For One Person
For a TeamArchie vs chat apps.
An agent on your computer drafts replies, moves meetings after your yes, reminds you, and answers questions too.
Archie is in beta. Prices checked August 19, 2026; task capability checked September 14, 2026.
Pick the AI company your agent uses.
Chat apps increasingly offer scheduled tasks and connected tools.
Your inbox watched and replies ready.
Morning briefs, inbox watching, reminders on time. Your computer must be on, awake and online.
Calendar, mail, files and to-dos, used from your computerSource 6. Your words still go to your AI company.
Emails wait until you send them or set a time; calendar changes wait for your yes. Neither can be turned offSource 5. Read each before you approve.
A chat app needs no computer left on.
A chat window needs no inbox or calendar. Archie’s email and calendar jobs do.
A chat app needs a signal. Archie needs its computer awake; a timed routine can wake it.
A flat fee is easier to predict than pay-as-you-go AI. It does not cover Archie’s separate AI account.
The full comparison, with sources.
Archie is free at 20 jobs a day on your own AI account, or $30 a month without the limitSource 3. AI usage is extra: up to $5 a month for light use, more for heavySource 3.
Our free starting credits pass through our server to AnthropicSource 6. Email needs your own AI account.
Compare schedules, approvals and prices
| Archie | A chat app | |
|---|---|---|
| Who starts the work | You, or a routine you schedule | You, or supported scheduled tasks |
| While the window is closed | Works while the computer is awake; a timed routine can wake it | Supported tasks can run while you are offline |
| Where you talk to it | Archie, Telegram, Discord, Slack, Matrix, or iMessage on a MacSource 4 | That app |
| Which AI answers | Your pick of 7 companies, on your account, switchableSource 4 | Its maker’s AI |
| Sending an email or moving a meeting | Held for you: a meeting moves after your yes, an email when you send it or set a timeSource 5 | Capabilities and approvals depend on the app and connected tools |
| Where your conversations live | On your computer. On an AI account of your own they go straight to that company, and no server of ours holds themSource 6. Our free starting credits pass through our server to Anthropic, and nothing is kept | On that company’s servers, under your account with them |
| What you pay | Free at 20 jobs a day, or $30Source 3 a month without the limit, plus what your own AI account bills | A flat subscription. ChatGPT PlusSource 2 and Claude ProSource 1 are both $20 a month |
Prices read from each company’s own pricing page on August 19, 2026.
Sources for every figure and claim on this page
Anthropic’s own pricing page, claude.com/pricing, read August 19, 2026. It also lists $17 a month on the annual plan and Claude Max from $100.
OpenAI’s own pricing page, chatgpt.com/pricing, read August 19, 2026. It also lists a free tier, Go at $8 a month, and Pro from $100.
Our price, and the AI usage on top of it, on our pricing page.
Counted in Archie’s code, and described on our Trust page.
How the hold works, and its honest limit, are on our Trust page.
Our Trust page lists every outbound connection Archie makes, and how to watch them yourself with a network monitor.
Hand off the parts that repeat.
Free for Mac and Windows, on your own AI account.