Heard vs Poolside AI
Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and ratings
At a glance
| Dimension | Heard | Poolside AI |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free (freemium) | Contact sales (enterprise) |
| Primary Use | Voice interface for Claude Code/Codex | Enterprise coding agents with governance |
| Deployment | Cloud-based (no on-prem mentioned) | On-prem, VPC, workstation (defense) |
| Target User | Individual developers, ergonomic users | Large regulated enterprises |
| Key Feature | Voice prompts, real-time speech-to-text, readback | Laguna model family, 1M context, multi-agent |
| Integrations | Claude Code, Codex | Data connectors to repos, DBs, warehouses, RBAC |
If you're an enterprise in finance or defense needing secure, auditable AI agents for complex coding tasks, Poolside AI is the fit—but expect a sales process and custom pricing. For a solo developer who wants to code hands-free with voice commands over Claude Code or Codex, Heard is a free, lightweight add-on. They serve completely different needs; choose based on your scale and security requirements.
Heard is the voice layer for coding agents — it narrates your Claude Code and Codex sessions out loud and answers you back on Heard Power.
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Open-weight agentic coding models — Laguna XS 2.1 (33B) and Laguna S 2.1 (118B) — built for code that cannot leave your security boundary.
Visit WebsiteWhat real users say: Heard vs Poolside AI
Not marketing copy and not our opinion — a structured sweep of public discussion (reviews, forums, communities and video comments), showing what people praise and what they complain about for each tool.
Heard
No verifiable community signal. We scanned public discussion on Jul 26, 2026 and found posts matching the name “Heard”, but could not establish that they are about this product rather than something else sharing its name. Rather than publish a score built on the wrong subject, we publish none.
Poolside AI
40 mentions across 4 sources · 48% positive — mixed (averaged across 4 sources)
Hacker News, YouTube, Bluesky, Lemmy
What users praise
- • Open-weight models with strong SWE-bench scores (72.5%).
- • On-prem, VPC, and air-gapped deployment for high security.
- • 256K context length supports long-horizon reasoning tasks.
- • Multi-agent orchestration with sandboxed execution environments.
What frustrates them
- • Community feedback is scarce; limited real-world user reviews.
- • Platform is still in research preview as of April 2026.
- • Pricing is opaque; only 'contact us' with no published tiers.
- • Trademark dispute with Poolside FM creates name confusion.
Researched Jul 17, 2026
Who should pick which
- Enterprise lead architect in regulated industryPick: Poolside AI
Poolside provides auditable, on-prem agents with long-context reasoning (1M context) and RBAC, meeting compliance needs.
- Developer with RSI or ergonomic concernsPick: Heard
Heard enables hands-free coding via voice, reducing keyboard strain while using Claude Code or Codex.
- Individual startup developer on a budgetPick: Heard
Heard is free and immediately usable; Poolside’s contact-sales pricing is prohibitive.
- CISO evaluating secure coding toolsPick: Poolside AI
Poolside deploys inside security boundaries, offers sandboxed execution, and has executive governance features.
Frequently Asked Questions
Heard vs Poolside AI: which should you choose?
If you're an enterprise in finance or defense needing secure, auditable AI agents for complex coding tasks, Poolside AI is the fit—but expect a sales process and custom pricing. For a solo developer who wants to code hands-free with voice commands over Claude Code or Codex, Heard is a free, lightweight add-on. They serve completely different needs; choose based on your scale and security requirements.
Does Poolside AI integrate with Claude Code or Codex?
No, Poolside provides its own models and agent platform; it does not list integration with Claude Code or Codex.
Can Heard be used with tools other than Claude Code and Codex?
Based on available data, Heard only integrates with Claude Code and Codex.
Does Poolside AI offer a free trial or self-serve plan?
No, Poolside AI requires contacting sales; there is no self-serve or free tier mentioned.
Can Heard be used offline?
No, Heard requires a stable internet connection for its cloud-based voice processing.
Which tool supports multi-agent orchestration?
Poolside AI features multi-agent orchestration with planning and tool use; Heard does not include agent capabilities.
Is there a mobile version of Heard?
Latest news (2026-07-15) mentions Heard for iOS as an ePub reader with on-device TTS, but the main tool appears desktop-focused for coding.
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Last reviewed: July 26, 2026