George2500Q: Alter vs Claude (Cowork and Code)
Hi AlterHQ team,
I’m very interested in buying but I have a few questions before I commit, i was also looking for a Pro subscription with Clausde for Cowork and Code, but i stumbled on your software via Appsumo
Functionality vs Claude Cowork:
Can Alter perform the same kind of desktop / workflow automation as Claude Cowork (e.g., creating files, managing folders, making websites,interacting with apps, handling repetitive tasks)? Are there any key limitations or differences in behavior between the two?
MCP support:
Does Alter support MCP (Model Context Protocol) to connect to external tools and services? If so, can you provide an example of how an Alter agent can use an MCP server to interact with another app? In Claude i can connect another Appsumo software Subscirbr AI via MCP and interact with the software.
Thank you
Sam_Alter
Apr 21, 2026A: There is some parts where we are stronger than Claude Cowork and other parts where Claude will be better.
Our advantages:
1. Very integrated with your macOS. You can chat/retrieve context from any apps, you have integrations with your local apps out-of-the-box, Apple Scripts, Shortcuts and even computer use.
2. Meeting and dictation is unlimited. It's not provided by Claude
3. You can use local models for full privacy or bring your own keys to access other providers (OpenRouter, OpenAI, etc..)
Just like Claude Cowork, Alter has support for Agent Skills, Scheduled Jobs that can run in the background for repetitive tasks (eg each morning at 9am do X), a code runner for running code and producings documents, a sandboxed bash tool.
We also have Workspaces where you can add your local folders and files. People are using that for managing their Obsidian vaults with thousand of files for example.
You can check our videos to see the capabilities : https://www.youtube.com/@UseAlter/videos
Our weakness vs Claude:
Alter is not a coding tool. For programming, you're better off with Claude Code.
Regarding MCPs, we support Remote MCP servers. People connected their Readwise account, Craft, Bear Notes (see that awesome video from one of our user: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEK_9TK6GXA)