A.R.O vs Monica
Monica is open source and self-hostable. A.R.O is hosted and connected to the accounts you already use.
Monica has been open source since 2017 and is the obvious pick if you want to own the server your relationships live on: Docker, your own database, no subscription unless you choose their hosted version. A.R.O takes the opposite trade. It is hosted, it connects to Google, Apple and Microsoft, and it does the work that only a connected tool can do: pulling your calendar in, pushing reminders out, sending email from your own account.
Prices and limits checked on Monica's own site in October 2026. Check Monica for anything that has changed since.
Side by side
| A.R.O | Monica | |
|---|---|---|
| License | Proprietary, hosted service | Open source, self-hostable |
| Price | Free for 50 contacts; $4.99 or $14.99 a month paid | Free if you host it yourself; hosted plan is paid |
| Where your data lives | A.R.O's managed Postgres, exportable and deletable any time | Your server, if you self-host |
| Contacts & calendar sync | Two-way with Google, Apple iCloud, Microsoft 365 | Manual entry and import; no live two-way account sync |
| Reminders | In-app plus push into Google Tasks, Microsoft To Do, Apple Reminders | In-app reminders and email |
| Personal details | Partner, kids, pets, interests, gift ideas, important dates | Strong: relationships, gifts, activities, journal, debts |
| AI | Assistant with your own key or included on Pro | None built in |
| Setup | Sign up, connect an account, done | Docker or PHP install, database, backups, updates |
Where Monica is the better choice
- It is genuinely free and genuinely yours if you self-host. No vendor can change the terms on you, and the code is public.
- The personal-life data model is deeper in places: journal entries, debts, activities, gift tracking with history.
- No AI, no cloud, no third parties, which for some people is the entire point.
If one of those is the reason you are looking, go use Monica. A tool you actually open beats a cheaper one you abandon.
Where A.R.O is different
- No server to run. Updates, backups and uptime are not your weekend.
- Live sync with the accounts your contacts actually live in, including two-way calendar.
- Reminders leave the app and land in the task list you already check.
- Meeting prep, cadence tracking, and a weekly brief on who is slipping.
- Email from your own Gmail or Outlook, logged automatically on the contact.
Pricing, plainly
- Free for up to 50 contacts, no card, no clock
- $4.99/month with your own AI key
- $14.99/month with AI included
- 7-day trial on the paid plans
- Self-hosted: free, open source, you run the server
- Hosted by Monica: paid subscription (check their site for the current price)
- No credit card required to start
Questions people actually ask
No. A.R.O is a hosted product. You can export everything you have (CSV or full JSON) and delete your account and data at any time, but the code is not public. If running the code yourself is a requirement, Monica is the better fit and we would rather you be happy there.
Yes, through CSV. Export your contacts from Monica, import the file into A.R.O, and review the matches before anything is applied.
No. Contacts are never sold and never used to train a model. AI features run on your own API key, or on A.R.O's key on the Pro plan, only when you ask for them.
Try it on 50 people first
Free plan, no card. Connect a Google, Apple or Microsoft account and see who you have been drifting from.