8 Best Hark Pro Alternatives in 2026, Compared
Hark Pro launched on October 6. It runs its own cloud computer, clicks through websites for you, and turns your inbox into a list of buttons to tap. It is free with a usage cap, then $20 or $100 a month for more. Our Hark AI explainer covers how it works.
It landed in a crowded month. Meta, OpenAI and a run of startups sell the same idea, and Hark’s first users are already reporting a free cap that runs out fast and slow Handoff runs. It cannot make phone calls yet. Here is what else does the job, and who each one fits.
The quick answer: Carly is the best Hark Pro alternative for work. Hark handles life admin. Carly handles the inbox, the calendar and the clients, sends from your own address, and starts workflows on events instead of waiting for a tap. Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month. Get started.
Quick comparison
Hark Pro is the first row, for reference.
| Alternative | Best for | Reaches you by | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hark Pro | Life admin with a cloud browser | Web, iOS, Android | Free with a cap; $20 and $100/mo |
| Carly | Work email, calendar, workflows and agents | Web, text, email, ChatGPT and Claude | Free workflows; agents from $35/mo |
| Meta Muse | Hark’s closest twin, with calls in beta | App, web, WhatsApp, Mac | Free with limits; $20 and $100/mo |
| ChatGPT Dots | An always-on agent where you already chat | ChatGPT, Slack, Teams | Included in Pro, from $100/mo |
| Manus | Big one-off projects and automations | Web, desktop, mobile, email, Slack | Free plan; Pro from $20/mo |
| Instinct | An agent you text that uses a phone and computer | iMessage, WhatsApp, phone | Free, invite only |
| Perplexity Comet | A free AI browser on your own machine | Mac, Windows, iOS, Android | Free; Pro $17/mo billed annually |
| Wajo’s Fo | Errands with a human backstop | Email, text, Slack, phone, web | Free tier; Pro on request |
| Tab | A texting agent with its own number and wallet | iMessage, WhatsApp | Private beta, no price yet |
1. Carly: the work alternative
Carly is an AI assistant and agent builder for the part of the week Hark is not built around: the inbox, the calendar and the clients.
It lives in your Gmail or Outlook. Carly reads the thread, drafts the reply in your voice and sends it from your own address. It finds times, sends invites and moves meetings on your real calendar.
The bigger difference is what starts the work. Hark’s Action Buttons wait for your tap, and its scheduled tasks run on a clock. Carly workflows start on events: an email lands from a specific sender, a lead form comes in, a meeting ends, or Monday morning arrives. The agents you build can run those workflows for a whole team. Hark has no team plan.
Carly connects to thousands of apps, including HubSpot, Salesforce, Slack and Google Drive, through official connections rather than a browser clicking through websites. Reach it on the web, by text message, by email, through the Carly plugin in ChatGPT or the Carly connector in Claude. For teams, Carly Phone adds a voice agent that answers your business line and texts back missed calls.
- Best for: professionals and small teams whose to-do list is email, meetings and follow-up
- Pricing: Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month
- Limitations: built around work apps rather than grocery orders and retail checkouts
2. Meta Muse
Muse is Hark’s closest twin: an agent on its own cloud computer that browses, fills in forms, sends email and pays, at the same prices to the dollar. It beats Hark on reach (app, web, WhatsApp and Mac) and on calls, placing calls to US businesses in a beta since mid-September.
The tradeoffs are about trust. 404 Media reported that some of those calls were placed by humans in a call center, and Meta says it rolled back contractor calls after the reports. Muse opts you in to AI training by default, it is US and Canada only, and Amazon blocks it as an unauthorized agent. More in Meta Muse alternatives.
- Best for: errands in the US or Canada, especially ones that need a call
- Pricing: free with a weekly limit; Power $20/month, Maximum $100/month; a card is required at signup
3. ChatGPT Dots
Dots are OpenAI’s always-on agents, launched September 29. Each dot has its own cloud computer and keeps working toward a goal between conversations. It beats Hark on where it lives: you message it in ChatGPT, Slack or Microsoft Teams, and an Auto-review check reads each email before it goes out.
The tradeoff is the entry price. Dots come only with ChatGPT Pro or a Business Premium seat, Pro users in the EEA, Switzerland and the UK were left out at launch, and OpenAI will publish usage terms only after the first month. See ChatGPT Dots alternatives.
