# Poke vs szn > Poke scores 37.6 (F) to szn'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/poke-vs-szn - Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-vs-szn.md (~3,200 tokens) - Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-vs-szn.min.md (~630 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts) - JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-vs-szn.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 Poke scores 37.6 (F) on agent readiness against szn's 7.3 (F), and leads in every scored category. Both do assistants reached by message. - Poke: grade F, 37.6/100, rank #960 of 1010. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/poke.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/poke.json - szn: grade F, 7.3/100, rank #1010 of 1010. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/szn.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/szn.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 ### Poke (F) Good for: One person who wants an assistant in their text messages that reads and drafts mail, manages a calendar and reaches other apps through MCP. Ahead on: - Reliability, 51 against 5 - Schema & documentation, 42 against 10 - Agent ergonomics, 30 against 0 - Security & auth, 24 against 0 - Payments & pricing, 30 against 20 - Maintenance & community, 31 against 2 - Transparency & trust, 58 against 23 Watch for: No documented setting for which actions need approval before Poke sends, deletes or spends. Release notes mention email draft approval only in passing ### szn (F) Good for: A person who wants calls, emails and bookings done for them and has an access code. Watch for: Early access by access code only. ## Score by category | Category | Weight | Poke | szn | Edge | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 51 | 5 | Poke +46 | | Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 42 | 10 | Poke +32 | | Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 30 | 0 | Poke +30 | | Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 24 | 0 | Poke +24 | | Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 20 | Poke +10 | | Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 31 | 2 | Poke +29 | | Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 58 | 23 | Poke +35 | | Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | | | **Total** | | **37.6 · F** | **7.3 · F** | | ## Facts side by side | Fact | Poke | szn | | --- | --- | --- | | Kind | Platform | Platform | | Vendor | The Interaction Company of California Inc. | Nomadic Futures | | Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) | | Transports | HTTP | | | Auth | API key | OAuth or key | | Pricing | Freemium | Free | | x402 | no | no | | Licence | Proprietary service under Poke's Terms of Service. The `poke` npm package (CLI and Node.js SDK) declares MIT | Closed service. No terms of service were found on theszn.ai. A privacy policy and an acceptable use policy (both last updated March 2026) apply. | | Read-only variant documented | no | yes | | llms.txt | yes | yes | | Last release | 2026-06-25 | none | | Terms last updated | 2026-03-17 | no document linked | | Privacy policy last updated | 2026-09-11 | | | Customer content may train models | yes | | | Terms restrict automated access | yes | | | Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | | | Terms or service can change without notice | yes | | | Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | | ## Verdicts **Poke.** Hosted assistant that answers in Apple Messages, WhatsApp, Telegram and RCS and acts in Gmail, Outlook, calendars and MCP servers. Plan prices and a status page are public. No approval settings, credential storage, model providers or retention periods are documented, and customer content trains models unless Maximum Privacy is selected. **szn.** szn is an errand assistant in early access that makes calls, sends emails and books for its owner, free during the preview for people with an access code. No outside agent can call it, no terms of service or legal entity appear in its policies, and its privacy policy says nothing on training. ## Before you call either ### Poke 1. POST JSON to `https://poke.com/api/v1/inbound/api-message` with a Bearer key from Kitchen. Legacy `pk_` keys work only on the deprecated `/api/v1/inbound-sms/webhook` 2. Expect only `{"success": true}` back. Poke's answer goes to the owner's message thread, not to the caller 3. Do not retry a POST blindly. No idempotency key is documented, and a repeated message may make Poke act twice 4. Treat an API key as full access to the owner's mail, calendar and integrations. Create one key per automation and revoke it when done 5. Avoid the prefilled integration link with `apiKey` in the query string for real secrets. Enter the key in the form or use `npx poke@latest mcp add -k` ### szn 1. Don't plan to call szn from another agent. It answers only its web app, iMessage, SMS and email for the owner. 2. Tell the owner they need an access code to start, and that the acceptable use policy makes them responsible for confirming actions. ## Questions ### Which is better for AI agents, Poke or szn? Poke scores 37.6 (F) on agent readiness against szn's 7.3 (F), and leads in every scored category. ## For agents - This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-vs-szn.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-vs-szn.min.md - Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "poke", "b": "szn"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare poke szn` - Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/poke.