An AI employee app or a done-for-you team? How to choose

What's the difference between an app and a done-for-you team?

An AI employee app is software you subscribe to. It gives you AI helpers, often with names and roles, that write, answer, and act inside the tools you connect. You set it up, you connect it, and you check what it does.

A done-for-you team is a service. Someone sets up the work for you, connects it to your store, keeps it running, and fixes it when it breaks. You still make the decisions, but you don't build the system.

When does an AI employee app fit?

• You mostly need words. Drafts of emails, social posts, product descriptions, and replies are the core of what these apps offer.
• You like setting things up. You'll connect your accounts, write the instructions, and review the first results.
• Your store already runs well. The site is fast, the platform does what you need, and you want help on top of it.
• The budget is tight. These apps cost a few dozen dollars a month, and their prices are public.
• You want to start today. Sintra offers 3 free days with 50 credits, and Lindy offers $50 in free credits, both with no credit card. Marblism has a 7-day money-back guarantee.

Where the apps win, we say so. They cost much less per month than a done-for-you service, and they list no setup fee. Sintra has 12 helpers live today. A US store on MOVA starts with Maya on launch day, and the rest of the team joins one department at a time.

When does a done-for-you team fit?

• You don't have time to learn another tool. You'd rather explain your store once, then approve the work.
• The store itself needs work. A slow site, an old platform, plugins that keep breaking, or a move you've been putting off.
• The work is operations. Orders, shipping, inventory, suppliers, and invoices, not only words.
• You want people in the loop. Someone checks the work before it goes live, and someone answers when it breaks.
• You want one bill for the whole thing. The site, its upkeep, and the help around it.

The trade-off: a done-for-you team costs more per month, and it may charge a setup fee for the work at the start. MOVA has one. Xact AI, an agency's managed AI team, lists none.

What does each cost in money?

As published on Oct 18, 2026, the apps cost $29.99 to $49.99 a month billed monthly, or from $15.60 a month on a yearly plan, metered in credits or hours, and Lindy bills per user. Sintra starts at $15.60/month on its 12-month plan ($48.50 on its 1-month plan). Marblism starts at $24/month billed yearly ($44 billed monthly). Lindy is $29.99 or $49.99 a month per user. Our dated comparison puts them side by side, with what each one includes.

An app sits on top of your store, so its price isn't the whole bill. You still pay for your platform and its upkeep: Shopify lists $29, $79, or $299/month billed yearly ($39, $105, or $399 billed monthly), and a WordPress care plan at WP Buffs is $89 to $359/month, and $239/month for a WooCommerce store.

A done-for-you team is priced as a service. Xact AI lists a managed AI team at $2,500/month. MOVA is $149/month for a new site, one admin, hosting and upkeep, and all 11 AI agents at Basic. Setup and the move are a one-time fee, quoted after a short call.

What does each cost in your time?

What should you ask either one?

1. 1What does it touch in my store? Only what I paste in, or my real orders, inventory, and customers.
2. 2What runs on its own, and what waits for me? Which actions need my OK, especially anything that costs money.
3. 3What's metered, and what happens at the limit? Whether the work stops, or the bill grows.
4. 4Is there a setup fee, and what does it cover? And whether any of it comes back if I leave.
5. 5Who fixes it when something breaks? How I reach them, and how fast they answer.
6. 6What's live today, and what's coming? A feature on a roadmap isn't a feature yet.
7. 7How do I leave? The contract, the refund terms, and how I get my data out.

Where does MOVA fit?

MOVA is a done-for-you team for an online store. We rebuild your store as a new, fast site, move it, run it on one admin, and give it a team of 11 AI agents, one for each department.

The team proposes. You approve. You decide what runs on its own, and nothing that costs money runs until you turn it on. AI does the work fast. People check every change before it goes live.

If you want the lowest monthly price and you're happy to run the tools yourself, an app is the better pick. If you'd rather not build the system at all, that's the work we do.