# Vellum vs Town > Open-source personal AI assistant vs email-native cloud assistant > Last updated: July 10, 2026 > Comparison: https://www.vellum.ai/compare-assistants/vellum-vs-town ## Overview Vellum is a voice-first personal AI assistant that runs on your Mac or in Vellum Cloud, with continuous memory across iOS, Android, web, Slack, and Telegram. Town provides multi-agent simulation and virtual town environments for developers. While Town focuses on orchestrating populations of agents in synthetic worlds, Vellum focuses on being your personal assistant that lives where you work, remembers your context, and executes real daily workflows. ## The contenders ### Vellum Website: https://vellum.ai Vellum is a voice-first personal AI assistant that learns how you work and can improve itself around your habits. Its companion works alongside you in real time, or takes on longer tasks in the background. It follows you across devices and apps with one shared memory, and can run in Vellum Cloud or on your own machine. Why choose Vellum: - Model agnostic: Use any frontier AI model, open or proprietary, and switch anytime. - Truly yours: Give it a name and personality. It learns you, your work, and your tools. - Self-improving: Gets better the more you use it, with one memory across every device. - Private by design: Credentials stay secure, and you choose where your data lives, including self-hosting. - Built for busy business owners: Offload work and make more time for life. ### Town Website: https://www.town.com Town is a personal AI assistant that manages your inbox, schedules your meetings, and handles the busywork through a dedicated @town.com email identity. It learns from your work to become more autonomous over time, with scheduled routines, meeting briefings, and research lookups across email, Slack, WhatsApp, and Telegram. Available on Free, Starter ($15/mo), Pro ($49/mo), Power ($99/mo), and Power Plus ($199/mo) plans on a credit-based model. Why choose Town: - Dedicated @town.com email identity that learns how you write and work - Auto inbox triage, email drafts, and meeting scheduling on autopilot - Scheduled routines and automatic meeting briefings that run whether you are at your desk or not - Free tier with 30 chats per month, paid plans from $15/mo on a credit-based consumption model ## The scorecard ### channels Vellum: 9 surfaces, one memory iOS app with Home Screen widgets, native Mac app, web app, voice, email, Slack, Telegram, Microsoft Teams, and Discord, now an official channel with a setup wizard. Sent messages can be edited in place in Slack and Telegram. Every surface shares the same memory and identity. Vellum runs natively on Mac and iOS with Home Screen widgets, plus web app, voice, email, Slack, Telegram, Microsoft Teams, and Discord. Sent messages can be edited in place in Slack and Telegram. Every surface shares the same memory, so you can start a task on your Mac and pick it up on your phone or in a chat. Town: Channels Web app, email (@town.com identity), Slack, WhatsApp (inbound only), and Telegram (inbound only). No native desktop app, iOS, voice, or Microsoft Teams. ### execution Vellum: One sentence to real output Build me a habit tracker gets you a working, interactive app in the conversation. Read this page uses the browser extension to read your open tabs and act on the page you are looking at. Call the dentist and reschedule places an actual phone call with its own voice. Town: Multi-agent simulation and synthetic environments Simulates populations of interacting AI personas in virtual towns and game-like sandbox environments for research and testing. Town executes multi-agent generative simulations where dozens of autonomous agents interact, form memories, and converse within virtual 2D environments. It is designed for behavioral experiments and game worlds rather than personal task assistance. ### hosting Vellum: On-device, managed cloud, or self-hosted Run on-device as a native Mac app, on Vellum's managed cloud, or self-host on your own VPS. Vellum gives you the full range: run the native Mac app entirely on your own hardware, use Vellum Cloud for managed uptime and cross-device sync, or self-host on your own VPS for full infrastructure control. Town: Hosting Fully cloud-hosted by Town. No self-host option, no on-device execution. All processing runs on Town infrastructure. ### integrations Vellum: 50+ managed OAuth integrations Native agent skills plus 1-click integrations with 50+ services through managed OAuth, including native Calendly and Eventbrite. Your assistant acts in real services without you touching tokens or API keys. Vellum connects to 50+ services through managed OAuth: Google, Slack, Notion, GitHub, Linear, Calendly, Eventbrite, and more. Your assistant acts in real services on your behalf without you handling tokens or API keys. Town: Integrations & Skills Town integrations included on all plans: Google Calendar, Gmail, Slack, Pylon, QuickBooks, Ramp, Salesforce, Sentry, Supabase, and more. No custom skills or extensibility. ### memory Vellum: Structured memory that builds itself, everywhere Vellum builds a structured memory of your projects, people, and preferences automatically, across every surface. It sharpens with every