Helios vs Dust
Helios vs Dust
Dust builds chat agents grounded in company data. Helios runs agents on their own computer, on a trigger, with the full API of each tool.
5,000 free credits to start.
Dust describes itself as multiplayer AI for human and agent collaboration. Its agents answer questions in chat and call tools, grounded in data indexed from sources like Notion, Drive, Slack, GitHub, and Salesforce. Helios is built for work that has to run without a person in the chat. Each run gets its own sandbox, starts on a schedule, a webhook, or an event, and can call the full API of every connected tool. Both products are used by teams that want agents shared across a company. They solve different parts of that problem.
At a glance
Side by side
Short facts for each product. The Dust column comes from public pages on the date shown at the bottom of this page.
| Topic | Helios | Dust |
|---|---|---|
| Computer per run | Yes. Every run and chat starts an isolated sandbox with shell, filesystem, and code execution. | Agents run in conversation and call tools. Dust's public pages do not describe a per-run computer. |
| Tools and APIs | The full OpenAPI or GraphQL surface of each connected service, plus remote MCP servers. | Tools and data connectors configured per agent, with 100 or more indexed data sources. |
| Triggers | Manual, cron schedule, signed webhook, and events from GitHub, Slack, and Plain. | Chat in Dust or Slack. Event triggers are not described on the public pages we checked. |
| Human review | Agents propose edits to shared Library files. A person approves or discards each file. | A person reads the agent's answer in chat before acting on it.Requires the Library release. |
| Permissions | Four resource roles. Share with a person, a group, a service account, or the whole organization, with optional expiry. | Managed per workspace and seat. Check Dust's documentation for the current role list. |
| CLI | A terminal app and CLI with the same roles as the dashboard. JSON output when piped. | A public API, metered at $0.01 per credit.Requires the CLI release. |
| Pricing model | Usage credits. 5,000 free credits, then $0.002 per credit. No seats. | Per seat, with a credit bundle per plan. Free, Pro at $30 per seat per month, Max at $150 per seat per month. |
| Organization spend limits | A monthly spending limit for the organization. Triggers stop when credits run out. Optional auto refill. | Credits reset monthly with no rollover. Enterprise plans pool credits across seats. |
| Memory or context | Shared Library files mount into every run. Changes go through review before they are saved. | A company data index that agents retrieve from at answer time.Requires the Library release. |
Where Dust is strong
What Dust does well
- Company knowledge indexing. Dust connects to 100 or more data sources and grounds every answer in that index.
- Model choice per agent. Dust lets a builder pick from Claude, GPT, Gemini, and Mistral models for each agent.
- Chat where people already are. Dust agents live inside Slack, and non-technical builders can create them without code.
- EU data residency and SOC 2 Type II, with customers such as Doctolib, Clay, Datadog, and 1Password named on its public pages.
Where Helios is different
How Helios works instead
- Every run gets its own computer. A Helios run starts a fresh sandbox with a shell, a filesystem, and code execution. Dust agents answer in conversation and call tools.
- The full API of each tool. Helios indexes the complete OpenAPI or GraphQL surface of every connected service. The agent finds the endpoint it needs and calls it. There is no fixed action list per agent.
- Runs start on a trigger. A Helios workflow runs on a cron schedule, a signed webhook, or an event from GitHub, Slack, or Plain. Dust's public pages describe conversation and retrieval. We did not find event-driven execution described there.
- Usage is metered at the organization level. Helios charges credits with a monthly spending limit for the whole organization. There are no seats. Dust bundles credits per seat.
- Agents propose file changes and people approve them. Library edits show as a side-by-side diff with per-file approve or discard. Requires the Library release.
Pricing
What each one charges
Public list prices, checked on 7 September 2026. Prices change, so confirm on each vendor's page before you decide.
Helios
5,000 free credits to start. Then $0.002 per credit. No seats. Monthly spending limit per organization. Enterprise pricing on request.
Helios pricing →Dust
Free seat with 500 lifetime credits. Pro at $30 per seat per month, or $24 billed annually, with 8,000 credits. Max at $150 per seat per month, or $120 billed annually, with 40,000 credits. Enterprise is custom with pooled credits. Public list prices as of September 2026.
Dust pricing page →Checked on 7 September 2026
Using both
Helios and Dust together
Moving a Dust agent to Helios means copying its instructions into a workflow prompt, connecting the same tools, and adding a trigger. There is no importer. Many teams keep Dust for questions over company documents and use Helios for work that has to run on a schedule or on an event.
FAQ
Helios and Dust, common questions
Run your first task.
5,000 free credits. Set an organization spending limit before your first workflow runs.
Dust information is from public pages on 7 September 2026. Marks belong to their owners. Helios is not affiliated with Dust. Tell us if something is out of date at [email protected].