Lindy is the polished no-code AI agent builder for SMBs - 3,000+ integrations, natural-language builder, strong polish on inbox/calendar flows. The pricing in 2026 is the wrinkle: $49.99–$199.99/month with no permanent free tier (7-day trial only). If you're piloting AI agents, that's a real commitment before you've proven the workflow. This page covers cto AI Business - the multi-agent platform with a Team Lead pattern, 10 pre-configured MCP integrations, and a free-forever pilot tier - plus the broader alternatives.
TL;DR. cto AI Business is built around the Team Lead + Team Members pattern (you chat with a Lead; the Lead delegates to specialists). Headquarters as command center. Tasks kanban. Pause/resume on token usage. Auto model picks per task across 10+ frontier LLMs. Free forever (ad-supported, rolling 24h+7d limits). MCP-extensible with 10 pre-configured integrations.
What cto AI Business actually is
The product is a workspace where you build and run an AI business. Concrete concepts:
- Headquarters - your command center. Team overview, approvals, billing, pause/resume token usage.
- Plan - your business objective in 1–3 sentences. Drives Team Lead decisions.
- Team Lead - primary chat interface. Hires/fires Team Members, assigns + evaluates work, interacts with MCPs.
- Team Members - specialist agents you hire via "Hire employee." Each has a role, an assigned model, an activity log.
- Tasks - kanban view of work in progress, with outputs (files, links) attached per task.
- Approvals - actions you want to gate behind human sign-off, surfaced in chat + page header.
You don't write code. You don't manage API keys. You configure via Headquarters and chat with the Team Lead.
The Lindy comparison, honestly
| cto AI Business | Lindy | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Free forever, ad-supported, rolling 24h+7d limits | 7-day trial only |
| Starting paid | Premium tier (raised limits + premium models) | Plus $49.99/mo |
| Heavier plans | Per-seat premium | Pro $99.99/mo, Max $199.99/mo |
| Multi-agent | Native (Team Lead + Team Members) | Chains of single agents |
| Models | Auto model + 10+ frontier LLMs | Standard frontier set |
| MCP | Native, 10 pre-configured + custom | No public MCP support |
| Integrations native | Via 10 pre-configured MCP servers + any custom MCP | 3,000+ native (largest catalog) |
| Approval system | Built-in | Configurable per-action |
Where Lindy still wins: integration catalog breadth. 3,000+ apps is the largest in the category - useful if your workflow lives in niche tools that haven't shipped MCP servers yet.
Where cto AI Business wins: actual multi-agent (not chains of single agents), free pilot tier, predictable pricing (no 7-day trial → mandatory plan), MCP-native.
How a cto AI Business team works
Set up:
- Create the business. Sign in at cto.new, write a Plan.
- Talk to the Team Lead. The Lead is the primary interface; describe what you want the team to handle.
- Hire Team Members. Click "Hire employee" → name, role, model. Or let the Lead hire on your behalf within your approval rules.
- Wire MCP integrations. At cto.new → Integrations → MCP: Sentry, Vercel, Supabase, Cloudflare Observability, Notion, Neon, Linear, Prisma, Render, Webflow are pre-configured. Custom MCP via the same UI.
- Set approvals. Decide which actions need human sign-off.
- Run it. Tasks flow into kanban; intervene from Headquarters.
The free tier covers a small team on low volume - enough to validate the workflow. Premium raises the limits when you go to production.
Models - Auto + frontier menu
cto's gateway covers: Claude Opus 4.8, Sonnet 4.6, GPT-5.5, GPT-5.3 Codex, Gemini 3.5 Flash, Gemini 3.1 Pro, GLM 5.1, Grok 4.20, Kimi K2.6, MiniMax M2.7.
Each Team Member gets an assigned model - Auto by default, or pin a specific one. Common pattern: triage members on Auto for cost; review members pinned to Opus 4.8 for quality; code members pinned to GPT-5.3 Codex.
Other AI agent platforms in the space
| Platform | Best for |
|---|---|
| cto AI Business | Free-forever pilot, Team Lead + multi-agent, MCP-native |
| Lindy | Largest native-integration catalog (3,000+), polished SMB UX |
| Relevance AI | Enterprise AI Workforce, contact sales |
| CrewAI | Code-first multi-agent framework |
| Manus AI | General-purpose research agent (invite-only) |
| Sintra AI | Pre-packaged role agents (sales, SEO, support) |
| AutoGen | Python multi-agent prototyping (MIT) |
| LangGraph | Graph-based stateful orchestration |
When Lindy is still right
Honest cases:
- Your workflow lives in niche tools (specific CRM, vertical SaaS) that have native Lindy integrations but no MCP server yet.
- You're past pilot and ready to commit $50–$200/month for the polish.
- You want chains-of-single-agents UX rather than coordinated multi-agent.
Otherwise, cto AI Business is the free-pilot alternative with a real multi-agent structure.
FAQ
Is Lindy free?
7-day trial, no credit card required. After that, Plus $49.99/mo, Pro $99.99/mo, Max $199.99/mo. No permanent free tier.
Is cto AI Business free?
Yes - ad-supported with rolling 24h+7d limits. Generous enough to pilot end-to-end. Premium raises the limits and unlocks premium agent features.
What's the difference between "agent teams" and a single AI agent?
Single agent does everything in one context window. Agent team has a Team Lead delegating to Team Members - each with its own model, tools, and context. Better for complex workflows with mixed permissions.
Can the Team Lead really hire on its own?
Within your approval rules. Default is that hiring requires approval; you can loosen this via chat with the Lead.
How do I migrate from Lindy?
There's no automated import. The workflow design carries over: Lindy's chain of single agents maps to cto's Team Lead + Team Members. Integrations re-wire via MCP - most of your Lindy integrations have MCP equivalents (Linear, Notion, Slack, Sentry, etc.).
Does cto AI Business have 3,000 integrations like Lindy?
Not natively. cto has 10 pre-configured MCP integrations (Sentry, Vercel, Supabase, Cloudflare Observability, Notion, Neon, Linear, Prisma, Render, Webflow) plus any custom MCP server. The MCP server ecosystem is 9,400+ public servers as of 2026 - the integration set is broader than the native catalog, you just connect via the protocol.
What's the easiest cto AI Business workflow to pilot?
Inbox triage. Wire Notion or Linear MCP, hire a Triage Member and a Drafter, set approvals on outbound messages. Run it for a week, see what the Team Lead delegates and what it asks for help on.