conversation and correction, and there is nothing to configure: no files to curate, no engine to pick, no embedding provider to wire up. Vellum builds a structured memory graph of your projects, people, and preferences across every surface. It sharpens over time through use and explicit corrections, so each conversation picks up where the last left off. Town: Memory Town builds a profile from your email and calendar, learning how you write and work. Memory is cloud-stored and shared across channels, but not structured or exportable. ### modularity Vellum: Adapts to you personally Builds its own skills, learns your tone, and adapts based on what you reward and correct. Install new skills from a growing library, or just ask and it figures out a way. Vellum adapts at the individual level: it learns your communication style, builds custom skills from your instructions, and updates its behavior based on your feedback. Each assistant is shaped by the specific person using it. Town: Modularity Fixed set of routines and integrations. No custom skills, no skill marketplace, no extensibility beyond what Town ships. ### open-source Vellum: Open source under MIT Open source under MIT license. Full codebase available on GitHub. Vellum is open source under the MIT license. The full codebase is on GitHub and can be self-hosted, audited, and extended. Town: Open Source Proprietary. Closed-source SaaS. Source code not available. No self-host option. ### pricing Vellum: Free Base, paid from $30/mo Free Base plan with free credits to start. Paid plans from $30/mo (Mighty), $100 (Super), and $200 (Ultra) with pay-as-you-go credits, configurable compute and storage, and your assistant's own email and subdomain on higher tiers. Vellum offers a free Base plan with credits to start. Paid plans run from $30/mo (Mighty) to $100 (Super) and $200 (Ultra) with pay-as-you-go credits, configurable compute and storage, and a personal assistant email and subdomain on higher tiers. Town: Pricing Free with 30 chats per month. Starter $15/mo (1,250 credits). Pro $49/mo (5,000 credits). Power $99/mo (12,000 credits). Power Plus $199/mo (40,000 credits). Credit-based consumption. ### privacy Vellum: Local or cloud, always yours Run locally on Mac, in Vellum Cloud, or self-host. Vellum never has access to your data on any deployment path. Vellum gives you three deployment paths: native Mac app on your own hardware, Vellum Cloud with per-customer isolation, or self-hosted on your own infrastructure. On every path, Vellum never has access to your data. Town: Privacy Cloud-hosted by Town. All email, calendar, and message data processed on Town infrastructure under Town data and provider policies. No on-device or self-host option. ### schedules Vellum: Built-in scheduling, always running Built-in scheduling for daily briefings, weekly reports, and hourly checks that just run on a cadence. Vellum has native scheduling for recurring tasks: daily briefings, weekly reports, hourly checks. Scheduled tasks run in the cloud whether or not you have a session open. Town: Schedules Scheduled routines including daily morning briefings, auto-inbox triage, and meeting briefings. Up to 2 custom routines on Starter, unlimited on Pro and above. ### security Vellum: Isolated credential vault Credentials live in an isolated vault and never enter the model layer, so prompt injection can't exfiltrate your keys. Every sensitive action asks permission with a risk badge before it runs, and guardian approvals land in one inbox. Vellum stores every connected service credential in an isolated vault that never touches the LLM inference layer. Prompt injection attacks cannot reach your API keys or OAuth tokens. Town: Security Cloud-hosted with subprocessor list published. No isolated credential vault, no sandboxed tool execution. Credentials managed by Town infrastructure. ### setup Vellum: Sign up and start talking No terminal, no API keys, no daemon. Voice-first onboarding is the default: your first experience is speaking, not configuring. Free, no credit card, up in minutes. Vellum setup is sign up and start talking. Create an account and your first sentence gets real output. Voice is the default first experience. No terminal, no config files, no API keys, no infrastructure to provision. Town: Setup Sign up at town.com, get a @town.com email identity, connect your calendar and inbox. No download required, web-first. 14-day Pro trial included on signup. ### storage Vellum: Storage Vellum Cloud: 3 GB RAM and 4 GB storage by default. Mac app runs on standard Mac hardware. Town: Storage Cloud-hosted by Town. No published storage specs. Credits consumed for memory-intensive operations like person research lookups. ### trust Vellum: Permissions you can see Every sensitive action asks first with a risk badge, guardian approvals land in one inbox, and you can export or delete your data at any time. The trust model is written down in the docs. Town: Open experimental codebase Open research project where developers inspect simulation logs and control agent prompts directly in Python code. Town is an experimental research framework. Security and trust are handled by running the simulation in developer-controlled environments with custom API keys, with no