Toby
An AI coworker your whole workspace shares, in Slack or Microsoft Teams.
- Not tied to one model lab
- One plan for the workspace, Starter US$25 a month
- Hosted in Australia
Claude Tag alternative
Toby vs Claude Tag: an AI coworker with no lock-in
Toby is a Claude Tag alternative for teams that work in Slack or Microsoft Teams. It is an AI coworker that is not tied to one model lab, comes as one plan for the whole workspace, and is hosted in Australia.
Start with 2,000 free credits, no card needed. US$25 a month after that.
Claude TagAnthropic's description: "a new way for teams to work with Claude." [1]
Toby vs Claude Tag: what each one does in your channels
Claude Tag is Anthropic's team agent for Slack, currently in public beta [2]. Anyone in a channel can tag @Claude and hand over a task. It splits the task into stages, works through them with the tools it has been given, and replies in the Slack thread with what it made [1]. Each channel has one Claude that everyone talks to, and it keeps notes on the channel so nobody has to repeat the background [1][4].
Toby is an AI coworker that works in Slack and Microsoft Teams. Invite it into the channels you choose and say what you need in everyday words. It works through the job using the tools your team has connected, such as Xero, HubSpot, Gmail or Deputy, and when it's done the result goes back in the thread.
Both do real work in a shared channel. The differences are Microsoft Teams support, the models behind each, the plan you need and where it is hosted.
Why teams choose Toby as a Claude Tag alternative
Most of the daily work overlaps. Here is where they differ.
01
Not tied to one model lab
Claude Tag is Claude, working inside your team's Slack channels [4]. Anthropic's launch post names Opus 4.8 as the model it works with [1]. Toby is not tied to one model lab. Toby can run on frontier open models, which cost a fraction of what closed model labs charge. This means teams don't risk being locked in to unexpected price changes from one vendor or a model that can quickly fall behind others.
02
One plan for the whole workspace
Toby is one plan for the whole workspace, and everyone draws on the same credit balance. The Starter plan is US$25 a month. Claude Tag needs your organisation to hold a paid Claude Team or Enterprise plan, though people in Slack don't each need a Claude seat [2].
Jobs teams give Toby next to Claude Tag
Someone asks in a channel, and the finished work lands back in that thread.
Morning brief
A short read at 7:30 covering what is on today and anything that moved overnight.
Invoice chasing
Toby works out who is late, sends the follow-ups, and tells you which accounts it left alone.
Meeting prep
Before a call, Toby writes up the account so you are not reading the CRM in the car park.
Inbox triage
It sorts whatever came in overnight and drafts the replies you would have written anyway.
Toby vs Claude Tag: features and plans side by side
The facts a Claude Tag review would check, next to Toby's.
| What matters | Toby | Claude Tag |
|---|---|---|
| Where it works | Slack and Microsoft Teams | |
| Model | Not tied to one model lab | |
| Price to start | 2,000 free credits once, no card, then US$25 a month for the whole workspace | |
| Setup | About two minutes: add Toby, pick channels, connect tools, ask | An organisation Owner pairs the Slack workspace, sets a spend limit, then connects each service[2] |
| Connected tools | 3,000+ tools over MCP; you approve each one by name | Connectors, plugins and skills an admin sets for Slack, a workspace or a channel[2] |
| Oversight | Approve or Reject before anything is sent or written | Admins set access per channel and can see a log of every task and who asked[1] |
| Scheduled work | Runs a job on the schedule you give it | Scheduled jobs, channel watching and triggers[2] |
| Hosting | Hosted in Australia |
Adding Toby alongside Claude Tag
You don't have to remove Claude Tag. Start Toby on one job in its own channel.
1
Add Toby to Slack or Teams
It takes about two minutes. Install Toby in your workspace and choose the channels it can see. It never reads private channels or DMs between teammates.
2
Connect the tools for one job
Pick from more than 3,000 tools over MCP, such as Xero, Gmail or HubSpot. Toby can't use a tool until you approve that connection by name.
3
Ask, then set a schedule
Mention @Toby with work the team keeps waiting on, read what it posts in the thread, then give it a time to run that job again.
