Bonfire Terminal vs Cassidy
Cassidy is a cloud-hosted AI agent framework, freemium up to $500-plus monthly, running OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google with a Slack integration and no key markup. Bonfire Terminal builds agents too, but on your device: your own key at cost, local speech and media, and one perpetual license instead of a climbing subscription.
Bonfire Terminal vs Cassidy: the 16-factor comparison
| Rating factor | Cassidy | Bonfire Terminal |
|---|---|---|
| Category | AI Agent Framework | AI Terminal / Local Agent |
| Popularity | Not disclosed | Growing · indie |
| Hosting architecture | Cloud-Hosted | On-Device Local |
| Licensing model | Freemium | One-Time Perpetual |
| Data / training policy | No training on user data | Fully local — nothing leaves device |
| Offline capability | No | Yes |
| Pricing tier range | $0-$500+/mo | One-time license |
| Execution unit cost | Subscription | Unlimited Local Compute |
| API-key markup | No | No — BYO key at cost |
| Supported LLM providers | OpenAI;Anthropic;Google | OpenAI; Anthropic; Google; Local; Any |
| Auth / permission types | SSO;OAuth | API Key; Local/None |
| Phone / messaging bridges | Slack | Telegram; WhatsApp |
| Speech recognition engine | None | Whisper (local) |
| Local media processing | No | Yes |
| Sovereign score | 50 / 100 | 93 / 100 |
The sovereignty gap
Where Cassidy lands on each weighted pillar (its bar) — the red marker is Bonfire's score. Auto-derived from the 16 factors above.
Which should you choose?
Choose Cassidy if…
Choose Cassidy if you want a cloud platform to build AI agents and assistants for teams, with mainstream model support and Slack delivery.
Choose Bonfire Terminal if…
Choose Bonfire Terminal if you want to build and run agents on-device, with provider choice, at-cost keys, and a one-time license over $500-plus tiers.
Bonfire Terminal vs Cassidy: FAQ
Is Cassidy private?
Cassidy states it does not train on user data, but it is cloud-hosted, so your agents and their inputs run on its servers. Bonfire Terminal keeps everything on your device, so your data and prompts never leave your machine.
Is Bonfire Terminal cheaper than Cassidy?
Cassidy is freemium but climbs to $500-plus monthly for higher tiers, and it adds no key markup. Bonfire Terminal is a one-time license with your key billed at cost, so for ongoing agent work you pay once rather than a steep recurring subscription.
Can Bonfire Terminal replace Cassidy?
For building and running personal agents, yes. Bonfire Terminal orchestrates multi-step tasks locally with your own key across major providers. As a team-oriented hosted agent platform with shared workspaces, Cassidy's cloud collaboration may suit larger groups.
What can Bonfire Terminal do that Cassidy can't?
Bonfire Terminal runs agents on-device, adds local Whisper speech recognition, local media processing, and Telegram and WhatsApp bridges beyond Slack, all under one license. Cassidy is cloud-only, subscription-based, and offers no local speech, media, or offline mode.
How do I switch from Cassidy to Bonfire Terminal?
Recreate your Cassidy agents as local Bonfire Terminal tasks, install the app, and add your provider key. Since both support OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, your model choices carry over. Execution then moves from Cassidy's cloud onto your own device.
Does Bonfire Terminal work offline vs Cassidy?
Cassidy has no offline capability and depends on its cloud. Bonfire Terminal is on-device by design, so with a local model and local Whisper it keeps running agents offline, contacting hosted providers only when a task requires it.