NanoCorp vs Cofounder.co (2026): Whose Agent Does the Work?

NanoCorp vs Cofounder.co, side by side: whose AI does the work, the monthly price, what you pay on top, taking payments, your code, and what happens when credit runs out. Cofounder facts from its own site, checked November 4, 2026.

NanoCorp vs Cofounder.co comes down to one question: do you want an AI agent included, or do you want to give tools to the agent you already use? NanoCorp's facts come from our pricing page and docs. Cofounder's come only from its own pricing page, docs and Terms, as of November 4, 2026. We make NanoCorp, so we are not neutral, and we read Cofounder's pages rather than testing its product.

	NanoCorp	Cofounder.co
Who does the work	One agent per business, included, that you steer by chat	Your own AI agent (Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor) using Cofounder's tools
Monthly price	Founder plan from $30 for 30 credits, up to $2,000 for 2,000	$40 per company, including $40 in credits
What credits pay for	Your agent's work	Services such as email, research, hosting and databases
The AI itself	Included	Separate: your agent's subscription or usage
More businesses	Unlimited on one plan, sharing one credit balance	$40 a month for each company
Taking payments	Built-in checkout, no payment account needed up front	Your own Stripe account, connected when you go live
Fee on your sales	20% when you withdraw	None listed on its pricing page or in its Terms
Between your messages	Scheduled check-ins, 1 to 8 a day	Your agent suggests tasks and waits for you to pick
Your code	Repository access from the $120 a month tier	Request access to your managed repository, on its one plan
An existing project	Start from a GitHub repository, as a one-time copy of the code	Bring a GitHub repository or a local folder
When credit runs out	Agent runs wait	Site stops serving and the database pauses until you add credit

Verdict: pick NanoCorp to have the agent, the site and the checkout in one place with no AI of your own to manage; pick Cofounder.co if you already work with an AI agent or a codebase and want to keep both.

Start your business on NanoCorp: the founding interview is free, and the Founder plan starts at $30 a month as of November 2026.

Whose agent does the work

This is the difference every other row follows from.

On NanoCorp, each business has one main agent. It works in turns: when you send it a message, on its check-ins, and when one of its routines is due. You give it an idea in a founding interview, and it runs from there. NanoCorp picks the model it runs on, and you can't plug in your own AI key. You can connect Claude or ChatGPT to your account, but that assistant talks to your businesses' agents. It doesn't replace them.

Cofounder went the other way. Its docs describe tools for code, hosting, databases, domains, email, phone, payments, customer records and ads, used by an agent you bring. Its migration guide says plainly that the old Cofounder agents can't be restarted, so your own agent does all new work. Setup starts with a prompt you paste into your agent's chat, and in hosts like Claude or ChatGPT there is nothing to install.

One thing to know when you read its site: the homepage shows agents organized into departments, while its pricing page and docs describe the bring-your-own setup. Where they differ, we follow the pricing page and docs, as of November 4, 2026.

Pick NanoCorp if...

You don't use an AI agent today and don't want to choose, pay for and run one.
You want to test several ideas. One Founder plan covers unlimited businesses.
You want work to continue between your messages, on a schedule you set.
You want a checkout ready to use, without opening a payment account first.
You sell one-off products as well as monthly plans.

Pick Cofounder.co if...

You already pay for Claude, ChatGPT, Codex or Cursor, and you want it doing the work.
You want to choose the AI model yourself. NanoCorp doesn't offer that.
You already have a product and want your own AI to work on it. Cofounder takes an existing repository or a local folder. NanoCorp also starts from a GitHub repository, but as a one-time copy that its own agent then works on.
You want your own payment account and its dashboard, with no percentage listed on your sales.
You want your agent to ask before it spends money. That is Cofounder's stated rule.
You want help forming a US company, or a phone number for the business. See the section on what each one covers below.

What you actually pay

The headline prices are close, and they buy different things.

NanoCorp. The Founder plan runs from $30 a month for 30 credits to $2,000 a month for 2,000 credits, as of November 4, 2026. Unused credits roll over. Credits pay for agent turns. Our docs put a chat turn at about 3 to 12 credits and a full product build at about 20, so 30 credits won't last long on a busy business. Check-ins spend credits too. You can set how many run each day or switch them off, and top-ups start at 10 credits for $15. All your businesses share one balance.

Cofounder. The plan is $40 per company per month, with $40 in credits, and unused credits roll over, as of November 4, 2026. Those credits don't pay for the AI: your agent's subscription or model usage is billed separately by its provider. They pay for services at published rates, for example about $15.55 a month for a basic database running all day, $3 a month per phone number, and domains at cost. Ads on Google and Meta use your ad spend plus 10%. Its pricing page says most users stay within the $40 while getting started, and that a business with real users and traffic may need more.

So for one business, NanoCorp's entry price is lower by $10, and it includes the AI. Cofounder may still cost you less if you already pay for an agent and would use it anyway. For three businesses, Cofounder's base price is $120 a month before your agent, while NanoCorp's starts at $30 with one shared balance. Those credits aren't equal units, so compare what a real month of work uses, not the two credit counts.