- Best for: people already paying for ChatGPT Pro
- Pricing: included in Pro, from $100/month
4. Manus
Manus is a general AI agent with its own cloud computer, used on the web, in desktop and mobile apps, by email or in Slack. It beats Hark on big projects like research reports, decks, websites and video, and it has a Team plan. Manus 2.0, released September 28, added Automations that start on a new email, calendar event or Slack message.
The tradeoff is credits. Every action spends them. One user reported that two prompts used up a 4,000-credit month, and failed or looping runs still bill. Free users get only the Lite model for agent tasks. Our Manus pricing guide has the math.
- Best for: a few large jobs a month, watched closely
- Pricing: free plan; Pro from $20/month (a $40 tier comes with a 7-day trial); Team from $20 per seat
5. Instinct
Instinct is the agent you text or call, and it uses a phone and a computer the way a person would. It beats Hark on convenience, with no app to open, and its Concierge feature, rolling out in early access, phones businesses for you. It raised $1 billion at a $10 billion valuation on September 28.
The tradeoff is reliability. Users report outages with no status page, tasks that stall midway, and a Resy account banned for bot-like traffic. Training on your data is on by default unless you opt out. The full record is in why people turned on Instinct.
- Best for: maximum autonomy, if you can get an invite
- Pricing: free, invite only, no price announced
6. Perplexity Comet
Comet is Perplexity’s AI browser. Its assistant works inside the browser on your own machine, using sites you are already signed in to, for jobs like drafting an email reply or shopping. It beats Hark on price: it is free on Mac, Windows, iOS and Android.
The tradeoff is security. Researchers at Brave and Zenity Labs showed Comet following hidden instructions planted in webpages and calendar invites, and an agent inside your logged-in browser has a lot to expose. See Comet browser alternatives.
- Best for: trying a browser agent at no cost
- Pricing: free; Perplexity Pro, which raises limits, is $17/month billed annually
7. Wajo’s Fo
Fo is an errand agent from Wajo that went public September 28. It calls, emails and coordinates with people, and when a task needs a person, a trained human assistant on Wajo’s staff finishes it. That makes it better than Hark at phone calls today.
The tradeoff is identity. Fo emails from its own address and never sends as you, which suits the plumber and not your clients. In an independent benchmark in September, it failed an online hotel booking after 64 minutes. See Wajo Fo alternatives.
- Best for: errands that end in a phone call
- Pricing: Fo Mini free with a 1,000-task daily cap; OG Fo free by invite; Pro priced on request
8. Tab
Tab came out of stealth this week at a $300 million valuation. You text it on iMessage or WhatsApp, and it has its own phone number, computer and wallet. It books flights, calls the hotel to move a reservation, and pays an invoice once you approve the total.
It beats Hark on calls, and like Hark it says it never trains on your data. The tradeoff is that it is brand new: a waitlist, no published price and little public track record.
- Best for: early adopters who want an agent in their texts
- Pricing: private beta, no price announced
How to choose a Hark alternative
- Email, calendar and follow-up in your own accounts, or for a team: go with Carly
- Hark’s feature set from a bigger company, plus calls: Meta Muse
- You already pay for ChatGPT Pro: Dots
- Big projects like reports, decks and sites: Manus
- An agent in your texts that drives a phone and computer: Instinct if you have an invite, or Tab
- Free, in your own browser: Comet
- Errands with a human on standby: Fo
FAQ
Is Hark Pro free?
Yes, with a usage cap Hark does not publish, and early users say it runs out fast. Hark Pro² is $20 a month for twice the usage and Hark Pro³ is $100 for ten times, with every feature on every tier. Carly offers free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month.
Does Hark send email as me?
Yes. Hark sends from your connected accounts, in your name, and asks first by default. Its terms make you responsible for those messages as if you had sent them yourself. Carly also sends from your own Gmail or Outlook, and can start a reply on its own when a specific sender writes in.
What is the best Hark alternative for a small team?
Carly. Hark has no team plan. Build a Carly agent once, connect the team’s inboxes and calendars, and let workflows run on events for everyone.
Can Carly do what Hark’s Handoff does?
It gets to the result by a different route. Handoff starts a cloud computer and clicks through websites with your saved logins. Carly works through official connections to your apps, so a task does not stall on a site redesign or a bot block, and it starts on its own when an email lands, a form comes in or a meeting ends.
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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."
