“Agent” now spans from a chatbot with tools to a system that runs a whole workflow while you sleep. The right one depends on how much you’ll let it do alone. We set each the same task: research a topic and draft a structured brief.

1. Manus — best end-to-end autonom

Manus takes a goal and works it to a delivered artifact — opening sites, writing files, iterating. Best when you want to delegate the whole job, not just a step.

2. AutoGPT — best tinkering / open

AutoGPT is the open, DIY agent you wire to your own tools. Best for builders who want to see (and change) every step.

3. AgentGPT — best no-setup web agent

AgentGPT runs in the browser: name a goal, watch it plan and act. Best for a quick experiment without installing anything.

4. CrewAI — best multi-agent teams

CrewAI lets you assign roles — researcher, writer, reviewer — and have them hand off. Best when the task is too big for one agent’s context.

5. Lindy — best for business workflows

Lindy wraps agents around real work: inbox, CRM, scheduling. Best when the agent should live inside your daily tools, not a lab.

How to choose

• Hand off the whole task → Manus
• Build it yourself, open → AutoGPT
• Try instantly in-browser → AgentGPT
• Many roles, one pipeline → CrewAI
• Agent inside your work apps → Lindy

Every tool above links to its full profile in our AI tools directory with editor ratings, pros, cons, and side-by-side comparisons.