HOW WE COMPARE
Different shape.
Different output.
We're not a better chatbot or a slicker code builder. Gladys is a new category — apps you build by talking that live on your device and evolve when you do. Here's the honest comparison.
THE LANDSCAPE
Four shapes of AI product.
The differences aren't about who's better — they're about what shape of thing each tool produces. Pick the shape that matches what you actually need.
AI ASSISTANTS
ChatGPT · Claude · Gemini
Chat + occasional artifacts.
You converse, you get answers, you sometimes get an image or document back. Voice is a mode you turn on. The output of a session is text or a file — not a tool that persists, not someone who remembers you tomorrow.
CODE PLATFORMS
Replit · Bolt · v0 · Lovable
Generate code you ship.
You describe an app, the platform writes the code, deploys it to their infrastructure (or yours), and you install or visit the result somewhere else. Powerful for developers. Shipping is a separate step.
AGENT PLATFORMS
Lindy · n8n · Zapier+AI
Wire up your existing tools.
You build agents that automate flows across software you already use. Powerful for ops. Doesn't build the app itself — it's the glue between the apps you bought.
GLADYS
You are here
The AI you call. She remembers. She builds.
A person-shaped product, not a tool-shaped one. You call her — she picks up, knows you, and does things mid-call: answers, your music and email, and when the app you need doesn't exist, she builds it and it lives on your phone. The conversation is the interface. The relationship is the product.
THE COMPARISON
Side by side, by what matters.
Grouped by theme so it reads as differences in approach, not a checklist of bullet points. We mark "Limited" when the truth isn't "Yes."
| Gladys | Code platforms (Replit · Bolt) | Agent platforms (Lindy · n8n) | AI assistants (ChatGPT · Claude) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Relationship | ||||
| You can call it on the phone | Yes — she picks up | No | No | Voice mode in-app |
| Remembers you across sessions | Yes — on your device | Per project | Per workflow | Cloud memory features |
| Acts mid-conversation (music, email, builds) | Yes | No | Via workflows | Limited |
| Distinct characters with voices | Twelve | No | No | One assistant |
| Apps & Output | ||||
| Builds real working apps | Yes | Yes | Limited | No |
| No code/deploy step | Yes | Generates + deploys | No code | N/A |
| Time from prompt to using it | ~30 seconds | Minutes (deploy) | Minutes | Instant text only |
| Apps persist + evolve by talking | Yes | Manual revision | Manual revision | No (chat artifacts only) |
| Where Things Run | ||||
| App runs on your device | Yes (iPhone/iPad) | On their servers | On their servers | On their servers |
| Data lives on your device | Yes (per-app SQLite) | On their servers | On their servers | On their servers |
| Mobile-native experience | Yes | Web first | Web first | Mobile chat only |
| iOS Keychain / Secure Enclave | Yes | No | No | No |
| Privacy & Data | ||||
| Trains on your data | Never | Varies | No | Opt out |
| Per-app data isolation | Yes | Project-scoped | Workspace-scoped | No |
| Delete + forget instantly | One tap | Possible | Possible | Possible |
| SOC 2 Type II | In progress | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing | ||||
| Free tier | 75 credits, no card | Free / $20 | Free credits | Limited free chat |
| Paid plan | $24.99/mo | $20/mo | $49.99/mo | $20/mo |
| Quote-before-build | Yes — every build | No | No | No |
| User-picked effort modes | Quick / Standard / Deep | No | No | No |
| Free trial | 7 days on Subscribe | Free tier exists | Free credits | Limited free chat |
Got a row you think we got wrong? Tell us — we'll fix it.
WHERE WE DON'T WIN
Honestly: pick the right tool for the job.
We're not best at everything. Here's where the others win — and when you should genuinely pick them instead.
Need code you can take to a dev team or App Store?
Replit wins. Their output is real React Native code, deployable as native apps via Expo. Gladys apps live inside Gladys — they're not yours to fork into Xcode.
Need 4,000+ third-party SaaS integrations?
Lindy wins. Their integration library is unmatched. Gladys has a focused set (we're building toward Square, Stripe, Twilio, Calendly, the SMB essentials) and the agent bridge for everything else.
Just want a Q&A box, cheapest possible?
ChatGPT or Claude wins on price. They're $20/month and great at the answer-machine job. What they don't do is pick up the phone, remember you on your own device, or leave you holding a working app — if none of that matters to you, save the five bucks.
Need a slick desktop dashboard for a team of 50?
Today, web SaaS wins. We're mobile-first; the iPad version (next) and a web version (after) will close that gap. If you need it now, this isn't the right call.
PICK WHAT'S RIGHT
If you need…
Code I can take elsewhere or ship to the App Store
Replit
Real React Native + Expo code, real deployments.
Cross-app automation across SaaS tools I already pay for
Lindy
Best-in-class workflow agents + integration breadth.
Cheap conversational AI for chat, search, occasional images
ChatGPT / Claude
Strong assistants. Mature. $20/month does the job.
An AI I can call, who knows me, and can actually do things — including building my apps
Gladys
Nobody else ships this. It's not a feature of the others — it's a different product.
If "real apps that
live with you" is the shape —
Try Gladys free for 7 days. Build as many as you want.