A strong free agent, at the lowest cost that still works
This guide shows you how to run a strong, free, open-source agent that can use a computer for you. It is written for someone on Windows 11 or a Mac.
If a word is unfamiliar, look it up in the glossary, which defines each term once. On the website, you can also hover over an underlined term to see its definition.
The pick
This guide picks Agent Zero, which came first on a scorecard (a scored comparison) with 70. Atomic Agent scored 68.5 and Hermes Agent scored 68, so the lead is small.
Agent Zero works inside a Linux container on your computer. That container starts with its own files, so the agent does not start out on your real ones.
What a normal month can cost
The agent is free, but the model it uses can cost money. These five rows are the short list, and the full table, with the catches, is in Pick your model and budget.
| Option | What you pay in a normal month |
|---|---|
| Google Gemini, free | $0 |
| Groq | No confirmed free model |
| Z.AI GLM-4.7-Flash | $0 |
| Light hybrid (a cheap model for ordinary steps, and a stronger model for the hard parts) | about $17 |
| Local, on a computer you already own | $0 plus the computer you already own |
Start here
Read these in order, because each page picks up where the last one left off.
- Pick your model and budget
- The first 10 minutes
- Files, the browser, and memory
- Your phone and scheduled jobs
- A playbook
- Fixes and other agents
- Safety versus capability
- Advanced Agent Zero
- Persona and rules
If Agent Zero does not fit, other agents has a full eight-page guide for each of the nine others this guide looked at.
Five pages apply to every agent. They cover running a free local model with Ollama, prompting strong and weak models, and adding skills and MCP tools safely. They also cover setting a persona and rules and cleaning up after it does something wrong.
Once the basics work, the Advanced section covers setups that apply to any agent. Topics include local models, mixing models, host access, an always-on machine, subscription sign-ins, relays, and uncensored models. Each page states its risks plainly.
Everything here was checked on 14 November 2026, and prices and limits change.