Circles vs TimelinesAI
Circles vs TimelinesAI: a sales team's inbox, or your own WhatsApp
TimelinesAI is a WhatsApp inbox for sales and support teams, with a remote MCP on every plan. Circles gives one person's agent the chats they choose, with sending off until they allow it.
Choose TimelinesAI if a sales or support team works WhatsApp together and needs shared chats, labels, assignment and CRM integrations. Choose Circles if it is your own number and you want Claude, ChatGPT or Instinct to read it with per-chat permissions, voice notes as text and sending off by default, on Free, Starter $9.90 or Pro $29 a month, against $35 a seat (as of October 2026).
Updated
TimelinesAI and Circles at a glance
As of October 2026. Facts about TimelinesAI come from the sources listed at the end of this page.
| TimelinesAI | Circles | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Link a number with a QR (or use the official API), then add the MCP address and sign in with TimelinesAI | Link your number from your phone (a code or a QR), then connect your agent with a tap, an address or a token |
| Your personal number | Yes, with a QR, or a number on the official API | Yes, your existing number as a linked device. No WhatsApp Business, no second number. |
| Hosted | Yes | Yes, always on. Nothing to install, no computer that must stay awake. |
| MCP and sign-in | Remote at mcp.services.timelines.ai/mcp with TimelinesAI sign-in, on every plan. Lists chats, searches, sends, labels, assigns. | Remote MCP at https://app.usecircles.app/api/mcp: OAuth 2.1 (paste one address and approve) or a token |
| Per-chat permissions | Team permissions | Per chat: hidden, read, or read and send. Hidden chats do not exist for agents. |
| Voice notes | No transcription | Transcribed automatically, Hebrew and English, inline as text and searchable |
| Photos and files | Yes | Photos, PDFs, documents and video handed over on request, up to 50 MB each. The agent reads them itself. |
| Sending controls | Quota per plan. Its help says sends are immediate with no undo. | On Pro. Off until you open a chat for it. Daily cap across all agents (default 5), never retried automatically, every request logged. |
| Price (October 2026) | Starter $35 a seat a month ($28 annual), Pro $49 ($39 annual). 10-day trial, no card, up to 10 seats. | Free; Starter $9.90 a month; Pro $29 a month (₪99 in Israel), 14 days of Pro free |
Where TimelinesAI is the better choice
- Team workflows. Shared chats, labels and assignment for a sales or support team.
- CRM integrations built for pipelines and deals.
- The official API option for numbers that should run on it.
- A generous trial: 10 days, no card, up to 10 seats.
Where Circles is the better choice
- Made for your own number: family, groups, suppliers and clients in one phone, with nothing to change for them.
- Sending is off until you allow it, per chat, with a daily cap and no automatic retries. With the default settings, an agent cannot write anywhere you did not open; a number's default can be set to read and send.
- Per-chat permissions for one person: hide a chat and it does not exist for agents.
- Voice notes as text, Hebrew and English, and files on request.
- Price: Free, Starter $9.90 or Pro $29 a month for the whole number, against $35 a seat, as of October 2026.
Same terms for both. Circles, like every tool that reads a personal number, connects as an unofficial linked device, which is outside WhatsApp's terms. No one can promise WhatsApp will never disconnect a device. What Circles offers is careful defaults: reading by default, sending off until you allow it, a daily cap, no broadcast, and a dedicated IP address shared with no other customer. It makes no claim to a safer protocol. How Circles handles your chats.
Questions and answers
Does TimelinesAI have a remote MCP?
Yes, as of October 2026: mcp.services.timelines.ai/mcp with TimelinesAI sign-in, on every plan. Circles' remote MCP is https://app.usecircles.app/api/mcp with OAuth.
Can the agent send messages without my approval?
In TimelinesAI, its help notes that sends are immediate with no undo. In Circles, an agent can send only in chats you opened for sending, within a daily cap (default 5), and a send is never retried automatically.
Is TimelinesAI for one person?
It can be, but it is priced and built per seat for teams. Circles is priced per number, Free, Starter $9.90 or Pro $29 a month, for one person's chats.
Does TimelinesAI transcribe voice notes?
Not per its pages on 27 October 2026. Circles transcribes voice notes automatically, in Hebrew and English.
Sources
Competitor facts as seen on 27 October 2026 unless another date is given. Prices change often in this category: check the vendor's own page before you buy.
Connect your WhatsApp to your agent today.
14 days free. Link your number, pick the chats, then connect Instinct with one tap or Claude, ChatGPT and Codex with one address.