# folk vs Dots

> Dots scores 28.3 (F) to folk's 19.8 (F) for proactive personal assistants. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-openai-dots
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-openai-dots.md (~3,400 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-openai-dots.min.md (~580 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-openai-dots.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

Dots scores 28.3 (F) on agent readiness against folk's 19.8 (F), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. folk leads on reliability, payments & pricing and transparency & trust. Both do proactive personal assistants.

- folk: grade F, 19.8/100, rank #993 of 1010. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/folk-nozomio.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/folk-nozomio.json
- Dots: grade F, 28.3/100, rank #980 of 1010. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-dots.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openai-dots.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

### folk (F)

Good for: People who want a texting companion for habits, workouts, study and money goals, with a free tier.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 25 against 3
- Payments & pricing, 30 against 10
- Transparency & trust, 67 against 31

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: No API, MCP server or A2A endpoint for an outside agent.

### Dots (F)

Good for: A ChatGPT Pro or Enterprise user who wants ongoing work tracked across mail, documents, code and Slack with approval before sends.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 41 against 10
- Agent ergonomics, 22 against 0
- Security & auth, 58 against 3

Watch for: Beta. The admin setting is labelled Use dots (Beta), access is rolling out gradually, and Teams access is an invite-only alpha


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | folk | Dots | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 25 | 3 | folk +22 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 10 | 41 | Dots +31 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 0 | 22 | Dots +22 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 3 | 58 | Dots +55 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 10 | folk +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 35 | 38 | Dots +3 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 67 | 31 | folk +36 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **19.8 · F** | **28.3 · F** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | folk | Dots |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Platform | Platform |
| Vendor | Nozomio, Inc. | OpenAI |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Closed service under folk's terms (Nozomio, Inc., last updated 8 September 2026). | Proprietary hosted service. The governing terms were not read |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-12 | 2026-10-09 |
| Terms last updated |  | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated |  | no document linked |
| 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

**folk.** folk is a texting accountability assistant with its own cloud computer, a free tier with no card and a privacy policy that rules out training on user data. No outside agent can call it, no status page or changelog was found, and its llms.txt and pricing file disagree on free limits and Max's price.

**Dots.** Actions that affect accounts or share information pass an automatic review, and custom rules can require approval or a hand-off. Dots is a beta on Pro plans from $100 a month, and no status page, terms, privacy policy or way to delete individual saved notes was found in the pages we could read.

## Before you call either

### folk

1. Don't plan to call folk from another agent. It answers only the owner's iMessage, Telegram or WhatsApp thread and iPhone app.
2. Quote limits and prices from pricing.md and the terms, and note that llms.txt gives different free-tier limits.

### Dots

1. Say what may be sent. Asking a dot to draft replies does not permit sending them, and an action outside a stated scope needs another decision
2. Stop three things separately. Pause stops the main task only, delegated tasks stop in Activity and recurring tasks in Scheduled, and completed actions are not undone
3. Connect each thing separately. A messaging channel grants no access to an inbox, an app or a computer
4. Sign out of websites and disconnect apps yourself when removing access. Revoking dots access or disconnecting an app does not delete information already obtained
5. Keep the connected computer online with the ChatGPT app open for local work. Only one personal computer can be connected at a time

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, folk or Dots?

Dots scores 28.3 (F) on agent readiness against folk's 19.8 (F), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. folk leads on reliability, payments & pricing and transparency & trust.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-openai-dots.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-openai-dots.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "folk-nozomio", "b": "openai-dots"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare folk-nozomio openai-dots`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/folk-nozomio.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openai-dots.json

## Other comparisons with folk or Dots

- [asaply vs folk](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-folk-nozomio.md)
- [asaply vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-openai-dots.md)
- [Asmi vs folk](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-folk-nozomio.md)
- [Asmi vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-openai-dots.md)
- [Boba vs folk](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-folk-nozomio.md)
- [Boba vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-openai-dots.md)
- [Brea vs folk](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-folk-nozomio.md)
- [Brea vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-openai-dots.md)
- [Del vs folk](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-folk-nozomio.md)
- [Del vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-openai-dots.md)
- [folk vs HireAlpha](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-hirealpha.md)
- [folk vs OpenInstinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-openinstinct.md)
- [folk vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-orbits.md)
- [folk vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [folk vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-szn.md)
- [folk vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-tab-bot.md)
- [folk vs Zapia](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-zapia.md)
- [HireAlpha vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hirealpha-vs-openai-dots.md)
- [Dots vs OpenInstinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-openinstinct.md)
- [Dots vs Orbits](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-orbits.md)
- [Dots vs Orchid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-orchid-ai.md)
- [Dots vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-szn.md)
- [Dots vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-tab-bot.md)
- [Dots vs Zapia](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-zapia.md)
- [AstrBot vs folk](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-folk-nozomio.md)
- [AstrBot vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-openai-dots.md)
- [Boski vs folk](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boski-vs-folk-nozomio.md)
- [Boski vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boski-vs-openai-dots.md)
- [Caddy vs folk](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-folk-nozomio.md)
- [Caddy vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-openai-dots.md)
- [CowAgent vs folk](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-folk-nozomio.md)
- [CowAgent vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-openai-dots.md)
- [folk vs GAIA](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-gaia.md)
- [folk vs Gemini Spark](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-gemini-spark.md)
- [folk vs Grok Bot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-grok-bot.md)
- [folk vs Haven](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-haven.md)
- [folk vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-hermes-agent.md)
- [folk vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-instinct.md)
- [folk vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-ironclaw.md)
- [folk vs Leon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-leon.md)
- [folk vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-lindy.md)
- [folk vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-nanobot.md)
- [folk vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-nanoclaw.md)
- [folk vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-openclaw.md)
- [folk vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-picoclaw.md)
- [folk vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-poke.md)
- [folk vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-qwenpaw.md)
- [folk vs Town](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-town.md)
- [folk vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-zeroclaw.md)
- [folk vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-zo-computer.md)
- [GAIA vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-openai-dots.md)
- [Gemini Spark vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-openai-dots.md)
- [Grok Bot vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-openai-dots.md)
- [Haven vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-openai-dots.md)
- [Hermes Agent vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-openai-dots.md)
- [Instinct vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-openai-dots.md)
- [IronClaw vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-openai-dots.md)
- [Leon vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-openai-dots.md)
- [Lindy vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-openai-dots.md)
- [nanobot vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-openai-dots.md)
- [NanoClaw vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-openai-dots.md)
- [Dots vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-openclaw.md)
- [Dots vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-picoclaw.md)
- [Dots vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-poke.md)
- [Dots vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-qwenpaw.md)
- [Dots vs Town](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-town.md)
- [Dots vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-zeroclaw.md)
- [Dots vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-zo-computer.md)
- [folk vs Natura tinyNature](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-natura.md)
- [folk vs Pally](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-pally.md)
- [folk vs Tomo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-tomo.md)
- [folk vs Wajo (Fo)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-wajo.md)
- [Natura tinyNature vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/natura-vs-openai-dots.md)
- [Dots vs Pally](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-pally.md)
- [Dots vs Tomo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-tomo.md)
- [Dots vs Wajo (Fo)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-wajo.md)
- [folk vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-talorys.md)
- [Dots vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-talorys.md)

## Disclosure

- folk 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.