A work agent for freelancers and small teams who want finished files, not chat replies. Alibaba says 30 million people signed up in China in month one. Abroad it is a beta with English and Simplified Chinese only, so trial it on the free plan before moving real work over.
What changed
- · Release QwenWork International public beta opens on web and desktop source
QwenWork is Alibaba's work agent. It opened an international public beta on 26 August 2026, after a China beta in early August. Alibaba built it by merging three agent platforms, QoderWork, MuleRun and Wukong. Users describe a task, and with permission it browses sites, works in files and delivers documents, decks and live pages on web and desktop.
Maker: Alibaba · Autonomy: semi autonomous · Maturity: BETA
Underlying models: Qwen3.8-Max
About QwenWork
QwenWork is Alibaba's work agent, sold outside China as QwenWork International at qwenwork.ai. It opened as a China beta in early August 2026 and began an international public beta on 26 August 2026. Alibaba built it by merging three of its own agent products, QoderWork, MuleRun and Wukong, into one platform. What makes it an agent rather than a chatbot is that you describe an outcome, and with your permission it browses websites, works through your files and runs multi-step jobs, then hands back finished documents, decks, pages or media.
A Jefferies evaluation relayed by Alibaba ties QwenWork's top ranking to the Qwen3.8-Max model plus the agent's own scaffolding of instructions and tools. The international documentation we read names only Basic and Advanced model tiers, so the exact model behind each tier is not published there. The model family comes from the team behind Qwen at Alibaba Cloud, and Qwen3.8-Max has its own page. The desktop client adds Awareness, an opt-in memory that carries your working style between sessions and can be switched off, and repeat jobs can be kept as Skills or put on a schedule.
Pages is the part most agents lack: QwenWork builds a site, hosts it, and on paid plans adds password protection and database storage, with custom domain support per Alibaba. It also generates images, video and audio. Connectors link outside services only after you authorize each one, and the DingTalk connector that matters most inside China is not shown in the international edition. Computer Control lets it see the screen and click and type in other apps in the background; its documentation lists macOS only. Other personal and work agents on HokAI include Manus, Muse, Cue, dots, Grok Bot, Hermes Agent and, on phones in China, Doubao Phone Assistant. If you want an agent you host yourself instead, OpenClaw is the contrast, while ChatGPT Work and Gemini Spark are the closest cloud rivals. The review habits in AI Agent Approval apply here too.
Access is through the web app or a desktop installer for macOS and Windows, with a free plan and paid personal and enterprise plans on a credit system. Do not confuse it with the Qwen App, Alibaba's consumer chat app, which is a separate product. Alibaba reports 30 million users in China within the first month, with enterprise accounts above half, and says it shipped 120 version updates in that month. It has published no adoption figures for the international edition. The interface supports English and Simplified Chinese for now, with more languages promised. If you are unsure which agent fits your work, Smart Match can narrow the field.
Pricing
Read on qwenwork.ai/pricing on 24 October 2026. Free: $0 with a one-time signup bonus and a daily login bonus (both limited time), 1 GB storage, 5 published pages, 10 parallel tasks. Plus: $20/month or $16/month billed annually ($192/year), 2,000 credits a month, 10 GB, 10 pages, unlimited parallel tasks. Pro: $40/month or $32/month billed annually ($384/year), 4,500 credits, 20 GB, 50 pages. Enterprise Standard: $30/seat/month ($360/seat/year), 2,000 credits per seat, 100 GB, admin console. Enterprise Premium: custom, adds dedicated VPC deployment. Add-on credit packs for paid personal users: $1 = 100 credits. Alibaba has not published credits per task in the pages we read.
Key Features
- Awareness memory: An opt-in desktop setting that carries your preferences and prior context between sessions, so you do not re-brief it, and it can be switched off at any time.
- Finished deliverables: Alibaba lists office document generation, deep research, voice input and file comprehension, with results you can preview, download or refine.
