Proto-Mind vs Relay: Features, Pricing & Which Is Better (2026)

A side-by-side comparison of Proto-Mind and Relay — features, pricing, and ideal use cases — to help you decide which AI tool fits your workflow.

Proto-Mind

VIRENCORE

Free

A native macOS floating workspace that keeps AI conversations, project memory, files and live voice together on your Mac.

Floating Cube Workspace: Hover the cube to reveal the workspace and click to pin it, or move away to hide it while tasks keep running in the background.
Per-Conversation Model Routing: Each chat picks its own model and account — ChatGPT with Codex access, supported model APIs, or a local Ollama model.
Editable Project Memory: Notes, decisions and preferences stay attached to a project and carry into later conversations, and you can review, change or remove any of them.
Live Voice Control: Speak to open a project, steer a running task or send new work, and add a correction while the task is still going.
Detachable Companion Windows: Pull out and resize a browser, a file or a second conversation so reference material sits beside the work.
Explicit Mac Access: Codex can work with files and run commands only after you turn Mac access on; screen control additionally requires Codex Desktop's signed Computer Use helper.
Local Data Storage: Conversation history and saved memory live on your Mac, and cloud processing happens only when you choose a cloud model or voice.
Open Source Beta: The macOS installer and the Apache 2.0 source are both published, so the workspace can be inspected and built from source.

Long-Running Project Work: Keep a website or client project's decisions in project memory so each session resumes instead of re-explaining the brief.
Brief to Deliverable: Have the agent read a client brief and save a proposal document, then open it in a companion window next to the conversation.
Parallel Task Execution: Start several tasks across different models at once and check back on them without blocking the conversation you are in.
Hands-Free Steering: Dictate a correction or open a project by voice while your hands are busy elsewhere on the Mac.
Privacy-Sensitive Drafting: Run a local Ollama model so conversation content never leaves the machine.
Model Comparison: Put the same question to a Codex route and a local model in adjacent windows to compare the answers side by side.

Freemium

AI phone receptionist that builds itself from a business's website to answer every call and book, reschedule, or cancel appointments 24/7.

One-Click Build: Paste a website and Relay drafts the agent profile, knowledge base, prompt, and call wiring in about 38 seconds.
24/7 Call Answering: Picks up every call day or night in the caller's local time, with no voicemail or hold music.
Real Calendar Booking: Checks live availability and writes appointments, reschedules, and cancellations directly to the business's existing booking system.
Booking Integrations: Connects to 7+ systems including Google Calendar, Square, Calendly, Outlook, Housecall Pro, Workiz, and Vagaro with one sign-in.
Grounded Answers: Answers caller questions from the business's own facts and knowledge base rather than guessing.
No-Config Setup: Requires no dashboards, prompt engineering, or manual call-flow building.

Missed-Call Recovery: Capture bookings from calls that would otherwise ring out when staff are busy or closed.
Appointment-Based Businesses: Let salons, clinics, and home-service providers automate booking, rescheduling, and cancellations by phone.
After-Hours Coverage: Answer and book calls 24/7 without hiring overnight reception staff.
Fast Agent Deployment: Stand up a working phone agent from a website link without engineering time.
FAQ Handling: Answer common caller questions about hours, services, and pricing from the business's own information.