Compare · July 2026

Nova vs the assistants people ask us about.

Most of them wait for the right prompt. Nova arrives with it already written. An honest head-to-head below. Where Nova wins, we say so — where a rival wins, we also say so. Facts sourced from each provider's public pricing page.

Nova prices in

Monthly price (billed monthly)

Publicly listed on each provider's pricing page; annual billing is cheaper on every plan.

Nova: R149 · ≈ US$8
Martin: US$35–49
Lindy: From US$49.99
Motion: US$34–49
Carly: From US$35

Monthly price (billed annually)

Nova: R149 · no annual discount yet
Martin: US$21–30
Lindy: US$49.99+
Motion: US$19–29
Carly: From US$35

Free tier or trial

Nova: Free preview — no card.
Martin: 7-day free trial.
Lindy: Free plan with limited tasks.
Motion: No free plan — 7-day trial only, card required (as of 2026).
Carly: Free trial (limited).

Works on Android

Nova: Any phone — installs as a PWA.
Martin: iOS only; Android waitlist.
Lindy: Web-based; works everywhere.
Motion: iOS + Android + web.
Carly: iOS-first; check current status.

Nothing to install from an app store

Nova is a Progressive Web App: Add to Home Screen replaces the app-store step entirely.

Nova: Home-screen install, no store.
Martin: iOS App Store.
Lindy: Web app; extensions per workflow.
Motion: Native app stores.
Carly: iOS App Store.

WhatsApp approval as core flow

Nova reaches you on WhatsApp when something needs approving, and a reply there can approve it — a channel none of the compared products advertise.

Nova: Briefing on WhatsApp; reply YES to approve.
Martin: Not advertised.
Lindy: Can build a WhatsApp workflow yourself.
Motion: Not advertised.
Carly: Not advertised.

Setup effort

Nova: One-tap Setups. Under a minute.
Martin: Short onboarding.
Lindy: Significant per-workflow configuration reported in public reviews.
Motion: Import calendar + tasks; some tuning.
Carly: Short onboarding.

Approval-first safety

Whether every external action requires an explicit human tap before it runs.

Nova: Every external write waits for approval.
Martin: Varies by action; Basic tier caps concurrent tasks at 2 (as of 2026).
Lindy: Depends how a workflow is wired.
Motion: Auto-schedules and reshuffles calendar without asking (as of 2026).
Carly: Varies by action.

Regional currency pricing (ZAR / others)

Nova: ZAR, USD, GBP, EUR, AUD.
Martin: USD only listed.
Lindy: USD only listed.
Motion: USD only listed.
Carly: USD only listed.

Native iOS app

Nova: PWA only — no native iOS app.
Martin: Native iOS.
Lindy: Web app.
Motion: Native iOS + Android.
Carly: Native iOS.

Meeting transcription

Nova: Not a Nova focus.
Martin: Voice notes / recall.
Lindy: Via workflow integration.
Motion: Not the product.
Carly: Meeting summaries advertised.

Deep calendar auto-scheduling

Nova: Calendar guard, not auto-scheduler.
Martin: Assistant-style scheduling.
Lindy: Via a workflow you build.
Motion: Core product — auto-schedules tasks.
Carly: Assistant-style scheduling.

Head-to-head comparison of Nova and other AI assistants. Facts as of July 2026.
Feature	This is usNovaAI home screen — approval-first, works on any phone.	ComparedMartiniOS-first personal AI assistant.	ComparedLindyAI agent builder for workflows.	ComparedMotionAI calendar + task scheduler.	ComparedCarlyAI executive assistant (iOS).
Monthly price (billed monthly) Publicly listed on each provider's pricing page; annual billing is cheaper on every plan.	R149 · ≈ US$8	US$35–49	From US$49.99	US$34–49	From US$35
Monthly price (billed annually)	R149 · no annual discount yet	US$21–30	US$49.99+	US$19–29	From US$35
Free tier or trial	Free preview — no card.	7-day free trial.	Free plan with limited tasks.	No free plan — 7-day trial only, card required (as of 2026).	Free trial (limited).
Works on Android	Any phone — installs as a PWA.	iOS only; Android waitlist.	Web-based; works everywhere.	iOS + Android + web.	iOS-first; check current status.
Nothing to install from an app store Nova is a Progressive Web App: Add to Home Screen replaces the app-store step entirely.	Home-screen install, no store.	iOS App Store.	Web app; extensions per workflow.	Native app stores.	iOS App Store.
WhatsApp approval as core flow Nova reaches you on WhatsApp when something needs approving, and a reply there can approve it — a channel none of the compared products advertise.	Briefing on WhatsApp; reply YES to approve.	Not advertised.	Can build a WhatsApp workflow yourself.	Not advertised.	Not advertised.
Setup effort	One-tap Setups. Under a minute.	Short onboarding.	Significant per-workflow configuration reported in public reviews.	Import calendar + tasks; some tuning.	Short onboarding.
Approval-first safety Whether every external action requires an explicit human tap before it runs.	Every external write waits for approval.	Varies by action; Basic tier caps concurrent tasks at 2 (as of 2026).	Depends how a workflow is wired.	Auto-schedules and reshuffles calendar without asking (as of 2026).	Varies by action.
Regional currency pricing (ZAR / others)	ZAR, USD, GBP, EUR, AUD.	USD only listed.	USD only listed.	USD only listed.	USD only listed.
Native iOS app	PWA only — no native iOS app.	Native iOS.	Web app.	Native iOS + Android.	Native iOS.
Meeting transcription	Not a Nova focus.	Voice notes / recall.	Via workflow integration.	Not the product.	Meeting summaries advertised.
Deep calendar auto-scheduling	Calendar guard, not auto-scheduler.	Assistant-style scheduling.	Via a workflow you build.	Core product — auto-schedules tasks.	Assistant-style scheduling.

