# Kortix vs ETAOS: open-source ownership or a managed implementation

> ETAOS suits a company that wants its vendor to build and run the system; open-source Kortix is the recommendation for owning the files your team maintains. Kortix is the open-source CompanyOS: your agents, their skills, your company memory, and every connector in one git repo you own, with the agents working on real cloud computers.

URL: https://companyosguide.com/kortix-vs-etaos

## The responsibility that comes with each purchase

Start with who will maintain the system after the first working demo.

| | Kortix (recommended) | ETAOS |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What it is | The open-source CompanyOS | An Organizational Operating System |
| Open source | Yes. | Publishes no source repository; does not call the product open source. |
| Runs agents | Yes. Agents work on real cloud computers. | Yes. Assistants and agents work inside the system, with human accountability. |
| Where the record lives | In a git repo the company owns. | Inside the managed system, with full export capabilities. |
| What you receive | Agents, skills, memory, and connectors in one repo you own. | The system, the roadmap, and the team behind it. |
| Hosting | Kortix Cloud, your VPC, or your own on-prem network. | Managed operating system on dedicated infrastructure. |
| What you maintain | The repo you own. | No code you'd then have to maintain. |

ETAOS's published source status and delivery terms checked November 4, 2026. Its dedicated infrastructure is not a published self-host path.

## A managed implementation comes with a team

Kortix is the recommendation for a team that wants its operating rules in files it owns. ETAOS is the better buy for a company with no engineering capacity that wants a vendor to map, build and run the system. Someone has to maintain what the company buys. Decide who that person will be before comparing modules.

[ETAOS](https://etaos.ai/) states the arrangement directly: "ETAOS itself is delivered as a managed operating system on dedicated infrastructure: you get the system, the roadmap, and the team behind it without owning code you'd then have to maintain."

ETAOS covers CRM, projects, finance, HR, analytics, learning, plus custom modules. Its team says, "We map your organization first, then build the system around it." Workflows, roles, terminology and rules are configured "and where needed custom-built". That is a purchase of implementation capacity as well as software.

The proposal and delivery terms make the responsibility concrete. Checked November 4, 2026, ETAOS states: "Average implementation: 2-4 weeks for complex systems." Its price answer says: "After the discovery call you get a fixed-scope, fixed-price proposal: no per-seat surprises." No price is published. Bring the discovery call a list of processes that need an owner, including who will request changes after launch.

ETAOS also states: "Your data is 100% yours, with full export capabilities, audit logs, and role-based permissions as standard." Data export matters, but it answers a different question from ownership of the code. The managed arrangement leaves the code with the team maintaining it.

Model accounts do not settle that distinction either. ETAOS says: "Connect your own OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google AI account. Your API keys, your usage, your costs, your data agreements." Bringing a model account and maintaining the operating system are separate responsibilities. The definition of [a CompanyOS](/what-is-a-company-os) helps separate those purchasing questions; the [CompanyOS comparison](/companyos-comparison) covers the wider field.

## The report-writer definition in kortix.yaml

`kortix.yaml`

```yaml
agents:
  report-writer:
    prompt: Write the weekly report from the reports App.
    kortix_permissions: [project.app.read]
    apps: [reports]    # App slugs, all, or none (the default)
```

Source: https://kortix.com/docs/developers

## A repo needs someone who can read the change

With Kortix, examine what your team would take responsibility for. The accompanying YAML example pairs the report-writing job with its App access.

The prompt asks for a weekly report. The permission names a read operation, and the App list names reports. A buyer can ask a colleague to explain those lines before committing to maintain them. That is a useful acceptance test: who will notice when a proposed instruction or access setting is wrong?

Session work reaches `main` through a change request. Merge is default-deny for agents. The commands in the change-request panel expose the practical job: list the requests, inspect a diff, then decide whether to merge. A team with nobody to read a diff gets less from owning this repo. Budget for that responsibility alongside the software.

Kortix remains the recommendation when the team wants to make those decisions itself. Run it on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network. Self-host is free. Any model provider with your own keys. Or the ChatGPT plan you already pay for.

Before choosing, name the person who will read the first report-writer change. If that responsibility belongs in your team, the repo is an asset you can maintain. If you want to buy that capacity from a vendor, take ETAOS's fixed-scope proposal to the call. For the ownership question across other products, compare [who ships a CompanyOS you own](/who-ships-a-companyos-you-own).

## The change-request path your team will operate

A request list, a unified diff, and a merge into the base branch.

### kortix cr

`kortix cr`

```sh
kortix cr ls            # open change requests
kortix cr diff 1        # the unified diff
kortix cr merge 1       # merge into the base branch
```

Source: https://kortix.com/docs/developers

## Before the discovery call

Ownership, implementation and the cost question.

### Is ETAOS open source?

Its page publishes no source repository and does not call the product open source. That is its published status, checked November 4, 2026.

### Who owns the ETAOS system?

ETAOS is delivered as a managed operating system on dedicated infrastructure, without owning code you'd then have to maintain. Its data answer states: "Your data is 100% yours, with full export capabilities, audit logs, and role-based permissions as standard."

### Can ETAOS be self-hosted?

ETAOS describes no self-host path. It is delivered as a managed operating system on dedicated infrastructure; that does not establish a customer-operated installation.

### How long does each take to implement?

ETAOS states: "Average implementation: 2-4 weeks for complex systems." There is no comparable Kortix implementation estimate to quote here. Do not treat an install command as a deadline for adapting company workflows.

### What does ETAOS cost?

No price is published. ETAOS says: "After the discovery call you get a fixed-scope, fixed-price proposal: no per-seat surprises." Those are its published terms, checked November 4, 2026.

### Is kortix ai free?

Free is $0 with 500 credits per month, every feature and 1 project, on the user's own provider keys or ChatGPT subscription. The paid plan is credits: 25 tiers from $50 a month (5,000 credits) to $50,000 a month (5,000,000 credits), at 100 credits per dollar. [Kortix pricing](https://kortix.com/pricing). Self-host is free.

### What is kortix ai?

Kortix is the open-source CompanyOS: your agents, their skills, your company memory, and every connector in one git repo you own, with the agents working on real cloud computers.

## Put a reviewer beside the repo

Choose open-source ownership with someone ready to maintain what the company keeps.

[Try Kortix](https://kortix.com)