Best Mycroft alternative in 2026

Mycroft AI's original repository has been archived since September 2024, and mycroft.ai now redirects to a community successor — verified today. Four alternatives, including where the open-source community actually went.

How we put this list together: Mycroft's project status was checked today, 26 August 2026: mycroft.ai redirects (HTTP 301) to community.openconversational.ai, and the MycroftAI/mycroft-core repository is marked archived on GitHub, last pushed 8 September 2024. OpenVoiceOS's activity and licence were read from its own ovos-core repository on GitHub today. Home Assistant Assist facts were read from home-assistant.io's own documentation today. GAIA figures carry forward from this site's own gaia-alternative page, independently sourced and dated there.

1. Jarvis (getjarvis.eu) — Cmd+/ on macOS or Ctrl+/ on Windows and Linux opens a floating bar over the app you are already in. It reads the active window on demand, takes spoken input through voice mode and hold-to-dictate, acts through 30+ OAuth connectors, and remembers across sessions — a desktop assistant, not a voice-first smart-home hub. Pricing: Free: 40 requests/week, plus a 7-day full Pro trial with no card. Pro: $16/month ($144/year). Unlimited: $32/month. Checked 26 August 2026 on getjarvis.eu/pricing. Platforms: macOS 12+, Windows 10/11 x64, Linux x86_64 (AppImage, needs libfuse2). Known limitation: No smart-home device control, no wake-word always-listening mode, no self-hosting — the categories Mycroft was actually built for are not what Jarvis does. Pick Jarvis if: what drew you to Mycroft was voice interaction with software in general, rather than controlling smart-home devices specifically. 2. OpenVoiceOS (OVOS) — The actual living continuation of the Mycroft codebase and community, read from its own repository today: Apache-2.0, described by the project itself as "the FOSS Artificial Intelligence platform," hosted at community.openconversational.ai — the same address mycroft.ai now redirects visitors to. It carries forward Mycroft's skill and intent architecture for people who want to keep building on that foundation. Pricing: $0, Apache-2.0, per its own repository. 280+ GitHub stars, pushed as recently as 17 August 2026 — a small but active project, nowhere near Mycroft's former scale. Platforms: Linux (including Raspberry Pi-class hardware), self-hosted. Known limitation: A fraction of Mycroft's former community and star count (Mycroft's archived repository carries 6,600+ stars against OVOS's 280+), so documentation, skills and support are comparably thinner. Pick OpenVoiceOS (OVOS) if: you specifically want the Mycroft architecture and skill format to keep working, self-hosted, under active if modest maintenance. 3. Home Assistant Assist — The voice layer built into Home Assistant, the popular self-hosted smart-home platform — read from home-assistant.io's own documentation today. Its own docs describe it as processing "fully on your own hardware, so your voice commands stay private," and recommend dedicated hardware (the Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition) or a DIY ESPHome/ESP32 device from around $13, alongside companion mobile apps. Pricing: $0 and open source, built into Home Assistant, per its own documentation. Platforms: Requires a running Home Assistant instance; voice input via companion apps, dedicated hardware, or DIY ESP32 devices. Known limitation: Purpose-built for smart-home voice control — lights, thermostats, locks — not general desktop or computer control. Its own documentation frames it around home automation specifically, not a general assistant. Pick Home Assistant Assist if: you already run Home Assistant and want free, local, private voice control over your actual smart-home devices — not a general-purpose assistant. 4. GAIA (by The Experience Company, heygaia.io) — The closest thing here to a less-technical, still-conversational option, read from its own site and repository. It "watches your inbox, calendar, and tools and acts before you ask," reachable via WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack or Discord, with a Beta desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux whose privileged tools are limited to screenshot, clipboard read/write, open app, open URL and list windows — it can see, not operate. Pricing: Free $0. Pro $30/month or $300/year. Enterprise is contact-sales. Read from heygaia.io's own live pricing, per this site's gaia-alternative page. Platforms: Web, CLI, Beta desktop app (macOS, Windows, Linux), plus WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord as channels. Known limitation: Cannot click, type or drag anything — its desktop tool surface stops at looking and clipboard actions. Its homepage claim of being "fully open source" does not match its actual PolyForm Noncommercial licence. Pick GAIA (by The Experience Company, heygaia.io) if: you want a background assistant that pings you in a chat app you already use, and you don't need it to operate your computer. 5. Mycroft (original project — archived) — Once the flagship open-source voice assistant — "Mycroft Core, the Mycroft Artificial Intelligence platform," per its own repository description, Apache-2.0, 6,600+ stars at the point development stopped. Checked today: the MycroftAI/mycroft-core repository is marked archived on GitHub, its last push was 8 September 2024, and mycroft.ai itself now 301-redirects to community.openconversational.ai. Do not build anything new on it expecting support. Pricing: Was free and Apache-2.0. The code still exists and can technically be run, but nothing about it has changed in two years. Platforms: Was Linux, Mark II hardware, and Raspberry Pi-class devices. Known limitation: Archived means GitHub itself blocks new issues and pull requests. No updates, no security patches, no support — the project as a company and as an actively maintained repository is over. Pick Mycroft (original project — archived) if: you are researching Mycroft's history or already have a Mark II device and understand it will not be updated.

