01
In-pod restart
A daemon supervises OpenClaw and restarts it the moment it dies, before anyone notices.
Compare·Molted vs Cua
Cua alternative for managed AI agents
Cua turns your own machines into shared desktops for people and agents. Molted runs and operates the agents for you.
Cua (YC Spring 2025) started as open-source infrastructure for computer-use agents and is best known for Cua Driver, an MIT-licensed driver that lets an agent use native desktop apps on macOS, Windows and Linux, and Lume, its macOS virtualization tool. Its current product, Cua Spaces, turns the Macs, Linux boxes and cloud VMs you already have into shared desktops where your team and your agents work side by side, each with their own cursor.Cua is explicit that it does not rent machines: you bring the computers and pay for them, Cua provides the app, sharing and relay.Molted is the opposite trade. It is a managed operating environment for autonomous agents (OpenClaw today, Hermes and other runtimes on request) where the machines, the runtime and its recovery are all operated for you.
01Side by side
Molted vs Cua.
Cua
Molted
What it is
CuaCua Spaces: shared desktops on computers you own or rent, for teams and computer-use agents, plus the open-source Cua Driver and Lume.
MoltedManaged operating environment for autonomous agents: OpenClaw today, Hermes and other runtimes on request.
Who runs the hardware
CuaYou do: your Mac, other machines you connect, or VMs in your own AWS, Google Cloud or Modal account, billed by your provider.
MoltedMolted does, on EU and US managed clusters, or on your own infrastructure through on-premise deployment, still operated by Molted.
Pricing
CuaFree (2 live sessions, 20 relay hours a month), Pro $12/mo, Teams $30 per seat per month, as of October 2026. Machine costs are separate and yours.
MoltedPer instance per day, pro-rated, compute and operating layer included, with up to 30% off annual.
Computer use
CuaThe core strength: native desktop control across macOS, Windows and Linux, a cursor per person and per agent, and Teleport to move a signed-in app session into a Space.
MoltedManaged browser automation for the agent: captcha solving, rotating geo-aware proxies and persistent logged-in profiles to reach tools with no API.
Human in the loop
CuaBuilt in: watch a Space live, step in to make a call such as approving a payment, then hand the desktop back.
MoltedThe agent works unattended; you review its work and files, and roll back any change with point-in-time restore.
Uptime and recovery
CuaAs reliable as the machine it runs on; a Mac that sleeps or a box that reboots takes its Spaces with it.
Molted4-tier self-healing: crashes caught in under 60s, back in under 90s, post-mortem on every failure, 99.5% SLA on managed clusters.
State
CuaWhatever the underlying machine keeps.
MoltedVersioned, S3-backed filesystem with file-level diff and point-in-time restore that hot-reloads the running instance.
Integrations and identity
CuaConnect Claude Code, Codex or another agent through the Cua MCP; app access comes from the desktop itself.
Molted1,500+ integrations through a managed layer and a dedicated mailbox and phone number per agent.
Fleet
CuaTeams share machines with roles and device approval; SSO and audit export are listed as coming next.
MoltedA REST API for the full instance lifecycle, multi-tenant isolation and a white-label dashboard.
Best for
CuaTeams that own machines and want people and computer-use agents to share native desktops.
MoltedTeams that want autonomous agents running around the clock without owning or watching the machines.
02The part nobody else builds
One OpenClaw is hard to keep alive. Thousands is impossible without recovery.
A single OpenClaw in production already fails in quiet ways: it crashes and stays down, a config corrupts and bricks the instance, memory spikes and the whole box goes with it. Run thousands of them and doing this by hand is not hard, it is impossible. You need watchers and recovery running every second. Cua does not ship any of this. Like every general cloud, machine or agent framework, it hands you infrastructure, not a system that watches your agents and brings them back. Molted is that system.
02
Pod recreation
If the pod itself fails, it is recreated automatically, with the instance state intact.
03
Known-good restore
openclaw doctor repairs corrupted configs and the versioned filesystem restores a last known-good state.
04
Critical alert
If automated recovery cannot fix it, a critical alert fires with a full post-mortem of the failure.
On top of the four tiers, a RAM semaphore throttles startups and kills by priority before a shared node runs out of memory, so high density never becomes a crash. Crashes are caught in under 60 seconds and back online in under 90, with a post-mortem on every failure.
03Why Molted
The detail behind the table.
What Cua is genuinely great at
Cua is one of the most respected names in computer use. Cua Driver lets an agent operate native apps on macOS, Windows and Linux without hijacking your cursor, it is MIT licensed, and Lume makes macOS virtual machines practical. Spaces adds something genuinely new: a desktop where a person and several agents each have their own cursor, so you can step in to approve a payment and hand control back.
Teleport, which moves a signed-in app session into a Space with your approval and end-to-end sealing, is a smart answer to the login problem. If your agents need native desktop apps, or you already own spare Macs and Linux boxes, Cua is an excellent fit and a fair price.
Bring your own machines vs have them operated
Cua's model is that you bring the computers. That is a feature when you already own the hardware, and a responsibility when agents must stay up: the machine's uptime, updates, sleep settings, network and disk are yours, and so is the agent running on it.
Molted takes the other side of that trade. The machines, the OpenClaw runtime and its recovery are operated for you: a supervising daemon that outlives the agent, 4-tier self-healing with post-mortems, config auto-repair, a versioned filesystem with point-in-time restore, 1,500+ integrations, managed browser automation and a mailbox and phone number per agent. When you need hardware you control, Molted's on-premise option runs that operating layer inside your infrastructure.
Often complementary
The two fit together naturally. Cua is the right tool when an agent must drive a native desktop app with a human able to take over; Molted is the right home for the autonomous agent that runs all day, calls tools, browses the web and handles email and phone, and can hand a desktop-only step to a Cua Space.
The same team behind Molted operates molted.cloud for 300+ clients; molted.net is the canary surface.
The verdict
Cua is the computer-use specialist: an open-source driver for native apps, macOS virtualization and shared desktops where people and agents each hold a cursor, on machines you own. Molted is the managed alternative to owning the machines: always-on autonomous agents with 4-tier self-healing, versioned state, 1,500+ integrations, browser automation and per-agent identity, operated for you or on-premise. Pick Cua to share desktops with agents; pick Molted to have agents run without you.
04FAQ
Molted vs Cua, answered.
01Does Cua host the machines for my agents?
Not in its current Spaces product. Per Cua's pricing page, Spaces run on computers you own or rent yourself, including your Mac, other machines you connect, or VMs in your own AWS, Google Cloud or Modal account, and your provider bills you for them. Cua provides the app, sharing and relay. Molted hosts and operates the agents, or runs on-premise in your infrastructure.
02How does Cua pricing compare to Molted?
Cua Spaces is free for up to 2 live sessions and 20 relay hours a month, Pro is $12/mo and Teams is $30 per seat per month, as of October 2026, with machine costs on top. Molted prices per agent instance per day, pro-rated, with compute and the operating layer included.
03Which is better for computer-use agents?
For native desktop apps on macOS or Windows, with a person able to step in, Cua is purpose-built. For autonomous agents that mostly work through APIs, a real browser, email and phone, and must run unattended, Molted fits better, with managed browser automation, 1,500+ integrations and per-agent identity.
04When should I pick Cua over Molted?
When you already own the machines, want people and agents sharing native desktops, or need open-source computer-use tooling you can run anywhere. Pick Molted when you want agents operated around the clock without owning, patching or watching the hardware.
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