Overview

Houston is a shared workspace for teams that want AI agents to work across their connected tools. It is best suited to groups that need shared agents, selectable models and team-level access controls. The free plan is a low-risk way to explore the workflow, but regular team use points toward the per-user Team plan.

Key features

Agents can carry out tasks across connected tools, report results on a mission board and ask for a decision when needed. Scheduled runs and web browsing support work that extends beyond a one-off prompt, while human approvals keep people involved at decision points. This setup fits teams seeking a managed workflow; it is less compelling for someone who only needs an individual chatbot.

Houston advertises more than 1,000 integrations, including Gmail, Slack, QuickBooks, HubSpot and Google Drive, and more than 400 models, with a model selectable for each agent. Teams can connect an existing ChatGPT or Claude subscription, use an API key or run local models. That breadth gives teams options for matching tools and models to different tasks, though the number of connections alone does not determine whether a particular workflow will suit the product.

The maker says agents’ learnings, skills and files belong to the team and remain available when people join. Owner, Manager and Member roles, plus per-agent sharing choices, give teams a way to control who can access shared work. Desktop workspaces, agent files, prompts, settings and transcripts are stored locally unless a feature such as Cloud sync uploads them. Houston says it uses HTTPS/TLS in transit, provider-supported encryption at rest, access controls and audit logging; it also says it does not sell personal information or use agent files, prompts or messages to train its own models.

Pricing

The Free plan costs 0.00 USD per free and supports up to three people in one space, with limited usage, all 1,000+ integrations, use with an existing AI subscription and community agents. It requires no card, but the people cap and usage limit make it better for a small team evaluating shared-agent work than for sustained use.

Team costs 12.00 USD per month when billed annually, or $15 billed monthly. It adds unlimited teammates and usage, agents around the clock, shared agents and team spaces, roles and guardrails. The per-user charge buys room to expand beyond the free plan’s three-person cap, but teams should weigh that recurring cost against their expected usage.

A 14-day free trial starts when the second team member accepts an invitation and requires no card. Enterprise has custom pricing and is aimed at larger teams, with SSO, a security review, team onboarding, an uptime SLA, priority support in English and Spanish, and private deployment.

Platforms

Houston is available on Linux, macOS, Windows and the web. Its local-storage approach for desktop workspaces may suit teams that want workspace data to remain on their devices unless they enable a cloud feature.

Who it's for

Houston is a strong fit for teams coordinating agents across multiple tools and wanting shared ownership, model choice and controls over agent access. It is a weaker fit for individuals or very small groups that need high usage without a per-user subscription, or for buyers who want an agent builder rather than a shared workspace.

Pros and cons

Pros: Broad advertised integration and model choices, with options to bring a ChatGPT or Claude subscription, use an API key or run local models.
Pros: Shared agent work, role-based access and per-agent sharing can help teams keep work available as membership changes.
Pros: The free plan and card-free 14-day trial give a small group a way to assess the workflow before committing.
Cons: Free usage is limited and the plan stops at three people, so it is not a durable option for a growing or heavily active team.
Cons: Team is billed per user, which makes broader access a recurring cost rather than a single workspace fee.

Alternatives

For a general assistant rather than a shared agent workspace, Microsoft Copilot has a free plan with access subject to capacity and usage limits, and runs on web, Windows, macOS, iOS and Android.

Teams focused on document automation can consider Automation Anywhere Document Automation, whose free Community Edition includes Document Automation for eligible small businesses, up to five machines and 100 pages per month.

Wordware is another option.

Agentforce Vibes is another option.

Falcon Builder is another option.

Relevance AI offers a free plan with 100 credits per day, one user and 10MB of knowledge, making it a possible alternative for someone prioritizing a capped individual allowance.

Workato Agent Studio has a no-cost plan with 50,000 one-time credits.

Dust offers a free plan with 500 lifetime credits.

Browse more options in AI Agent Builders and AI Agent Platforms.

Verdict

Choose Houston if your team wants agents to work across connected tools with shared ownership, flexible model access and controls over who can use each agent. Its clearest advantage is bringing those team workflows together; look elsewhere if you need an individual assistant or cannot justify a per-user plan once the free limits become restrictive.

	Houston	ZBrain
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	Yes	No
Paid from	$12/mo	—
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Linux, macOS, Web, Windows	Web
Free plan	Yes	No
Deployment model	—	both
Visual agent builder	—	Yes
Multi-agent support	—	Yes
Knowledge grounding	—	Yes
Voice agent support	—	Yes
Human handoff	—	Yes

Houston vs ZBrain

Houston

ZBrain