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Okou vs Claude Cowork
Cowork takes a goal and works across your own files and tools until there is something to review. Okou is built for the moment after that: when the job stops being yours and becomes the team's.
Pick Claude Cowork if
The work is yours and some of it lives on your machine. Cowork works directly in folders you choose, opens a browser, and takes over the screen when it has to — and it is included in a paid Claude plan you may already hold.
Pick Okou if
The work belongs to a team. You want shared agents a colleague can use on their first day with the connections already in place, workflows that stay with the org, and the freedom to run something other than Anthropic's models.
Where the two actually differ
Both support scheduled work and parallel tasks. Okou cloud jobs can continue while your laptop is closed; tasks using Computer Use need the connected computer to remain available.
| Dimension |  Okou | Claude Cowork |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | A workspace: shared agents, shared workflows, each member's own triggers on top2 | One person, working from their own account11 |
| Local files | Runs in the cloud; local apps and files require an explicitly connected desktop through Computer Use10 | Works directly in folders you choose, opens browsers, and can take over the screen11 |
| Surfaces | Web, Slack, Telegram, and phone/SMS7 | Desktop on macOS, Windows, Linux and ChromeOS; web and mobile rolling out in beta11 |
| Model | Choose a model per chat; Auto is the system default. Availability follows the current catalog, plan, workspace policy and selected provider.3,9 | Anthropic models only11 |
| Runs as | The member running it, using their connections and grants4 | You, with the folders and tools you allow11 |
| Permission granularity | Per agent, per connector, per named action, with a 1h, 24h, 7d or standing grant4 | You approve what it may touch; Enterprise admins manage feature access and spend across the org11 |
| Free plan | Yes — 1,000 credits, no card1 | None; requires a paid Claude plan11 |
| Image generation | Built in, across several image models9 | Not a focus; output is decks, sheets and documents11 |
What you are actually choosing between
One person's agent, or the workspace's
Cowork is deliberately personal: your files, your tools, your account, and it follows you between desktop, web and mobile. Nothing you set up makes a colleague's setup better. Okou puts seven shared agents and the workflows they run at the org level, so the second person to need the job does not rebuild it.
Not locked to one vendor's models
In Okou, choose a model per chat; Auto is the system default. Availability follows the current catalog, plan, workspace policy and selected provider. Eligible personal Claude or Codex subscriptions can be connected on Free and paid plans.
Access that is granted, not just approved
Cowork asks you to approve what it touches as it goes, which is the right default for an agent on your own machine. Okou grants access ahead of time, per agent and per named action, with an expiry — so a workflow another person runs on a schedule has exactly the reach you gave it and no more.
Where Claude Cowork is the better tool
- Direct access to chosen folders
- Cowork works directly in folders you select. Okou runs in the cloud by default and reaches local applications and files only after you explicitly connect a desktop for Computer Use. Choose based on where the work lives and how you want to grant access.
- It is included, not added
- Cowork comes with a paid Claude plan rather than being sold separately, so for an existing subscriber the marginal cost is nothing.
- It runs on more machines
- macOS, Windows including arm64, Linux and ChromeOS, with web and mobile rolling out, and sessions that follow your account between them.
- You can watch it work
- Cowork shows each file it opens, each tool it uses and each choice it makes, and lets you redirect mid-task from any device.
What each one bills for
Compare plan fees, member packages and actual usage. Credit units differ between products, so test the same job on both.
Okou
Plan fee plus a monthly credit package for each member
- Free
- $0 · 1,000 credits, valid for 30 days
- Pro
- $0 plan fee + $20–$200/mo per member
- Team
- $160/mo plan fee + $20–$200/mo per member; from $180/mo
- Enterprise
- Custom
- Credit top-up
- $1 per 1,000
$20 / $50 / $100 / $200 monthly member packages add 20,400 / 52,600 / 108,700 / 222,200 shared credits respectively. Monthly credits expire at renewal; purchased credits never expire. Paid plans can top up or use auto-recharge.
Claude Cowork
Included with any paid Claude plan
- Free
- Not available
- Individual plans
- Included; priced via Anthropic
- Team
- Included; priced via Anthropic
- Enterprise
- Custom, with admin spend controls
- Published rate
- None for Cowork itself
Anthropic sells Cowork inside its existing plans rather than as a line item, and prices team plans through a sizing conversation rather than a public table. Because the unit is a seat, cost scales with head count rather than with how much work the team hands over.
Okou vs Claude Cowork FAQ
Is Claude Cowork a team product?
It is a personal agent that enterprises can govern. Anthropic added admin controls for feature access, spend and usage tracking across an org, but the agent itself is yours — your files, your tools, your account — rather than something a colleague picks up already configured.
What is the best Claude Cowork alternative for a team?
Look for agents and workflows that exist at the org level rather than per person. Okou allows seven org-shared agents on every plan, and a workflow one member writes is one anyone can run, each under their own identity and connector grants.
Can Okou work with local files the way Cowork does?
Okou can operate local applications and files through Computer Use after you explicitly connect a desktop and grant access. It does not automatically have access to your disk from a cloud run. Cowork works directly in folders you choose. The connected computer must be available for desktop tasks.
Can I keep using Claude models in Okou?
In Okou, choose a model per chat; Auto is the system default. Availability follows the current catalog, plan, workspace policy and selected provider. Eligible personal Claude or Codex subscriptions can be connected on Free and paid plans.
Do both keep working after I close my laptop?
Okou cloud jobs can continue while your laptop is closed. A task that uses a connected desktop needs that computer to remain online and available. Check the device requirements of the workflow you choose.
Also compare Okou with Viktor, Lindy, Claude Tag and ChatGPT Work and Codex.
Hand one job to a shared agent
Take something you currently do alone and see what changes when the whole team can run it.
Compiled from Anthropic's own Claude Cowork product page, read 21 August 2026. Okou pricing, model access and connected desktop support reviewed 5 October 2026. Claude and Claude Cowork are products of Anthropic PBC and are not affiliated with Okou.
