# Is Lindy worth it? What the money buys, and what an open-source alternative costs

> Whether Lindy is worth it depends on what the money buys and what you keep when it stops. Lindy rents shared credits from $29.99 a month; Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System you can self-host for free and own as one git repo.

URL: https://lindyalternative.com/is-lindy-worth-it

_Compare_

## Lindy, priced out beside an open-source system you own

Kortix comes first because it is the one we recommend; each Lindy figure is quoted from Lindy's own pages.

| | Kortix (recommended) | Lindy |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Open source | Yes. Read it, fork it, audit it. | No. A hosted service with no self-hosting option. |
| Cost to start | Self-hosting is free. | $50 in free credits, last 7 days. |
| Team price | $40 per seat per month. | From $49.99 a month for 5,000 credits. |
| Credits included | 2,500 per seat per month, pooled. | 5,000 credits, one shared pool. |
| What you own | Files in one git repo you own. | A hosted workspace in Lindy's cloud. |
| Self-hosting | Yes; `kortix self-host` runs the full stack. | No self-hosting option published. |

Lindy's column quotes Lindy's own pricing page as of October 2026; Kortix's pricing comes from its own pricing page. Check both before you buy.

## What Lindy's money buys

Lindy bills in credits, and its own pages state the terms. Its [pricing page](https://www.lindy.ai/pricing) offers "$50 in credits for free" with no credit card, and those credits last 7 days. Plans start at $29.99 a month, and the team plan runs "from $49.99 a month for 5,000 credits each." Everyone who signs up, joins the workspace, or @mentions Lindy in Slack takes a billed seat, per the same page. Credits run "about a cent each," and admins top up at "$10 per 1,000."

Two rules shape the bill. Monthly credits refresh at the start of each cycle and do not roll over, so an unused pool is gone at reset. When the shared pool runs low, Lindy pauses credit-using actions until it refreshes. The arithmetic for a whole team is on the [Lindy pricing breakdown](/lindy-pricing).

## What an open-source system costs instead

Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System: your agents, their skills, your company memory, and every connector in one git repo you own. You can run it on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network, and self-host is free. On the managed cloud, [Kortix's pricing page](https://kortix.com/pricing) lists Free at $0 with 200 credits per month and 1 project, and a team plan at $40 per seat per month with 2,500 credits per month per seat, pooled.

Self-hosting is where the price model changes. You bring the machines and your own model keys, and the per-credit meter goes away.

```sh
$ curl -fsSL https://kortix.com/install | bash
$ kortix self-host init --domain kortix.example.com
$ kortix self-host start
```

The `kortix self-host` commands install and run the full stack on your own infrastructure, per the [Kortix docs](https://kortix.com/docs).

## The verdict: what decides it

Lindy is worth it for a team that wants a hosted teammate and no infrastructure to run. Connect the tools, let Lindy schedule the work, and rent the compute by the credit.

Kortix is the pick for a team that has to own the system. The agents, the skills, the memory, and the connectors live as files in one git repo, the work reaches `main` through a change request a person reviews, and the whole stack can run on your own machines. The [Kortix vs Lindy](/kortix-vs-lindy) page puts the two side by side, and [what Lindy's use cases look like on Kortix](/lindy-use-cases) shows the same jobs handed back as files.

_FAQ_

## Is Lindy worth it? The questions that decide it

Short answers about price, credits, and the open-source option.

### Is Lindy free?

Lindy's own pages offer $50 in credits for free with no credit card, and those credits last 7 days. After that, plans start at $29.99 a month, per Lindy's pricing page.

### What happens when Lindy credits run out?

Monthly credits refresh each cycle and do not roll over, and Lindy pauses credit-using actions when the shared pool runs low. Admins can top up at $10 per 1,000 credits, from Lindy's pricing page.

### Is there an open-source alternative to Lindy?

Yes. Kortix is open source: you can read it, fork it, and audit it, and self-host is free. The differences are on the Kortix vs Lindy page.

### What does Kortix cost instead?

Self-hosting the open-source stack is free. Kortix's pricing page lists a team plan at $40 per seat per month with 2,500 credits per month per seat, pooled.

## Own the system instead of renting credits.

Self-host the open-source stack for free, or run it on Kortix Cloud.

[Try Kortix](https://kortix.com) · [See the use cases](https://lindyalternative.com/lindy-use-cases)

Open source · Any model, your keys · Self-host, VPC, or on-prem