Personal AI agents
Hermes Agent vs Manus Cue
Cue gives every agent its own phone number, inbox and wallet out of the box. Hermes gives you an open agent you set up around your own model and chat apps. Here is what each one does well and how to pick.
Our recommendation: Try Cue if you want an agent that comes with its own phone number, email and wallet, and a free early-access app is fine for you. Choose Hermes Agent if you want to pick the model, reach the agent in Telegram, WhatsApp or Discord, and know what you will pay each month.
How we compared: We run OpenClaw Launch, which hosts Hermes Agent. This page compares published information; we have not tested Cue hands-on. Cue details were checked against Manus’s announcement and launch coverage on September 29, 2026, the day after release. Early-access products change quickly, so check Manus’s current terms.
What is Manus Cue?
Manus launched Cue on September 28, 2026, together with Manus 2.0. Cue is a standalone app for personal agents on your phone and desktop, built on the same infrastructure as Manus. In Cue, each agent has its own email address, phone number, wallet and computer, so it can send messages, pay within the budget you set and finish a task on its own machine. It can also take your calls and leave you a summary. Source: Manus.
You can put several agents in a group chat with a shared goal; Manus’s example has one agent research venues, another make a shortlist and a third draft the deck. Cue also works with everyday services: at a restaurant, you scan the QR code and your agent orders or holds your place in line. It is available on the web, desktop and mobile, with iOS following App Store review. Source: The Next Web.
Cue is Manus’s personal-agent app. Manus was founded in China and is now based in Singapore; Beijing ordered Meta’s $2 billion deal to buy Manus cancelled. For Manus’s main agent product, see Hermes Agent vs Manus.
What is Hermes Agent?
Hermes Agent is an open-source agent from Nous Research. It keeps memory across sessions, creates reusable skills from work it has done, runs scheduled jobs and talks to you through messaging apps, using the model of your choice. Source: Hermes Agent on GitHub. You can run it yourself or deploy it on OpenClaw Launch, where we manage the container and you connect your chat apps from the dashboard.
Quick comparison
| Category | Manus Cue | Hermes Agent |
|---|---|---|
| Product | Manus’s standalone app for personal agents | Open-source agent from Nous Research, self-hosted or managed |
| Agent identity | Each agent gets its own email address, phone number, wallet and computer | No identity by default; add email, an SMS number or payment tools with your own accounts |
| Phone calls | Can take your calls and leave you a summary | Optional skill places outbound AI calls through Twilio with Bland.ai or Vapi; not an inbound call answering service |
| Payments | Pays within a budget you set | Optional payment skills, such as Stripe Link with approvals |
| Where you talk to it | Cue app on web, desktop and mobile; iOS after App Store review | Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, WeChat, Feishu and web chat on OpenClaw Launch |
| Multiple agents | Several agents share a group chat and hand work to each other | Subagents for parallel work; separate instances for separate agents |
| Model choice | Not stated; runs on Manus infrastructure | Your choice of supported model and provider, including your own API key |
| Price | Free in invite-only early access; later pricing not announced | 30-minute free trial, then $3 for the first month and $6/month on Lite |
| Self-hosting | No self-hosted version announced; runs on Manus infrastructure | Yes, the upstream project is open source |
Sources: Manus 2.0 announcement, The Next Web, Hermes Agent, and our pricing and integrations pages.
Phone number, email and wallet
This is Cue’s biggest difference. Every Cue agent comes with its own phone number, inbox and wallet, so it can act as a separate identity without you setting up a phone line or inbox for it. Taking your calls and summarizing them is something the Hermes telephony skill is not built for.
Hermes can do much of this, but you assemble it. Its optional telephony skill buys and keeps a Twilio number, sends and reads text messages, and places outbound AI calls through Bland.ai or Vapi. Hermes can also read and send email through an inbox you connect, and optional payment skills let it pay through services such as Stripe Link with your approval. You own each account and pay each provider directly. That is more work, but you can inspect and change every piece.
Where you talk to your agent
Cue is its own app. You talk to your agents in Cue on the web, desktop or phone, and they reach the outside world through their own number and email.
Hermes comes to the apps you already use. On OpenClaw Launch you can connect Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, WeChat and Feishu, or use web chat. If you would rather message your agent from a chat you already have open than install a new app, Hermes fits better.
Models, control and team work
Manus’s announcement does not say which models power Cue or offer a way to choose one. Hermes lets you switch models whenever you like and bring your own provider key; see the model catalog. You can also open the agent’s files, adjust its skills and run commands in its terminal, which helps when a task fails halfway and you want to see why.
Cue’s group chats, where several agents hand work to each other toward one goal, put multi-agent work in one conversation. Hermes can spawn subagents for parallel tasks inside one agent, and on the Pro plan you can run up to three separate instances.
Pricing
Cue is free during early access with an invite code. Manus has not said what it will cost afterwards. The main Manus product is priced separately; see the Manus pricing help page.
- OpenClaw Launch trial: 30 minutes of web chat, no credit card required.
- Lite: $3 for the first month, then $6/month, with $1/month in AI credits.
- Pro: $20/month, with $10/month in AI credits and up to 3 instances.
Hosting and AI usage are separate budgets on OpenClaw Launch. Heavy use needs a top-up or your own provider key, and a Twilio number or call provider is billed by that provider. A free early access period is a good time to try Cue; Manus has not yet said what happens to pricing when it ends.
Which should you choose?
Choose Manus Cue if you want agents that already have a phone number, inbox and wallet, can pick up your calls, and can work together in group chats, all inside one app.
Choose Hermes Agent if you want to pick the model, talk to your agent in Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord or WeChat, see and change how it works, self-host later, or pay a known monthly price today.
Whichever you try, start with one real errand, such as booking a table or chasing a reply, and watch what the agent does with the access you gave it. Give an agent with a wallet a small budget first.
Frequently asked questions
What is Manus Cue?
Cue is a standalone app for personal AI agents that Manus launched with Manus 2.0 on September 28, 2026. Each agent in Cue has its own email address, phone number, wallet and computer. It can send messages, pay within a budget you set, take your calls and leave a summary, and work with other agents in a group chat.
How much does Cue cost?
Cue is free during early access with an invite code; Manus offered the code MEETCUE to a limited number of early users. Manus has not announced pricing after early access.
Is Cue a Meta product?
Cue is a Manus product, launched under the Manus brand with Manus 2.0. Meta agreed to buy Manus in a roughly $2 billion deal, but Beijing ordered that deal cancelled. Meta’s own personal agent is a separate product called Muse.
Can Hermes Agent have its own phone number like Cue?
Yes, with some setup. Hermes has an optional telephony skill that buys and keeps a Twilio number, sends and reads SMS, and places outbound AI calls through Bland.ai or Vapi. You pay those providers directly. Cue can take your calls and leave you a summary; the Hermes telephony skill is not built to answer incoming calls.
Should I choose Cue or Hermes Agent?
Choose Cue if you want an agent that already has a phone number, inbox and wallet and you are happy inside the Cue app. Choose Hermes if you want to choose the model, talk to the agent in Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord or WeChat, see and edit its files and skills, or pay a known monthly price today.
Related comparisons and guides
- Hermes Agent vs OpenAI Dots: OpenAI’s always-on agent
- Hermes Agent vs Manus: Manus’s main agent product
- Meta Muse vs OpenClaw Launch: Meta’s personal agent
- Hermes Agent memory: how Hermes remembers context