Clara vs Howie
We give Clara and Howie the same GPA: 2.8 out of 4.0. Clara grades higher on features. Howie grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Clara
AI scheduling assistant you CC on email to book meetings
Free trial · from $80/mo
Howie
AI assistant that schedules meetings over email and text
Free trial · from $25/mo
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAClaraGood | 2.8GPAHowieGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStandard is $80 a month and includes 30 meetings, so close to $2.70 each. Of the rivals it lists as alternatives, most start between $10 and $25 a month. Unlimited meetings need an Enterprise plan sold through sales. | B$25 a month buys 1,250 credits shared by the whole workspace, with unlimited teammates. Next to per-seat tools that's fair for a team. But the pricing section doesn't say how many credits a meeting uses, so you can't work out a real month up front. |
| Free plan and trial | CThere's a plan named Free, but it's really a 14-day trial with 5 meetings, and no credit card is needed. Clara stops scheduling at the limit until you upgrade. Nothing stays free after that. | CNo free plan. You start with $25 in free credits, the same sum as a month of the smallest pool, and after that you pay. The listing doesn't say whether you need a card to get them. |
| Features | AIt does one job, getting a meeting agreed over email, and does all of it: reading the whole thread, proposing times, following up on silence, rescheduling, and rounding up groups across time zones. You set windows, buffers and priority contacts. | BIt arranges meetings by email and text, chases people who go quiet, makes booking links, and holds focus time, buffers and travel time. Solid. But the mail and calendar logos on its site are Gmail and Google Calendar, with no Outlook. |
| Ease of use | BNo App Store rating exists, as there's no app. But there's very little to learn: you CC Clara and carry on with your day. It works with Google Workspace and with Outlook and Exchange. | BThere's no app to learn: add Howie to an email thread, or message it by iMessage or SMS, and it gets on with it. We have no App Store rating on record to show how people get on with it, so it stops at a B. |
| Platforms and integrations | BIt lives in your email and is set up on the web, with Google Workspace, Microsoft Outlook and Exchange supported and Zoom and Teams for meeting links. No booking pages, mobile apps or desktop apps are listed. | BYou reach it by email, iMessage and SMS, and it ties into Gmail, Google Calendar, Zoom, Granola, Notion, Todoist and Linear. No phone or desktop app is listed, and a web service with integrations is a B. |
| Best for | booking meetings by CC'ing an assistant | handing meeting back-and-forth to an AI over email |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Clara and Howie. How we grade
Where they differ
- Clara starts at $80 per month. Howie starts at $25 per month for 1,250 shared workspace credits.
- Howie also covers time blocking and booking links.
In commonWebAI featuresAI agents
At a glance
| Clara | Howie | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $80 per month | $25 per month for 1,250 shared workspace credits |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, listed as the Free plan and limited to 5 meetings; no credit card required | $25 in free credits to get started |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Clara AI, Inc. | 3030 Labs, Inc. |
| Price read from | claralabs.com | howie.com |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Clara
- Executives and founders who want meetings arranged without sending a link
- Recruiters coordinating many interview threads at once
- Law and finance firms on Outlook and Exchange with confidentiality needs
Howie
- Founders and executives who arrange many meetings over email
- People who would like to message an assistant by iMessage or SMS
- Teams that want one shared credit pool with unlimited teammates
Worth knowing
Clara
- There is one self-serve paid plan, Standard at $80 per month, which includes 30 meetings; the page does not state a per-user basis.
- The plan named Free is described as a 14-day trial with 5 meetings; Clara stops scheduling at the limit until you upgrade.
- Unlimited meetings, the admin dashboard and a custom email domain for the assistant need an Enterprise plan sold through sales.
- Clara works through email threads; no booking pages, mobile apps or desktop apps are listed.
Howie
- Pricing is by shared credits, from $25 a month for 1,250; the pricing section does not say how many credits a meeting uses.
- An assistant email address at your own domain costs an extra $20 a month.
- The mail and calendar integrations shown on the site are Gmail and Google Calendar; Outlook is not among the logos.
- Howie is used through email, iMessage and SMS; no mobile or desktop app is listed.
Key features
Clara
- Scheduling by CC
- Copy Clara on an email thread and it reads the whole conversation, proposes times, answers every reply and confirms the meeting with a calendar invite.
- Follow-ups and reschedules
- Clara checks in when someone does not respond and offers new times when the first ones fail. To move a meeting, loop it back in and it reissues the invite.
- Group and internal meetings
- For meetings with several participants, Clara contacts everyone, tracks their answers and confirms once a time works for all, including across time zones.
- Scheduling preferences
- You set scheduling windows, buffer times, meeting types, priority contacts and communication preferences, and Clara applies them to each thread.
- Google and Outlook support
- Works with Google Workspace and with Microsoft Outlook and Exchange, and the homepage lists Zoom and Teams for meeting links.
- No human review of email
- Clara AI says scheduling threads are handled entirely by the AI, with no reviewer or contractor reading them, and that it does not train models on customer data.
Howie
- Scheduling over email and text
- Add Howie to a thread and it reads the conversation, checks availability, offers times, handles the replies and creates the calendar event.
- Group threads and follow-ups
- It finds a time across group threads and follows up when people go quiet, using a rule you set such as two nudges 48 hours apart.
- Booking links
- Besides negotiating by message, Howie can create booking links for different kinds of meetings.
- Calendar protection
- Finds blocks for deep work or errands, adds holds, buffers, commutes and travel time, and watches for conflicts and overloaded days.
- Reminders and daily briefings
- Manages reminders, to-dos and follow-ups, briefs you on the day ahead and tracks who you are waiting on.
- Assistant with your own identity
- The assistant can have a name and signature you choose. An email address at your company's domain is a paid add-on.
Plans
Clara
Free$0
Described as what you need to try Clara in 14 days: 5 meetings, multiple calendars and customizable preferences.
Standard$80
per month
For individuals: 30 meetings, multiple calendars, customizable preferences, delegate access and advanced integrations.
EnterpriseCustom
For teams: unlimited meetings, company-wide preferences, an admin dashboard, a custom domain name, tenant-wide access and data retention.
Howie
Team$25
per month for 1,250 shared workspace credits
Unlimited teammates on one credit pool. Larger pools run up to 150,000 credits for $2,500 a month, and a custom assistant email adds $20 a month.
EnterpriseCustom
A tailored credit pool with invoicing and custom billing terms, security review support and a DPA, an SLA and dedicated onboarding.