Facts as of July 2026, sourced from each provider's public pricing / marketing pages: Martin, Lindy, Motion, Carly. Products evolve; verify before purchase. Competitor names are used nominatively for comparison only — no affiliation or endorsement.

Nova × Jarvis scorecard

Five pillars. Honest scoring — including where Nova is behind.

Scores are ours; justifications are one line each. If you disagree, tell us where — we update this table monthly.

Proactive

Surfaces things before you ask.

Nova
5/5
Nightly briefing + card-based catches; core loop.
Martin
4/5
Proactive nudges around calendar/email.
Lindy
3/5
Trigger-based agents; you build the proactivity.
Motion
3/5
Proactive scheduling of tasks; narrow scope.
Carly
4/5
Assistant-style proactivity around calendar.

Approval-safety

Nothing external sends without your tap; audited.

Nova
5/5
DB trigger refuses sends without approval event.
Martin
3/5
Reviews replies but sends behaviour varies.
Lindy
3/5
Configurable; safety depends on how you build.
Motion
4/5
Actions on calendar are reversible.
Carly
3/5
Human-in-the-loop review pattern.

Phone-first (incl. Android)

Works on any phone without an app-store install.

Nova
5/5
Home-screen PWA, Android + iPhone, no app store.
Martin
2/5
iOS-first per public marketing.
Lindy
3/5
Web-first; mobile is the browser view.
Motion
4/5
iOS + Android apps; app-store install.
Carly
2/5
iOS-focused per public marketing.

Price accessibility

Entry price on a small-business budget.

Nova
5/5
Personal tier priced for small-business budgets; localised currency.
Martin
3/5
US$21–49/month range per public pricing.
Lindy
3/5
Free tier + paid usage-based.
Motion
2/5
US$19–29/user/month per public pricing.
Carly
3/5
Paid tiers per public pricing.

Setup friction

Time from signup to first useful moment.

Nova
4/5
Under 2 min to first briefing; connections optional.
Martin
3/5
iOS install + permissions.
Lindy
2/5
Agent building has a learning curve.
Motion
3/5
Calendar connection + task import.
Carly
3/5
iOS install + assistant onboarding.

Where rivals genuinely lead

Motion leads on calendar depth. Motion's auto-scheduling and time-blocking are more mature. If your day is 90% calendar Tetris, start there.
Lindy leads on custom agents. Lindy's builder lets you compose deep multi-step workflows. Nova is one-tap Setups, not a builder.

Nova isn't for everyone

When you'd be better off elsewhere.

If any of these sound like your primary need, save your money — the honest tool is below.

Deep meeting transcription and summaries at scale
Try Otter.ai or Fireflies — that's their core competence.
Auto-scheduling every task into your calendar
Motion is built around that pattern; see our /compare page.
Enterprise CRM agents with custom pipelines and SSO
Lindy's agent builder or a Salesforce Einstein setup will serve you better.

The comparison nobody else runs

Nova vs doing nothing

Most people reading this aren't switching from another AI tool. They're switching from a spreadsheet, a reminder, and their own memory — which is free, needs no setup, and gives nobody access to their mail. That's a real advantage, and Nova doesn't pretend otherwise. Here's the honest trade.

The job

Spreadsheet + memory

With Nova

Contract or policy renewing at a new price
Today · The email arrives, you mean to deal with it, and it renews at the new price.
With Nova · Nova reads the renewal date and price change, and reminds you while you can still act.
An invoice going unpaid
Today · You remember the big ones. The R2,400 one from six weeks ago you don't.
With Nova · Nova tracks what's owed and drafts the follow-up. You read it and tap send.
A quote nobody replied to
Today · It closes itself by silence, and you never find out you lost the job.
With Nova · Nova notices the thread went quiet and prepares the nudge.
Keeping it all in your head
Today · Works, until a busy week. The cost of a bad week is paid the following month.
With Nova · Nova holds the thread across email, calendar and renewals so a bad week costs less.

Where doing nothing still wins: it costs nothing, and Nova needs access to your mail to be useful. If one missed renewal a year wouldn't bother you, keep your spreadsheet — that's a reasonable call, and the free preview will tell you which camp you're in before you enter a card.

See what it costs What Nova can't do

Nova vs Martin

iOS-only vs any-phone. R149 vs US$21–49.

Read the deep dive

Nova vs Lindy

Agent builder vs one-tap Setups.

Read the deep dive

Nova vs Motion

Auto-scheduler vs approval-first assistant.

Read the deep dive

Already paying for one of these?

Honest migration guides — what each product does well, what people bump into, and the manual ten-minute path across. Nova has no importer, and every guide says so.

Switch from Motion Switch from Reclaim Switch from Martin Switch from Lindy Switch from Fyxer

No app store. No card to try.

Nova installs from the browser and starts with a free preview. If a rival fits you better, we've told you above — that's the point.

Start free — 10 AI actions, no card Pricing

Competitor names (Martin, Lindy, Motion, Carly) used nominatively for comparison only. No affiliation or endorsement. Verify current pricing on each provider's site — see Martin, Lindy, Motion, Carly.

Next step

Comparisons only go so far — run it on your own week.

Five questions and Nova is tuned to you.

Set up Nova · 2 minutes

No card. Nova drafts — you approve every send.