Poly vs HumanLayer for a team sharing a coding agent session

HumanLayer and Poly both let teammates prompt a live coding-agent session, approve its actions and see who sent each message. HumanLayer (YC F24) calls itself "the multiplayer control plane for your software factory": a team app with tasks, plans, diff review and pull requests that runs Claude Code, Codex and other agents on a daemon on your own machine or cloud, and since August 2026 a running session can be shared with teammates for a set time. Poly (usepoly.co) is a browser room built around one AI, with nothing to install: every member prompts in one timeline, approves each change before it happens and gets a receipt per turn. HumanLayer suits engineering teams that run several agents through planning and review. Poly suits a small group, including people who don't code, steering one build together.

What HumanLayer does

HumanLayer is a coding-agent app for teams, with tasks, plans, diff review and pull requests. Agents (Claude Code, Codex, Copilot and Fireworks, on your own subscriptions) run on a local daemon or on remote and cloud daemons, with desktop apps for Mac, Linux and Windows plus web and mobile. Its release notes show the multiplayer work arriving in steps: on August 17, 2026, sharing a running session with teammates for a set time, so they can prompt, interrupt and resolve approvals, with every message showing who sent it (admins switch it on); on September 12, co-writing a prompt with live cursors and presence, and read-only viewing; on September 29, handing a session between Claude Code and Codex. Cost is attributed to whoever runs the session.

Where HumanLayer is stronger

• Engineering workflow. Tasks, plans, diff review and pull requests in one app, built for teams running several agents.
• Your own environment. Sessions run on your machines or cloud, on the subscriptions you already have, with no markup on tokens.
• Co-writing prompts. Live cursors on a shared prompt before it is sent.
• Moving between agents. A session can pass from Claude Code to Codex.

Where Poly is stronger

• Nothing to set up. HumanLayer runs agents through a daemon you install, with GitHub connected. A Poly room needs only a browser.
• Shared by default. A Poly room is shared with its members all the time. A HumanLayer session is shared for a set time, once an admin has switched sharing on.
• Built for people who don't code. Poly's surface is a timeline, plain-language cards and a live preview of the app.
• A chat the AI can't read. Poly's group chat, threads and polls are hidden from the agent.
• Models included. Claude, GPT, Grok, Kimi and Muse, with no subscription to bring.
• Price. Poly is $20 or $50 a month per person who runs the AI, and everyone else is free. HumanLayer lists real-time collaboration under Pro, at $100 per user a month.

Pricing, side by side

HumanLayer: Starter free for up to three members and 200 sessions a month; Pro $100 per user a month; Enterprise custom (pricing). Poly: free to start; $20 or $50 a month for each person who runs the AI, models included. A five-person team where two people prompt pays Poly $40 a month; five HumanLayer Pro seats are $500, before each person's agent subscription.

Which should you pick?

• An engineering team that runs several agents through tasks, plans, diff review and pull requests, on its own machines: HumanLayer.
• A team of three or fewer engineers who want shared sessions on their own subscriptions: HumanLayer's free tier is worth a look.
• A small group, including people who don't code, steering one build together in a browser with approvals and receipts: Poly.
• You want the models included and nothing to install: Poly.

More options are in Multiplayer AI tools.