# Caddy vs Orchid > Orchid scores 20.2 (F) to Caddy's 16.7 (F) for assistants reached by message. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side. - Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-orchid-ai - Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-orchid-ai.md (~3,300 tokens) - Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-orchid-ai.min.md (~530 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts) - JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-orchid-ai.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 Orchid scores 20.2 (F) on agent readiness against Caddy's 16.7 (F), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. Caddy leads on payments & pricing and maintenance & community. Both do assistants reached by message. - Caddy: grade F, 16.7/100, rank #996 of 1010. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/caddy-app.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/caddy-app.json - Orchid: grade F, 20.2/100, rank #992 of 1010. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/orchid-ai.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/orchid-ai.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 ### Caddy (F) Good for: People who want a free assistant in iMessage or RCS that watches mail, calendars and work tools and asks before acting. Ahead on: - Payments & pricing, 30 against 10 - Maintenance & community, 55 against 24 Watch for: No API, MCP server or A2A endpoint for an outside agent. ### Orchid (F) Good for: A founder or operator who wants Gmail and calendar triage by text with approval before anything leaves. Ahead on: - Reliability, 50 against 10 - Transparency & trust, 60 against 52 Watch for: No API, MCP server or A2A endpoint for an outside agent. ## Score by category | Category | Weight | Caddy | Orchid | Edge | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 10 | 50 | Orchid +40 | | Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 10 | 10 | even | | Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 0 | 0 | even | | Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 0 | 0 | even | | Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 10 | Caddy +20 | | Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 55 | 24 | Caddy +31 | | Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 52 | 60 | Orchid +8 | | Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | | | **Total** | | **16.7 · F** | **20.2 · F** | | ## Facts side by side | Fact | Caddy | Orchid | | --- | --- | --- | | Kind | Platform | Platform | | Vendor | Caddy Technologies Inc. | Zero Email, Inc. | | 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 Caddy's Terms of Service (Caddy Technologies Inc., last updated 27 April 2026). | Closed service under Orchid's Terms of Service (Zero Email, Inc., last updated 16 January 2026). | | Read-only variant documented | yes | no | | llms.txt | yes | yes | | Last release | 2026-10-13 | none | | Terms last updated | | | | Privacy policy last updated | | | | Customer content may train models | | | | Terms restrict automated access | | | | Terms restrict benchmarking | | | | Terms or service can change without notice | | | | Arbitration or class-action waiver | | | ## Verdicts **Caddy.** Caddy is a free iMessage and RCS assistant in public beta that watches connected mail, calendars and work apps and asks before sending email or changing data. No outside agent can call it, and no status page, changelog or security contact was found, though its iOS app ships every week or two. **Orchid.** Orchid is a paid executive assistant over iMessage, SMS and Telegram that holds drafts and calendar holds until the owner approves, with a public status page and a named subprocessor list. No outside agent can call it, there's no free tier, and its privacy policy allows training a personal model while its blog says it never trains. ## Before you call either ### Caddy 1. Don't plan to call Caddy from another agent. It answers the owner's text messages, Siri and group chats it's added to. 2. Expect Caddy to ask the owner before it sends email or creates an invite. ### Orchid 1. Don't plan to call Orchid from another agent. It answers only the owner's iMessage, SMS and Telegram threads. 2. Check status.orchid.ai before telling the owner Orchid is down. The 7 August incident moved it to a new number. 3. Tell the owner that drafts and holds wait for their approval unless they widen it. ## Questions ### Which is better for AI agents, Caddy or Orchid? Orchid scores 20.2 (F) on agent readiness against Caddy's 16.7 (F), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. Caddy leads on payments & pricing and maintenance & community. ## For agents - This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-orchid-ai.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-orchid-ai.min.md - Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "caddy-app", "b": "orchid-ai"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare caddy-app orchid-ai` - Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/caddy-app.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/orchid-ai.json ## Other comparisons with Caddy or Orchid - [asaply vs Caddy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-caddy-app.md) - [asaply vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Asmi vs Caddy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-caddy-app.md) - [Asmi vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [AstrBot vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Boba vs Caddy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-caddy-app.md) - [Boba vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Boski vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boski-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Brea vs Caddy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-caddy-app.md) - [Brea vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Caddy vs Del](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-del.md) - [Caddy vs HireAlpha](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-hirealpha.md) - [Caddy vs OpenInstinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-openinstinct.md) - [Caddy vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-orbits.md) - [Caddy vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-szn.md) - [Caddy vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Caddy vs Zapia](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-zapia.md) - [CowAgent vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Del vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [folk vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [GAIA vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Grok Bot vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Haven vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Hermes Agent vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [HireAlpha vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hirealpha-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Instinct vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [IronClaw vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Lindy vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [nanobot vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [NanoClaw vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Dots vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [OpenClaw vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [OpenInstinct vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openinstinct-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Orbits vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orbits-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Orchid vs Pally](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-pally.md) - [Orchid vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Orchid vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-poke.md) - [Orchid vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-qwenpaw.md) - [Orchid vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-szn.md) - [Orchid vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Orchid vs Tomo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-tomo.md) - [Orchid vs Town](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-town.md) - [Orchid vs Zapia](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-zapia.md) - [Orchid vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-zeroclaw.md) - [Orchid vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-zo-computer.md) - [AstrBot vs Caddy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-caddy-app.md) - [Boski vs Caddy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boski-vs-caddy-app.md) - [Caddy vs CowAgent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-cowagent.md) - [Caddy vs folk](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-folk-nozomio.md) - [Caddy vs GAIA](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-gaia.md) - [Caddy vs Gemini Spark](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-gemini-spark.md) - [Caddy vs Grok Bot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-grok-bot.md) - [Caddy vs Haven](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-haven.md) - [Caddy vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-hermes-agent.md) - [Caddy vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-instinct.md) - [Caddy vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-ironclaw.md) - [Caddy vs Leon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-leon.md) - [Caddy vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-lindy.md) - [Caddy vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-nanobot.md) - [Caddy vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-nanoclaw.md) - [Caddy vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-openai-dots.md) - [Caddy vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-openclaw.md) - [Caddy vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-picoclaw.md) - [Caddy vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-poke.md) - [Caddy vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-qwenpaw.md) - [Caddy vs Town](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-town.md) - [Caddy vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-zeroclaw.md) - [Caddy vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-zo-computer.md) - [Caddy vs Natura tinyNature](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-natura.md) - [Caddy vs Pally](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-pally.md) - [Caddy vs Tomo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-tomo.md) - [Caddy vs Wajo (Fo)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-wajo.md) - [Gemini Spark vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Leon vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Natura tinyNature vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/natura-vs-orchid-ai.md) - [Orchid vs Wajo (Fo)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-wajo.md) - [Caddy vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-talorys.md) - [Orchid vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-talorys.md) ## Disclosure - Caddy 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. - Orchid 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.