Lindy vs Jace: Which AI Assistant in 2026?
People compare these two, but they’re built at different altitudes. Lindy is a no-code AI agent builder — you describe automations in plain English (“Lindys”) that handle email, scheduling, follow-ups, lead routing, and support across thousands of apps, operated largely through iMessage. Jace is a Gmail-native AI executive assistant — it lives in your inbox, drafts replies, auto-labels messages, runs smart rules, and gives you an “AI Chief of Staff” chat, all aimed at reclaiming your email time. Lindy asks what do you want to build across your stack; Jace asks how do I get through my inbox faster. Name which of those is actually your problem and the choice gets easy.
Worth knowing: Jace started life as something broader. Zeta Labs originally built it around AWA-1, an autonomous web agent that drove a browser to book trips and fill out forms. In 2026 the product has narrowed to an inbox-focused executive assistant, so the “computer that clicks around the web for you” framing you may have read about is largely history.
The One-Sentence Answer
Use Lindy if you want to build custom agents and automations across your whole toolset; use Jace if you want a ready-made assistant that takes over your Gmail inbox with almost no setup.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Lindy | Jace | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | No-code AI agent builder | Gmail-native AI executive assistant |
| Core job | Build automations across your stack | Draft, label, and organize your inbox |
| Best at | Multi-app workflows you design | Getting through email fast |
| Setup | Describe a “Lindy,” connect apps | Connect Gmail, works in minutes |
| Primary interface | iMessage/SMS + web | Gmail web app + browser extension |
| Gmail & Outlook | Both | Gmail-first (Outlook limited) |
| Integrations | Thousands of apps | Gmail-centric + some business tools (Slack, ticketing) |
| Action model | Drafts and waits for approval | Drafts and waits for approval |
| Price (2026) | From $49.99/month (credit-metered) | From $20/month (credit-metered) |
| Best fit | Builders automating many tools | Inbox overload, minimal setup |
When to Use Lindy
- You want to build your own automations, not just triage email
- Your work spans many apps — CRM, Slack, calendars, sheets — and you want them wired together
- You like operating an assistant by iMessage and getting proactive nudges
- You want meeting recording and calendar automation alongside email
- You’re comfortable spending a little time describing and tuning each “Lindy”
Lindy’s bet is that you have specific, repeatable workflows only you can define. Tell it what you want in plain English and it builds an agent for it — lead comes in, enrich it, score it, route it to the right rep. It works across Gmail and Outlook and connects to thousands of apps, and the more you lean on it, the more of your stack it can touch.
When to Use Jace
- Your single biggest problem is email volume
- You live in the Gmail web client and want AI drafting and labeling right there
- You want something working in minutes with almost no configuration
- You want smart rules that auto-handle CCs, templates, and calendar events
- The lowest entry price matters, and you don’t need Outlook
Jace’s bet is that email is where your time goes, so it focuses there. It drafts contextual replies, categorizes messages by type and priority with AI labels, and gives you a chat-based “AI Chief of Staff” for inbox questions and quick tasks. It’s Gmail-native and cheaper to start, at the cost of breadth — this is an inbox tool, not a build-anything platform.
The Difference That Actually Decides It
The decision is really about scope. Lindy is a platform: you invest a little setup to build agents that reach across your whole stack, and the payoff is automations no off-the-shelf tool would ship. Jace is a product: it does one job — your inbox — and does it with almost no setup, for a lower entry price. Buying Lindy when all you wanted was faster email means paying for and configuring a builder you’ll barely use. Buying Jace when you needed cross-app workflows means hitting a wall the moment the work leaves your inbox.
There’s also a ceiling both share. Whatever they draft — a reply, a labeled thread, a proposed calendar event — they hand it back for you to approve and send. You’re still the last step in every loop. The work that actually eats your day isn’t writing one reply; it’s the back-and-forth, chasing the response, booking the time, logging it. These tools organize and draft that work but don’t finish it.
If finishing it without you in the loop is the point, that’s a different design. Carly is an AI assistant whose agents each have their own email address — they reply to people, book meetings, send follow-ups, and update your CRM on their own, working across Gmail or Outlook and 200+ integrations, and you set it up by describing what you want in plain English. See Carly vs Lindy for that head-to-head, or Jace AI alternatives if Jace is the one you’re unsure about.
Quick Reference
| Your situation… | Pick… |
|---|---|
| I want to build automations across many apps | Lindy |
| I want an assistant I run by iMessage | Lindy |
| I need meeting recording and calendar automation | Lindy |
| My whole problem is Gmail overload | Jace |
| I want it working in minutes, minimal setup | Jace |
| I want the lowest entry price | Jace |
| I want the work finished on its own | Neither — see Carly |
FAQ
Is Jace still a web-browsing agent? Not really anymore. Jace launched around AWA-1, an autonomous agent that operated a browser for you, but in 2026 it’s repositioned as a Gmail-focused executive assistant centered on drafting, labeling, and inbox rules. If you specifically need a computer-use agent that clicks around websites, Jace’s current product isn’t built for that.
Does either one work with Outlook? Lindy supports both Gmail and Outlook. Jace is Gmail-first — its experience is tuned for the Gmail web client, and Outlook support is limited. If you live in Microsoft 365, Lindy is the safer pick of the two.
Which is cheaper? Jace’s entry price is lower — Plus starts at $20/month against Lindy’s $49.99/month Plus — but both meter usage with monthly credits, so heavy use pushes you toward higher tiers on either platform. Compare the credit allowances, not just the sticker price.
What if I want the email and scheduling actually done, not just drafted? Both Lindy and Jace draft and wait for your approval, so you still hit send. If you’d rather delegate the outcome, look at an assistant that acts: Carly’s agents reply, book, and follow up from their own email address, starting at $35/month. See Lindy alternatives and Jace AI alternatives for more options.
Related: Lindy alternatives · Jace AI alternatives · Carly vs Lindy
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."
