The best Carly alternatives

Carly is an executive assistant you email, CC or text, with agents that each get their own email address, from $35 a month. If you'd rather message your assistant in WhatsApp or iMessage, talk to it inside Slack, or have it join your calls, these are the options.

Updated 31 October 2026. Every option is checked against its own site; sources are at the foot of the page.

Why look past Carly

What Carly doesn't do.

Email first

You email, CC or forward to Carly, or text it by SMS. We couldn't find iMessage or WhatsApp as a way to reach it.

It posts to Slack, you don't talk to it there

Carly's own Slack page says you email or text her and she posts to the channel or person you name.

It doesn't join calls

Carly works from your notetaker's output (Fathom, Fireflies, Gong and others) rather than joining meetings.

The free plan has no AI credits

Free is MCP access only; credits start with Personal at $35 a month for 200.

At a glance

7 Carly alternatives, side by side.

Option	Best for	Where it works	Price
Cicada	Anyone whose work happens in chats: a team, a group, or one person who wants an agent in their messages, apps and meetings.	iMessage and WhatsApp (one-to-one and group chats), Slack, email and a web app	300 free credits to start with a card at sign-up, then $25 for 200 credits when you run low, or plans from $99 a month. Credits are shared across the workspace and roll over.
Fyxer	People who spend their day in email and want replies drafted and the inbox sorted.	Gmail and Outlook, the Fyxer Hub, your browser, Slack and Teams; it joins video calls like any other attendee	Free (briefings, limited chat and audio notes); Pro $37 a person a month billed yearly ($49 monthly); Team $64 ($99 monthly)
Lindy	People who work in Slack, iMessage and Gmail and want meeting notes.	iMessage and SMS, Slack, email, meetings and a Chrome extension	Free to try with $50 of credits for 7 days; Team from $49.99 a month for every active user, credits pooled; Enterprise priced on request
Reclaim	Anyone who wants their calendar arranged for them, continuously.	Its web app on top of Google Calendar and Outlook, with an AI chat assistant and Slack status sync	Free Lite plan for one person; Starter $10, Business $15 and Enterprise $22 a seat a month, billed yearly ($12 and $18 monthly)
Pally	One person who wants a free assistant that can call as well as text.	iMessage, RCS, WhatsApp, Telegram, phone calls and its own email address	Free with weekly limits; Cloud Mac $95 a month; VIP by invitation
Viktor	A team that wants one shared AI employee inside its Slack or Teams.	Slack and Microsoft Teams, web chat for Slack workspaces, its own email address and an API	Up to $100 of free credits; Team plan from $50 a month per workspace, credits shared rather than per seat
Poke	One person who wants a proactive assistant in their texts, free to start.	iMessage, WhatsApp and Telegram	Free; Pro $19 a month; Ultra $199 a month, which adds Poke Human, a real person for calls and orders

Cicada

by Cicada Labs

An assistant you text in iMessage or WhatsApp, mention in Slack or email, and it answers in the thread you asked in. It joins your Meet, Zoom, Teams and Webex calls and texts you the notes, works in 1,000+ apps, and in a group chat it reminds people of what they promised.

What it is: AI agents you text on iMessage and WhatsApp, mention in Slack or email, and add to your group chats, where they keep every message and file and follow up on what people promised.
Where it works: iMessage and WhatsApp (one-to-one and group chats), Slack, email and a web app
What it costs: 300 free credits to start with a card at sign-up, then $25 for 200 credits when you run low, or plans from $99 a month. Credits are shared across the workspace and roll over.
Worth knowing: Built for work rather than personal shopping and errands, and phone calls are switched off for now.

Start free

Fyxer

by Fyxer AI

For the inbox itself: Fyxer sorts Gmail or Outlook, drafts replies in your tone and joins video calls to take notes. Pro is $37 a person a month, billed yearly.

What it is: An AI assistant for your inbox: it sorts Gmail or Outlook, drafts replies in your tone, briefs you daily and takes meeting notes.
Where it works: Gmail and Outlook, the Fyxer Hub, your browser, Slack and Teams; it joins video calls like any other attendee
What it costs: Free (briefings, limited chat and audio notes); Pro $37 a person a month billed yearly ($49 monthly); Team $64 ($99 monthly)
Worth knowing: Reply drafts and inbox sorting start on the paid plans, it's priced per person, and it isn't in iMessage or WhatsApp that we could find.

Fyxer's site

Lindy

by Lindy

An assistant you email, text in iMessage or SMS, or mention in Slack, with a meeting notetaker.