production credential vault or consumer privacy guardrails. ## Where they split ### Which one is right for you? Town is a research simulation framework designed for developers building multi-agent virtual environments and game worlds where AI characters interact. Vellum is a finished personal AI assistant designed to help human beings get their daily work done across devices, schedules, and tools. ### Which setup fits you best? Town runs via Python scripts and simulation sandboxes configured through developer terminals and codebases. Vellum is turnkey. Download the Mac app or start in Vellum Cloud with free hosting, and your assistant is ready immediately on your phone, desktop, and messaging apps. ### How do you want privacy and security handled? Town stores agent memories and simulation logs as raw text files in Python directories without consumer security boundaries. Vellum protects personal data with an isolated credential vault, permission badges on sensitive actions, and local memory you can clear or export at any time. ## Lingering questions ### When should I choose Vellum over Town? Choose Vellum if you want a personal AI assistant that runs on your own machine or self-hosted, with persistent structured memory, custom skills, and 50+ managed OAuth integrations. Vellum shows up across Mac, iOS, web, voice, email, Telegram, and Slack with one shared memory. Choose Vellum if data control and open source matter to you. ### When does Town make more sense than Vellum? Town makes sense if you want an email-first assistant with a dedicated @town.com identity and do not need self-hosting, custom skills, or open source. Town auto-triages your inbox, drafts emails in your voice, and schedules meetings on autopilot. If your primary surface is email and you want something that just works in the cloud, Town is a solid pick. ### How much do Vellum and Town cost? Vellum includes free cloud hosting when you sign up. Paid plans upgrade your assistant's compute and storage: Mighty at $30/mo, Super at $100/mo (plus $10 platform fee), and Ultra at $200/mo (plus $10 platform fee). Town offers tiered subscription packages from $15/mo to $199/mo for simulation credits and multi-agent virtual environments. ### How does memory work in Vellum vs Town? Vellum builds a persistent, structured memory of your work and people that gets sharper with every conversation and correction. It is shared across every surface and runs whether you are online or not. Town builds a profile from your email and calendar, learning your writing style and work patterns, but memory is cloud-stored and not structured or exportable. ### What integrations do Vellum and Town support? Vellum offers 50+ managed OAuth integrations including Google, Slack, Notion, GitHub, Linear, and more, plus native agent skills you can install or build. Town includes Google Calendar, Gmail, Slack, Pylon, QuickBooks, Ramp, Salesforce, Sentry, and Supabase on all plans, with no custom skills or extensibility. ### Does Town work on iPhone or only desktop? Town is web-first with no native desktop or mobile app. You interact with your Town assistant through email, Slack, WhatsApp, and Telegram. Vellum has a native Mac app, iOS app, web app, voice, email, Telegram, and Slack, all sharing one memory. ### Where does my data live with Vellum vs Town? With Vellum, your data lives on your Mac, in Vellum Cloud, or on your own VPS if you self-host. Vellum never has access to your data on any deployment path. With Town, all your email, calendar, and message data is processed on Town cloud infrastructure under Town data and provider policies. ### Is Vellum or Town better for non-technical users? Both are designed for non-technical users. Town is web-first with a dedicated email identity, which is familiar and approachable. Vellum is up and running in 5 to 10 minutes with a Mac app and web app, no terminal needed. The open-source and self-hosting options are there if you want them, but you do not have to touch them to use the assistant. ### Can I run Vellum or Town on my own machine? Vellum runs as a native Mac app on your own machine, in Vellum Cloud, or self-hosted on your own VPS. It is open source under MIT, so you can inspect and run the full codebase. Town is cloud-only with no self-host option and no on-device execution. ### Can I use Vellum and Town at the same time? Yes. Some users run Vellum for local-first work and custom skills while using Town for email triage and meeting scheduling. They serve different needs and can coexist. If you want one assistant everywhere with shared memory, Vellum covers email, calendar, and scheduling natively. ### What is the difference between Vellum memory and Town profile? Vellum builds a structured, persistent memory of your work and people that compounds over time, is shared across every surface, and runs proactively in the background. Town builds a profile from your email and calendar that learns your writing style and work patterns, but it is cloud-stored, not structured, and not exportable. Vellum memory is designed to get sharper with every correction. Town memory is designed to make your assistant more intuitive. --- Full comparison index: https://www.vellum.ai/compare-assistants Try Vellum: https://www.vellum.ai