial linked devices, outside WhatsApp's terms. Circles reads by default, caps sends and never broadcasts. ## Sources Competitor facts as seen on 27 October 2026 unless another date is given. Prices change often in this category: check the vendor's own page before you buy. - [docs.openclaw.ai/channels/whatsapp](https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels/whatsapp) - [awesomeclaude.ai/how-to/use-whatsapp-with-claude](https://awesomeclaude.ai/how-to/use-whatsapp-with-claude) ## Keep reading - [Instinct, one tap and a send](https://usecircles.app/en/agents/instinct): An assistant that lives in WhatsApp, with your chats in reach. - [Every agent](https://usecircles.app/en/agents): Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, Claude Code, Cursor, Grok and the API. - [Self-hosted WhatsApp MCP](https://usecircles.app/en/compare/self-hosted-whatsapp-mcp): If you prefer to run things yourself. --- 14 days free. Link your number, pick the chats, then connect Instinct with one tap or Claude, ChatGPT and Codex with one address. Start: https://usecircles.app/start?lang=en