Getting paid

On NanoCorp, checkout is built in, and you sell one-off products and monthly plans. NanoCorp is the merchant of record, and earnings land in your business's balance. When you withdraw, NanoCorp keeps 20%: on a $100 withdrawal, $20 goes to NanoCorp and $80 to you, as of November 4, 2026. The first withdrawal asks for identity and bank details. By default, you don't get a payment dashboard of your own.

On Cofounder, your agent builds and tests checkout in a sandbox, and real payments start once you connect your live Stripe account. Its Terms make you the merchant of record unless the provider says otherwise, and put refunds, chargebacks and taxes on you. They also say Cofounder doesn't hold your funds unless an order or supplemental terms state it. We found no percentage on your sales on its pricing page or in its Terms. Its plan feature sells monthly and yearly prices, and the docs say one-time prices aren't supported there yet.

On fees alone, Cofounder takes less of what you earn. In exchange, you do more of the seller's job yourself.

What happens between your messages

NanoCorp is built to keep going. Our docs describe a business that runs with no human intervention, on check-ins you can set from 1 to 8 runs a day. Separate switches turn off the website, the checkout, outbound email or prospecting for a business. The cost of this is that credits keep being spent while you are away, so turn check-ins off for a business you aren't working on.

Cofounder's docs describe a more hands-on rhythm. Ask what to do next, and your agent suggests two or three tasks, recommends one and waits for you to pick. It buys, provisions and moves money only when you ask. Unattended jobs are possible with a company key. Its Terms also ask you to review what agents do and to require human approval for actions that could materially affect you or others. If you want to decide each step, this suits you better.

Your code, and running out of credit

Code. NanoCorp builds a private repository for each business, and you can open it from the $120 a month tier (as of November 4, 2026). Below that tier there is no access, and running the code on your own infrastructure isn't supported. Cofounder's ownership guide says you can request access to managed repositories and copy the code and history, without administrator access to the organization holding them. It also says that moving a running service takes more than the code: the database, hosting and domain each need their own transfer. On code, Cofounder is the more open of the two.

Credit. On Cofounder, hosting and databases draw from your balance. When it reaches $0, billing locks: the site stops serving, the database pauses with its data kept, and your repository access becomes read-only. Adding credit restores them, and auto-recharge helps you avoid it. On NanoCorp, agent runs wait while you are out of credits and start again when credits arrive. If your plan itself ends, the site stays up with a NanoCorp badge, while checkout, custom domain, outbound email and agents stop until you subscribe again. Nothing is deleted.

What each one covers

Cofounder lists more separate tools. It offers US company formation through a partner, with the partner's fee on top, and phone numbers. It runs ads on accounts you already have on Google, Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok and others. Our docs list neither company formation nor phone numbers. NanoCorp runs one Facebook and Instagram ad per business, with a daily budget you set.

NanoCorp gives each business its own site, email address, checkout, code repository and balance, set up from the interview. Cofounder's managed setup also creates a repository, hosting, a database and an inbox, at no charge for the setup itself, and it reports what is still missing.

For results, NanoCorp shows businesses running on the platform at nanocorp.so/live, and public profiles with their revenue. Cofounder's homepage says over 10,650 companies run on it and names a few case studies. Neither is a forecast for your idea.

Still weighing more than these two? Our AI cofounder alternatives guide covers other options, and Can AI run a business? covers what stays with you whichever you choose. When you're ready, start with the founding interview.

FAQ

Is NanoCorp better than Cofounder.co?

It depends on what you already have. NanoCorp fits a founder who wants the agent, site and checkout included. Cofounder fits one who already works with an AI agent or has a codebase, and wants control of the model and the payment account. We make NanoCorp, so we are biased: try one real task and judge the result.

How much does Cofounder.co cost compared to NanoCorp?

Cofounder is $40 a month per company with $40 in service credits, and your AI agent is billed separately. NanoCorp's Founder plan is $30 a month for 30 credits, up to $2,000 for 2,000, with the agent's work paid from those credits and unlimited businesses. Both as of November 4, 2026.

Do I need my own AI subscription?

For Cofounder, yes: its pricing page says your agent's subscription or model usage is separate. For NanoCorp, no: the agent that runs your business is part of the product. You can connect an assistant if you want to, but you don't have to.

Is either one free?

NanoCorp has no free plan, and the founding interview is free. Cofounder's pricing page lists one paid plan and advertises no free plan or trial as of November 4, 2026, though its setup step costs nothing and its docs mention trial limits on some accounts. Check what your account shows.

What happened to Cofounder 2?

Its migration guide says people who used Cofounder 2 or Cofounder Canvas keep their account, companies, files and billing. What changed is who does the work: your own agent. Past conversations stay readable, and the old agents can't be restarted.

Can I bring an existing product?

To Cofounder, yes: an existing GitHub repository or a local folder, per its setup guide. To NanoCorp, yes too: start from a GitHub repository for a one-time copy of the code, or use the command-line tool for a project on your computer.