Martin vs Vellum

Martin

• People who want to run email, calendar and reminders by text or phone call
• Scheduling meetings by copying an assistant on an email thread
• iPhone users who want reminders delivered by SMS, call or Slack

Vellum

• People who want one assistant that remembers them across devices and chat apps
• Handing off email triage, calendar work and recurring background tasks
• Users who want to inspect or self-host the assistant's open-source runtime

Martin

• There is no free plan: every plan is paid after a 7-day trial, from $21 a month billed yearly or $35 billed monthly.
• Wake-up calls, Cc to Schedule, email triage and proactive drafts are available only to Pro users, according to Martin's documentation.
• The only mobile app listed is for iPhone and iPad; the site and documentation mention no Android app.
• Inbox connections cover Gmail and Outlook only, and the Basic plan limits Martin to 2 tasks at a time.

Vellum

• The Base plan is free to host, but model usage, web search and image generation are paid for in prepaid credits at $1 per credit.
• Included monthly usage does not roll over, and pay-as-you-go credits expire twelve months after purchase.
• The docs describe the Windows app as a dev build tied to Vellum's development environment, and no Linux desktop client is shipped.
• The iOS and Android apps are clients for a cloud assistant; they do not run a local assistant on the phone.

Martin

Reachable by text, call, email and Slack

You can text Martin by SMS or WhatsApp, phone him, email or forward messages to him, or DM him in Slack. He can also text and call other people for you, for example to book a reservation.

Inbox drafting and triage

Connects up to 5 Gmail and 5 Outlook accounts to read, draft and reply to email. Email triage, a Pro feature, labels incoming mail and takes the follow-up steps you define.

Calendar and Cc to Schedule

Reads, creates and updates events in Google, Apple and Outlook calendars. On Pro, copying Martin on an email thread has him propose times and add the confirmed meeting.

Reminders, to-dos and notes

Keeps a to-do list and notes for you, and delivers reminders by app notification, SMS, phone call, email or Slack at the time you ask for.

Briefings and wake-up calls

Sends daily or weekly email briefings on the topics you choose. Pro users can also get a phone call each morning with the weather and the day's schedule.

Shortcuts

A saved shortcut runs a multi-step instruction on demand, such as checking your calendar, reminders, to-dos and unread email and texting you a summary.

Vellum

Long-term memory

The assistant keeps facts, preferences and people in a personal knowledge base and recalls them across conversations. On your own machine the workspace is plain-text files plus a SQLite database.

Skills for your work tools

Built-in skills and OAuth integrations cover Google Workspace, Outlook, Slack, Notion, Linear, GitHub, HubSpot, Asana and Todoist. More skills come from a catalog or are written yourself.

Permission prompts

Sensitive actions such as file access, shell commands or emailing a new contact show an Allow or Deny prompt with a risk badge until you create a trust rule for them.

One assistant on every channel

The same identity, memory and schedules are available from the web, Mac, Windows, iOS and Android apps, a CLI, Telegram, Slack, email, voice and phone calls.

Computer and browser control

The desktop app adds voice input and computer control, and a Chrome extension lets the assistant read open tabs, fill in forms and act on the page in front of you.

Cloud, local or self-hosted

Run it in Vellum Cloud, locally on a Mac or Windows PC, or self-hosted on a Linux host or your own Google Cloud project, bringing your own model API key.

Martin

• Basic$21

  per month, billed yearly; $35 billed monthly

  Basic AI models, limited proactive actions, and Martin handles 2 tasks at a time.

• Pro$30

  per month, billed yearly; $49 billed monthly

  Martin's most advanced AI models, unlimited proactive actions and unlimited custom tasks.

• Business$36

  per month, billed yearly; $59 billed monthly

  Everything in Pro, plus centralized billing and adding Martin to your Slack. The page does not say whether the price is per user.

Vellum

• Base$0

  Free forever: a Small cloud machine (1 vCPU, 2 GiB RAM), 6 GiB of storage and managed model access paid for with pay-as-you-go credits.

• Self-hosted$0

  The open-source runtime on your own Mac, Windows PC, Linux host or GCP project, with your own model API key and no platform or machine fees.

• Mighty$30

  per month

  Small machine, 10 GiB of storage and a monthly Mighty Usage allowance. Leaves out the custom subdomain, static IP and priority support.

• CustomFrom $50

  per month

  Pick a machine size, storage tier and optional usage bundle yourself. The minimum is a Medium machine with 10 GiB and no usage bundle.

• Super$100

  per month

  Medium machine (2.5 vCPU, 5 GiB), 30 GiB of storage and Super Usage, plus an assistant email, custom subdomain, static IP and priority support.

• Ultra$200

  per month

  Large machine (4 vCPU, 8 GiB), 60 GiB of storage and Ultra Usage, with the same assistant email, subdomain and support as Super.

Martin

• Annual discount

  About 40% less with yearly billing

  Basic is $21 a month billed yearly against $35 billed monthly, Pro is $30 against $49 and Business is $36 against $59, a saving of roughly 39% to 40%.

Vellum

No public discounts listed.