Octopi / Compare / Bardeen alternative
Compare
A local-first Bardeen alternative for Mac
Bardeen automates browser tasks with playbooks. Octopi takes a plain-English task and drives a real browser across each row of your spreadsheet — on your Mac, with a local AI model and a source on every cell.
How Octopi compares to Bardeen
Describe it, don’t wire it
Type what you want in a sentence instead of assembling a playbook — Octopi compiles the workflow for you.
A real browser, per row
It navigates and reads pages like a person, row by row, and writes results back into your sheet.
Local and source-cited
Everything runs on your Mac with an on-device model, and each value carries a clickable source.
| Octopi | Bardeen | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Plain-English task | Playbooks / recipes |
| Runs | Native Mac app | Browser extension + cloud |
| AI | Local, on-device | Cloud |
| Output | Your spreadsheet + sources | Sheets / apps |
| Pricing | Free app | Free + paid tiers |
An independent comparison of approaches. Bardeen is a trademark of its respective owner.
Why a local-first option
Plain English, not playbooks
Skip building and maintaining recipes — describe the task and run.
On your Mac
Pages are read and processed on your own machine with a local model.
Source on every cell
Each result is traceable to where it came from.
Works row by row
Built around a list, so it’s a natural fit for research across many rows.
Questions
Do I need to build playbooks?
No. You describe the task in plain English and Octopi compiles the workflow, so there’s nothing to wire up.
Is it a browser extension?
No. Octopi is a native Mac app that drives its own browser, so it isn’t tied to your everyday browsing session.
Does it use cloud AI?
Not by default — Octopi runs a local AI model on your Mac. You can optionally connect a cloud model (Claude, GPT, Gemini) with your own key.
What kinds of tasks fit?
Research and data tasks across a list — enriching companies, gathering details from sites, finding emails, filling a CRM.
Related
Automate browser research without the wiring
Download Octopi and turn a plain-English task into a finished sheet — free, on your Mac.
Download Octopi free