# Buzz vs BAND — full data layer

> BAND 6.9, Buzz 6.4 under published fleet-operator weights. Verified 2026-08-19.
Published by Signalbox Bench. Contact corrections@buzzvsband.com. Site verification date 2026-08-19.

## Rubric and weights (fleet-operator, published default)

- Extensibility and interop (extensibility): weight 20
- Model flexibility (modelFlexibility): weight 18
- Time to real work (timeToRealWork): weight 16
- Day-2 operations (day2Ops): weight 14
- Community and docs (communityDocs): weight 12
- Developer workflow fit (devWorkflowFit): weight 8
- Data control (dataControl): weight 6
- Cost honesty (costHonesty): weight 6

## Retired rubric (repo-operator, retired 2026-08-19)

- Extensibility and interop: weight 14
- Model flexibility: weight 10
- Time to real work: weight 20
- Day-2 operations: weight 8
- Community and docs: weight 6
- Developer workflow fit: weight 18
- Data control: weight 16
- Cost honesty: weight 8

Under the retired profile: Buzz 6.8, BAND 6.4.

## Scored cells

| Criterion | Weight | BAND | verified | Buzz | verified |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Extensibility and interop | 20 | 8.0 (high) | 2026-08-19 | 7.0 (medium) | 2026-05-02 |
| Model flexibility | 18 | 8.0 (high) | 2026-08-19 | 6.5 (verify) | 2026-04-10 |
| Time to real work | 16 | 7.0 (medium) | 2026-08-19 | 6.0 (high) | 2026-08-19 |
| Day-2 operations | 14 | 6.5 (medium) | 2026-06-01 | 4.5 (high) | 2026-08-19 |
| Community and docs | 12 | 6.0 (medium) | 2026-04-20 | 5.5 (medium) | 2026-06-14 |
| Developer workflow fit | 8 | 5.5 (high) | 2026-08-19 | 8.0 (medium) | 2026-08-19 |
| Data control | 6 | 4.0 (high) | 2026-08-19 | 7.5 (high) | 2026-08-19 |
| Cost honesty | 6 | 7.5 (high) | 2026-08-19 | 8.5 (high) | 2026-08-19 |
| **Weighted total** | 100 | **6.9** | | **6.4** | |

### Cell reasoning

#### BAND (BAND (band.ai; corporate entity: verify)) — Generally available, self-serve and enterprise; Hosted only; no self-hosted option published
- Extensibility and interop: 8.0 (high, verified 2026-08-19, 0 days old). Eight frameworks listed by name on the homepage; bring-your-own-agent is the product's thesis.
- Model flexibility: 8.0 (high, verified 2026-08-19, 0 days old). Each agent keeps its own tools, models, and memory while BAND syncs context (homepage, verified 2026-08-19).
- Time to real work: 7.0 (medium, verified 2026-08-19, 0 days old). Hosted signup on a $0 tier, connect agents, open a room. No install. Bench timer pending.
- Day-2 operations: 6.5 (medium, verified 2026-06-01, 79 days old). Managed service with published tiers. Young vendor; rate and volume limits vary by tier.
- Community and docs: 6.0 (medium, verified 2026-04-20, 121 days old). Docs site, Discord, active engineering blog. Installed-base evidence thin; community young.
- Developer workflow fit: 5.5 (high, verified 2026-08-19, 0 days old). An interaction layer, not a git workspace. No native plan-to-PR loop; your dev tools stay where they are.
- Data control: 4.0 (high, verified 2026-08-19, 0 days old). Hosted only. Free retains 24 hours; export gated to Pro; custom retention gated to Enterprise (pricing page).
- Cost honesty: 7.5 (high, verified 2026-08-19, 0 days old). Tiers and caps published, including the unflattering 24-hour Free retention. Enterprise is quote-based, which caps the score.

