Guide

Crest alternatives

By Donncha O'Toole · Updated 7 October 2026

Crest is a strong choice: it answers Claude Code, Codex and Copilot CLI prompts for free and adds a calendar, file shelf and clipboard. Look elsewhere if you want more agents (CodeIsland or Vibe Island), an iPhone companion (Coucou), or agents on remote machines with Codex limits and screen-share hiding (Notchbird).

We make Notchbird, one of the apps below, so weigh our view accordingly. Every fact here comes from each product's own site, README, changelog or GitHub, read on 7 October 2026, and is linked under Sources. We have not benchmarked the other apps. Email [email protected] if something has changed and we will correct it.

What Crest does well

Crest installs a hook in Claude Code's settings, keeps a backup of the file, and shows each request in a sheet with the full command or the changed lines. You can allow the rest of a session in one click and answer Claude's multiple-choice questions, including with typed text. All of that is free with no account. Pro, at $14.99 a year, $2.99 a month or $24.99 once, adds the agents widget and the rest of the suite, and each licence covers two Macs. There's team pricing too.

Reasons to look elsewhere

Crest and Notchbird side by side

These two are the closest pair: both put a full set of everyday tools around agent approvals. Crest has the calendar, window layouts, a screen recorder and meeting transcription. Notchbird has a spoken morning plan, Pomodoro timers, white, pink and brown noise, audio switching with a mute-everywhere button, AirPods battery and a teleprompter under the camera.

On agents, Notchbird reads sessions on this Mac with no setup and on one SSH machine at a time without installing anything there, lists your Tailscale machines so you can pick one, and shows Claude and Codex limits. Crest approves Codex prompts, which Notchbird can't yet, and it covers Copilot CLI. Crest's free tier also beats Notchbird on price if approvals are all you need.

What each costs over three years

Prices on 7 October 2026, in US dollars, before tax. The free apps cost nothing; the question for the paid ones is subscription against one-time.

Crest's free tier still answers prompts after a Pro subscription ends, so the comparison only matters if you want the paid features.

Stick with Crest if

• You want approvals for free and don't need remote machines.
• You join a lot of meetings and like one-click joins from the calendar in the notch.
• You buy for a team; Crest has team pricing.
• You use Copilot CLI.

See all ten agent apps in the best notch apps for Claude Code and Codex, or the head-to-head on our comparison page.

Sources

• Crest
• Crest for Claude Code
• CodeIsland on GitHub
• Vibe Island
• Coucou on GitHub

Common questions

Is Crest free?

Crest's approvals for Claude Code, Codex and Copilot CLI are free with no account. Pro costs $14.99 a year, $2.99 a month or $24.99 once, with a seven-day trial.

What is the best Crest alternative for remote servers?

Notchbird reads Claude Code and Codex on other machines over SSH with nothing installed there. CodeIsland also supports SSH hosts by installing a small helper on the server.

Does Notchbird approve Codex prompts like Crest?

Not yet. Notchbird answers Claude Code prompts and questions from the notch, and for Codex it alerts you and opens the exact thread so you can answer there.