# October vs Cua

Bring coding agents and app previews together in a shared workspace.

Checked 2026-10-29.

Cua and October overlap when agents need real applications, but their starting points differ. Cua Spaces supplies shared desktops on computers you own or cloud machines you rent, with computer-use tooling and separate input for people and agents. October organizes agents, apps, browsers, and teammates in a shared workspace, with Runs and Agent Intercom for coordination. Choose Cua when provisioning and sharing a computer is the immediate problem. Choose October when organizing the work across agents, tools, and people is the immediate problem.

## Choose October if
- You need a common workspace for agent tasks, browser previews, apps, and people.
- You want to connect coding sessions and coordinate their handoffs and reviews.
- You want canvas, Kanban, and code views around the same work.

## Choose Cua if
- You need full desktop environments that computer-use agents can operate.
- You want to share machines you own or rent and intervene in the same desktop.
- You want Cua’s desktop driver, virtual-machine tooling, or approved session transfer.

## Side by side

| What matters | October | Cua |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Primary unit | An agent-and-teammate workspace with several working views. | A Space: a desktop environment that agents and people can use. ([source](https://cua.ai/)) |
| Compute | Local and cloud agents, with service and plan requirements. | Computers you own or rent; Cua does not rent the machines to you. ([source](https://cua.ai/)) |
| Computer use | Place apps and previews beside the agents working on them. | Cua Driver operates native apps, with separate agent input. ([source](https://cua.ai/)) |
| Agent connections | Agent Intercom connects supported sessions for questions and handoffs. | Coding agents connect to Spaces through Cua’s MCP server. ([source](https://cua.ai/)) |
| Sharing | Invite teammates to the shared canvas and work together with permission. | Share a Space with people and work on the same desktop. ([source](https://cua.ai/)) |
| Moving app state | Organize the sessions and tools involved in a task. | Teleport moves approved app session bundles into a Space. ([source](https://cua.ai/)) |

## An execution environment and a coordination surface

Suppose an agent needs to reproduce a bug inside a desktop application. Cua’s question is how to provide a usable desktop, route input, and let a person take over when necessary. October’s question is how to keep that investigation connected to a coding agent, its running app, and a teammate’s review. Those are related questions, and a team may need both kinds of infrastructure. Decide which problem is blocking progress before comparing the products as complete substitutes.

## Budget for the machine as well as the interface

Cua’s current site is explicit that Spaces use computers you own or rent yourself. Cloud infrastructure costs therefore remain a separate consideration from the app and relay plan. October’s local and paid capabilities also have their own boundaries, and model-provider usage is separate from arranging sessions on a canvas. For either setup, identify the machine, its owner, credentials, and lifetime before giving an agent a long task. A clear compute arrangement matters more than the word cloud on a feature list.

## Questions

### Does Cua provide the cloud computers?

Its current product page says no: Spaces run on your own computers or machines in your own cloud account. Cua supplies the app, sharing, and connectivity. Consult its current deployment guides before estimating the complete cost of a setup.

### Is Cua the same as a coding agent?

Cua provides environments and computer-use tools that agents connect to. Its product page lists coding agents that can connect through MCP. October is also a layer around agents, but focuses on the workspace and coordination of the people, sessions, and tools involved.

### Which Cua product is compared here?

The main comparison is with Cua Spaces. Cua Driver and Lume are related components with their own purposes and licenses. We call out those distinctions so a shared-computer product is not confused with a single automation library.

## Sources
- [October product overview](https://www.october.dev/)
- [Cua Spaces, Driver, compute model, and sharing](https://cua.ai/)

[All comparisons](https://www.october.dev/comparisons)