#### Buzz (Block) — Developer Preview; Desktop app; Block-hosted relays or independently operated relays
- Extensibility and interop: 7.0 (medium, verified 2026-05-02, 109 days old). Create agents tailored to workflows; agents collaborate with the team's agents; open-source app. Cross-framework breadth unproven vs BAND's list.
- Model flexibility: 6.5 (verify, verified 2026-04-10, 131 days old). Agent model configuration in preview docs is thin. Verify supported providers in the repo before scoring higher.
- Time to real work: 6.0 (high, verified 2026-08-19, 0 days old). Desktop install plus account plus relay choice. Hosted community creation is a short flow; preview polish varies. Bench-timed run pending, see the bench log.
- Day-2 operations: 4.5 (high, verified 2026-08-19, 0 days old). Developer Preview; hosted limits may change; self-hosting a relay is your ops. Scored where it stands today, not where the roadmap points.
- Community and docs: 5.5 (medium, verified 2026-06-14, 66 days old). Public repo, clear support page. Community is preview-stage; docs surface still forming.
- Developer workflow fit: 8.0 (medium, verified 2026-08-19, 0 days old). Chat to plans, project management, coding, reviews, PRs is the stated core loop (buzz.xyz home). Depth in preview not yet bench-exercised.
- Data control: 7.5 (high, verified 2026-08-19, 0 days old). Independently operated relays keep content off Block's service; keypair identity. Hosted relays are not end-to-end encrypted and Block states access rights (support page).
- Cost honesty: 8.5 (high, verified 2026-08-19, 0 days old). Free early access with published caps (5 GB, 365 days, 5 communities). Future pricing unknown, hedged by the vendor in plain text.

## Prices and limits

- Buzz: Free during early access on Block-hosted relays. 5 GB media storage, 365-day content retention, 5 communities per account, invite-only, 18+. Limits published and marked 'may increase over time'. Source: buzz.xyz/support, 2026-08-19.
- BAND Free: $0/month. 10 remote agents, 50 active rooms, 10 participants per chat, 24-hour data retention (expired data may be lost)
- BAND Pro: $17.99/month. 40 remote agents, 40 native agents, 250 active rooms, 15 participants per chat, email support, on-demand chat data export
- BAND Enterprise: Custom quote. Multiple users and teams, unlimited agents, custom retention, full platform API (Human and Memory APIs), dedicated support
- Source: band.ai/pricing, verified 2026-08-19.

