Claude (with Claude Cowork) vs Manus
How the two compare on price, platforms, what they can act on and how they ask before acting. Facts come from each agent's sources page.
| Claude (with Claude Cowork) | Manus | |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Anthropic | Manus AI |
| Cheapest paid plan | $20/month billed monthly for Pro ($17/month with annual billing) | $20/month (Pro, starting price; 17% discount with annual billing) |
| Free tier | Yes: chat on web, desktop and mobile, web search, file creation, memory, connectors and artifacts; task handoff, scheduling and Claude in Chrome require Pro or higher | Yes: $0 Free plan with Chat Mode, Manus 2.0 Lite in Agent Mode, 300 daily refresh credits, 1 concurrent task and 2 scheduled automations |
| Platforms | WebmacOSWindowsiOSAndroidChrome extension | WebmacOSWindowsiOSAndroid |
| Can act on | BrowserFilesEmailCalendarCodeApps via connectors | BrowserFilesCodeEmailCalendarMessagesPhone callsIntegrations |
| Approval model | By default Claude asks before taking an action; users can let it keep working and check in only when something needs a closer look. In Claude in Chrome, actions a classifier judges safe are approved automatically and actions that do not match the request are blocked; this can be switched off. Claude still asks before certain irreversible or costly actions such as purchases or sharing personal data. | For automations that send or publish, the maker recommends keeping Approval required on so Manus waits for confirmation, and Test run shows a real result first. Computer Use on the user's machine works only in a connected and authorized session with the files, browser and apps the user approved. |
| Launched | Jan 12, 2026 | Mar 2025 |
| Last update | Sep 16, 2026: Claude Cowork and chat are now one Claude | Oct 15, 2026: Introducing Automations |
See sources on the Claude (with Claude Cowork) and Manus pages.
Track both every week