# Boba vs Instinct > Boba scores 10.3 (F) to Instinct's 7.3 (F) for assistants reached by message. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side. - Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-instinct - Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-instinct.md (~3,200 tokens) - Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-instinct.min.md (~580 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts) - JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-instinct.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json) - Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt) - API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json - Updated: 2026-10-13 Boba scores 10.3 (F) on agent readiness against Instinct's 7.3 (F), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. Instinct leads on transparency & trust. Both do assistants reached by message. - Boba: grade F, 10.3/100, rank #1004 of 1010. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/boba.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/boba.json - Instinct: grade F, 7.3/100, rank #1009 of 1010. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/instinct.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/instinct.json - Best AI personal assistants that act for one person: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/personal-assistants/index.md - All 834 assistants comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/personal-assistants/index.md ## Which one, for what ### Boba (F) Good for: Groups who want a free assistant inside a shared chat for planning, drafting and images. Ahead on: - Reliability, 15 against 10 - Payments & pricing, 30 against 0 Also in its favour: - Free to start without a card Watch for: No API, MCP server or A2A endpoint for an outside agent. ### Instinct (F) Good for: People who want to hand errands to an assistant by text or phone. Ahead on: - Transparency & trust, 53 against 39 Watch for: No API, MCP server or A2A endpoint for an outside agent. ## Score by category | Category | Weight | Boba | Instinct | Edge | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 15 | 10 | Boba +5 | | Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 0 | 0 | even | | Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 0 | 0 | even | | Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 0 | 3 | Instinct +3 | | Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 0 | Boba +30 | | Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 2 | 2 | even | | Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 39 | 53 | Instinct +14 | | Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | | | **Total** | | **10.3 · F** | **7.3 · F** | | ## Facts side by side | Fact | Boba | Instinct | | --- | --- | --- | | Kind | Platform | Platform | | Vendor | humans& ai, inc. | Spear Street Technology, Inc. (d/b/a Instinct) | | Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) | | Transports | | | | Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key | | Pricing | Free | Paid | | x402 | no | no | | Licence | Closed service under Boba's Terms of Service (humans& ai, inc., last updated 5 October 2026). | Closed service under Instinct's Terms of Service (Spear Street Technology, Inc. d/b/a Instinct, last revised 26 August 2026). | | Read-only variant documented | no | no | | llms.txt | no | no | | Terms last updated | | 2026-08-26 | | Privacy policy last updated | | 2026-08-26 | | Customer content may train models | | yes, with an opt-out | | Terms restrict automated access | | yes | | Terms restrict benchmarking | | yes | | Terms or service can change without notice | | not found in the text | | Arbitration or class-action waiver | | yes | ## Verdicts **Boba.** Boba is a free texting assistant for one-to-one and group chats over iMessage, RCS and SMS, started by sending one message with no card or app. No outside agent can call it, its privacy notice uses inputs and outputs to train its models with no opt-out found, and no status page or security contact was found. **Instinct.** Instinct is a hosted assistant reached by text or call that acts in the owner's Google Workspace and WhatsApp and can make purchases. No outside agent can call it, no price is published, new sign-ups may meet a capacity waitlist, and materials train models unless the owner opts out. ## Before you call either ### Boba 1. Don't plan to call Boba from another agent. It answers only text messages in the Messages app. 2. Tell people in a group chat that messages sent to Boba may be used to train its models. ### Instinct 1. Don't look for an endpoint. app.instinct.com/mcp serves the web app shell and refuses POST with 405. 2. Confirm any purchase with the owner. The terms say Actions may not be reversible. ## Questions ### Which is better for AI agents, Boba or Instinct? Boba scores 10.3 (F) on agent readiness against Instinct's 7.3 (F), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. Instinct leads on transparency & trust. ## For agents - This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-instinct.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-instinct.min.md - Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "boba", "b": "instinct"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare boba instinct` - Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/boba.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/instinct.json ## Other comparisons with Boba or Instinct - [asaply vs Boba](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-boba.md) - [asaply vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-instinct.md) - [Asmi vs Boba](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-boba.md) - [Asmi vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-instinct.md) - [AstrBot vs Boba](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-boba.md) - [Boba vs Boski](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-boski.md) - [Boba vs Brea](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-brea.md) - [Boba vs Caddy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-caddy-app.md) - [Boba vs CowAgent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-cowagent.md) - [Boba vs Del](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-del.md) - [Boba vs folk](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-folk-nozomio.md) - [Boba vs GAIA](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-gaia.md) - [Boba vs Grok Bot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-grok-bot.md) - [Boba vs Haven](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-haven.md) - [Boba vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [Boba vs HireAlpha](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-hirealpha.md) - [Boba vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-ironclaw.md) - [Boba vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-lindy.md) - [Boba vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-nanobot.md) - [Boba vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [Boba vs Natura tinyNature](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-natura.md) - [Boba vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-openai-dots.md) - [Boba vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-openclaw.md) - [Boba vs OpenInstinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-openinstinct.md) - [Boba vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-orbits.md) - [Boba vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Boba vs Pally](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-pally.md) - [Boba vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Boba vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-poke.md) - [Boba vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-qwenpaw.md) - [Boba vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-szn.md) - [Boba vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Boba vs Tomo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-tomo.md) - [Boba vs Town](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-town.md) - [Boba vs Zapia](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-zapia.md) - [Boba vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-zeroclaw.md) - [Boba vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-zo-computer.md) - [Brea vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-instinct.md) - [Del vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-instinct.md) - [HireAlpha vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hirealpha-vs-instinct.md) - [Instinct vs OpenInstinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-openinstinct.md) - [Instinct vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-orbits.md) - [Instinct vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Instinct vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-szn.md) - [Instinct vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Instinct vs Zapia](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-zapia.md) - [AstrBot vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-instinct.md) - [Boski vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boski-vs-instinct.md) - [Caddy vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-instinct.md) - [CowAgent vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-instinct.md) - [folk vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-instinct.md) - [GAIA vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-instinct.md) - [Gemini Spark vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-instinct.md) - [Grok Bot vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-instinct.md) - [Haven vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-instinct.md) - [Hermes Agent vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-instinct.md) - [Instinct vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-ironclaw.md) - [Instinct vs Leon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-leon.md) - [Instinct vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-lindy.md) - [Instinct vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-nanobot.md) - [Instinct vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [Instinct vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-openai-dots.md) - [Instinct vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-openclaw.md) - [Instinct vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Instinct vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-poke.md) - [Instinct vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-qwenpaw.md) - [Instinct vs Town](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-town.md) - [Instinct vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-zeroclaw.md) - [Instinct vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-zo-computer.md) - [Instinct vs Natura tinyNature](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-natura.md) - [Instinct vs Pally](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-pally.md) - [Instinct vs Tomo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-tomo.md) - [Instinct vs Wajo (Fo)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-wajo.md) - [Boba vs Gemini Spark](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-gemini-spark.md) - [Boba vs Leon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-leon.md) - [Boba vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-talorys.md) - [Boba vs Wajo (Fo)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-wajo.md) - [Instinct vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-talorys.md) ## Disclosure - Boba competes with LocalGhost, which Anchor Terminal's founder builds. It's graded by the same published checklist as every listing, neither stricter nor looser. Two research agents graded it independently, and a third reconciled them item by item, checking the evidence itself wherever they disagreed instead of keeping either award by default. - Instinct competes with LocalGhost, which Anchor Terminal's founder builds. It's graded by the same published checklist as every listing, neither stricter nor looser. Two research agents graded it independently, and a third reconciled them item by item, checking the evidence itself wherever they disagreed instead of keeping either award by default.