Pally alternatives — AI assistants you can text in 2026

Pally is one of the best-rounded AI assistants you can text. You chat with it over iMessage, Android RCS or Telegram; it books flights, checks out on a capped card, makes calls, and has a free plan that stays free. People look for alternatives for three reasons: they want to text their assistant on WhatsApp, they want it for work rather than personal life, or they want something narrower, like a coach or an assistant built for one profession.

This page is written by Arlo, so read it with that in mind. Every claim about another product comes from its own site as of September 2026, and we say plainly where each one beats us.

What Pally is (as of September 2026)

Pally comes from Pally Technologies, a Y Combinator company. You chat with it over iMessage, Android RCS and Telegram, and it can read your WhatsApp inbox and send replies there once you approve them. It connects to about twenty named apps plus browser sign-in for most other sites, books flights, pays with a single-use card capped at the amount you approve, and makes calls from a monthly allowance of minutes. It shows you messages and purchases word for word before they happen. There's a permanent free plan with limits on apps, automations and call minutes, and Pro and Max subscriptions above it.

The alternatives at a glance

Assistant	Where you talk to it	Built for	Phone calls
Arlo	iMessage, SMS, WhatsApp, Slack	Work — founders, operators, teams	Places calls
Poke	iMessage, SMS, Telegram; WhatsApp in some markets	Personal life	—
Martin	SMS, WhatsApp, email, Slack, iOS app	Busy individuals	Yes
Tomo	iMessage, plus a companion app	Personal goals and habits	—
alfred_	iMessage, SMS, RCS	People who bill for their time	—
Instinct	Text, WhatsApp, calls	Personal use; invite-only	In and out
Pally	iMessage, Android RCS, Telegram	Personal life	Minutes by plan

Arlo — the Pally alternative for work

Arlo is an AI colleague you text on iMessage, SMS or WhatsApp, use inside Slack, or hand a phone call to. The difference from Pally isn't whether it can act — both can — but what it's built around. Arlo connects to 3,000+ tools, including the shared ones a company runs on, and reaches software with no API through a secure browser session. It holds anything it sends or changes for your approval, keeps an audit trail of every action and approval, and works inside Slack alongside your team. Calls are billed per minute from the same credits as everything else rather than capped by plan. It's free to start, then runs on monthly plans from $20.

If WhatsApp is where you want to talk to your assistant, Arlo does that and Pally doesn't. Full comparison: Arlo vs Pally.

Poke

Poke lives in iMessage, SMS and Telegram, with WhatsApp in some markets, connects to your email, calendar and 30-plus personal apps, and runs life admin through one-tap "Recipes." Cognition, the lab behind the Devin coding agent, acquired its maker in July 2026, and Poke keeps running. If you like Pally's personal focus but want the most polished texting experience, Poke is the one to try. See Arlo vs Poke.

Martin

Martin pitches itself as a personal AI like Jarvis. You reach it over SMS, WhatsApp, email and Slack or its iOS app; it manages your calendar and inbox, sets reminders and makes calls. It's a subscription with a free trial. If you want a Pally-style personal assistant you can message on WhatsApp, Martin is the closest match. See Arlo vs Martin.

Tomo

Tomo is built around personal goals and habits: a companion you text in iMessage that joins group chats, texts you first, helps with your calendar and email, and keeps you accountable to what you said you'd do. It's a paid subscription. Pick it over Pally if accountability for your goals is the point, not errands.

alfred_

alfred_ is a texting assistant over iMessage, SMS and RCS for people who bill for their time — founders, lawyers, agents and accountants. It works across Gmail or Outlook, your calendar, tasks and notes, and asks you to approve every send, with an individual plan and a per-seat team plan. It doesn't list phone calls or WhatsApp.

Instinct

Instinct is the viral personal assistant of 2026: you text it, including over WhatsApp, or call it, and it runs a computer in the cloud to carry errands through. As of September 2026 it's invite-only with a waitlist, free during its beta, and licensed for personal use by its terms. If you can get in and the job is personal errands, it's worth trying. See Instinct alternatives.

How to choose

• Personal life, free: stay with Pally, or try Poke.
• Personal life, on WhatsApp: Martin.
• Goals and habits rather than errands: Tomo.
• Your inbox and calendar, if you bill for your time: alfred_.
• Work that other people depend on — your company's email, your team's Slack, customers on the phone — with approvals and a record of what happened: Arlo.

Details reflect each product's public site as of September 2026; check them for the current state.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best Pally alternatives? Arlo for work across iMessage, SMS, WhatsApp, Slack and phone calls; Poke for personal texting; Martin for SMS, WhatsApp and calls; Tomo as a goals and habits coach; alfred_ for people who bill for their time; and Instinct, which is personal and invite-only.

Is there a Pally alternative on WhatsApp? Yes. As of September 2026 Pally reads your WhatsApp inbox but you chat with it over iMessage, Android RCS or Telegram. Arlo and Martin both let you text the assistant itself on WhatsApp, and Poke does in some markets.

Is there a Pally alternative for work or teams? Arlo. It works inside Slack as well as your texts, connects to 3,000+ tools including the shared ones a company uses, asks before it sends, and keeps an audit trail of every action and approval.

Which Pally alternative is free? Pally's own free plan is the most generous permanent free option in this group, and Poke can be used free for light use. Arlo is free to start with credits and no card, and Martin offers a free trial.

Which Pally alternatives can make phone calls? Arlo, Martin and Instinct. Arlo places calls billed per minute from its credits, and keeps the transcript, so you can ask how it went.