Grokbot costs $30/month — can free open-source Hermes keep up?
tomcrawshaw01 · x · 2026-09-12
A hands-on comparison testing xAI's Grokbot ($30/month) against the free open-source Hermes on the same lead-generation task:
- Under the interface both behave like a combined skill with memory; Grokbot is genuinely easier but doesn't let you inspect or change anything.
- Hermes is free and open source as software, though paid model usage via OpenRouter and a VPS or your own hardware for always-on operation still cost money.
- Includes a video walkthrough on running Hermes bots around the clock on a VPS.
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