The AI agent platform market bifurcated in 2026. International platforms (Claude Cowork, MS Agent 365, ChatGPT Operator) focus on end-user desktop agents. Chinese platforms (扣子 Coze, 百度智能体, Dify, 腾讯元器) focus on agent building and deployment for business applications.
Which you choose depends on whether you want to use agents or build them.
Sources: anthropic.com, coze.cn, dify.ai, cloud.baidu.com, microsoft.com/copilot
Quick Comparison Table
| Platform | Free? | Entry Price | Type | Chinese Support | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Cowork | ✅ Free | $20/mo Pro | Desktop agent | ✅ Full | Personal productivity |
| MS Agent 365 | ❌ | $30/user/mo | Enterprise agent | ✅ Full | M365 enterprise |
| ChatGPT Operator | ❌ | $200/mo Pro | Browser agent | ⭐⭐⭐ | Web tasks |
| 扣子 Coze | ✅ Free | Free/¥99/mo | Agent builder | ✅ Native | Custom bot building |
| 百度智能体 | ✅ Free | Free/usage | Agent builder | ✅ Native | Baidu ecosystem |
| Dify | ✅ Open source | Free/$59/mo | Dev platform | ✅ Full | Self-hosted agents |
| 腾讯元器 | ✅ Free | Free | Agent builder | ✅ Native | WeChat ecosystem |
扣子 Coze — Best Chinese Agent Builder
Pricing: Free → Pro ¥99/mo
ByteDance's 扣子 (Coze) is the most popular Chinese AI agent building platform. Users create custom AI bots with plugins, knowledge bases, and workflows — no coding required. Bots can be published to Douyin, Feishu, and WeChat.
Strengths:
- Most popular Chinese agent builder: largest user community
- No-code bot creation: drag-and-drop workflow builder
- Multi-platform publishing: Douyin, Feishu, WeChat
- Plugin marketplace: third-party extensions
- Knowledge base RAG: upload documents as bot context
Weaknesses:
- Bots run on Coze's infrastructure — limited control
- Less suitable for enterprise-grade applications vs Dify
- ByteDance ecosystem dependency for distribution
Best for: Non-technical users building custom AI bots. Content creators and marketers.
Dify — Best Open-Source Agent Platform
Pricing: Open source (self-hosted, free) → Cloud: Free/Sandbox $59/mo → Pro $299/mo
Dify started as an open-source LLM app development platform and has grown into one of the most flexible agent-building toolkits. Self-hosted or cloud, supports any LLM provider, and offers RAG, workflow, and agent capabilities.
Strengths:
- Open source: self-host for full control, data privacy
- Any LLM: supports OpenAI, Claude, DeepSeek, Qwen, local models
- RAG pipelines: built-in document retrieval
- Workflow engine: visual agent orchestration
- API-first: integrate agents into existing apps
- Chinese + English: fully bilingual platform
Weaknesses:
- Requires technical skill to deploy and maintain
- Cloud version less feature-rich than self-hosted
- Smaller ecosystem than Coze
Best for: Developers and enterprises who want full control over their AI agents. Privacy-sensitive applications.
百度智能体 (Baidu AgentBuilder) — Best Baidu Ecosystem
Pricing: Free (basic) → Pay-as-you-go for advanced models
Baidu's智能体 (AgentBuilder) is tightly integrated with Baidu's ERNIE Bot and Baidu Cloud. Ideal for organizations already using Baidu's AI services.
Strengths:
- ERNIE Bot integration: access to Baidu's latest models
- Baidu Cloud ecosystem: storage, search, maps
- Enterprise-grade: SOC 2, data residency
- Chinese context: native understanding
Weaknesses:
- Baidu ecosystem lock-in
- Less flexible for non-Baidu models
- Smaller community than Coze or Dify
Best for: Baidu Cloud users and enterprises needing Baidu ecosystem integration.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Claude Cowork | MS Agent 365 | 扣子 Coze | 百度智能体 | Dify | 腾讯元器 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Desktop agent | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| No-code builder | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Open source | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Self-hostable | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Any LLM | ❌ (Claude) | ❌ (GPT) | ✅ Multiple | ❌ (ERNIE) | ✅ Any | ✅ Multiple |
| RAG | ❌ | ✅ Work IQ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| WeChat publish | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Free tier | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Quick Decision Guide
| If you need... | Choose | Entry price |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop agent that controls your PC | Claude Cowork (Pro) | $20/mo |
| Enterprise M365 agent | MS Agent 365 | $30/user/mo |
| No-code bot for WeChat/Douyin | 扣子 Coze (Free) | $0 |
| Self-hosted agent platform | Dify (OSS) | $0 |
| Baidu ecosystem AI agent | 百度智能体 (Free) | $0 |
| WeChat ecosystem bot | 腾讯元器 (Free) | $0 |
Summary
To use agents (have an AI do work on your computer): Claude Cowork ($20/mo) is the best value.
To build agents (create bots for customers or teams): 扣子 Coze (free, no-code) for non-technical users, Dify (open-source) for developers.
For Chinese ecosystem distribution: 扣子 Coze (Douyin/Feishu) or 腾讯元器 (WeChat).
Pricing sourced from official websites as of May 2026.