## Evidence records

- buzz-ttrw-vendor | buzz | timeToRealWork | vendor-page | Buzz home page, install and community flow | https://buzz.xyz | captured 2026-08-19 (current) | quote: "Download Buzz and create a community." | establishes: Setup is a desktop install plus an account plus a relay choice, not a hosted signup.
- buzz-ttrw-run | buzz | timeToRealWork | timed-run | Bench run: cold install to first agent reply | /bench/buzz-time-to-first-agent-reply | captured 2026-08-19 (current) | establishes: Stopwatch figure for the setup path. Pending: the run is specified and not yet performed.
- buzz-dev-vendor | buzz | devWorkflowFit | vendor-page | Buzz home page, stated core loop | https://buzz.xyz | captured 2026-08-19 (current) | quote: "Chat to plans, project management, coding, reviews, PRs." | establishes: The product positions a git-native plan-to-PR loop as its core.
- buzz-data-support | buzz | dataControl | vendor-page | Buzz support page, relay hosting and access | https://buzz.xyz/support | captured 2026-08-19 (current) | quote: "Block-hosted relays are not end-to-end encrypted." | establishes: Independently operated relays keep content off Block's service; hosted relays do not.
- buzz-ext-repo | buzz | extensibility | repo | block/buzz repository | https://github.com/block/buzz | captured 2026-05-02 (verify) | establishes: The application is open source, so extension surfaces are inspectable. Cross-framework breadth is not enumerated.
- buzz-model-repo | buzz | modelFlexibility | repo | block/buzz repository, agent model configuration | https://github.com/block/buzz | captured 2026-04-10 (verify) | establishes: Provider support is not documented on the marketing surface. Flagged VERIFY until the repo is read line by line.
- buzz-day2-support | buzz | day2Ops | vendor-page | Buzz support page, preview status | https://buzz.xyz/support | captured 2026-08-19 (current) | quote: "Limits may increase over time." | establishes: The product is a Developer Preview with movable limits, and relay operation is the buyer's problem.
- buzz-cost-support | buzz | costHonesty | vendor-page | Buzz support page, early access caps | https://buzz.xyz/support | captured 2026-08-19 (current) | quote: "5 GB media storage, 365-day content retention, 5 communities per account." | establishes: Caps are published in plain text and free pricing is hedged, not concealed.
- buzz-docs-support | buzz | communityDocs | docs-page | Buzz support page as the documentation surface | https://buzz.xyz/support | captured 2026-06-14 (ageing) | establishes: A support page plus a public repo is the whole docs surface at preview stage.
- band-ttrw-vendor | band | timeToRealWork | vendor-page | BAND home page, hosted signup | https://band.ai | captured 2026-08-19 (current) | establishes: No install: a $0 tier signup, connect agents, open a room.
- band-ttrw-run | band | timeToRealWork | timed-run | Bench run: signup to first cross-framework room | /bench/band-time-to-first-multi-agent-room | captured 2026-08-19 (current) | establishes: Stopwatch figure for the hosted path. Pending: the run is specified and not yet performed.
- band-dev-vendor | band | devWorkflowFit | vendor-page | BAND home page, product framing | https://band.ai | captured 2026-08-19 (current) | establishes: BAND is an interaction layer. There is no published plan-to-PR loop; your dev tooling stays put.
- band-data-pricing | band | dataControl | vendor-page | BAND pricing page, retention and export | https://band.ai/pricing | captured 2026-08-19 (current) | quote: "24-hour data retention (expired data may be lost)." | establishes: Hosted only. Free retains 24 hours, export is gated to Pro, custom retention to Enterprise.
- band-ext-vendor | band | extensibility | vendor-page | BAND home page, named framework list | https://band.ai | captured 2026-08-19 (current) | quote: "LangGraph, Claude, OpenClaw, Parlant, Letta, Google, n8n, CrewAI." | establishes: Eight frameworks named on the marketing surface; bring-your-own-agent is the thesis.
- band-model-vendor | band | modelFlexibility | vendor-page | BAND home page, per-agent model ownership | https://band.ai | captured 2026-08-19 (current) | quote: "Each agent keeps its own tools, models, and memory." | establishes: Model choice stays with the agent, so no provider lock is imposed by the layer.
- band-day2-pricing | band | day2Ops | vendor-page | BAND pricing page, tier limits | https://band.ai/pricing | captured 2026-06-01 (ageing) | establishes: Managed service with published per-tier agent, room, and participant caps. Vendor is young.
- band-cost-pricing | band | costHonesty | vendor-page | BAND pricing page, published tiers | https://band.ai/pricing | captured 2026-08-19 (current) | quote: "$17.99/month" | establishes: Tiers and their unflattering caps are published. Enterprise is quote-based, which caps the score.
- band-docs | band | communityDocs | docs-page | BAND documentation site | https://docs.band.ai | captured 2026-04-20 (verify) | establishes: A real docs site, a Discord, and an engineering blog. Installed-base evidence is thin.

## Corrections

- 2026-08-19 | verdict | Default weights moved to a fleet-operator profile, and the verdict changed with them | was: Repo-operator weights were the published default and Buzz led 6.8 to 6.4. | now: Fleet-operator weights are the published default and BAND leads 6.9 to 6.4. The retired profile stays published on the methodology page and in the weight console. | why: The reader this site is written for already runs agents in more than one framework and is buying an interaction layer on purpose. Weighting a git-native loop and self-hosting first described a different reader. No score cell moved: only the weights.
- 2026-08-23 | figure | Verification dates are now per item, not one site-wide date | was: Every cell and source displayed the site verification date of 2026-08-19, which overstated how recently some sources had been read. | now: Each score cell and each source carries its own date. Anything past 90 days renders amber and appears in the recheck queue on the evidence log. | why: A single date implied a sweep that did not happen. Three cells rest on sources last read in April, May, and June, and readers should see that on the cell.
- 2026-08-23 | wording | Publisher entity and contact address published | was: The footer, about page, and disclosures carried placeholder publisher and contact values. | now: Signalbox Bench is named as the publisher and corrections@buzzvsband.com is the contact address on every page. | why: Scored claims need a named publisher and a working address, or they are opinions with a table around them.

## Plain-text twins

- https://buzzvsband.com/buzz-vs-band.md
- https://buzzvsband.com/buzz-vs-band/pricing.md
- https://buzzvsband.com/buzz-vs-band/self-hosting.md
- https://buzzvsband.com/buzz-vs-band/model-support.md
- https://buzzvsband.com/buzz-vs-band/for-teams.md