A disclosure first. Omnify Labs, which makes dassi, also runs OpenClaw Cloud, a hosted OpenClaw service, so we have reasons to be kind to both products and you should weigh this page with that in mind.
The old version of this page described OpenClaw as a Docker project that couldn’t see your logins. Neither holds up in September 2026.
Two different shapes
OpenClaw is a self-hosted Gateway. You install it on a Mac, a Windows PC, a Linux box or a VPS, with an installer script or the desktop apps (a command-line install needs Node 24.16 or later), and then you talk to it from WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, iMessage or one of the other chat apps it supports, 29 in all, or from its own Control UI. It can run shell commands, work with files, browse the web, and pick up new abilities through skills and plugins. Version 2.0 (v2026.8.1, out August 30) made the first hour much friendlier; it now looks for a ChatGPT or Claude subscription, API keys, or local models already on the machine and starts from there. It’s free, MIT-licensed, looked after by the nonprofit OpenClaw Foundation, and sitting on roughly 390,000 GitHub stars.
dassi has one shape. It lives in the browser. You add it to Chrome, Edge or Brave and there’s nothing else to install, patch or keep running, which is most of the argument for it here.
Logging in
OpenClaw gives you two ways to browse. One is a managed profile called “openclaw” that never touches your personal browser, so any site the agent needs has to be signed in there. The other is an existing-session mode that attaches to your real, signed-in Chrome, Brave or Edge through Chrome DevTools MCP. That mode wants Chrome 144 or later, remote debugging turned on, the browser on the same machine as the Gateway, and you present to approve the connection. OpenClaw’s docs say it’s “higher-risk than the isolated openclaw profile because it can act inside your signed-in browser session.”
That warning is fair, and it applies to anything that works where you’re logged in, dassi included. dassi’s answer is to make the signed-in browser the normal case and put the checks around it. It uses the sessions you already have; when one has expired, it signs in with whatever your browser’s password manager autofills, so the password never goes into a chat or into dassi’s settings, and you type the 2FA code yourself. It stops before any action you’ve flagged.
When to choose OpenClaw
If you want an agent you own and host, you already live in chat apps, and the jobs involve files and scripts as much as websites, OpenClaw is the stronger tool, and it’s free. It’s also the one to pick for work that should run at 3 a.m. on a Mac mini in a cupboard while your laptop is shut. The Rundown’s review of 2.0 pegged it as best for technical people and trusted small teams, and we’d agree; somebody has to look after the install. If you like OpenClaw but not the looking-after, a hosted service is the middle road, OpenClaw Cloud among them (our bias applies).
When to choose dassi
When the work is inside websites you’re logged into (a CRM, a supplier portal, an ad dashboard) and you don’t want to run anything to get it done. You describe the job in plain English or do it once while dassi follows along, save it as a workflow, and rerun it on demand, or on a schedule as long as your browser is open when it’s due. You choose the model, a local one included, and pay $10 a month with your own key or $25 to $300 a month on a plan with credits. The instructions and page content go to the provider you picked, through dassi’s relay if you use included credits.
If you already have that Mac mini humming away in the cupboard, you probably stopped reading two sections ago.