7 Best Caddy Alternatives in 2026 (Ranked & Compared)
Caddy (caddy.app) is a proactive AI assistant that lives in your text messages. Built by ex-Loom founders and backed by Y Combinator (Fall 2025), it watches your calendar, email, and chats, then messages you when something needs attention. You delegate work back by text, voice memo, or group chat; Caddy makes plans, drafts messages and emails in your voice, and takes actions like booking and RSVPing on your behalf across a small set of tools.
It’s a promising product with a strong team — but it’s early, and that shows in a few places that send people looking. Here are seven Caddy alternatives, starting with the closest match for people who want the same proactive, text-driven feel with the depth of a proven work platform.
Why people look for Caddy alternatives
- It’s very early. Caddy launched out of YC’s Fall 2025 batch with a small team and an undisclosed seed. There’s little public track record, few reviews, and the positioning still shifts between “personal assistant in iMessage” and “AI operating system for work.”
- Short integration list. The connected surface is currently a handful — email, calendar, Slack, Linear, Notion — skewed toward tech-worker workflows rather than broad business or personal tools.
- No public pricing. Caddy is free to start with no published tiers, which makes it hard to evaluate long-term cost.
- Unclear provider support. Gmail-vs-Outlook specifics aren’t documented, so Microsoft 365 users can’t be sure it fits.
1. Carly
Carly does what Caddy promises — proactive, text-and-email-driven, acts on its own — but with the depth of a real work platform. It’s an AI agent platform you email like a colleague, and each agent gets its own real email address. That means it can be client-facing — replying to your customers, vendors, and leads directly — not just messaging you with updates.
Where Caddy connects a handful of tools, Carly works across 200+ integrations in 40+ categories: CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive), project management (Asana, Linear, Monday, ClickUp), Slack and Teams, files (Google Drive, Dropbox), and accounting (QuickBooks, Xero) — on both Gmail and the full Outlook / Microsoft 365 stack.
What makes it different from Caddy: maturity and reach. Carly supports both email providers, connects to far more tools, and has a published track record — where Caddy is a few months old with a short integration list and no public pricing.
The pricing model is also transparent. Carly runs on visible workflows: any deterministic step runs free and unlimited, and AI agent features start at $35/month. Caddy hasn’t published pricing at all.
Best for: People and small teams who want a proactive text/email assistant that also does real, client-facing work across 200+ tools.
Pricing: Free, unlimited Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month.
2. Poke
Text-message AI assistant from The Interaction Company that connects Gmail or Outlook and handles email, calendar, and “recipes” over iMessage, SMS, Telegram, or WhatsApp.
What makes it different from Caddy: Poke is more mature and supports both Gmail and Outlook, but it’s a personal assistant for your own life — it won’t email people outside your contacts. See Poke alternatives.
Best for: Individuals who want a polished “just text it” assistant for personal email and calendar.
Pricing: Consumer subscription.
3. Martin
iOS-first AI assistant (trymartin.com) that handles email, calendar, and reminders through voice and text — the closest match to Caddy’s “text your assistant” feel.
What makes it different from Caddy: Martin leans into native voice and an iPhone-first UX, and supports Gmail and Outlook. Like Caddy, it’s built around a single assistant for your own life rather than client-facing work. See Martin alternatives.
Best for: iPhone users who want a voice-first personal assistant.
Pricing: Consumer subscription.
4. Lindy
AI executive assistant that triages your inbox, drafts replies in your voice, schedules meetings, and sends proactive alerts over iMessage. Connects to 100+ apps.
What makes it different from Caddy: Lindy is proactive like Caddy but draft-and-approve — you still hit send. If you want an agent that finishes and sends the work itself, Carly goes further. Lindy also has many more integrations than Caddy today. See Lindy alternatives.
Best for: People who want a proactive inbox assistant and are happy reviewing drafts.
Pricing: Free tier; paid from $49.99/month.
5. Town
AI workspace assistant (town.com, $55M a16z Series A) you forward email or message on Slack/WhatsApp/Telegram. It executes across 50+ tools and ships pre-built routines like morning briefings.
What makes it different from Caddy: Town gives the assistant its own @town.com address and ships more routines out of the box — but it’s Google-only, no Outlook. See Town alternatives.
