Happy Valley

Glean vs Hob

Glean and Hob are both AI assistants tools. Glean is aimed at enterprise, while Hob is aimed at freelancers and small businesses. Only Hob has a free plan.

Glean

Enterprise AI search and assistant across all your company apps

Hob

Free open-source desktop AI coworker that runs models on your computer

PricingPaidOpen source
Starting priceNot publishedNot published
Free planNoYes
Free trial——
Built forEnterpriseFreelancers, Small businesses, Developers
Platformswebmacos, windows, linux
CountryUS · 2019—
Rating——

Choose Glean if

Large companies with knowledge spread across dozens of SaaS tools that need permission-safe AI search and assistants.

  • Among the most mature permission-aware enterprise search products
  • Very broad connector library including code and ticketing tools
  • Model-agnostic, so companies are not tied to one AI vendor

Look elsewhere if: Small teams or firms already standardized on one suite's AI (Microsoft 365 Copilot, ChatGPT Enterprise or Notion AI are simpler).

Choose Hob if

Professionals and small teams who want a Claude-style desktop assistant for files and documents without sending data to the cloud.

  • Completely free and MIT licensed with no account
  • Chats and files stay on your computer, no telemetry
  • Picks and installs a suitable model automatically

Look elsewhere if: Users who need the strongest reasoning or team features, or who have low-memory machines (Claude, ChatGPT).

Glean vs Hob pricing

Glean

  • EnterpriseCustom quoteSales-led, seat-based; Search, Assistant and Agents via demo

Hob

  • Free$0MIT licensed, no account, subscription or usage limits

Glean · Key features

  • Permission-aware enterprise search across 275+ connected apps
  • Glean Assistant answers questions with citations to company sources
  • Glean Agents that automate multi-step tasks from plain-language instructions
  • Enterprise Graph mapping people, content, projects and activity
  • Near real-time permission sync so users only see what they may access
  • Model routing across 40+ open and frontier models

Cons

  • No public pricing and no self-serve trial
  • Priced for enterprises; reported seat minimums put off small firms
  • Answer quality depends on tidy permissions and content in sources

Hob · Key features

  • Automatic hardware check and download of a fitting open-weight model
  • Works on attached files or project folders with their own instructions
  • Sandboxed Python with pandas, openpyxl and on-demand PyPI packages
  • Reads PDFs including scans and fills PDF forms on Mac
  • Image understanding with a local Qwen vision model
  • Local metasearch web search and on-device dictation

Cons

  • Local models are weaker than frontier cloud models on hard tasks
  • Needs at least 8 GB RAM and 10 to 25 GB of disk
  • PDF form filling is Mac only

Glean vs Hob: FAQ

Do Glean and Hob have a free plan?

Glean has no free plan. Hob has a free plan.

Which is better for small businesses, Glean or Hob?

Hob lists small businesses as a core audience, while Glean is aimed more at enterprise.

Not sure yet?