ConnectOnionvselizaOS
Generated from the two spec rows. Green marks the better value where a spec has a clear direction. Everything else is just different.
ConnectOnion
OpenOnion · Agent framework
OSS
Panel
5.82 spec wins
- Reliability
- 5.3
- Usefulness
- 5.7
- Cost
- 7.3
- Longevity
- 5.0
“There is a co doctor command, which suggests the authors already know how this ends.”
elizaOS
elizaOS · Agent framework
OSS
Panel
5.82 spec wins
- Reliability
- 5.2
- Usefulness
- 5.2
- Cost
- 6.3
- Longevity
- 6.7
“The open-source TypeScript framework includes a runtime, app, and CLI for building agents that can run locally or on their cloud.”
Spec by spec
| Spec | ConnectOnion | elizaOS |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | ||
| Category | Agent framework | Agent framework |
| Runs | local, cloud | local, cloud |
| Platforms | macos, linux, windows | macos, linux, windows, web |
| Context window | not documented | not documented |
| Protocols | ||
| MCP client | No | No |
| MCP server | No | No |
| Capabilities | ||
| Runs terminal commands | Yes | No |
| Multi-file edits | Yes | No |
| Git operations | No | No |
| Browser control | YesA BrowserAutomation tool ships in connectonion.useful_tools, and "co browser" runs a persistent browser. | Yes |
| Sandboxed execution | No | No |
| Multi-agent orchestration | YesScaffolded agents come with sub-agents, and host(agent) publishes an agent over HTTP and a P2P relay for other agents to call. | Yes |
| Headless / CI mode | No | No |
| Models | ||
| Backbone | OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Groq, Grok, OpenRouter, co/ managed keys | |
| Bring your own model | Yes | Yes |
| Local models | No | Yes |
| Cost | ||
| Pricing model | mixed | mixed |
| Starts at | $0/mo | n/a |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Bring your own key | Yes | Yes |
| Openness | ||
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 1,484 | 19,532 |
Which one would each critic pick
| Critic | ConnectOnion | elizaOS | Pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Juez | — | — | not enough reviews |
| El Amigo | 6.5 | 6.3 | ConnectOnion — Pick ConnectOnion if you want a working agent in a minute rather than a framework to learn; pick Griptape when the structure matters more than the head start. |
| El Crítico | 5.3 | 6.5 | elizaOS — elizaOS claims to be an agentic operating system but lacks a sandbox, terminal execution, or git operations. |
| El Profesor | 6.0 | 4.5 | ConnectOnion — A tool is a plain Python function and an agent is a name plus a list of them, which is the smallest useful abstraction anyone in this batch has proposed. |
| La Inversora | 5.8 | 6.8 | elizaOS — This is an ambitious open-source play with strong adoption signals, but the business model is still forming around optional cloud services. |
| La Jefa | 5.3 | 3.5 | ConnectOnion — The framework is free for sixty engineers, and the default credential path sends our prompts through the maintainer's managed keys unless somebody changes it deliberately. |
| El Hacker | 6.3 | 7.5 | elizaOS — elizaOS is a proper MIT-licensed framework for agent orchestration, but the lack of sandboxing or terminal access means you're building a nice UI, not a coding agent. |
Picks are derived from each critic's own scores. Humans vote on matchups on the duels page.