Nous Research
Frontier Labs · Free
Open-source AI research collective behind the Hermes and NousCoder model families
At a glance
- Made by
- Nous Research, Inc.
- Korean
- None (English and a few others only)
- Available on
- Windows, Mac, CLI, Android
- Open source
- MIT License
What is Nous Research?
Nous Research is a company that trains models, builds agents, and develops infrastructure for spreading open intelligence. Its research areas are agents, model architecture, data synthesis, fine-tuning, and inference. Its flagship product, Hermes Agent, is a self-improving AI agent that creates skills from experience, improves them during use, and builds memory across sessions; it can be used in the terminal, a desktop app, or the cloud. It also runs Nous Portal, a platform that connects models and tools.
- Hermes Agent, a self-improving AI agent (built-in learning loop)
- Automatically creates and improves skills from experience, persistent memory across sessions
- Messaging integrations with Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, and Teams
- 60+ built-in tools and MCP server integration
- Real-time voice mode in CLI, Telegram, and Discord
- Nous Portal: connect models with web search, image generation, TTS, and browser tools through a single OAuth
- Desktop apps for Mac, Windows, and Linux
Who uses Nous Research and for what
- Assign tasks to an agent running on a cloud VM by chatting with it on Telegram
- Creative work environment running local models on an ASUS ProArt PC
Pricing
Not applicable (research organization/company)
No usage fee for the lab itself; billed separately through its commercial products and API
Estimate based on AI knowledge - please verify on the official site
AI tools similar to Nous Research (alternatives)
Nous Research vs. alternatives at a glance
| AI | Pricing | Combos on the map | Connected tools | Free | Cheapest monthly | Korean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nous Research | Free | 0 | 5 | — | — | No |
| Alibaba DAMO Academy | Free + paid | 0 | 21 | — | — | — |
| Alibaba Tongyi | Free | 0 | 21 | — | — | No |
| Black Forest Labs | Free + paid | 0 | 21 | Yes | — | No |
| Databricks Mosaic | Free | 0 | 21 | Yes | — | Yes |
2 of these 5 tools have a free plan.
Combo and connection counts are based on the relationships recorded on AI Galaxy Map (2026-10-26); they are not a quality ranking.
Nous Research on AI Galaxy Map
- One of 56 AI tools in the Frontier Labs field.
- Connected to 5 other tools — #16 in its field.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Nous Research for free?
Not applicable (research organization/company). Prices can change, so check the official site before paying.
What AI can I use instead of Nous Research?
Tools that do the same job, such as Alibaba DAMO Academy, Alibaba Tongyi, Black Forest Labs, Databricks Mosaic, are connected to it on the map.
Can I use Nous Research in Korean?
None (English and a few others only)
Sources (official pages)
Checked on the official pages on 2026-10-14. Prices and features can change, so check the official site again before paying.