Toby or Claude Tag: which AI coworker fits your team
Choose Toby when
- Your team works in Microsoft Teams, or across Slack and Teams.
- You want one plan for the whole workspace, without depending on a single model lab.
- You want it hosted in Australia, with onboarding help to connect tools and set up the first jobs.
Choose Claude Tag when
- Your organisation already has a Claude Team or Enterprise plan and does its shared work in Slack [2].
Is Toby an alternative to Claude in Slack?
Yes. Claude Tag replaced Anthropic's earlier Slack app [1]. Toby suits teams that want an AI coworker in Slack or Microsoft Teams without tying it to one model lab. Claude Tag is Claude working inside Slack [4]. Toby is one plan for the whole workspace, with Starter at US$25 a month, while Claude Tag needs the organisation to hold a paid Claude Team or Enterprise plan [2]. Toby is also hosted in Australia.
What can Toby do for our team?
Mention Toby in a Slack or Teams channel and describe the job. It splits the request into steps, works through them in your connected tools and replies in the thread with the finished work. Teams use it to chase overdue invoices in Xero, prepare a brief before a client call or pull together the Monday numbers. Set a schedule and the same job runs again without anyone asking.
How do we get started?
Install Toby in Slack or Microsoft Teams, pick which channels it can see, connect the tools for the job and send it a first request. That takes about two minutes, and every plan includes onboarding help. By comparison, Claude Tag setup is done by an organisation Owner, who pairs the Slack workspace, sets a spend limit and then connects each service [2]. For a walkthrough first, book a demo.
What is Claude Tag pricing, and how much does Toby cost?
Toby can run on frontier open models, which cost a fraction of what closed model labs charge. After 2,000 free credits, Toby's Starter plan is US$25 a month for 20,000 credits and Plus is US$50 a month for 40,000, shared by the whole workspace, as listed on Toby's pricing page. Claude Tag needs a Claude Team or Enterprise plan, though Slack users don't each need a seat [2]. A Team Standard seat is $25 a month, or $20 billed annually, and a Premium seat is $125, or $100 billed annually [6]. Enterprise is US$20 per seat a month, billed annually, with a 20-seat minimum, plus usage at API rates [6]. Channel work bills to a usage balance the organisation funds, under a spend limit, and a Team plan must fund it before Claude responds in channels [7]. The two products count usage differently, so a like-for-like comparison would mislead.
Which tools does Toby work with?
Toby connects to more than 3,000 tools over MCP. Teams usually start with Gmail, Outlook, Google Drive, Notion, Xero, HubSpot, Salesforce, Deputy or Jira. Nothing is connected until you approve it by name, and any tool can be taken off the dashboard later.
Can we use Toby alongside Claude Tag?
Yes. Claude Tag works in the Slack channels it has been added to, and in DMs [2], and Toby works only where someone has invited it, so each can keep its own channels. Organisations on Microsoft Teams can use Toby there, while Claude Tag's Teams version is on a waitlist [5]. Toby stays out of private channels and teammates' DMs.
Where is Toby hosted?
Toby is hosted in Australia. It reads only the Slack or Teams channels it has been invited to, and a channel, a tool or Toby itself can be switched off from the dashboard whenever you like. Claude Tag keeps channel memory and session transcripts on Anthropic's side [3][4], and your data may be hosted offshore.
Sources
- Anthropic: Introducing Claude Tag, accessed 15 Oct 2026
- Claude Tag docs: Work with Claude Tag, accessed 15 Oct 2026
- Claude Tag docs: Security and data handling, accessed 15 Oct 2026
- Claude Tag docs: How Claude Tag works, accessed 15 Oct 2026
- Claude Tag is coming to Microsoft Teams (waitlist), accessed 15 Oct 2026
- Claude plans and pricing, accessed 15 Oct 2026
- Claude Tag docs: Set a spend limit, accessed 15 Oct 2026
Give Toby one job your team keeps putting off.
Add it to a Slack or Teams channel, approve one tool, and see what comes back in the thread.
Start with 2,000 free credits, no card needed. US$25 a month after that.