Alfera vs Dust
Dust: Platform to create, share and run AI agents connected to company knowledge, tools and teams. 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. Open source, in one click on your server or on Alfera Cloud.
In one line: Alfera is one coworker your team shares, vs a platform for building many agents.
| DustAI agent platform for teams | Open source, or Alfera Cloud | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Platform to create, share and run AI agents connected to company knowledge, tools and teams. | The AI coworker your whole team shares, with a company brain that syncs your apps. Open source. | |
| Open source | Yes, MIT | Yes, AGPL-3.0 | |
| Self-host | Not published | Yes: one click on DigitalOcean or AWS, or one command on any server | |
| Price | Pro seat 24€/month billed yearly (30€ monthly), 8,000 credits/seat/mo; Free seat 0€, 500 credits lifetime | 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, Email, Browser extension | Slack, WhatsApp, email from its own address, the web app, a Mac app, the API and MCP | |
| Team use | Shared workspace with Spaces (incl. private spaces), groups, and user, builder, admin and manager roles; agents are created and shared across teams. | 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 | Per-tool stake levels set by admins: high (ask every time), medium (approve once per recipients), low (users can turn off asking), never ask. | 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 | Schedules written in plain language, and webhooks from GitHub, Jira, Linear, Zendesk, Fathom or any custom webhook. | On a schedule, from a webhook, or on 600+ app events | |
| Models | 20+ models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral, DeepSeek and others, plus auto models. Bring-your-own-key: not published. | 230+ models: Claude, GPT, Gemini, open models, your ChatGPT plan, or your own |
Where Dust is the better choice
Company teams across departments that want shared agents connected to their knowledge and tools.
- Microsoft Teams app and a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox and other Chromium browsers
- Enterprise plan offers single-tenant deployment, SCIM, audit logs and US or EU data residency
- SOC 2 Type II certified, and the security page says it enables HIPAA compliance
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.
Dust and Alfera
Yes. 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. Dust is also open source (MIT).
If you want something like Dust, 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.
Dust: Pro seat 24€/month billed yearly (30€ monthly), 8,000 credits/seat/mo; Free seat 0€, 500 credits lifetime. Alfera: Free to start: open source to self-host, and Alfera Cloud starts with $10 of free AI usage.
Dust: Not published. Alfera: Yes: one click on DigitalOcean or AWS, or one command on any server.
Company teams across departments that want shared agents connected to their knowledge and tools. Microsoft Teams app and a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox and other Chromium browsers. Enterprise plan offers single-tenant deployment, SCIM, audit logs and US or EU data residency. SOC 2 Type II certified, and the security page says it enables HIPAA compliance.
Sources
Facts about Dust come from its own pages, read on 16 October 2026. Something out of date? Write to hello@alfera.ai and we will fix it.
- home page: positioning, 70+ connectors, 20+ models, Slack, browser extension
- pricing page: seat prices, credits, Enterprise single-tenant, SCIM, data residency
- security page: SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, roles, private spaces
- GitHub repo and README (no self-hosting instructions)
- LICENSE file: MIT License
- docs: schedule and webhook triggers
- docs: tool stake levels and admin control
- docs: Microsoft Teams app
- changelog: agents over email, Slack auto-replies, Admin and Manager roles, groups
- docs: model providers and auto models