AI tool comparison
Hermes Agent vs Make
Which one should you ship with? Here is the side-by-side panel verdict, pricing read, reviewer split, and community vote comparison.
AI Agents
Hermes Agent
Self-improving AI agent that learns new skills and runs on 200+ models
75%
Panel ship
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Community
Free
Entry
Hermes Agent is an open-source autonomous agent from Nous Research that actually gets better the more you use it. After completing complex tasks, it writes new skills to its own library — essentially bootstrapping its own capabilities over time. It's model-agnostic (200+ models via OpenRouter), self-hosts cleanly on a $5 VPS, and spans 6 terminal backends including SSH, Docker, and serverless Modal. The multi-platform messaging integration is genuinely useful: Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, and email all pipe through a single gateway, so your agent can respond across every channel without separate bots. Persistent FTS5 memory means it remembers context across sessions. With 26k stars and 271 contributors already, this is moving fast. The one-line curl install and automatic project scaffolding make the onboarding friction unusually low for a project of this ambition.
Automation
Make
Visual automation platform — like Zapier but more powerful
100%
Panel ship
—
Community
Free
Entry
Make (formerly Integromat) is a visual automation platform with drag-and-drop workflow building. More powerful than Zapier for complex scenarios with branching, loops, and data transformation. 1,800+ app integrations.
Reviewer scorecard
“Model-agnostic + multi-platform messaging + self-hosted for $5/month is the trifecta I've wanted from an agent framework. The skill-creation loop is genuinely novel — most agent frameworks require you to hardcode tools, but Hermes writes them from experience. The curl installer working out of the box sealed it for me.”
“More powerful than Zapier for complex workflows — branching, loops, error handling. The visual builder makes complex logic readable. Great for non-trivial automation.”
“An agent that writes its own skills is also an agent that can write broken or insecure skills, and Nous Research's security track record is thin. 271 contributors on a project with autonomous code execution is a supply-chain red flag. I'd audit extensively before giving this access to anything sensitive.”
“Steeper learning curve than Zapier but the ceiling is much higher. If your automation needs are simple, Zapier is easier. If they're complex, Make is better.”
“This is the closest thing to a general-purpose agent OS that exists in open source right now. The self-improving skill loop is a primitive form of recursive self-improvement — not AGI, but the architecture patterns being proven here will matter enormously in 2-3 years.”
“Having one agent respond across every messaging platform with persistent memory means I can actually run creative workflows — briefing docs, newsletter drafts, social scheduling — without babysitting separate bots per channel. The cron scheduling for recurring automations is the cherry on top.”
“I use Make for my content pipeline — new blog post triggers social media scheduling, newsletter draft, and analytics tracking. Visual builder makes it manageable.”
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