Comparison

RawClaw vs Hi,buddy

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

RawClaw

Control your self-hosted AI agent from your phone. Chat with your AI in real-time, monitor its activity, automate tasks, and customize its personality and memory. Extend its capabilities with a vast skill registry.

Highlights
  • Real-time AI chat with voice and file support
  • Live dashboard for gateway health and activity
  • Create and manage automations and cron jobs
  • Edit AI persistent context files (SOUL.md, MEMORY.md)
  • Browse and install new AI skills from ClawHub
  • Secure connection via local network or Tailscale VPN
  • Model picker for switching AI models
Features
Read full description

Your personal AI agent, always in your pocket. RawClaw gives you full operational control of your self-hosted AI — chat, monitor, automate, and shape how it thinks — all from your phone. Built for OpenClaw, the open-source AI agent framework. REAL-TIME AI CHAT — WITH FULL TRANSPARENCY Real-time messaging with voice input, file attachments, and multi-session support. See exactly what your AI is thinking and doing — including every tool call it makes. LIVE DASHBOARD Your home dashboard shows gateway health, token usage trends, active automations, connected channels, and recent activity — all updating in real time. AUTOMATIONS & CRON JOBS View, create, toggle, and trigger cron jobs on demand. See run history with logs, outputs, and error details. Build new automations with a guided visual scheduler. SHAPE HOW YOUR AI THINKS Read and edit your AI's persistent context files — SOUL.md, MEMORY.md, USER.md, and more. Define your AI's personality, memory, and preferences directly from your phone. EXTEND WITH SKILLS Browse installed AI capabilities and explore the ClawHub skill registry to find and install new ones. Web search. Email. Calendar. Finance tracking. GitHub PR reviews — install new capabilities in seconds. YOUR SETUP, YOUR WAY • Category-based push notifications with quiet hours • Secure gateway connection via local network or Tailscale VPN • Light and dark theme support • Model picker — switch AI models on the fly PRIVACY FIRST Zero cloud. Zero tracking. RawClaw connects directly to your self-hosted OpenClaw gateway — your conversations and data never leave your control. When you're away from home, Tailscale (a free app) creates an encrypted peer-to-peer tunnel between your phone and your machine. No ports to open, no servers in the middle — just a private connection that works anywhere. Install it once, and forget about it. GETTING STARTED 1. Set up OpenClaw on your Mac or server (github.com/nichochar/openclaw) 2. Install Tailscale on both your computer and phone (free at tailscale.com) 3. Open RawClaw and connect — that's it On your home network, RawClaw connects directly with no extra setup. Tailscale extends that same private connection to anywhere in the world. The first time you connect, you'll approve your phone from your computer with a single terminal command. After that, it just works.

About

Hi,buddy

This app transforms your phone into a companion device for Claude Desktop, allowing you to monitor session status, approve requests, and receive important updates via Bluetooth. It eliminates the need for extra hardware, making it convenient for developers and makers.

Highlights
  • Live session status monitoring
  • Permission prompt approval
  • Haptic and sound feedback
  • No extra hardware needed
  • Designed for developers
Features
Read full description

Hi,buddy turns your phone into a Claude Hardware Buddy companion for Claude Desktop. Connect over Bluetooth and keep Claude's work visible in the palm of your hand. Hi,buddy acts as a BLE peripheral compatible with the Hardware Buddy flow, showing live session state, permission prompts, and feedback controls on the device you already carry. What Hi,buddy helps with: • See Claude status at a glance Track running and waiting sessions, current status, recent activity, and token signals from Claude Desktop. • Approve faster When Claude needs permission, Hi,buddy surfaces the request so you can approve once or deny from your phone. • Feel important changes Use haptics, sound, visual states, Live Activities, and notifications to notice waiting approvals and session changes. • No extra device required Try the Claude Buddy experience without setting up an ESP32 or M5StickC-style hardware accessory. • Made for makers and developers Hi,buddy is designed for people who keep Claude Desktop running while coding, shipping, testing, or tinkering. Important notes: Hi,buddy works with Claude Desktop's Hardware Buddy Bluetooth flow. For discovery, your device system Bluetooth name may need to start with "Claude". Bluetooth discovery and sensory feedback depend on foreground/background behavior.

Screenshots

RawClaw4 screens
Hi,buddy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: RawClaw at 75% against Hi,buddy's 0%. RawClaw also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 11 days) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RawClaw ships an update every 2 days, Hi,buddy every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
RawClaw versus Hi,buddy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRawClawHi,buddy
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 11 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size33 MB17 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperAdam Weil帆 柯

Customer experience

RawClaw

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative0.0%

Hi,buddy

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

None

RawClaw

No in-app purchases

None

Hi,buddy

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is RawClaw free?
RawClaw is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Hi,buddy free?
Hi,buddy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do RawClaw or Hi,buddy have ads?
Neither RawClaw nor Hi,buddy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RawClaw or Hi,buddy?
RawClaw ships an update every 2 days, and Hi,buddy every 11 days. Most recently, RawClaw was updated on October 7, 2026 and Hi,buddy on October 15, 2026.

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