The Agency vs Martin

One agent for everything — not just your calendar and inbox.

Both are hosted AI assistants built for non-technical people — no servers, no API keys. Martin is a focused concierge you reach by SMS, phone call, WhatsApp, email, or Slack to manage your calendar, inbox, reminders, and to-dos — and it can even phone people on your behalf. The Agency is one named persona agent you build a relationship with that also runs saved, schedulable workflows, writes reports, and extends to any app over OAuth, any MCP tool, and local tools on your Mac. Here's an honest look at both.

Comparison reviewed June 2026· facts from each product's own documentation

At a glance

Where the two genuinely differ — including where Martin wins.

Comparison dimension
The Agency
Hosted personal agent
Martin
Text & call concierge · hosted
Who it's forNon-technical people who want one personal agent that does real work across their toolsBusy individuals offloading calendar, inbox, reminders, and to-dos to an always-reachable assistant (consumer, single-user)
Setup effortSign up, name your agent, connect apps via OAuth; no keys, no installSign up, connect calendar/inbox/Slack, then text or call it; iOS or web app, no keys
How many agents / shapeOne persona agent (name, codename, personality) you build a relationship withOne assistant (“Martin”) focused on a fixed set of personal-productivity tasks
ChannelsWeb chat, Telegram, email, voiceSMS/text, phone calls (in & outbound voice), WhatsApp, email, Slack, Telegram, web + iOS app (no Android)
IntegrationsWeb search; OAuth apps (Gmail, Calendar, Slack, GitHub, more); any MCP server; Agency Link for local Mac toolsGoogle Calendar, Gmail, Slack, contacts (text/call others), reminders/to-dos, search; Google Drive, Notion, ClickUp “coming soon”
Memory & personalizationLong-term memory so the agent remembers you and past workLong-term memory of preferences and workflows; enhanced memory gated to the Pro tier
Scheduling & triggersSaved workflows run on cron schedules, on events, or manually; each produces a reportProactive morning actions; Pro-only Wake-Up Calls, daily auto-drafted email replies, and CC-to-schedule
Autonomy & approvalsSensitive actions like sending email are gated behind approvalActs on your behalf (email, texts, calls, bookings); exact approval model not publicly documented
Where it runsHosted SaaSHosted SaaS (cloud-only)
Open sourceNo — proprietaryNo — proprietary
ModelNo keys to bring — the model's includedManaged and included; specific model(s) not publicly named
PricingUsage-based credits with tiersFlat tiers (as of June 2026): Basic $35/mo ($21 annual); Pro $49/mo ($30 annual); 7-day trial
Phone calls to othersNo — works over web chat, Telegram, email, and voice, but doesn't call or text third partiesYes — can place outbound calls and texts to people and businesses (reviews say still early-stage)

What's the same

These aren't toys on either side — both are real, capable agents.

Hosted for non-technical people — no servers to run and no API keys to bring; the model is included
A personal assistant that gets to know you, with long-term memory of your preferences and past work
Reachable on Telegram and other messaging channels, not just a single app or web page
Connect to the everyday admin stack — Google Calendar, Gmail/inbox, and Slack — and act on those accounts for you
Proactive, scheduled behavior rather than waiting for every instruction
Closed-source, vendor-operated cloud products with nothing to self-host

Where they differ

The honest trade-off, axis by axis.