What it is: An AI assistant you text, mention in Slack or email, with a meeting notetaker and a Chrome extension.
Where it works: iMessage and SMS, Slack, email, meetings and a Chrome extension
What it costs: Free to try with $50 of credits for 7 days; Team from $49.99 a month for every active user, credits pooled; Enterprise priced on request
Worth knowing: No WhatsApp that we could find, every active user is billed, and its docs say approvals apply in shared Slack threads, not in DMs, iMessage or SMS.

Lindy vs Cicada Lindy's site

Reclaim

by Dropbox

If scheduling is the main job: Reclaim's scheduling links and auto-scheduling keep your calendar arranged, with a free plan for one person.

What it is: An AI calendar assistant that schedules focus time, habits, tasks and meetings across Google and Outlook calendars, and keeps rearranging them as the week moves.
Where it works: Its web app on top of Google Calendar and Outlook, with an AI chat assistant and Slack status sync
What it costs: Free Lite plan for one person; Starter $10, Business $15 and Enterprise $22 a seat a month, billed yearly ($12 and $18 monthly)
Worth knowing: It works on your calendar only, it doesn't join or record meetings, and it isn't in your texts.

Reclaim vs Cicada Reclaim's site

Pally

by Pally

A free assistant with its own email address and phone number, for one person.

What it is: A free personal assistant with its own number and email address, phone calls both ways and a browser it uses for you.
Where it works: iMessage, RCS, WhatsApp, Telegram, phone calls and its own email address
What it costs: Free with weekly limits; Cloud Mac $95 a month; VIP by invitation
Worth knowing: One Pally per person, it reads meeting recordings rather than joining calls, and it trains on your data unless you opt out.

Pally vs Cicada Pally's site

Viktor

by Viktor

One shared AI employee for a Slack or Teams workspace, with its own email address, from $50 a month.

What it is: One shared AI employee for a Slack or Microsoft Teams workspace.
Where it works: Slack and Microsoft Teams, web chat for Slack workspaces, its own email address and an API
What it costs: Up to $100 of free credits; Team plan from $50 a month per workspace, credits shared rather than per seat
Worth knowing: Not in iMessage or WhatsApp that we could find, and it reads notes from notetaker apps rather than joining calls.

Viktor vs Cicada Viktor's site

Poke

by The Interaction Company of California, now joining Cognition

Free to start, in iMessage, WhatsApp and Telegram, connected to your email and calendar.

What it is: A personal assistant you text in iMessage, WhatsApp or Telegram, that connects to your email, calendar and apps and gets in touch first.
Where it works: iMessage, WhatsApp and Telegram
What it costs: Free; Pro $19 a month; Ultra $199 a month, which adds Poke Human, a real person for calls and orders
Worth knowing: A personal assistant for one phone number; its FAQ doesn't describe group chats or team use, and its maker is joining Cognition.

Poke's site

How to choose

Start from what you need.

If you need	Look at
Text it in iMessage or WhatsApp	Cicada, Poke or Pally
Replies drafted in your inbox	Fyxer or Lindy
Talk to it inside Slack	Cicada, Lindy or Viktor
It joins your calls	Cicada, Fyxer or Lindy
Scheduling links	Reclaim
An assistant with its own email address	Pally or Viktor

Questions

Carly alternatives, answered.

What is the best alternative to Carly?

For an assistant you text, mention in Slack and send to meetings, Cicada. For drafted replies in Gmail or Outlook, Fyxer. For scheduling, Reclaim. For a free assistant with its own email address, Pally.

Can I text Carly on iMessage or WhatsApp?

Carly takes SMS; we couldn't find iMessage or WhatsApp as a way to reach it, as of October 2026. Cicada answers on iMessage and WhatsApp, in one-to-ones and group chats.

How much does Carly cost?

Free gives MCP access only. Personal is $35 a month with 200 credits, Organization $35 a seat with pooled credits, and Enterprise is priced on request. Cicada starts free with 300 credits, then $25 for 200 credits or plans from $99 a month.

Which Carly alternative joins meetings?

Cicada joins Meet, Zoom, Teams and Webex and texts you the notes, with the transcript kept. Fyxer joins video calls like any other attendee, and Lindy has a notetaker.

Is there a free alternative to Carly?

Pally and Poke have free plans, Fyxer's free plan covers briefings and limited chat, and Reclaim's Lite plan covers scheduling for one person. Cicada starts free with 300 credits.

Sources

Products change fast. Spotted something out of date? Tell us at support@cicadalabs.io and we'll fix it.

The full comparison

Carly vs Cicada, feature by feature

Other alternatives

One teammate. The output of a team.

Works nights, remembers every decision, answers in the thread. Start free with 300 credits.

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