Synarch vs Reclaim.ai
Reclaim protects focus time blocks — a genuine strength for calendar hygiene. But it can't tell whether the *right work* happened in the protected slot or whether the meeting that survived deserved to be there. "Protected time, wrong work" is our core pain and entirely outside their model. This table shows the boundary: Reclaim protects the block. Synarch enforces what happens in it.
Reclaim: free–$20/mo · Synarch: $79/mo solo
| Dimension | Reclaim.ai | Synarch |
|---|---|---|
| Core job | Protects focus time by blocking calendar slots and syncing habits (exercise, meals, breaks) across your schedule. | Classifies all work against your goals, then acts: declines misaligned meetings, drafts replies, books deep work strategically. |
| Work-type classification (D/M/E/R) | Not offered (as of July 2026). Focuses on time-type (focus vs. meeting-heavy), not work-type. | Automatic D/M/E/R classification of every activity against your stated goals. |
| Time budget enforcement | Protects blocks (does not allow meetings to be scheduled on them). Does not audit work type or strategic alignment. | Enforces your Direction / Multiplication / Execution ratio. Blocks are smart: booked per OKR and adaptively paused if workload spikes. |
| Email triage & voice-matched drafts | Not offered (as of July 2026). Calendar-only tool. | Triage by alignment + sender intelligence; tone-matched drafts placed in Gmail; autonomous send at earned trust. |
| Autonomy model | Blocks are hard-booked; you can still overbook them. Syncs habits but does not auto-act. | Shadow → Draft → Autonomous ramp. At trust: auto-RSVP ≥80% aligned, auto-decline ≤30%, book deep work intelligently. |
| Trust / safety architecture | Not offered (as of July 2026). | Shadow mode default (zero power). 28-day recovery lockdown after surprise. Complacency circuit-breaker. Per-category opt-in with 30-min undo. |
| Weekly accountability receipts | Focus time protected (metric: hours blocked). | Certainty Score (peer percentile), D/M/E/R ratio audit, hours-reclaimed ledger, every action logged, 12-week archive. |
| Pricing | Free tier; $10–20/mo for premium features. | $79/month solo (500 actions included), $790/year. Overage $0.10/action. |
Pick Reclaim.ai if
- •You want a free or low-cost focus-time blocker for calendar hygiene.
- •Habit syncing (meals, exercise, breaks) is core to your workflow.
- •Your pain is "too many meetings" not "wrong meetings."
Pick Synarch if
- •You need to know what *type* of work is happening in your protected time.
- •You want the system to auto-decline meetings that don't serve your goals, not just protect empty slots.
- •You need weekly proof that the right work is getting the time.
FAQ
I protect focus time in Reclaim. Why isn't that enough?
Reclaim protects the block; it cannot tell whether the right work happened in it or whether the meeting that survived deserved to. "Protected time, wrong work" — sitting in a focus block answering email about an acquisition offer you are not pursuing — is our core pain and entirely outside their model.
Does Reclaim handle email?
No. Reclaim is calendar-only. Your inbox still defaults to answering, and misaligned meetings still fill the time you did not protect. Synarch is both: it triages the inbox and declines the misaligned meeting.
Can I use both Reclaim and Synarch?
Technically yes, but Synarch's deep-work blocks (booked per OKR and adaptive to workload) will conflict with Reclaim's hard blocks. Most users choose one.
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