The open-source alternative to Cassidy
Looking for something like Cassidy, but open source and free to start? Alfera is the AI coworker your whole team shares: a company brain that syncs your apps, connections shared per person or per team, permissions on every action, and Slack, WhatsApp and email. Self-host it in one click, or start on Alfera Cloud.
In one line: Alfera is open source with a company brain, vs a closed no-code builder for agents on company knowledge.
| CassidyAI agent and workflow automation platform | Open source, or Alfera Cloud | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | No-code platform where business teams build AI agents and multi-step workflows grounded in a company knowledge base. | The AI coworker your whole team shares, with a company brain that syncs your apps. Open source. | |
| Open source | No | Yes, AGPL-3.0 | |
| Self-host | Not published | Yes: one click on DigitalOcean or AWS, or one command on any server | |
| Price | Starter: no price listed ('Start for free', 14-day trial), 3 seats, 10,000 AI credits/month. Business: book demo | Free to start: open source to self-host, and Alfera Cloud starts with $10 of free AI usage | |
| Where it works | Web app, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Chat, Chrome/Edge extension, Gmail and Outlook add-ons, Word and Excel add-ons, API, Browser embed | Slack, WhatsApp, email from its own address, the web app, a Mac app, the API and MCP | |
| Team use | Workspaces with seats; agents shared across colleagues; role-based permissions, organization-wide instructions and usage analytics. | Multiplayer: one coworker for the whole team. It knows who is asking, and each connection is shared with everyone, one project, or one person | |
| Permissions | Human-in-the-Loop steps add manual review and approval points inside workflows. Advanced RBAC, row-level security, audit logs. | Allow, ask first, or never, per connection and per action. Approvals in Slack, email or the app, and every action logged | |
| Starts on its own | Scheduled triggers, webhooks/API, meeting recorder transcripts, and custom event triggers (e.g. CRM updates, ticket creation). | On a schedule, from a webhook, or on 600+ app events | |
| Models | OpenAI, Anthropic and Google models, chosen per agent, chat or workflow step. Bring-your-own-key not published. | 230+ models: Claude, GPT, Gemini, open models, your ChatGPT plan, or your own |
Where Cassidy is the better choice
Business teams in operationally complex industries (insurance, benefits, industrials, professional services) automating document-heavy work.
- Add-ons inside Word, Excel, Outlook, Gmail, plus a Chrome/Edge extension, so agents run where people already write
- Built-in meeting recorder whose transcripts can start workflows
- Document tools for dense files: OCR parsing, bulk runs over 1,000 documents at once, and document verification
Everything Alfera does
- A company brain that syncs your apps. Connect Google Drive, Notion, Slack and the rest. Documents sync on their own, keep every version, and every answer draws on them.
- One coworker for the whole team. It knows who is asking. Many people, many tasks at once, each with their own chats and connections, and shared chats when you want.
- 3,000+ app connections, shared the way you choose. Each connection is open to everyone, one project, or one person. A personal mailbox stays personal; the support inbox is the team’s.
- Permissions on every action. Allow, ask first, or never, per connection and per action. Approvals land in Slack, email or the app, and every action is logged.
- Where your team already is. Slack, WhatsApp, email from its own address, the web app, a Mac app, and your own code through the API and MCP.
- It starts work by itself. On a schedule, from a webhook, or on 600+ app events in Gmail, HubSpot, Stripe and more.
- Its own computer. Every chat runs in a sandbox with a terminal and a browser, and its files stay from one chat to the next.
- Any model. 230+ models: Claude, GPT, Gemini, open models, your ChatGPT plan, or a model you run yourself.
- Open source, and free to start. AGPL-3.0. Self-host it in one click on DigitalOcean or AWS, or start on Alfera Cloud with $10 of free AI usage.
Cassidy and Alfera
Alfera. Alfera is the AI coworker your whole team shares. It has a company brain that syncs your apps, 3,000+ app connections shared per person or per team, permissions on every action, and it works in Slack, WhatsApp, email and the web app. It starts work by itself, runs on any model, and it is open source: self-host it in one click or start free on Alfera Cloud. Cassidy is not open source.
If you want something like Cassidy, but open source and free to start, with a company brain that syncs your apps, connections shared per person or per team, and permissions on every action, pick Alfera. It works in Slack, WhatsApp and email, starts work by itself, and runs on any model.
Cassidy: Starter: no price listed ('Start for free', 14-day trial), 3 seats, 10,000 AI credits/month. Business: book demo. Alfera: Free to start: open source to self-host, and Alfera Cloud starts with $10 of free AI usage.
Cassidy: Not published. Alfera: Yes: one click on DigitalOcean or AWS, or one command on any server.
Business teams in operationally complex industries (insurance, benefits, industrials, professional services) automating document-heavy work. Add-ons inside Word, Excel, Outlook, Gmail, plus a Chrome/Edge extension, so agents run where people already write. Built-in meeting recorder whose transcripts can start workflows. Document tools for dense files: OCR parsing, bulk runs over 1,000 documents at once, and document verification.
Sources
Facts about Cassidy come from its own pages, read on 16 October 2026. Something out of date? Write to hello@alfera.ai and we will fix it.