Brumo vs Sidekicks — iMessage AI, honestly compared.
Sidekicks and Brumo are the two products people mean when they say "the AI you text on iMessage." They overlap a lot — and differ in a few ways that decide which one fits you. Here's the honest breakdown.
Sidekicks and Brumo are the closest head-to-head: both are AI you text on iMessage or SMS, with no app, plus proactive check-ins, reminders, and memory. Sidekicks gives you four switchable personas (assistant, health coach, wellness coach, companion) and can join group chats. Brumo is one consistent companion built around deep, inspectable long-term memory — for about half the price.
- Both live in iMessage and SMS with no app to install, and both text you first.
- Sidekicks offers four switchable personas from one number; Brumo is deliberately one consistent AI, not personas.
- Brumo is built around deep, inspectable long-term memory you can view and edit; Sidekicks remembers your name, goals, and preferences but doesn't position memory as the core product.
- Sidekicks can be added to iMessage/SMS group chats; Brumo is one-on-one only.
- Brumo Pro is $9.99/mo (annual $59.99); Sidekicks Pro is around $19.99/mo.
What's the best AI you can text on iMessage?
Brumo and Sidekicks are the two leading options. Choose Brumo for one consistent companion with deep, editable memory at $9.99/mo; choose Sidekicks if you want switchable coach personas or an AI in your group chats.
Is there a Sidekicks alternative that's cheaper?
Yes — Brumo. Brumo Pro is $9.99/month versus Sidekicks' ~$19.99/month, and both have a free tier and live in iMessage.
Does Brumo work in group chats like Sidekicks?
No. Brumo is one-on-one only. If you want an AI that joins your iMessage or SMS group chats, Sidekicks supports that and Brumo doesn't.
Sidekicks (sidekicks.chat) is an AI assistant you text on iMessage or SMS — no app to install. Its angle is breadth: one number gives you four switchable personas (a personal assistant, a health coach, a wellness coach, and a companion), it can join your group chats, and it texts you first with reminders and check-ins.
Brumo shares the same iMessage-native, no-app, proactive-check-in shape, but makes a different bet: one consistent companion built around deep long-term memory you can actually inspect and edit — focused on accountability, journaling, and remembering your real life, rather than a set of swappable experts.
If you want switchable coach personas or an AI that lives in your group chats, Sidekicks is the better fit. If you want one consistent companion with deep, editable memory — at about half the price — Brumo is built for that.
Side-by-side
One companion vs. four personas
Sidekicks' pitch is breadth from a single number: swap between a personal assistant, a health coach, a wellness coach, and a companion depending on what you need. If you like having distinct "modes," that's a genuine advantage.
Brumo makes the opposite bet. He's one consistent presence who remembers you — the same Brumo every day, warm and honest, not a persona you switch into. The value is continuity: he doesn't reset when you change the topic from your workout to your work stress.
Memory is the main difference
Both remember things about you. Sidekicks keeps your name, goals, upcoming events, and preferences across conversations, which is real and useful.
Brumo goes further and makes memory the product. Every reply pulls the relevant slice of long-term memory, and you can open a web dashboard to see every stored fact and delete or correct any of it. If "an AI that actually remembers my life, and lets me inspect what it knows" is what you're after, that's Brumo's center of gravity.
Group chats and platform reach
Sidekicks can be added to iMessage and SMS group chats — settling debates, setting shared reminders, catching people up. Brumo is strictly one-on-one, so if a group-chat AI is the feature you want, Sidekicks wins outright.
On platform, the two are matched: both work over iMessage (blue bubbles) and SMS (green bubbles), so Android users can text either.
When to pick which
- You want one consistent companion, not a set of personas to switch between.
- Deep, inspectable long-term memory is the feature you care about most.
- You want accountability, journaling, or overthinking support with a warm, honest tone.
- You'd rather pay about half — $9.99/mo — for the companion job.
- You want switchable experts (assistant, health, wellness, companion) from one number.
- You want an AI that can join your iMessage or SMS group chats.
- You lean more "personal assistant" than "companion."
- You're happy at ~$19.99/mo for that breadth.
Verdict
This is the closest comparison on the site — Sidekicks is the real incumbent in the "AI you text on iMessage" space, and it's a good product. Pick Sidekicks for persona-switching and group chats. Pick Brumo if you want one consistent companion built around deep, editable memory, a warm and honest (not roleplay) tone, and roughly half the price. Brumo has a free tier, so texting him once is the fastest way to feel the difference.
Quick questions
Is Brumo cheaper than Sidekicks?
Yes. Brumo Pro is $9.99/month (or $59.99/year); Sidekicks Pro is around $19.99/month. Both have a free tier.
Does Brumo have different personas like Sidekicks?
No — that's a deliberate choice. Brumo is one consistent AI who remembers you, rather than a set of coach personas you switch between.
Can Brumo join a group chat?
Not today. Brumo is one-on-one only. Group-chat support is one of Sidekicks' features.