HermvsZero
Generated from the two spec rows. Green marks the better value where a spec has a clear direction. Everything else is just different.
Herm
aduermael · Terminal agent
#102OSS
Panel
7.21 spec wins
- Reliability
- 7.2
- Usefulness
- 6.8
- Cost
- 8.5
- Longevity
- 6.2
“It offers an in-process Unix-like sandbox, for the days when Docker feels like too much of a commitment.”
Zero
Gitlawb · Terminal agent
#6OSSMCP
Panel
7.06 spec wins
- Reliability
- 6.7
- Usefulness
- 7.0
- Cost
- 8.2
- Longevity
- 6.2
“It accepts image input in a terminal, a sentence that would have ended a career in 2019.”
Spec by spec
| Spec | Herm | Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | ||
| Category | Terminal agent | Terminal agent |
| Runs | local, sandbox | local, sandbox |
| Platforms | macos, linux | macos, linux, windows |
| Context window | not documented | not documented |
| Protocols | ||
| MCP client | No | Yes |
| MCP server | No | Yes |
| Capabilities | ||
| Runs terminal commands | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-file edits | Yes | Yes |
| Git operations | No | Yes |
| Browser control | No | YesBrowser and terminal control helpers ship with the npm and release builds; source builds need those helper binaries on PATH or configured in local-control settings. |
| Sandboxed execution | Yes | NoZero ships a native Linux sandbox helper using seccomp rather than Docker; source builds must build the `zero-linux-sandbox` helper separately. |
| Multi-agent orchestration | YesA session can mix models by role, such as one model as the main agent, a cheaper one for exploration and another for vision. | Yes |
| Headless / CI mode | No | Yes`zero exec` returns exit codes and has a documented GitHub Action recipe. |
| Models | ||
| Backbone | Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, Grok, OpenRouter, Ollama, Azure OpenAI, Vertex AI, AWS Bedrock | OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Groq, OpenRouter, DeepSeek, Mistral, xAI, Qwen, Kimi, GitHub Models, Fireworks, MiniMax, Ollama, LM Studio |
| Bring your own model | Yes | Yes |
| Local models | Yes | Yes |
| Cost | ||
| Pricing model | byok | byok |
| Starts at | $0/mo | $0/mo |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Bring your own key | Yes | Yes |
| Openness | ||
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 234 | 1,688 |
Which one would each critic pick
| Critic | Herm | Zero | Pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Juez | — | — | not enough reviews |
| El Amigo | 7.5 | 7.3 | Herm — Pick it if approval prompts have trained you to click yes without reading; pick a host-based agent if installing Docker is a fight you would rather skip. |
| El Crítico | 6.8 | 6.8 | no preference |
| El Profesor | 7.8 | 7.3 | Herm — Model assignment is per role rather than per session: a main agent, an exploration model and a vision model can each be a different provider inside one run. |
| La Inversora | 6.0 | 5.5 | Herm — 232 stars, one author and no company: technically the most careful row on this shelf, and commercially indistinguishable from a weekend project. |
| La Jefa | 6.8 | 6.8 | no preference |
| El Hacker | 8.3 | 8.5 | Zero — MIT, twenty-five providers with Ollama and LM Studio among them, and it works as an MCP server as well as a client, so my tools go both ways. |
Picks are derived from each critic's own scores. Humans vote on matchups on the duels page.