Scope

A focused concierge vs. an agent that extends to anything

The Agency
The Agency is one persona agent that runs saved, schedulable workflows, writes reports, and reaches any app over OAuth, any tool over MCP, and local tools on your Mac — so it takes on work well beyond the standard admin stack.
Martin
Martin does a narrow job well: calendar, inbox, reminders, to-dos, and contacting people. Its integrations are a fixed, curated set (with Drive, Notion, and ClickUp announced as coming soon), not an open MCP/OAuth-to-anything surface.
Phone calls

Martin can actually pick up the phone

The Agency
The Agency works over web chat, Telegram, email, and voice, but it does not place outbound phone calls or texts to other people on your behalf.
Martin
Martin's standout is being channel-native like a human EA: you reach it by SMS, phone, or WhatsApp with no app required, and it can place real outbound calls and texts to people and businesses for you. Reviews note calling is still early-stage — but The Agency has no equivalent.
How work runs

Reusable scheduled workflows vs. proactive morning routines

The Agency
The Agency turns work into saved workflows you re-run on cron schedules, on events, or manually, each producing a report — a build-your-own automation surface across any connected tool.
Martin
Martin's automation is a focused set of proactive routines — morning actions, plus Pro-only Wake-Up Calls, auto-drafted replies, and CC-to-schedule — tightly scoped to inbox and calendar rather than arbitrary recurring tasks.

Which one is for you?

If Martinis the better fit, we'll say so — we mean it.

Choose The Agency if…

  • You want one persona agent you build a relationship with that takes on work well beyond calendar and inbox
  • You need saved, schedulable workflows that run on cron, on events, or manually and hand back reports
  • You want to connect virtually anything — OAuth apps, any MCP tool, and local Mac tools — not a fixed integration list
  • You want sensitive actions like sending email gated behind explicit approval

Choose Martin if…

  • You mainly want calendar, inbox, reminders, and to-dos handled, and value depth on that narrow job over breadth
  • You want to reach your assistant the way you'd text or call a human EA — by SMS, phone, or WhatsApp, no app required
  • You want it to actually phone or text other people and businesses on your behalf (booking, coordinating)
  • You want a flat monthly price with an iOS app, rather than usage-based credits

Questions people ask

What is Martin, and how is it different from The Agency?

Martin is a personal AI assistant (marketed as “your AI like Jarvis”) you reach by SMS, phone call, WhatsApp, email, or Slack to manage your calendar, inbox, reminders, and to-dos — and it can text and call people on your behalf. The Agency is one named persona agent you build a relationship with that also runs saved, schedulable workflows, writes reports, and extends to any app over OAuth, any MCP tool, and local tools on your Mac. Martin is a focused concierge; The Agency is a broader personal agent.

Can Martin make phone calls? Can The Agency?

Yes — placing real outbound phone calls and texts to people and businesses on your behalf is one of Martin's standout features, alongside Pro-only “Wake-Up Calls” where it phones you with your weather and schedule. Reviews describe the calling feature as still early-stage. The Agency does not place outbound calls or text others; it works over web chat, Telegram, email, and voice.

How much does Martin cost?

As of June 2026, Martin has two consumer tiers with a 7-day free trial: Basic at $35/mo (or $21/mo billed annually) and Pro at $49/mo (or $30/mo billed annually). Several headline features — enhanced long-term memory, daily auto-drafted email replies, Wake-Up Calls, and CC-to-schedule — are Pro-only. The Agency uses usage-based credits with tiers.

Does Martin require approval before it sends emails or makes calls?

Martin acts on your behalf — drafting and sending email, texting and calling people, and booking events — but its exact approval or confirmation model isn't publicly documented, so we can't state precisely which actions auto-execute versus require a confirmation step. The Agency gates sensitive actions like sending email behind explicit approval.

Which integrations and channels does Martin support?

Martin connects to Google Calendar, Gmail, Slack, your contacts (to text and call others), reminders, to-dos, and search tools; Google Drive, Notion, and ClickUp were announced as coming soon. You can reach it via SMS, phone, WhatsApp, email, Slack, and Telegram, plus a web app and an iOS app (no Android app was found). The Agency connects via OAuth (Gmail, Calendar, Slack, GitHub, and more), any MCP tool, and local Mac tools, over web chat, Telegram, email, and voice.

Stop being everyone.

Pick the one thing you keep meaning to hand off. Your agent takes it from there.

Free tier included · No credit card required · Private by default