Best Carly Alternative in 2026
One assistant you can text, with no credits to count.
Carly made email the interface: CC an agent and it books the meeting or files the invoice. That works well for scheduling and back-office chores. People look for an alternative when they want one assistant rather than several agents to configure, a place to talk to it beyond email and SMS, a full app for longer work, or predictable pricing instead of credits that run out and must be topped up by hand.
Why people look for Carly alternatives
- −Several agents to set up, each with its own integrations and permissions
- −AI usage metered in credits that you top up by hand
- −No web or desktop workspace for longer work beyond the dashboard
- −Not reachable from WhatsApp, Telegram, iMessage or Discord
- −Proprietary, with no way to self-host or read the code
How well does GAIA replace Carly?
Honest fit score based on feature overlap
3/5
What GAIA replaces from Carly
- ✔CC-ing an agent to book meetings from email threads
- ✔Inbox sorting rules you set up for each agent
- ✔Scheduled tasks that cost credits each time they run
- ✔Switching between agents for different chores
GAIA vs Carly: Feature Comparison
| Feature | GAIA | Carly |
|---|---|---|
| Core approach | One personal AI assistant that works across email, calendar, tasks and your other tools | A platform of AI agents, each with its own name, email address, integrations and permissions |
| How you reach it | iMessage, WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack and Discord, plus a web app and a desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux | Email (CC your agent), SMS, Slack, a dashboard chat, a Chrome extension, and Claude or ChatGPT over MCP |
| Scheduling | Finds open time, creates and edits Google Calendar events and drafts scheduling emails | Core strength: books meetings from email threads, with booking pages and group scheduling |
| Integrations | Gmail, Outlook, Google Calendar, Slack, Notion, GitHub, Linear, Todoist, Asana, HubSpot and more, plus custom MCP servers | A very large catalog, including CRMs such as Attio, Pipedrive and Zoho, accounting tools such as QuickBooks and Xero, and support desks such as Zendesk |
| Workflow automation | Multi-step workflows on a schedule or triggered by Gmail, Google Calendar, Slack, GitHub and more | Workflow templates, scheduled tasks and custom skills, with AI steps metered in credits |
| Phone calls | No phone calls | Business calling and an AI receptionist as paid add-ons for teams |
| Memory | Long-term memory of your preferences and people that you can view, edit and delete in settings | Persistent memory for each agent |
| Source-available | Source-available (PolyForm Noncommercial) with self-hosting via Docker; for-profit organizations self-host under an enterprise license | Proprietary and cloud-only |
| Pricing | Hosted Pro at $30/month per person; GAIA Enterprise priced on request | A free tier with MCP access and basic workflows, then a Personal plan and per-seat Organization plans with usage metered in credits; Enterprise on request |
Where GAIA goes further
- +Text it from iMessage, WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack or Discord
- +One assistant with memory you can see, edit and delete
- +Workflows on a schedule or triggered by Gmail, Calendar, Slack and GitHub
- +A desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux
- +Source-available, with self-hosting via Docker
How to migrate from Carly to GAIA
- 1List the chores your Carly agents handle each week
- 2Connect Gmail or Outlook, your calendar and your task tool to GAIA
- 3Rebuild the most-used chore as a GAIA workflow
- 4Link the chat app you use most and ask GAIA from there
Frequently Asked Questions
More Alternatives to Consider
People Also Consider
Guides in the Docs
Want a side-by-side feature comparison? See GAIA vs Carly →