Why people switch: The company and the flagship repository are done; The community moved to OpenVoiceOS, at a much smaller scale; "Voice assistant" meant smart-home, not desktop control; None of the free options read a screen.

Pick a competitor instead if: You specifically want the Mycroft skill format — OpenVoiceOS carries Mycroft's architecture forward under active, if modest, maintenance. That continuity is worth more than raw feature comparison if you have existing Mycroft skills or hardware. You already run Home Assistant — If your actual goal is voice control over lights, locks and thermostats, Home Assistant Assist is free, local, and already integrated with the platform you're likely running — no separate voice-assistant project to maintain. You need it to work with zero network access — OpenVoiceOS and Home Assistant Assist can run fully local and offline. Jarvis requires a connection for every request.

Is Mycroft AI still active? No, as of this check on 26 August 2026. Its main repository, MycroftAI/mycroft-core, has been archived on GitHub since 8 September 2024 — meaning no new commits, issues or pull requests are accepted — and mycroft.ai itself now redirects (HTTP 301) to a community forum at community.openconversational.ai rather than serving its old site.

What replaced Mycroft? The open-source community's actual continuation is OpenVoiceOS (OVOS), which carries the Mycroft skill and intent architecture forward under Apache-2.0 and is genuinely still being pushed — as recently as 17 August 2026, per its own repository. It is far smaller than Mycroft ever was: 280+ stars against Mycroft's 6,600+.

Can I still use my Mycroft Mark II device? The hardware still runs the code that was on it, but the project behind it is archived, so no further updates, security patches or bug fixes are coming from the original team. OpenVoiceOS's community is the active path if you want continued support for Mycroft-derived hardware and skills.

What's the best free, open-source Mycroft alternative? OpenVoiceOS if you want to keep the Mycroft architecture with active development behind it. Home Assistant Assist if your actual need is smart-home voice control and you already run (or are willing to run) Home Assistant — both are free, open source and self-hosted.

Is there a Mycroft alternative that can see my screen? GAIA is the closest — its desktop app, read from its own source, can take a screenshot, read and write the clipboard, and open apps or URLs, but it cannot click, type or drag anything. Jarvis (getjarvis.eu) is the option here that both reads the screen on demand and can act inside apps, though it is a desktop assistant, not a voice-first smart-home hub.

Can Jarvis replace Mycroft? Only for a specific slice of what Mycroft did. Jarvis has no smart-home device control, no wake-word always-listening mode and no self-hosting. What it does instead is read your screen on demand and act inside 30+ connected apps via a hotkey. If smart-home voice control was the actual use case, Home Assistant Assist or OpenVoiceOS are the honest recommendations, not Jarvis.

Why does mycroft.ai redirect somewhere else? Because the original company behind Mycroft AI stopped operating the site, and the domain now points to community.openconversational.ai — the forum home for the open-source projects that continued the work, primarily OpenVoiceOS and the Neon AI platform. This was confirmed directly by visiting mycroft.ai on 26 August 2026 and observing the redirect.

Alternatives · Mycroft alternatives · Last updated August 26, 2026