6 Best Iris Agent Alternatives in 2026
Iris (iris-agent.co) builds AI agents for a company’s operations. Each department gets agents shaped around its process, a sales agent that preps call briefs and suggests CRM updates, an operations agent that chases commitments and spots blockers, all sharing a “company memory” and working across your CRM, email, docs and project tools. It’s model-agnostic and sold through a demo and a custom implementation plan. (Iris launched as a personal assistant you text, built on Hermes Agent; the site now pitches business operations. It’s unrelated to Iris.ai, the expert-knowledge AI company.)
People look at alternatives because:
- There’s no self-serve price. You book a demo to get a plan.
- It’s a custom build. Agents are designed around your departments before they run.
- The phone isn’t part of it. Its agents work in software tools, not on calls and texts.
The quick answer: Carly is the best Iris alternative for a team that wants operations agents running this week. It handles email, calendars, CRM updates, follow-ups, calls and texts by rules you write in plain English, the same way every time, and you can start without a sales call.
Iris alternatives compared
| Alternative | Setup | Best at | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carly | Self-serve, or a call for teams | Email, calendar, CRM, follow-ups, calls and texts | Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/mo |
| Lindy | Self-serve | Agents your team builds in Slack | $29.99/mo per user, 3,000 credits |
| Claude Cowork | Self-serve | Careful work on files and data | From Claude Pro at $20/mo |
| ChatGPT Work | Self-serve | Projects that end in a document | From ChatGPT Plus at $20/mo |
| Grok Bot | Self-serve | Named bots on a shared cloud computer | From Cursor Pro at $20/mo |
| Hermes Agent | Self-hosted | The open-source stack Iris started on | Free software; your own model costs |
Iris: pricing on a demo. Others from our Grok Bot alternatives price check on October 17, 2026.
1. Carly
Iris maps your operations first and builds agents second. Carly gives you the agents now, and you shape them by writing rules: who gets a reply, what gets logged, when someone gets a call.
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Email labeling and sorting. Carly sorts every Gmail and Outlook account on the team, shared mailboxes included, with your labels and categories. Set up rules.
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CRM that stays current. Every email, meeting and call can update HubSpot, Salesforce, Dynamics 365 or Carly’s own built-in CRM.
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Follow-ups that run themselves. A new lead, a form, a booking or a deal stage change can start a Zapier-style workflow, and those workflows are free.
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Advanced calendar work. It checks every calendar before booking and runs booking pages with round robin across the team.
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Calls and texts, both directions. Carly answers your business line when nobody can, books callers, calls leads back and texts customers from your number. Book a call to set up the line.
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Thousands of apps. Carly connects to thousands of apps, from Slack and Linear to QuickBooks.
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Inside your team’s AI. Add the Carly plugin in ChatGPT or the Carly connector in Claude, Grok Bot, Meta Muse or Perplexity, so anyone can ask for the brief or the follow-up from chat.
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Best for: small and mid-size teams that want reliable operations agents without a custom build.
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Pricing: Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month. Get started or book a call for a team setup.
2. Lindy
Lindy is an AI teammate in Slack. Your team builds agents for email, meetings and research, drawing on one shared credit pool.
- Best for: teams that want to design their own agents.
- Pricing: Plus $29.99 a month per user with 3,000 credits; Pro and Max cost more.
- Limitations: every active user takes a paid seat, and bigger jobs burn more credits. See Lindy alternatives.
3. Claude Cowork
Claude Cowork is Anthropic’s agent for multi-step work across files and connected apps, which keeps running in the cloud and can follow a schedule.
- Best for: reports, research and data work.
- Pricing: included with paid Claude plans from Pro at $20 a month.
- Limitations: agent work uses up plan limits fast. See Claude Cowork limitations.
4. ChatGPT Work
ChatGPT Work is OpenAI’s agent for long jobs that hand back spreadsheets, slides and documents.
- Best for: one-off projects with a deliverable.
- Pricing: included with paid ChatGPT plans from Plus at $20 a month.
- Limitations: scheduled and API-started agents need Business or Enterprise. See ChatGPT Work limits.
5. Grok Bot
Grok Bot gives you several named bots on a shared cloud computer, with routines, plugins and MCP servers.
- Best for: technical teams that want agents driving a real computer.
- Pricing: included from Cursor Pro at $20 a month, and with SuperGrok subscriptions.
- Limitations: broad access needs careful approval rules. See Grok Bot alternatives.
6. Hermes Agent
Hermes Agent is Nous Research’s open-source agent that writes and keeps its own skills. Iris started out built on it.
- Best for: engineering teams that want to build their own.
- Pricing: free, self-hosted, your own model costs.
- Limitations: you build and operate everything. See Hermes Agent alternatives.
How to pick an Iris alternative
- Want email, CRM, follow-ups and calls handled now? Go with Carly.
- Want your team to build its own agents in Slack? Lindy.
- Mostly documents and research? Claude Cowork or ChatGPT Work.
- Want to build on open source? Hermes Agent.
FAQ
What is the best Iris Agent alternative?
Carly, for teams that want operations agents for email, CRM, follow-ups, calls and texts without waiting on a custom build.
How much does Iris cost?
Iris doesn’t publish prices. You book a demo and get a custom implementation plan.
Is Iris still a personal assistant you text?
Iris launched as a personal texting assistant built on Hermes Agent. Its site now focuses on AI agents for company operations.
Is Iris the same as Iris.ai?
No. Iris.ai is a separate company that builds AI for expert knowledge work. This page covers the operations agents at iris-agent.co.
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