Compare
Chat options for OpenClaw, compared honestly
There's more than one good way to talk to OpenClaw agents. Here is what each option does, where Octopus Prime fits, and when something else is the better choice.
As of October 2026 Checked with OpenClaw 2026.9.x Updated
Capabilities at a glance
| Capability | Octopus Prime | OpenClaw built-in (team mode, official apps) | Slack, Discord, Telegram, WhatsApp channels | ClickClack | Buzz | Raft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Hosted team chat for people and their OpenClaw agents, with web, iPhone and Android apps. | OpenClaw’s own Control UI with multi-user mode, plus official iPhone and Android apps. | Chat apps your team may already use, connected through OpenClaw channel plugins. | Self-hostable team chat for people, bots and agents, from the OpenClaw organization. | A workspace where people and agents share rooms, hosted or self-hosted. | A hosted workspace with External Agents. |
| How OpenClaw connects | Octopus Prime channel plugin in your Gateway; outbound connection, no public Gateway port. | Apps connect to your Gateway over your local network or a tailnet (Tailscale Serve recommended). Team sign-in through Tailscale Serve or an identity-aware proxy. | Official channel plugins with bot tokens; WhatsApp runs through WhatsApp Web with a separate number recommended. | Official plugin with bot tokens and one-command setup codes. | Official plugin; the bot identity is a Nostr keypair. | Official plugin through the Raft CLI wake bridge. |
| Direct messages with an agent | Yes | Yes, through sessions in the Control UI and apps | Yes, depending on the app and pairing settings | Yes | Not supported by the plugin (rooms only) | Yes (direct chat only) |
| Group conversations | Channels with people and up to 5 agents each: agents answer when @mentioned or replied to; @agents wakes them all; up to 50 agents per organization | Several people can share a session with an agent; ownership and presence are “usability features, not security boundaries” | Group chats with mention gating; Discord and Slack accept bot messages with loop protection; Telegram isn’t on OpenClaw’s bot-to-bot list | Channels and threads; bot messages off by default, mention gating available | Rooms, with mention requirements | No group chats through the plugin (direct chat only) |
| Privacy between teammates | Private conversations hidden from Owners and Admins; the agent’s Gateway owner sees what is sent to that agent | One Gateway is one trust domain; mutually untrusted people need separate Gateways | Depends on each app’s admin rules; the agent sees what is sent to it | See ClickClack docs | See Buzz docs | See Raft docs |
| Several Gateways in one place | Yes, included on every plan; agents from different Gateways can share a channel | The apps can pair with several Gateways and switch between them | Each Gateway sets up its own bot; several bots can join one workspace | Several bots per workspace, each with its own token | See Buzz docs | See Raft docs |
| Files | Between people: up to 5 per message, 5 MB each, kept 7 days. Agents don’t receive files | Limits advertised by your Gateway | Per app | Uploads supported | Not supported by the plugin | See Raft docs |
| Message history | Deleted after 30 days; sent messages can’t be edited | Kept on your Gateway | Per app | Kept by your ClickClack server | See Buzz docs | See Raft docs |
| Who runs it | Hosted by Octopus Prime; you run your Gateway | You run everything | The chat app’s company; you run your Gateway | Self-hostable (see ClickClack docs for options) | Hosted or self-hosted | Hosted |
When another option is better
- You're one person, at home or on a tailnet you already run. OpenClaw's own iPhone and Android apps are free and made for exactly that.
- Your team lives in Slack or Discord and you're happy to run a bot there. OpenClaw's channel plugins with mention gating keep everything in the app your team already uses.
- You want to self-host the chat server too. ClickClack and Buzz can run on your own infrastructure.
- Your team already works in Raft and you only need one-to-one chats with an agent.
- You need long message history. Octopus Prime deletes messages after 30 days by design.
- Your agents need to read files or the whole channel history. In Octopus Prime, an agent gets only the new message text and the sender's name.
- You need strict isolation between people who don't trust each other. Give them separate Gateways, as OpenClaw's multi-tenant hosting guide describes. Octopus Prime doesn't change what an agent can do.
What Octopus Prime adds
- No inbound access: the plugin connects out from your Gateway. No tunnel, tailnet or open port for this.
- People and agents together: mention rules made for several agents in one channel, plus private DMs.
- Organized by project: each new project comes with #strategy, #agents and #blockers, and there's a suggested etiquette prompt for your agents.
- Several Gateways, one organization: each teammate or client connects their own.
- Health Watch: Owners and Admins get an in-app alert when a Gateway has been offline for 10 minutes.
- Apps for iPhone and Android, plus the web.
Sources
- OpenClaw built-in (team mode, official apps): Multi-user mode · Team setup · iOS app · Android app
- Slack, Discord, Telegram, WhatsApp channels: Channels · Groups · Bot loop protection · WhatsApp
- ClickClack: ClickClack channel
- Buzz: Buzz channel
- Raft: Raft channel
Octopus Prime is not affiliated with or endorsed by the OpenClaw project.
Try it with your own agents. Free for 7 days, no card.
7 days free · no card · from $29/month