Best free AI assistant you can text
Which AI assistant can I use for free and still get things done?
Updated · 22 assistants ranked
Plenty of assistants you can text cost nothing to start. This report ranks only the ones with a free plan or a free tier, across all ten of our tests, so you can see which free option actually gets things done.
Top picks
- 19.0MuseTop pick
Tested on 7 of 10Best: Purchasing10, Email10
- 28.5
Tested on 6 of 10Best: Purchasing10, Memory10
- 38.4TownFastest that's still good
Tested on 5 of 10Best: Connected apps10, Email9Time to finish 6m 30s
- 48.1
Tested on 8 of 10Best: Routines10, Purchasing9
- 58.1
Tested on 10 of 10Best: Travel9, Phone calls9
Top pick: highest average here. Best free option: highest among assistants you can use for free. Fastest that's still good: quickest median time to finish among those averaging 7 or more.
Full ranking
| # | Assistant | Online tasks | Travel | Purchasing | Phone calls | Proactive | Routines | Connected apps | Permissions | Memory | Average | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Muse | 8 | 7 | 10 | — | 10 | — | 10 | 9 | 9 | — | 9.0 |
| 2 | Hark | 8 | 9 | 10 | — | 9 | — | — | 5 | — | 10 | 8.5 |
| 3 | Town | — | — | — | — | 9 | — | 8 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 8.4 |
| 4 | Pally | 7 | 7 | 9 | N/A | 7 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 9 | — | 8.1 |
| 5 | Neo | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8.1 |
| 6 | szn | 7 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 7 | — | 8 | 6 | 9 | 7.8 |
| 7 | Ollie | 9 | 7 | 7 | N/A | 7 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8 | — | 7.8 |
| 8 | Poke | 4 | — | — | — | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | — | 8 | 7.5 |
| 9 | Caddy | 8 | 9 | 7 | N/A | 7 | — | — | 6 | — | 6 | 7.2 |
| 10 | Luke | 6 | 9 | — | 8 | 7 | — | 7 | — | — | 6 | 7.2 |
| 11 | Wajo / Fo | 2 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 7.1 |
| 12 | Norton Family Assistant | — | 4 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 6.7 |
| 13 | Vellum | 4 | — | 4 | — | — | 6 | 8 | — | 7 | 7 | 6.0 |
| 14 | OpenInstinct | 10 | — | — | — | 3 | — | — | 6 | 7 | 4 | 6.0 |
| 15 | Ask Ranger | 4 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 5.6 |
| 16 | Today | 8 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5.6 |
| 17 | Gemini Spark | 6 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5.5 |
| 18 | Nessi | — | — | — | — | 7 | 5 | — | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5.4 |
| 19 | Del | 5 | 7 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 7 | 8 | 4 | 5.3 |
| 20 | Ka | — | 6 | — | 6 | — | — | 5 | 4 | — | 5 | 5.2 |
| 21 | OpenClaw | 7 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 5.1 |
| 22 | Alfi by Text.ai | — | — | 4 | 4 | 6 | — | 5 | 4 | — | — | 4.6 |
How this report works
Only assistants with a free plan or a free tier, tested on at least five of the ten tests, are included. They are ranked by their average across the tests they took.
How to choose
- Check what the free tier covers. Several free tiers cap messages or features; the plan details are on each assistant's page.
- If it will touch your money, look at Purchasing and Permissions & privacy first. A free assistant that pays without asking is no bargain.
- Look at how many of the ten tests it took. An average over five tests tells you less than one over ten.
What users say
The agent, which Meta launched on September 8, booked a Friday date night and made a packing schedule for my upcoming move. It also emailed a friend about a trip next month and made a planning document with places we want to visit.
Open sourceWhen I asked for a list of places to go for date night, it pulled up two options in my neighborhood that had been closed for years.
Open sourceInstinct should be provide address and contact information and go to https://ups.com @UPS website and complete everything to create a return shipping label for an international package.
Open sourceSo I asked my @TownAI agent to do it. It collated all the insights + made the deck
Open sourceFrequently asked questions
Which assistant is best for this?
Muse leads with an average of 9.0, ahead of Hark and Town.
How did you test these assistants?
Every assistant got the same published tests, word for word, scored from three checkpoints and the number of corrections it needed. Each test is on the Dimensions page.