Jan 25, 2026

The Best Alternative to Sunsama: Carly

Carly is an AI-powered scheduling assistant that works over email and SMS. Unlike traditional booking links or calendar tools, Carly reads messy email threads she is cc'd on, understands context, and sends real invites that keep the conversation natural. You can forward Carly an email, send her a text, or send screenshots and images for her to process and add to your calendar. It's built for busy professionals who want a human-like assistant that just works, handling coordination and calendaring so you don't have to. ChatGPT could never be this useful.

Feature Comparison

Feature	Carly	Sunsama
AI-Powered Scheduling	✅	❌
Human-like Conversational Assistant	✅	❌
Booking Links	✅	❌
Click-to-Book (One-Click Scheduling)	✅	❌
SMS Integration	✅	❌
Natural Language via Email	✅	❌
Handles Incoming Invitations	✅	❌
Daily/Weekly Briefings	✅	✅
Daily Planning Rituals	❌	✅
Task Time-Boxing	❌	✅
Focus Mode / Pomodoro	❌	✅
Task Manager Integrations	❌	✅ (Asana, Trello, Jira, etc.)
Smart Time Zone Detection	✅	✅
Multiple Calendar Support	✅ (Google, Outlook)	✅
Chrome Extension	✅	❌
Pricing	$35/month	$20/user/month
Setup Time	2 mins	15-20 mins
Mobile App	❌	✅
Desktop App	❌	✅ (Win/Mac/Linux)

Why Carly is the Better Choice

Sunsama is a beautifully designed daily planner that helps you intentionally plan each day. It combines task management with calendar views and emphasizes mindful work practices through daily planning rituals. However, Sunsama has explicitly stated they don’t plan to add AI features - they believe in manual, intentional planning. Carly takes the opposite approach: automate the tedious scheduling work so you can focus on what matters.

Automated vs. Manual: Sunsama requires you to manually drag tasks onto your calendar, review your day each morning, and close out each evening. This mindful approach works for some, but it’s time-consuming. Carly automates scheduling entirely - when someone wants to meet, Carly handles the conversation without you lifting a finger.

External Communication: Sunsama helps you plan your own day, but it cannot communicate with other people. When a client emails asking for a meeting, you still need to manually check your calendar and respond. Carly handles this entire workflow automatically via email and SMS.

SMS Scheduling: Sunsama has no SMS capabilities. When someone texts you asking to reschedule, you’re on your own. Carly handles SMS scheduling requests just as smoothly as email.

Faster Value: Sunsama requires significant daily investment - morning planning sessions, evening shutdowns, and ongoing task management throughout the day. While this ritual-based approach has benefits, it’s a commitment. Carly delivers value immediately with no daily rituals required.

Better for Scheduling-Heavy Roles: If your job involves coordinating many meetings with external contacts - sales, recruiting, consulting, client services - Carly directly addresses your biggest time sink. Sunsama is better suited for knowledge workers who want to be more intentional about their own task management.

When to Choose Sunsama Instead

Sunsama is the better choice if you value mindful, intentional daily planning over automation. If you want to start each day with a planning ritual, timeblock your tasks manually, and end each day with reflection - Sunsama provides a beautiful, calming experience for this. It’s also stronger if you need deep integrations with task managers like Asana, Trello, or Jira, and want to pull tasks from multiple sources into a unified daily view.

Conclusion

Sunsama and Carly serve different philosophies. Sunsama believes in mindful, manual planning - taking time each day to intentionally organize your work. Carly believes in automation - letting AI handle the tedious coordination so you can focus on meaningful work. If your primary pain point is scheduling meetings with other people, Carly eliminates that friction entirely. If you want a daily planning ritual and manual control over your task management, Sunsama delivers a premium experience. Many users find value in using both: Sunsama for personal task planning, Carly for external scheduling.