Overview

Vellum is a personal AI assistant for people who want one tool to handle tasks across files, calendars, email, code, and their computer. Its mix of custom skills and approval controls gives it more reach than a basic chat assistant, but it depends on an internet connection and its paid plans start at $30 per month.

Key features

Vellum’s workspace remembers preferences and context across conversations, which can reduce the need to restate personal details. Users can create, install, and manage custom skills, making the assistant adaptable; that flexibility is most useful to people willing to shape how it works.

OAuth integrations include Discord, GitHub, Google services, HubSpot, Linear, Twitter (X), Asana, Notion, Microsoft Outlook, and Todoist. Vellum says tokens are kept in a credential vault rather than exposed to the language model. Sensitive actions trigger approval prompts, with configurable trust rules for permissions users want to grant in advance. That balance suits an assistant able to act on a user’s behalf, though it still asks the user to decide what deserves ongoing trust.

Vellum Cloud runs assistants in isolated environments with private storage and 24/7 availability. Conversation context goes to Anthropic by default; OpenAI, Google, OpenRouter, Fireworks, and local Ollama are also supported as model options. Vellum says it does not train models on user data, encrypts data end-to-end, and conducts continuous security audits. Optional usage analytics and crash diagnostics are off by default. These safeguards may reassure privacy-conscious users, but the assistant still needs internet access to reach a model provider and cannot respond offline.

Pricing

The free plan costs 0.00 USD per free and includes the first tasks, with additional use on a pay-as-you-go credit basis. It offers a way to start without a subscription, but the credit model makes it less predictable for sustained use.

Mighty costs $30/month and includes a small computer with 1 vCPU, 2 GiB of memory, 10 GB of storage, and Mighty Usage. It is the entry paid option for an individual who wants a hosted assistant with a modest allocation. Super costs $100/month, adding a medium computer with 2.5 vCPU, 5 GiB of memory, 30 GB of storage, Super Usage, an assistant email, and a subdomain. Ultra costs $200/month and includes a large computer with 4 vCPU, 8 GiB of memory, 60 GB of storage, Ultra Usage, an assistant email, and a subdomain. Those higher tiers suit users who need more hosted capacity and storage; the listed plan details do not define usage quotas, so buyers should weigh the steep price steps against their needs.

Platforms

Vellum lists Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, web, and a browser extension, alongside self-hosted deployment. Linux has no shipped desktop client, though Linux users can use the web app, Chrome extension, or self-host the runtime. Support is available at support@vellum.ai.

Who it's for

Vellum is aimed at individuals who want an assistant to retain personal context, connect to everyday services, and carry out tasks with approval safeguards. Its positioning as a personal assistant makes it a less natural fit for teams seeking a shared company tool. Users who need reliable offline assistance should also look elsewhere.

Pros and cons

Pros: Cross-conversation memory and custom skills let users tailor an assistant to recurring personal tasks.
Pros: Approval prompts, trust rules, and credential-vault handling provide controls around actions and connected accounts.
Pros: Cloud hosting offers isolated environments, private storage, and 24/7 availability.
Cons: The assistant cannot respond without internet access, limiting its usefulness during outages or offline work.
Cons: Paid plans start at $30/month, with higher tiers at $100/month and $200/month, which may be difficult to justify for occasional use.
Cons: There is no native Linux desktop client, and Vellum is positioned for personal rather than shared team use.

Alternatives

For broader workflow automation rather than a personal assistant, compare Activepieces, whose free plan includes 1,000 credits a month and unlimited flows, or n8n, which offers a self-hosted Community Edition. Latenode is another freemium web-based option, with a free tier capped at 10,000 CPU seconds per month and five active workflows. For a free web option with defined credit and action allowances, Relevance AI lists 100 credits per day and 200 actions per month on its free plan.

Readers evaluating adjacent categories can browse AI Workflow Automation Software, Prompt Management Software, AI Prompt Generators, AI Prompt Management Software, AI LLM Evaluation Tools, and AI Agent Platforms. Camunda, UiPath Test Cloud, Processo, and Flozic are also alternatives to consider.

Verdict

Vellum is a strong fit for individuals who want an adaptable AI assistant that can act across services while keeping sensitive actions under user control. Its memory, custom skills, and hosted availability are compelling, but the internet requirement, personal-use focus, and $30/month entry paid plan make it a poor choice for offline-first users, shared teams, or light users who do not need a persistent assistant.

	Otto	Vellum
Free plan	No	Yes
Free trial	No	No
Paid from	—	$30/mo
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Web	Android, extension, iOS, macOS, self-hosted, Web, Windows
Free plan	No	Yes
Deployment model	cloud	—
Multi-agent support	Yes	—
Knowledge grounding	Yes	—
Paid from	—	30 /mo

Otto vs Vellum

Otto

Vellum