- Pages publishing: Builds and hosts live pages, with 5 pages on the free plan and 50 on Pro, plus password protection and database storage on paid plans.
- Computer Control: Reads the screen of a target app and clicks and types in the background, documented for macOS 14 or later after two permissions are granted.
- Skills and scheduled tasks: Saved workflows become reusable Skills, and a recurring job runs in the cloud on a schedule.
- Connectors: Installs outside services per workspace and uses each only after you sign in and approve its scope; installation alone grants no access.
Strengths
- Jefferies scored it 95 out of 100 across five office tasks against seven other agents on 17 August 2026, as relayed by Alibaba, with a full score on browser control.
- The free plan allows 10 parallel tasks and 500 signup credits, so you can test real work before paying.
- Hosted Pages, image, video and audio generation sit in the same product, so one subscription covers a task from brief to live site.
- Enterprise plans add an admin console with seat management and credit usage controls, and the privacy page documents TLS in transit and encryption at rest.
Weaknesses
- The international edition is a public beta that supports only English and Simplified Chinese interfaces, with other languages promised later.
- The credit system makes cost depend on the task, and the pages we read give no credits-per-task figures.
- The Computer Control page lists macOS 14 or later only, so Windows users get the installer but not a documented path for that feature.
- Onboarding asks you to tie the login to an Alibaba Cloud account, which adds friction for teams that avoid new vendor accounts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does QwenWork cost in 2026?
The qwenwork.ai pricing page, read on 24 October 2026, lists a Free plan at $0 with 500 signup credits and 200 daily login credits (both marked limited time). Plus is $20 a month ($16 a month billed annually, $192 a year) with 2,000 credits, and Pro is $40 a month ($32 billed annually, $384 a year) with 4,500 credits. Enterprise Standard is $30 per seat per month ($360 per seat per year) with 2,000 credits per seat, and Enterprise Premium is custom priced with a dedicated VPC option. Paid personal users can add credit packs at $1 for 100 credits, for example 10,000 credits for $100.
Can QwenWork operate my computer without me watching?
Yes, once you enable the Computer Control connector and grant Accessibility and Screen Recording permissions. It then takes screenshots, clicks and types in the background so you can keep working, and it checks each step before the next. The documentation lists macOS 14 or later for this feature and advises browser automation for web tasks because it is faster. Every connector needs your authorization first, and you can disconnect one at any time.
What can you use instead of QwenWork?
ChatGPT Work and Gemini Spark are the nearest cloud rivals, tied to the OpenAI and Google account ecosystems. OpenClaw suits people who would rather host the gateway themselves. QwenWork stands out for hosted Pages with database storage and for a desktop client with Computer Control, but it is still labelled beta abroad.
Is QwenWork the same thing as the Qwen App?
No. The Qwen App is Alibaba's consumer chat app, which on 15 January 2026 gained hooks into Taobao, Taobao Instant Commerce, Alipay, Fliggy and Amap for ordering food, paying and booking travel, in public testing in China. QwenWork is the workplace product for documents, research, decks and sites, and its DingTalk connector is not shown in the international edition. They share the Qwen model family, not a product page or a price list.
How do you get started with QwenWork?
Sign in at qwenwork.ai with a Google account or email, or install the desktop client (macOS 14 or later, Windows 10 or later). The product guide also has a step that links your account to an Alibaba Cloud account, so allow a few minutes for it. Describe one task, attach any source files, and review the intermediate results before you accept the final deliverable. Content is stored in Singapore cloud environments, per the privacy page.
Top Alternatives
- ChatGPT Work: Pick QwenWork for hosted pages and desktop control, ChatGPT Work if your files already live in OpenAI-connected apps.
- Gemini Spark: Pick Gemini Spark if your work runs in Gmail and Docs, QwenWork if you want deliverables and sites from one brief.
- OpenClaw: Pick OpenClaw to host the gateway yourself, QwenWork for a managed service with a free plan.