Manus vs OpenManus: The Battle Between Commercial and Open Source AI Agents

Mar 8, 2025 5 min read

In recent days, the AI community has been set ablaze by a universal AI agent product called Manus. This “world’s first universal AI Agent” from the Monica IM team has swept across the internet just two days after its launch, with website traffic exceeding 10 million and invitation codes being resold for up to $7,000 on second-hand markets. Meanwhile on GitHub, an open-source project named OpenManus has quickly emerged, with the MetaGPT four-person team replicating Manus’s core functionality in just 3 hours and open-sourcing it, leading to 9 WeChat groups filling up within a day. As the AI Agent trend unfolds, a battle between commercial closed-source and community open-source is playing out - is this a technological revolution, or a game of traffic versus idealism?

I. Manus: The Closed-Source “Universal Worker”

In the early hours of March 6, 2025, the Monica.im team released Manus AI, claiming it to be the “world’s first universal AI agent” (whether this claim holds true remains to be seen ( •̀ ω •́ )✧). Unlike traditional chatbots, Manus emphasizes “autonomous execution,” capable of independently completing tasks from goal setting to result delivery. According to official information, Manus is built on a “low-structure, high-intelligence” design philosophy, leveraging high-quality data and flexible architecture to support multiple scenarios including travel planning, stock analysis, and educational content generation. In the GAIA benchmark tests, Manus achieved SOTA (State-of-the-Art) results, reportedly significantly surpassing OpenAI’s Deep Research model.

How does Manus perform in practice? Results vary across different domains. According to tests by Daily Economic News reporters, when given the simple instruction “write a news report introducing the Manus development company,” Manus took 18 minutes to generate a complete report including product introduction, team background, and market impact. Official case studies also showcase its ability to screen New York real estate and generate financial analysis reports, demonstrating cross-domain execution capabilities. However, as a software developer, using Manus to generate “a three.js-based character skeletal animation control system that runs across multiple browsers” yielded unsatisfactory results, with the task being terminated due to context length limitations.

Manus’s popularity has been accompanied by controversy. The invitation-only beta testing has led to invitation codes being resold for thousands to $7,000, raising accusations of “hunger marketing.” While some media outlets have praised it as “beating GPT and kicking DeepSeek,” tech insiders point out the lack of third-party verification of its actual capabilities. More notably, Manus’s X official account was frozen on March 7, further complicating the public discourse.

II. OpenManus: The 3-Hour Open-Source “People’s Alternative”

As Manus’s popularity peaked on March 6, the MetaGPT four-person team (@mannaandpoem, @XiangJinyu, @MoshiQAQ, @didiforgithub) quickly responded by developing OpenManus in just 3 hours and open-sourcing it on GitHub. OpenManus promotes an “invitation-free” user experience, featuring modular design that supports multiple language models and toolchains, capable of executing code, handling files, and searching the web. Its core advantage lies in its real-time feedback mechanism, allowing users to observe the AI’s thinking process and execution progress.

The team revealed that while OpenManus was inspired by the Manus phenomenon, its technical foundation stems from MetaGPT’s previously developed multi-agent collaboration framework. Team member @mannaandpoem stated: “We just integrated the browser toolchain with existing code, and the core system’s heartbeat was completed in 1 hour.” On its first day, OpenManus garnered significant attention on GitHub, with 9 WeChat groups quickly filling up. X user @Jenqyanghou commented: “OpenManus is here, any idea can be realized without invitation codes, so convenient!”

Although OpenManus’s initial functionality is basic, its open-source nature lowers the barrier to AI agent usage. Users only need to configure their environment and API keys to interact with AI through the terminal. Future plans include introducing reinforcement learning and comprehensive testing, referencing projects like anthropic-computer-use, showcasing the collaborative potential of the open-source community.

III. The AI Agent Wave Is Just Beginning

Manus: Potential and Controversy Coexist

Manus’s explosive popularity has undoubtedly injected new energy into the AI Agent field, with its “autonomous execution” concept and cross-scenario capabilities demonstrating Chinese AI enterprises’ ambition. If the GAIA test results are independently verified, Manus could become another “national-level” product following DeepSeek. However, controversies over the invitation system and the X account freeze have exposed weaknesses in brand management. Moving forward, Manus needs to find a balance between technical transparency and user acquisition costs to transform from a trending phenomenon to a technical benchmark.

OpenManus: Open Source’s Quick Counter

OpenManus’s sudden emergence demonstrates the efficiency and vitality of the open-source community. While the 3-hour recreation might seem like trend-chasing, it actually represents a powerful push toward AI technology accessibility. Though currently rough around the edges, its modular design and community support lay a foundation for future development. With the integration of more resources (such as reinforcement learning modules), OpenManus could become a “Swiss Army knife” for developers.

Industry Trends: AI Agent’s “GPT Moment”?

From Manus to OpenManus, and to Alibaba’s subsequent release of the QwQ-32B model, the AI wave of early 2025 suggests that Agent technology might be approaching its “GPT moment.” Unlike knowledge-based large models (such as DeepSeek), AI Agents emphasize execution capability and practicality, potentially reshaping the productivity tool landscape. However, the game between commercial closed-source and open-source community is just beginning, with technical validation, market acceptance, and ecosystem building being key determinants of success.

IV. Conclusion

The Manus versus OpenManus showdown represents both a technical competition and a collision between business models and open-source philosophy. Manus has captured the momentum with its first-mover advantage and professional experience, while OpenManus counters with an open-source approach, providing a low-barrier option for users. In the AI Agent trend, this dual competition might just be the prologue. As more players enter the field (such as the OWL replication project), the 2025 AI track is set to reach new heights of competition.