# Kortix vs Microsoft Copilot: the open-source comparison

> Microsoft Copilot is an assistant inside Microsoft 365, and Kortix is the open-source alternative you own outright. Kortix keeps agents, skills, company memory and connectors in one git repo, runs any model with your own keys, and self-hosts free. Ownership, reach, permissions and where work lands decide the choice.

URL: https://opensourcecopilotalternative.com/kortix-vs-copilot

## A session runs an agent in an isolated sandbox, on its own branch.

`session-flow.txt`

```
project (git repo + kortix.yaml)
└─ session ──> isolated sandbox on branch "<uuid>"
└─ agent commits + pushes
└─ change request ──> merge ──> default branch
```

Source: https://kortix.com/docs

## Kortix vs Microsoft Copilot, dimension by dimension

Row by row, from each product's own pages.

| | Kortix (recommended) | Microsoft 365 Copilot |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Open source | Yes. Read it, fork it, audit it. | No |
| Where it runs | Kortix Cloud, your VPC, or your own on-prem network. | Microsoft's cloud, built into Microsoft 365 |
| Models | Any model provider with your own keys. | Latest OpenAI models, auto-selected per request |
| What it can reach | 3,000+ apps in a click, plus MCP, OpenAPI, GraphQL and raw HTTP | Microsoft 365 via Microsoft Graph and Work IQ, plus Copilot connectors |
| Permissions and audit | Per-resource permissions for people and agents. Roles, groups, audit trail. | Access scoped by user permissions; Enterprise Data Protection included |
| Where work lands | A change request you review, into the repo you own | Inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams |
| How you configure it | Agents, skills, memory, connectors and triggers in one git repo | Agent Builder and Copilot Studio, in Microsoft's tooling |

## What Microsoft Copilot is

Microsoft Copilot is Microsoft's AI assistant for work, as an add-on to Microsoft 365 ([Microsoft's Copilot page](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot)). Copilot Chat comes with eligible Microsoft 365 plans at no additional cost and grounds answers in web data. The paid tier, Microsoft 365 Copilot, adds grounding in company content through Microsoft Graph and Work IQ, and puts Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams. Microsoft prices that tier at $30 per user per month, paid yearly on an annual commitment, on top of a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan ([Microsoft's enterprise pricing page](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot/pricing/enterprise), checked October 2026).

The product runs on Microsoft's estate, which Microsoft describes as the commercial cloud and select sovereign cloud environments. Models are Microsoft's call: the pricing table lists the latest OpenAI models, and Auto weighs accuracy, speed and cost to pick one per request. For systems outside Microsoft 365, Microsoft sells Copilot Studio, a separate platform for building custom agents, which reaches other software through more than 1,500 prebuilt connectors and MCP servers ([Microsoft's Copilot Studio page](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot/products/copilot-studio)).

## What Kortix is

Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System: your agents, their skills, your company memory, and every connector in one git repo you own, with the agents working on real cloud computers. A session gets its own isolated sandbox, on its own branch, and finished work reaches the default branch only through a change request a person reviews and approves, so nothing merges itself.

The configuration reads as files: agents and skills are markdown, memory is files that accumulate, and `kortix.yaml` declares the machine image, the connectors and the triggers. You can grep the whole company, diff any change, and roll any part of it back. Kortix runs on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network, and self-hosting is free.

## The differences that decide it

Ownership comes first. Copilot's configuration lives in Microsoft's products, built with Agent Builder and managed through Copilot Studio inside Microsoft's tooling. Kortix's configuration is a git repo you clone, fork and audit, because the code is open source.

Reach differs in shape. Microsoft Graph gives Copilot depth inside Microsoft 365, and Copilot Studio adds 1,500+ prebuilt connectors for external systems. Kortix reaches 3,000+ apps in a click, plus MCP, OpenAPI, GraphQL and raw HTTP, and connector credentials are brokered server-side so they never enter the machine.

Permissions are governed differently. Copilot scopes access by the signed-in user's permissions, with Enterprise Data Protection included across its tiers. Kortix treats agents as principals in their own right: per-resource permissions for people and agents, roles, groups and an audit trail, with each tool call set to allow, ask or block, down to the arguments it was given. Approval gates you set. Off until you set them.

Where work lands is the governance difference. Copilot's output appears in the Microsoft 365 apps people already use. Kortix session work lands on main as a change request you read as a diff first. Configuration follows the same split: a Kortix agent is `agents/<name>.md` (behavior) plus an `agents.<name>` block in `kortix.yaml` (governance), versioned like code, while Copilot agents are built and managed in Microsoft's interfaces.

## The decision rule

If the agents should work across systems your company owns, with the configuration in your repo and a review gate before anything lands, run Kortix. It is open source, it self-hosts free, it runs any model on your keys, and every change lands through a change request a person approves. Microsoft Copilot is built for work inside Microsoft 365, per seat, on Microsoft's cloud; if your whole workday happens in Office documents and Outlook, the included Copilot Chat tier covers the chat part without a new system to run. Where you want that boundary to sit is the decision: inside one vendor's estate, or in the repo you own. Teams weighing more options can read the open-source [Copilot alternatives guide](/best-open-source-copilot-alternatives).

_FAQ_

## Frequently asked questions

### Does choosing Kortix mean leaving Microsoft 365?

No. People start and follow sessions from Microsoft Teams and Slack, and Kortix reaches other systems through connectors, MCP and raw APIs. Microsoft 365 stays in place; the agents run on Kortix.

### What does Kortix cost?

Self-hosting is free. On Kortix Cloud, the Free plan is $0 with 200 credits per month and 1 project, and the team plan is $40 per seat per month with 2,500 credits per month per seat, pooled (checked October 2026).

### What do Copilot Studio agents cost?

Microsoft sells Copilot Studio as tenant-wide packs of 25,000 Copilot Credits at $200 per pack per month, or as a pay-as-you-go meter (checked October 2026). For open-source ways to build agents, see the [Copilot Studio alternatives guide](/copilot-studio-alternatives).

### How do I get started with Kortix?

Install the CLI, run `kortix init` to scaffold a project, then `kortix ship` to bring it live. If you prefer zero setup, sign up, create a project, and start a session in the browser.

## Try the open-source AI Operating System

Self-host free, or start a session on Kortix Cloud.

[Try Kortix](https://kortix.com) · [See the alternatives](https://opensourcecopilotalternative.com/best-open-source-copilot-alternatives)