Best for: Google-based individuals who want an email-forward assistant with routines.
Pricing: Tiered; consumer to team.
6. Howie
AI scheduling assistant (howie.com, Sequoia/a16z-backed) you CC on a thread to book meetings — it checks your calendar, proposes times, replies to guests, and sends the invite.
What makes it different from Caddy: Howie is scheduling-only and Gmail/Google Calendar only. Caddy is a broader generalist; Carly does scheduling and everything else, on Outlook too. See Howie alternatives.
Best for: Google users who only want hands-off meeting scheduling.
Pricing: ~$25–95/month.
7. Super
Text-message assistant (getsupers.com) that gets real-world tasks done — ordering food, booking rides, browsing the web — using its own email, phone, and apps rather than connecting yours.
What makes it different from Caddy: Super acts under its own identity, so it never touches your inbox or calendar. Caddy connects to your accounts; Carly works from your inbox and gives the agent its own address. See Super alternatives.
Best for: People who want tasks done without granting access to their personal accounts.
Pricing: Pay-as-you-go wallet.
Caddy Alternatives Compared
| Tool | Message-First | Email Provider | Client-Facing | Automations | Integrations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carly | Yes | Gmail + Outlook | Yes | Yes (workflows) | 200+ |
| Caddy | Yes | Email (unspecified) | Yes | Light (proactive) | ~Handful |
| Poke | Yes | Gmail + Outlook | No (contacts only) | Light (recipes) | ~Handful |
| Martin | Yes | Gmail + Outlook | No | Light | Moderate |
| Lindy | Yes | Gmail + Outlook | Drafts only | Yes | Many (100+) |
| Town | Yes | Google only | Light | Light (routines) | 50+ |
| Howie | Yes | Google only | Scheduling only | No | Few |
| Super | Yes | Its own email | Acts as itself | Light | Claims 1,000+ |
Pricing at a glance
| Tool | Entry price | Top tier | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carly | $35/mo (AI) | — | Deterministic workflows free; pay only for AI steps |
| Caddy | Free to start | Not published | Unknown |
| Lindy | Free | $199.99/mo | Metered tasks/credits |
| Howie | ~$25/mo | ~$95/mo | Flat subscription |
FAQ
What’s the best Caddy alternative for real work? Carly. Each agent has its own email address and can email clients, vendors, and leads — running outward-facing workflows across 200+ tools, while still being something you just message.
Which Caddy alternative supports Outlook? Carly supports both Gmail and Outlook / Microsoft 365 fully. Caddy hasn’t published Microsoft 365 support, and several alternatives (Town, Howie) are Google-only.
Is there a Caddy alternative with more integrations? Yes — Carly connects to 200+ tools including Google Drive and the full Outlook ecosystem, versus Caddy’s current handful (email, calendar, Slack, Linear, Notion).
Does any alternative offer transparent pricing? Carly starts at $35/month with public tiers and free unlimited deterministic workflows. Caddy is free-to-start with no published pricing.
Is Caddy ready for production use? Caddy is early — a Fall 2025 YC company with a small team and limited public track record. If you need a proven tool today, Carly, Poke, Lindy, and Martin are more established.
What’s the closest tool to Caddy’s proactive, text-first feel? Poke and Martin are the closest in feel; Carly matches the proactive, message-driven experience while adding client-facing email and 200+ integrations.
More: Best AI personal assistants · Best AI agent platforms · Best AI email agents · Poke alternatives · Martin alternatives · Lindy alternatives
Ready to automate your busywork?
Carly schedules, researches, and briefs you—so you can focus on what matters.
See what people say
"Before Carly, I relied on a Calendly link, but the whole process felt impersonal and not very professional. Carly changed that by handling all the back-and-forth, so I'm no longer stuck in endless email threads trying to line up schedules.
Now Carly reaches out to candidates, shares my real-time availability, lets them pick a slot, then sends a Zoom link and drops it straight into my calendar. She sends reminders to both of us before each call, which has significantly reduced no-shows and last-minute confusion.
On top of scheduling, Carly acts like a full executive assistant, sending me my schedule the night before so I can prepare for each call. It reminds me of the old x.ai assistant, but Carly is noticeably smarter, faster, and better suited to my healthcare recruitment business."
