Api vs Paperclip
Api (getcargo.ai) and Paperclip (Paperclip) side by side on public data, as of Nov 7, 2026.
Api has 1.3x the weekly package downloads of Paperclip (70.8K against 55.6K). Over the last 30 days downloads moved +422% for Api and +42% for Paperclip. Paperclip shipped 12 stable releases in the past 90 days.
Which should you choose?
Choose Api if
- you want the one gaining users faster (downloads up 422% in 30 days, +120% in the last 7)
Choose Paperclip if
- you want to start free: it has a free plan, Api does not
- you want code you can read, fork or self-host (MIT)
- you want to use your own model API key
- you want to switch between model providers (4 documented against 0)
- you want to run it unattended in scripts or CI
- you want subagents or several agents working in parallel
Built from documented features, official prices, status pages and usage data on this page; it does not judge output quality.
Side-by-side numbers
| Metric | Api | Paperclip |
|---|---|---|
| Gid Score | 46 | 54 |
| Usage data as of | Nov 6 | Nov 7 |
| Rank by Gid Score | #54 | #27 |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 70.8K | 55.6K |
| Downloads, 7-day change | up 120.4% | down 19.2% |
| Downloads, 30-day change | up 422.0% | up 42.5% |
| VS Code installs | — | — |
| Marketplace rating | — | — |
| GitHub stars | — | 112K |
| Homebrew installs, 30 days | — | — |
| Hacker News mentions, 30 days | 0 | 77 |
| Latest stable release | — | 2026.1106.0 · yesterday |
| Stable releases, 90 days | — | 12 |
| Terminal-Bench (best run) | — | — |
| Price | — | Free (OSS) |
| License | — | MIT |
| First released | — | March 2026 |
| Interfaces | — | Web app, CLI, Self-hosted |
| Models | — | — |
A dash means there is no public data for that metric as of Nov 7, 2026.
Trends
Api
Typed TypeScript client for the Cargo API — models and records, orchestration runs and batches, connectors and integrations, agents, segments, and billing. The programmatic surface behind the cargo-ai CLI.
Paperclip
Open-source Node.js server and React app for running a team of AI agents toward a business goal. You define the goal, give agents such as Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, OpenCode or OpenClaw roles in an org chart, set a budget per agent and approve the plan, then follow tasks, costs and an append-only audit log from one dashboard. A hosted Paperclip Cloud is on a waitlist.
Pricing: Free and open source (MIT), self-hosted. Paperclip Cloud has a waitlist and no public price.
Latest release 2026.1106.0:
- The Pipelines experiment is removed. Pipeline boards, stage settings, case automation, review queues, the pipelines CLI commands, the pipelines:write permission, the enablePipelines setting, and…
- Run failures no longer reach Sentry by default. A backend DSN alone no longer reports agent run failures.
- The run history list is bounded. GET /api/companies/{companyId}/heartbeat-runs returns 200 rows by default and at most 1,000; clients that relied on an unbounded array must pass an explicit limit.
- paperclipai agent instructions-file:delete requires --yes like the other destructive CLI commands; scripts that call it must add the flag.
Api vs Paperclip: common questions
How do Api and Paperclip prices compare?
Api: —. Paperclip: Free (OSS). Prices come from each vendor's pricing page.
Is Api or Paperclip open source?
Paperclip is open source (MIT); Api is proprietary.
Which is more popular, Api or Paperclip?
Paperclip has a Gid Score of 54 against 46 for Api. The score combines package downloads, editor installs, GitHub activity and attention, updated daily.
Do Api and Paperclip support MCP servers?
Paperclip documents support for MCP servers; Api's documentation does not.