The open-source alternative to Microsoft Copilot Cowork
Looking for something like Microsoft Copilot Cowork, 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 agent inside Microsoft 365.
| Microsoft Copilot CoworkAI agent inside Microsoft 365 | Open source, or Alfera Cloud | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot that sends emails, schedules meetings, builds Office files and posts in Teams for you. | 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 | Needs Microsoft 365 Copilot licence (Business from $21.00 user/month, paid yearly); Cowork usage at $0.01/Copilot Credit | Free to start: open source to self-host, and Alfera Cloud starts with $10 of free AI usage | |
| Where it works | Web app, Windows and macOS desktop app, iPhone and Android app, Outlook, Teams | Slack, WhatsApp, email from its own address, the web app, a Mac app, the API and MCP | |
| Team use | Each user runs their own sessions. Skills and apps can be shared with specific users in the organization; admins can deploy plugins to everyone. | 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 | Asks before sensitive actions (send, post), with risk level. Can skip prompts per recipient or domain for one session. Admins enable it and set spend limits. | 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 prompts (up to 25) and event-driven tasks that start when an email arrives or a Teams channel or chat message arrives. | On a schedule, from a webhook, or on 600+ app events | |
| Models | Anthropic models, including Opus 4.8 and Sonnet 4.6; GPT 5.5 in the Frontier preview. Bring your own key: Not published. | 230+ models: Claude, GPT, Gemini, open models, your ChatGPT plan, or your own |
Where Microsoft Copilot Cowork is the better choice
Microsoft 365 Copilot customers who want Copilot to do multi-step work across Outlook, Teams, Office files and SharePoint.
- Runs inside Microsoft 365, with no new app for teams that already use Outlook, Teams, OneDrive and SharePoint
- Edits existing Word, Excel and PowerPoint files in place in OneDrive and SharePoint, keeping version history
- Automatic quality and safety scoring (0 to 100) for every custom skill before it ships
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.
Microsoft Copilot Cowork 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. Microsoft Copilot Cowork is not open source.
If you want something like Microsoft Copilot Cowork, 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.
Microsoft Copilot Cowork: Needs Microsoft 365 Copilot licence (Business from $21.00 user/month, paid yearly); Cowork usage at $0.01/Copilot Credit. Alfera: Free to start: open source to self-host, and Alfera Cloud starts with $10 of free AI usage.
Microsoft Copilot Cowork: Not published. Alfera: Yes: one click on DigitalOcean or AWS, or one command on any server.
Microsoft 365 Copilot customers who want Copilot to do multi-step work across Outlook, Teams, Office files and SharePoint. Runs inside Microsoft 365, with no new app for teams that already use Outlook, Teams, OneDrive and SharePoint. Edits existing Word, Excel and PowerPoint files in place in OneDrive and SharePoint, keeping version history. Automatic quality and safety scoring (0 to 100) for every custom skill before it ships.
Sources
Facts about Microsoft Copilot Cowork come from its own pages, read on 16 October 2026. Something out of date? Write to hello@alfera.ai and we will fix it.