Compare/Head to head

Lindy vs Vellum

Same facts, side by side: starting price, free tier, MCP, API and what each one is actually built for.

Starting price

Lindy

$49.99/user/mo 7 day free trial

Lindy is a hosted AI teammate that lives in Slack and iMessage, handling inbox, meetings, scheduling and repeat routines across 1,500+ apps, with approvals before anything goes out. $50 in free credits for 7 days, then $49.99/user/mo.

Where Lindy fits

  • Recruiters buried in email, scheduling and interview follow-ups
  • Agency teams that work in Slack
  • Leaders who want daily briefs and meeting prep done for them

Vellum

$30/mo Free tier

Vellum is an open-source personal AI assistant that runs on its own always-on computer, handling email triage, calendar, meeting prep and research. Start free with pay-as-you-go credits, hosted packages from $30/mo, or self-host for free.

Where Vellum fits

  • Recruiters who want an always-on assistant with its own inbox
  • Technical users who may self-host later
  • People who want memory that lives on storage they control

At a glance

DetailLindyVellum
Starting price$49.99/user/mo$30/mo
Free tier–No✓Yes
Free trial7 day free trialNot on record
MCP server–No–No
Public API–No–No
Listed underAI assistantsAI assistants

Where they pull apart

Lindy

Stands out: Lindy is one of the most mature assistants in this group: it drafts in your voice, records and follows up on meetings, connects to 1,500+ tools plus MCP, and asks before it sends, posts or updates anything.

Watch out: Every active user takes a paid seat, and credits are the real limit: when the shared pool runs dry Lindy pauses until the next cycle unless you top up at $10 per 1,000 credits. Lindy has changed its plans several times in 2026.

Not the right fit for

  • Teams looking for an ATS or sourcing database
  • Buyers who want a free tier beyond the trial

Vellum

Stands out: Vellum gives you both routes: rent a hosted assistant with its own computer, email address and subdomain, or run the same open-source assistant on your own hardware with no platform fee.

Watch out: The monthly fee mostly buys compute; the actual work is billed as credits at $1 each, so monthly cost depends on usage. Searches for Vellum also turn up its old LLM developer platform, which is a different product.

Not the right fit for

  • Buyers who want a flat all-in price
  • Teams that need a deep library of prebuilt connectors

Pros and cons

Lindy

  • Approvals before anything is sent
  • 1,500+ integrations plus MCP
  • SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA on Enterprise
  • Every active user is a paid seat
  • Pauses when pooled credits run out
  • No free plan after the trial

Vellum

  • Free start and free self-hosting
  • Assistant gets its own computer and storage
  • Open source
  • Usage credits on top of the package fee
  • Fewer prebuilt connectors than agent platforms
  • Easy to confuse with Vellum's old developer product

What each one costs

Lindy

$49.99/user/mo

Lindy starts with $50 in free credits, no card needed, which last 7 days. Team is $49.99/user/mo with 5,000 credits per seat pooled across the workspace; top-ups are $10 per 1,000 credits, and monthly credits do not roll over. Enterprise is custom and adds SSO, SCIM, audit logs and HIPAA. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 16 Oct 2026

Vellum

$30/mo

Vellum starts free, with usage billed as credits at $1 per credit. Hosted packages are Mighty at $30/mo (small computer, 10 GB), Super at $100/mo (medium computer, 30 GB, assistant email and subdomain) and Ultra at $200/mo (large computer, 60 GB); each includes some usage, and further credits are pay-as-you-go. The open-source assistant can be self-hosted with no platform fee. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 16 Oct 2026

Common questions

Is Lindy cheaper than Vellum?
Vellum starts lower, at $30/mo against $49.99/user/mo for Lindy. That is the entry plan on each side, so the real number depends on seats and the tier you land on.
Can you try Lindy or Vellum for free?
Vellum carries a free tier on our listing. Lindy offers a 7 day free trial.

Not the pair you wanted?

All Lindy alternatives All Vellum alternatives Every AI assistants tool

Editorial listings, never paid rankings. Prices checked 16 Oct 2026. Confirm current terms on the vendor site. Spot an error?