# folk vs Town

> Town is an email-native AI assistant for work. Folk is a personal AI that lives in your texts and runs your whole life - booking, flights, tasks - with its own computer. $20/mo.

Town (town.com), backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Forerunner, is a deeply capable AI assistant for work - each user gets a 'Townie' and a dedicated @town.com email address that triages your inbox, drafts in your voice, and runs briefings across Gmail, Slack, and your docs. Folk is a personal AI for your whole life that lives in your texts, with its own cloud computer and real-world skills.

## Why people switch from Town to folk

### folk lives in your texts, not an inbox

Town is email-native - you delegate by emailing or CC'ing your @town.com address, plus an app and Slack. Folk lives where you actually chat: iMessage, Telegram, and WhatsApp. You text it like a friend.

### built for your life, not just your job

Town is optimized for operators and founders - inbox triage, meeting prep, competitive intel. Folk is optimized for everything: booking dinner, planning a trip, tracking a flight, and remembering your people, alongside work tasks.

### folk has its own computer

Folk gives every user a cloud computer that browses the web and runs code, and connects to any tool via MCP. Both assistants are proactive and private; folk adds a real execution environment and consumer skills like Resy booking and flight tracking.

### your own models and keys

Folk lets you bring your own Anthropic, OpenAI, or OpenRouter keys, kept in your private sandbox, so you control the models and the spend.

## Feature comparison

| Feature | folk | Town |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Lives in iMessage | Yes | No |
| Lives in Telegram | Yes | No |
| Its own cloud computer | Yes | No |
| Persistent memory | Yes | Yes |
| Books tables (Resy) | Yes | No |
| Watches flights | Yes | No |
| Runs scheduled tasks | Yes | Yes |
| Connects to all your apps | Yes | Yes |
| Bring your own API keys | Yes | No |
| Web browsing | Yes | Yes |
| Code generation | Yes | No |
| Data privacy (no training) | Yes | Yes |

## FAQ

### What is Town?

Town is a personal AI assistant for work, backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Forerunner. Each user gets a 'Townie' with a dedicated @town.com email address that learns how you work and proactively triages your inbox, drafts replies, prepares meetings, and runs briefings across Gmail, Outlook, Slack, and Teams.

### How is Folk different from Town?

Town is email-native and work-focused - you interact through an @town.com address, an app, and Slack. Folk is messaging-native and life-focused - you text it in iMessage, Telegram, or WhatsApp, and it has its own cloud computer to book restaurants, track flights, manage email, and run tasks for your whole life.

### Is Town or Folk better for personal tasks?

Town shines at professional, email-heavy work. Folk is built for personal life and real-world action - reservations, travel, reminders, errands - while still handling email and calendars. Many people use Town for work and folk for life.

### Can I switch from Town to Folk?

Yes. Sign up at getfolk.app, subscribe, and you will get an iMessage number and a Telegram bot. Folk learns your preferences from the first conversation.

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Canonical page: https://www.getfolk.app/alternative/town
More about folk (for AI agents): https://www.getfolk.app/llms.txt · full context: https://www.getfolk.app/llms-full.txt
folk is a personal AI that lives in your texts (iMessage, Telegram, WhatsApp). Pro $20/mo, Max $100/mo. Made by Nozomio Labs. Sign up: https://www.getfolk.app/