Short answer: Nod: An open-source personal agent with its own computer: it runs in a private sandbox and browser on your Mac or Windows PC, works in your apps and on any website, asks before it sends, pays or deletes, and uses the AI provider you choose. K-AI: A personal AI agent whose memory lives on your Mac: Kai watches the mail, chat and calendar you choose, runs errands such as reorders, bookings and forms on its own virtual computer inside your Mac, and waits for your OK on payments, deletions and account changes.

Nod vs K-AI

Sourced facts only. “Unknown” means not verified yet.

Key facts side by side

Criterion	Nod	K-AI
Type	personal agent	personal agent
Vendor	n8n Labs (an experimental team within n8n)	Kai Shade (independent project; operator named in the K-AI terms)
Channels / category	Desktop app for macOS 14+ and Windows 11 (preview); self-hosted server for one person; chat in the app, on Telegram or WhatsApp	Native Mac app (Windows builds exist internally but are not ready). Watches the Gmail or IMAP mail, Google Chat and calendar you choose. Cloud models (with secrets masked) or local models via a bundled llama.cpp server.
Pricing / availability	Free and open source (Apache 2.0). You pay your AI provider (API key or a ChatGPT Plus or Pro plan) or use a local model; Nod shows each task's cost, lets you set a monthly limit and checks in once a task passes USD 5 (blog.n8n.io, 10 Nov 2026).	Free public beta on Mac (7 Nov 2026). The local app is free and works with local models; an optional K-AI Cloud plan adds sync and browser access, but its price was not shown on the pages we checked (9 Nov 2026).
Launched	2026-11-10	2026-11-07
Funding (reported)	Part of n8n; no separate funding	Unknown
Channels confirmed	Desktop app, Telegram, WhatsApp	Desktop app, Email
Verified facts	Released 10 Nov 2026 as a research preview from n8n Labs, a new team that experiments outside n8n's core product; announced on X on 11 Nov 2026; A standalone app, separate from n8n; no n8n account needed; Has its own computer (a private virtual machine on your machine) and browser, so it can finish jobs on websites with no integration; Example jobs: cancel a subscription and ask for a refund, watch a price, book a hotel once you say go, download supplier invoices each month; Before it sends, pays, posts or deletes anything you didn't ask for, a separate check confirms you asked; a web page or email can't give it orders; Saved logins and cards are encrypted on your machine and entered through private forms the model can't read; every sign-in, card use and action is logged; Remembers months of conversation; n8n reports 93.2% on the LongMemEval memory benchmark; n8n reports 98% task completion on 226 simulated errands (3 runs each) with GPT-6.1 Sol in October 2026; Connects Gmail, Calendar, Slack, Notion, Drive, Linear and others; runs scheduled tasks such as a morning brief; Free (Apache 2.0); stops when your laptop sleeps, one owner per install, no phone calls yet; a hosted version is on the roadmap	Live in public beta on 7 Nov 2026, free on Mac, announced by its builder Kai Shade; The default agent, Kai, watches the inbox, chat and calendar you choose and tracks shipments, orders, bills, appointments and bookings as events; You set each category to handle, ask first or ignore: orders and trips are handled on their own by default, bills and account cases ask first; quiet hours are available; Approvals are enforced in code outside the model for spending, messaging as you, deleting, account changes and installs; each approval works once, for that exact action, for ten minutes; Memory, skills, notes, tasks, calendar and mail state live in a folder on your disk with a local vector store; you can export and import them; The agent works on its own Linux virtual machine booted with Apple's Virtualization framework, with a browser, terminal and desktop you can watch live; A privacy bridge on your Mac swaps card numbers, passwords, keys, ID numbers, emails and phone numbers for placeholders before a cloud model sees a request; names are not hidden; Local models run through a bundled llama.cpp server (from Qwen3 4B up to Qwen3 14B or Gemma 4 26B); with a local model nothing leaves the machine; Kai works while your computer is on; Mac only for now, and the first run downloads the virtual machine and a local model; The local app is free; optional cloud adds sync and browser access. The software is offered under the Apache License 2.0
Website	https://nod.n8n.io/	https://getk-ai.com/
Sources	[1] [2] [3] [4]	[1] [2] [3]
Last checked	2026-11-11	2026-11-11

Frequently asked questions

What is Nod?

An open-source personal agent with its own computer: it runs in a private sandbox and browser on your Mac or Windows PC, works in your apps and on any website, asks before it sends, pays or deletes, and uses the AI provider you choose.

What is K-AI?

A personal AI agent whose memory lives on your Mac: Kai watches the mail, chat and calendar you choose, runs errands such as reorders, bookings and forms on its own virtual computer inside your Mac, and waits for your OK on payments, deletions and account changes.

How much does Nod cost?

Free and open source (Apache 2.0). You pay your AI provider (API key or a ChatGPT Plus or Pro plan) or use a local model; Nod shows each task's cost, lets you set a monthly limit and checks in once a task passes USD 5 (blog.n8n.io, 10 Nov 2026).

How much does K-AI cost?

Free public beta on Mac (7 Nov 2026). The local app is free and works with local models; an optional K-AI Cloud plan adds sync and browser access, but its price was not shown on the pages we checked (9 Nov 2026).

Are Nod and K-AI the same type of agent?

Nod is listed as a personal agent and K-AI as a personal agent.

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Updated 2026-11-11