Rick Boers vs Clawdbot (now OpenClaw)
Explore what we can build. Examples describe possible workflows; integrations, hosting, and scope are agreed for your project.
Clawdbot is an earlier name of the project now called OpenClaw, a free, MIT-licensed personal AI assistant launched by Peter Steinberger in late November 2025 (it took the Clawdbot name in early January 2026). After a trademark request from Anthropic it was renamed Moltbot on January 27, 2026, then OpenClaw three days later; Steinberger joined OpenAI in February 2026 and the project is now stewarded by the OpenClaw Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that formally launched July 8, 2026. You install it on your own Mac, Windows, Linux machine, or a VPS, plug in your own model API keys (Claude, GPT, or local models), and interact with it through roughly 29 messaging channels; it can control a browser, run shell commands, keep persistent memory in local Markdown files, and run cron jobs.
Rick Boers is an independent AI product builder. I design and build custom agents, document workflows, internal tools, and complete web and mobile applications, with one person owning the work from brief to delivery.
At a glance
| Comparison dimension | Rick Boers | Clawdbot (now OpenClaw) |
|---|---|---|
| Always-on computer | Hosting and runtime architecture are chosen for your project; dedicated VMs are one option. | No managed computer — it runs on hardware you supply (your own Mac/PC or a VPS such as DigitalOcean's 1-click image, which needs a ~$24/mo droplet); it is always-on only if you keep that machine running, patched, and secured yourself. |
| Tool integrations | I build integrations around the tools your workflow needs. Access, permissions, API availability, and any service subscriptions are checked and scoped before implementation. | Effectively unlimited via shell access, browser control, and a ClawHub registry with tens of thousands of community skills (it can write its own skills), but every integration is self-configured with your own credentials, and researchers have found hundreds of malicious skills in the registry — now countered by VirusTotal, NVIDIA SkillSpector, and Skill Card scanning. |
| Messaging channels | Messaging or web interfaces are implemented where supported and included in the agreed scope. | Widest coverage in the category: ~29 channels per the official docs, including WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Discord, Slack, iMessage, Google Chat, Microsoft Teams, Matrix, IRC, and WeChat, plus official iOS and Android companion apps (since late June 2026) that pair with your self-hosted gateway. |
| Persistent memory | Storage and memory can be designed for the workflow, with retention and access controls agreed first. | Yes — persistent memory kept as local Markdown files on your machine, remembering preferences, projects, and people across sessions, fully under your control. |
| Background automations | Scheduled and background jobs can be included with monitoring, limits, and human review where needed. | Yes — cron jobs, reminders, and background tasks with proactive messaging, but they only fire while your self-hosted gateway machine is up. |
| Pricing | The first 20-minute fit call is free. Paid work is scoped individually. We agree the deliverables, price, and payment milestones before work begins; hosting and model costs depend on the system we build. | Check the provider’s current pricing and plan limits. |
Where Clawdbot (now OpenClaw) shines
- Genuinely local-first: memory, files, chat history, and credentials live on hardware you control as plain Markdown and local state, not in a vendor cloud.
- Free MIT-licensed software with an enormous community — 383,000+ GitHub stars (the most-starred software project on GitHub), 500,000+ reported running instances, and a ClawHub registry with tens of thousands of community skills (the agent can even write its own skills).
- The widest messaging-channel coverage of any assistant: ~29 channels including WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Discord, Slack, iMessage, Microsoft Teams, Matrix, WeChat, and more, plus official iOS/Android companion apps since late June 2026 that pair with your self-hosted gateway.
- Deep, unrestricted system access: shell commands, file read/write, browser control, cron jobs and background tasks, with optional sandboxing — no platform-imposed capability ceiling.
- Model-agnostic with rotation and failover across OpenAI, Anthropic, and local models, a rapid release cadence (v2026.7.1 shipped July 13, 2026, with 7.2 betas days later), and foundation-backed governance plus 1-click images on DigitalOcean and Amazon Lightsail.
Where it falls short
- You are the ops team: installing Node, configuring the gateway, channels, and API keys, applying updates, and keeping the host machine awake are all on you — it is only 'always-on' if you run always-on hardware yourself.
- Documented security track record requires care: scanning teams (Censys, Bitsight, and academic studies) found tens of thousands of internet-exposed instances, many leaking API keys and chat histories; a one-click RCE (CVE-2026-25253) was patched in January; researchers including Cisco found hundreds of malicious ClawHub skills doing data exfiltration and delivering macOS infostealers; and China barred state agencies and banks from deploying it in March 2026. The project responded with hardening — VirusTotal, NVIDIA SkillSpector scanning, and Skill Cards for ClawHub skills — but the risk surface is yours to manage.
- No managed integrations: connecting Gmail, Notion, or other services means configuring credentials and skills yourself rather than one-click OAuth from a vetted catalog, and community skills require vetting.
- Costs are open-ended pay-per-token API bills plus server costs, with no bundled credits or predictable monthly ceiling.
- It is a single personal-assistant instance on one host (with multi-agent routing inside it), not a fleet of separate agents each on its own dedicated machine.
Choose Clawdbot (now OpenClaw) if…
- You want full data sovereignty — every file, memory, and credential stays on hardware you control, which no managed cloud product can match.
- You are technical, enjoy running your own infrastructure, and want $0 software cost with unlimited ability to hack, extend, and self-modify the assistant.
- You need a messaging channel Rick Boers doesn't support, such as Signal, Discord, Microsoft Teams, Matrix, or WeChat.
- You want to run local models or arbitrary provider keys with no platform metering between you and the model.
Choose Rick Boers if…
- You need a custom workflow or product built around your team.
- You want one builder to own design, implementation, and delivery.
- Your project needs integrations or behavior beyond a packaged tool.
- You need a custom workflow or product built around your team.
Common questions
Is Clawdbot the same as OpenClaw?
Yes. The project Peter Steinberger launched in late November 2025 took the name Clawdbot in early January 2026, was renamed Moltbot on January 27, 2026 after a trademark request from Anthropic, then renamed again to OpenClaw on January 30, 2026. It is the same codebase and community — now stewarded by the OpenClaw Foundation (a 501(c)(3) launched July 8, 2026), with Steinberger continuing to lead technical direction from inside OpenAI — and it remains actively developed as of July 2026 (v2026.7.1).
Is OpenClaw better than Rick Boers?
This comparison is between using a packaged tool and commissioning a custom system. Provider features change; check current documentation. For a custom build, we agree the specific workflow, infrastructure, integrations, and operating responsibilities.
Is OpenClaw safe to use?
It is powerful but the security burden is on you: scanning teams found tens of thousands of misconfigured instances exposed to the internet, many leaking API keys and chat histories; a one-click RCE (CVE-2026-25253) was patched in January 2026; researchers including Cisco uncovered hundreds of malicious ClawHub skills; and China restricted state agencies and banks from deploying it. The project has responded with significant hardening, including Skill Cards and VirusTotal plus NVIDIA SkillSpector scanning for ClawHub skills. Run carefully — sandboxed where possible, never exposed to the public internet — and it can be operated responsibly by technical users.