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/szn.json ## Other comparisons with Poke or szn - [asaply vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-poke.md) - [asaply vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asaply-vs-szn.md) - [Asmi vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-poke.md) - [Asmi vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/asmi-vs-szn.md) - [AstrBot vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-szn.md) - [Boba vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-poke.md) - [Boba vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boba-vs-szn.md) - [Boski vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boski-vs-szn.md) - [Brea vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-poke.md) - [Brea vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brea-vs-szn.md) - [Caddy vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-szn.md) - [CowAgent vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-szn.md) - [Del vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-poke.md) - [Del vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/del-vs-szn.md) - [folk vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-szn.md) - [GAIA vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-szn.md) - [Grok Bot vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-szn.md) - [Haven vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-szn.md) - [Hermes Agent vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-szn.md) - [HireAlpha vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hirealpha-vs-poke.md) - [HireAlpha vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hirealpha-vs-szn.md) - [Instinct vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-szn.md) - [IronClaw vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-szn.md) - [Lindy vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-szn.md) - [nanobot vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-szn.md) - [NanoClaw vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-szn.md) - [Dots vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-szn.md) - [OpenClaw vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-szn.md) - [OpenInstinct vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openinstinct-vs-poke.md) - [OpenInstinct vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openinstinct-vs-szn.md) - [Orbits vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orbits-vs-poke.md) - [Orbits vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orbits-vs-szn.md) - [Orchid vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-poke.md) - [Orchid vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orchid-ai-vs-szn.md) - [PicoClaw vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-szn.md) - [Poke vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-vs-tab-bot.md) - [Poke vs Zapia](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-vs-zapia.md) - [QwenPaw vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwenpaw-vs-szn.md) - [szn vs Tab](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/szn-vs-tab-bot.md) - [szn vs Tomo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/szn-vs-tomo.md) - [szn vs Town](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/szn-vs-town.md) - [szn vs Zapia](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/szn-vs-zapia.md) - [szn vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/szn-vs-zeroclaw.md) - [szn vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/szn-vs-zo-computer.md) - [AstrBot vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-poke.md) - [Boski vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boski-vs-poke.md) - [Caddy vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/caddy-app-vs-poke.md) - [CowAgent vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-poke.md) - [folk vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-nozomio-vs-poke.md) - [GAIA vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-poke.md) - [Gemini Spark vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-poke.md) - [Grok Bot vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-poke.md) - [Haven vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-poke.md) - [Hermes Agent vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-poke.md) - [Instinct vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-poke.md) - [IronClaw vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-poke.md) - [Leon vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-poke.md) - [Lindy vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-poke.md) - [nanobot vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-poke.md) - [NanoClaw vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-poke.md) - [Dots vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-poke.md) - [OpenClaw vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-poke.md) - [PicoClaw vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-poke.md) - [Poke vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-vs-qwenpaw.md) - [Poke vs Town](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-vs-town.md) - [Poke vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-vs-zeroclaw.md) - [Poke vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-vs-zo-computer.md) - [Gemini Spark vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-szn.md) - [Leon vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-szn.md) - [Natura tinyNature vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/natura-vs-poke.md) - [Natura tinyNature vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/natura-vs-szn.md) - [Pally vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pally-vs-poke.md) - [Pally vs szn](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pally-vs-szn.md) - [Poke vs Tomo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-vs-tomo.md) - [Poke vs Wajo (Fo)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-vs-wajo.md) - [szn vs Wajo (Fo)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/szn-vs-wajo.md) - [Poke vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-vs-talorys.md) - [szn vs Talorys](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/szn-vs-talorys.md) ## Disclosure - szn 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.