Short answer: the biggest difference between digital employee providers is not the AI. It is who does the setup and keeps the work running. Clover Digital and AIQ Labs describe a managed service in which the provider's team builds and monitors the work. Vida sells voice and text agents with a managed-agent add-on. Lindy, Sintra, Marblism and Sistava are self-serve platforms your team configures. Published starting prices run from about $24 a month for self-serve tools to $700 a month plus setup for a managed AI receptionist.
Disclosure: Clover Digital wrote this page and is one of the providers listed. It is a buying guide built from each provider's own published pages, not an independent ranking or a test of every product. Prices and features were checked on each official pricing page on October 19, 2026. They change often, so confirm them before you buy.
| Provider | Who does the setup | Main work and channels | Published starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clover Digital | Managed: Clover's team sets up, monitors and adjusts the agreed work | Email and text follow-up, scheduling, inbox, reminders and bookkeeping in Gmail, Microsoft 365, QuickBooks Online and Xero | Quoted per Clover: one flat monthly price, no setup fee or usage charges |
| AIQ Labs | Managed: trained on your business and monitored by the provider | Receptionist, lead response, intake and dispatch roles | From $700/month plus a one-time setup fee; monthly-only plans from $1,200/month |
| Vida | Platform with an agent builder; managed agent available through sales | Voice agents billed per minute; text messaging as an add-on | Starter $250/month plus usage; Business plans from $700/month with included usage |
| Lindy | Self-serve; paid plans list live onboarding | General AI assistant for inbox, meetings, scheduling and connected tools | $49.99 per active user per month, including 5,000 credits |
| Sintra | Self-serve app | Twelve AI helpers for marketing, support, sales, SEO and executive-assistant tasks | $39/month per helper; all helpers from $15.60/month on a 12-month plan |
| Marblism | Self-serve app | AI employees for email, social, SEO, lead generation and an AI receptionist with phone numbers | From $24/month on yearly billing |
| Sistava | Self-serve: choose a role, train it and connect your tools | Pre-trained and custom roles across sales, marketing, support and admin | Plans from $50/month |
"Starting price" is the lowest published entry point, not the cost of a comparable workload. Usage charges, credits, extra seats, phone numbers and setup fees change the real monthly bill, so compare quotes for the same job.
A self-serve AI employee is software. Someone on your team chooses the role, connects the tools, writes the instructions, checks the output and repairs the workflow when a password expires or a process changes. That can be the right call when someone has the time and enjoys it, and it is usually the cheaper subscription.
A managed digital employee is a service. The provider learns the workflow, builds it, watches it and fixes it within an agreed scope. You still approve access and make the judgment calls. You pay more per month because part of what you buy is the checking. For an owner who will not open another dashboard, that checking is usually the part that decides whether the work gets done.
For the full trade-off, see our managed digital employee vs DIY automation software comparison and the digital employee guide.
Bring one recurring job to a 20-minute video call. We'll tell you whether Clover fits, what it would set up and monitor, and what stays with your team. If a self-serve tool or a phone-first provider is a better fit, we'll say so.
Part-time: one workflowFull-time: several workflows
One flat monthly price. No setup fee, no usage charges, no long-term contract. Compare the work included, not just the subscription.
Choose a time, then share a little about your business. Your request is reviewed before the call is confirmed by email.
Then give each finalist the same small job and compare the finished results. Our editable seven-case workflow pilot test (.txt) works for any provider. It is a test plan to run, not a claim that any provider has passed it. For cost benchmarks against human help, see how much a virtual employee costs, and for 12 services' published prices and billing units, see AI employee pricing in 2026.
Among the providers checked on October 19, 2026, Clover Digital and AIQ Labs describe a managed model in which the provider's team sets up and monitors the work. Vida sells a managed-agent add-on through sales. Lindy, Sintra, Marblism and Sistava are self-serve platforms you configure yourself.
Published starting prices range from about $24 a month for self-serve tools billed yearly to $700 a month plus a setup fee for a managed AI receptionist. Clover Digital quotes one flat monthly price per Clover, with no setup fee, usage charges or long-term contract. Compare the setup, usage charges and the work your team still does, not only the subscription.
With a self-serve AI employee, someone on your team configures it, checks its work and fixes it when a tool or process changes. With a managed digital employee, the provider does the setup, monitoring and repairs within an agreed scope, and you approve access and make the judgment calls.
No. Clover Digital LLC at cloverdigital.com provides managed digital employees for small businesses. It is not Clover POS or Clover Network, the payments and point-of-sale brand.
If you want the cheapest way to try AI help and someone on your team will run it, start with a self-serve tool such as Lindy, Sintra, Marblism or Sistava. If phone calls are the main gap, look at voice-first providers such as AIQ Labs or Vida. If you want recurring admin, follow-up and bookkeeping handled in your existing email, calendar and accounting tools, with a team watching the work, that is what Clover Digital does.
Related: What is a digital employee? · Managed AI services for small business · AI employee vs virtual assistant