From one perspective, the viral OpenClaw AI tool and Meta’s Manus AI service couldn’t be more different. One is open-source, the other is a closed commercial product. One runs on your local hardware, the other runs in the cloud. One can be operated for free with the right hardware, while the other’s going to cost you.
Looked at from a different angle, OpenClaw and Manus AI can perform many of the same tricks, including deploying AI agents to do your bidding, organizing your inbox, building apps from the simplest of prompts, and even browsing the web for you.
Now Manus AI has a new trick up its sleeves that makes it even more like OpenClaw: an integration with Telegram, meaning you can chat with Manus on your phone using the popular mobile app.
The ability to use standard social messaging apps is one of the killer features of OpenClaw, the open-source AI sensation whose creator was just snapped up by OpenAI.
OpenClaw gives you a variety of “social” channels for chatting with your personal agent. In addition to Telegram, OpenClaw also supports WhatsApp, Discord, iMessage, and Slack.
For now, Telegram is the only such social channel that works with Manus, with the company marketing the feature as “Manus Agents.” More platforms are “coming soon,” Manus says.
You can direct your Manus Agent in Telegram to perform such multi-step tasking as running deep research reports, check the inboxes of your connected email accounts, and even build apps, with the agent spawning sub-agents if the need arises.
Manus AI vs OpenClaw
That all sounds very OpenClaw-like, and indeed, on a surface level, Manus AI feels a lot like OpenClaw in the cloud.
Yet as I mentioned earlier, Manus AI and OpenClaw are also very different, starting with the fact that Manus AI was acquired by Meta in December 2025.
Founded in 2022 in Beijing before moving to Singapore last year, Manus AI has always been a commercial venture, with roots in the financial and travel sectors before pivoting into personal AI agent territory.
At the time of its December 2025 acquisition of Manus, Meta had already promised to integrate Manus agents into its own social services, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
But the explosive growth of OpenClaw, which started off as a personal AI project by Australian developer Peter Steinberger (now an OpenAI employee), may have spurred Manus to get the Telegram integration out the door more quickly. (Interestingly, Telegram is not a Meta-owned messaging app.)
Another major difference between Manus AI and OpenClaw is that Manus lives in the cloud, meaning you’ll need to trust Manus and its parent, Meta, with your data. OpenClaw, on the other hand, lives on your local hardware, which comes with its own set of benefits (privacy and control) as well as risks (it can do anything on your system that you can).
Finally, Manus AI is a paid product, with plans starting at $40 a month for 8,000 Manus credits–which, as I discovered during a free trial, can run out quickly when running advanced projects such as app building. A $200/month Manus plan gets you 40,000 credits.
OpenClaw, on the other hand, is free, although you’re on your own when it comes to supplying–and paying for–AI power. You could potentially use OpenClaw completely free with a local LLM or a free OpenRouter model, but the best results will come from using a large cloud LLM like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini via an API.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
All rights reserved to : USAGOLDMIES . www.usagoldmines.com
You can Enjoy surfing our website categories and read more content in many fields you may like .
Why USAGoldMines ?
USAGoldMines is a comprehensive website offering the latest in financial, crypto, and technical news. With specialized sections for each category, it provides readers with up-to-date market insights, investment trends, and technological advancements, making it a valuable resource for investors and enthusiasts in the fast-paced financial world.