Apache Maka vs Cruely: Features, Pricing & Which Is Better (2026)
A side-by-side comparison of Apache Maka and Cruely — features, pricing, and ideal use cases — to help you decide which AI tool fits your workflow.
Apache Maka
The Apache Software Foundation
Apache-licensed local-first agent workspace that runs tools in a sandbox and records every model message and tool call as a recoverable execution log.
Key features
- Append-Only Execution Record: Model messages, tool calls, tool results, permission decisions, and turn termination events are written down durably, so the transcript is evidence rather than a disposable chat buffer.
- Context Trimming Without Data Loss: Old tool output can be omitted from the next prompt to shorten context while the full saved history remains intact and inspectable.
- Single Runtime Host: Desktop, terminal, and evaluation all execute through one runtime, so behavior does not diverge between how you develop and how you benchmark.
- Sandboxed Tool Boundary: Built-in Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Glob, and Grep tools run under a sandbox; anything leaving that boundary requires approval, and Computer Use and catalog skills are opt-in.
- Crash Recovery and Resume: Runs can be aborted, failures are classified, and an interrupted turn can optionally be resumed rather than restarted from scratch.
- Session Branching and Search: The desktop workspace supports creating, archiving, searching, renaming, retrying, regenerating, and branching sessions from any turn.
- Bring Your Own Model: Connect a cloud API, a locally hosted model, or a compatible gateway, with streaming output, thinking, usage reporting, and clearer provider errors.
- Declarative Evaluation Harness: maka eval expands multi-arm experiments into task by repetition by subject cells with immutable per-cell attempts and a result kernel covering score, normalized usage, attributable cost, duration, and failure reason.
- Local-First Storage: Sessions, settings, artifacts, and run records stay on the machine by default, with local memory and optional web search when configured.
Best for
- Auditable Agent Runs: Keeping a defensible record of exactly what an agent did and which permissions were granted during a task.
- Long Coding Sessions: Working through a multi-turn refactor with branching and resume instead of losing state when a turn fails.
- Agent Benchmarking: Running reproducible multi-arm experiments comparing models, prompts, or external agent subjects on the same task set.
- Air-Gapped or Regulated Work: Running an agent workspace where sessions and artifacts must remain on local infrastructure.
- Cost and Usage Analysis: Attributing token usage, cost, and duration per experiment cell to decide which model configuration to ship.
- Terminal Workflows: Driving an agent from the current project directory or scripting a single non-interactive turn from CI or a shell.
- Open-Source Agent Research: Building on a permissively licensed runtime whose execution semantics and architecture are fully documented.
Cruely
Cluely
Live meeting assistant that provides real-time notes, instant answers, and actionable insights during calls to help participants in the moment.
Key features
- Live Meeting Notes: Captures spoken content during calls and generates live, continuously updating meeting notes so participants can follow and reference discussion in real time.
- Instant Answers: Responds to on-demand questions during a meeting, allowing participants to request clarifications or facts without leaving the call or waiting for post-meeting follow-up.
- Real-Time Insights: Analyzes meeting content as it occurs to surface highlights, key topics, or suggested actions that help guide the conversation and support decision-making.
- In-Meeting Assistance: Provides support during the meeting (not just after) by offering contextual suggestions, reminders, or summaries aligned to the ongoing discussion.
- Live meeting notes capture during calls
- Instant answers during meetings (in-call Q&A)
- Real-time insights surfaced while the meeting is ongoing
- Designed to assist during meetings rather than only produce post-meeting summaries
- No API, integration, platform, or system requirement details specified in provided content
Best for
- Live meeting note-taking: Automatically produce up-to-date notes during remote team meetings so attendees can stay engaged rather than manually capturing minutes.
- On-the-spot Q&A during sales calls: Provide instant factual answers or product details while sales reps are on customer calls, reducing follow-up delays.
- Facilitating decision meetings: Surface key points and action suggestions live to help steering committees or product teams reach decisions faster.
- Support for distributed teams: Give remote participants a persistent, real-time reference of meeting content and context to reduce miscommunication.
- Taking live notes during remote or in-person meetings
- Getting instant answers to questions while a call is in progress
- Surfacing actionable insights and highlights during discussions
- Improving meeting productivity and reducing follow-up work