6 Best Stumpy AI Alternatives in 2026
Stumpy gives you always-on AI agents that live in the cloud. You push a button to create one, then talk to it on the web, by text, on Telegram, by email or in Slack. Agents run scheduled tasks, keep notes, browse the web and connect to Google Calendar, Gmail, Notion, Todoist, Airtable and any remote MCP server. A “chief of staff” agent can spin up and manage others.
The reasons people compare it with other options are mostly about the plans:
- Free is a taste. One agent and a few messages a day.
- The useful parts start at $50. Calling your agent, meeting attendance, its own computer and browser all sit on Personal, at $50 a month.
- Real-world calls are an add-on. To have someone phone a business, you connect Duckbill, a separate service with human operators.
The quick answer: Carly is the best Stumpy alternative for running your work day. It’s an assistant you set up once with your own rules, and it follows them on every email, booking and call. It calls and texts people itself from your line, and its Zapier-style workflows are free.
Stumpy alternatives compared
| Alternative | How it runs | Best for | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carly | Managed assistant with rules and workflows | Email, calendar, calls and texts from day one | Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/mo |
| Lindy | Agents you build, used in Slack | Teams designing their own agents | $29.99/mo per user, 3,000 credits |
| Grok Bot | Named bots on a shared cloud computer | Agents driving a real computer | From Cursor Pro at $20/mo |
| Poke | One assistant in your messages | A cheap assistant by text | Free; Pro $19/mo |
| OpenClaw | Self-hosted agent on your machine | Owning the whole setup | Free software; you pay hosting and models |
| Hermes Agent | Self-hosted, open-source framework | Developers who want the raw stack | Free software; your own model costs |
Stumpy for reference: Free (one agent, a few messages a day), Personal $50 a month with two weeks free (multiple agents, phone calls, meetings, its own Linux computer and browser), Pro $200. Prices from each vendor’s site, checked October 19, 2026, except Lindy and Grok Bot from our Grok Bot alternatives check on October 17.
1. Carly
Stumpy hands you a blank agent and lets you shape it in conversation. Carly starts with the work already wired: inbox, calendar, phone and workflows, each following rules you write in plain English.
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Email labeling and sorting. Carly files every message in every Gmail and Outlook account you own, using your labels, the same way each time. Write your first rule.
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Advanced calendar work. It checks all your calendars before booking, handles scheduling back-and-forth over email and runs booking pages with round robin.
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Phone and SMS, both directions. Text Carly from a US or Canadian number. Have it call a vendor, text a customer or answer your business line and book the caller. No separate concierge service required. Book a call to set up the line.
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Event triggers, free. New mail, a form, a booking or a CRM change starts a Zapier-style workflow on its own.
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Thousands of apps. Carly connects to thousands of apps, including Slack, Notion, Todoist and Airtable, plus its own CRM.
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Run it from your AI. Add the Carly connector in Claude, Grok Bot, Meta Muse or Perplexity, or the Carly plugin in ChatGPT.
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Best for: professionals and small teams who want a reliable assistant on day one rather than an agent to train.
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Pricing: Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month. Get started.
2. Lindy
Lindy is now an AI teammate you work with in Slack. You build agents for email, meetings and research, and everyone in the workspace draws from a 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: bigger jobs burn more credits, and every active user takes a seat. See Lindy alternatives.
3. Grok Bot
Grok Bot gives you several named bots on a shared cloud computer, with routines, plugins and MCP servers. It’s the closest match to Stumpy’s team-of-agents idea. Details in our Grok Bot guide.
- Best for: technical users who 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.
4. Poke
Poke is a text-message assistant you reach over iMessage, SMS, WhatsApp or Telegram. It reads your email and calendar and messages you first when something needs you.
- Best for: a low-cost personal assistant by text.
- Pricing: Free; Pro $19 a month; Ultra $199.
- Limitations: one assistant, no team of agents. See Poke alternatives.
5. OpenClaw
OpenClaw is the self-hosted agent most people compare against. It runs on your own machine and talks to you over Telegram and other chat apps.
- Best for: people who want to own the whole setup.
- Pricing: free software; you pay for hosting and model usage.
- Limitations: you secure, patch and operate it yourself. See OpenClaw alternatives.
6. Hermes Agent
Hermes Agent is Nous Research’s open-source agent that learns skills as it works. Several hosted assistants are built on it.
- Best for: developers who want the raw framework.
- Pricing: free, self-hosted, your own model costs.
- Limitations: you assemble channels, memory and connections yourself. See Hermes Agent alternatives.
How to pick a Stumpy alternative
- Want email, calendar and calls handled by rules on day one? Go with Carly.
- Want to design agents with your team in Slack? Lindy.
- Want agents on a real computer? Grok Bot.
- Want to self-host? OpenClaw or Hermes Agent.
FAQ
What is the best Stumpy alternative?
Carly, for anyone who wants an assistant that runs their inbox, calendar and phone by fixed rules, with free Zapier-style workflows and calls to other people built in.
How much does Stumpy cost?
Free for one agent and a few messages a day, Personal $50 a month with two weeks free, and Pro $200 a month.
Can Stumpy make phone calls?
On Personal and above you can call your agent. To phone a business, Stumpy connects to Duckbill, whose human operators make the call. Carly places calls and texts from your own line.
Does Stumpy work with Gmail and Google Calendar?
Yes, along with Notion, Todoist, Airtable and remote MCP servers. Carly works with every Gmail and Outlook account you own and thousands of other apps.
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."
