Key takeaways
- Repositioned from LLM-to-Slack bridge to full AI agent platform with prebuilt Support, HR, SalesOps, RevOps, and Marketing agents
- May 2026 update added scheduled triggers and event-driven automations — agents now execute autonomously, plus custom MCP server support
- Flat team pricing, not per-seat: $79/mo Team, $319/mo Business, credit-based usage with 14-day free trial
FAQ
What is Runbear?
An AI agent platform that deploys named, shared agents inside Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord, and HubSpot. Agents answer questions, draft replies, and take actions across 2,000+ connected tools.
How much does Runbear cost?
Flat team pricing with a credit-based usage model: Team at $79/month (20,000 credits, 5 builders), Business at $319/month (100,000 credits, BYOK, HubSpot/Zendesk), and custom Enterprise. 14-day free trial, no per-seat billing.
Who competes with Runbear?
Viktor (Slack-native agent), Lobu (multi-tenant OpenClaw), and native LLM integrations like ChatGPT or Claude apps for Slack.
Executive Summary
Runbear has evolved from an LLM-to-chat integration bridge into a full AI agent platform that deploys named, shared agents inside Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord, and HubSpot. [1] Agents monitor work where teams already operate — reading incoming requests, preparing context, drafting responses, and (since May 2026) executing autonomously on scheduled and event-driven triggers. [2] The company rebranded from PlugBear, went through Techstars in 2024, and remains active with SOC 2 Type II certification.
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Company | Runbear (formerly PlugBear), founded 2023 |
| Focus | Shared AI agents inside team chat |
| Users | 300K+ (as of June 2026) [3] |
| Integrations | 2,000+ tools [1] |
| Channels | Slack, Teams, Discord, HubSpot, Zendesk, Email |
| Funding | Pre-seed (Sep 2023); Techstars '24 [4] |
Product Overview
Runbear positions itself as "your best new hire, but AI." Agents handle the first pass on incoming requests — reading context from connected tools, preparing decisions, and packaging clean handoffs to humans — and can now run fully autonomous scheduled jobs. [1]
Key Capabilities
| Capability | Description |
|---|---|
| Inbox Agent | Opens every client message with context, actions, and a reply ready (beta Feb 2026) [2] |
| Prebuilt Agents | Support, HR, SalesOps, RevOps, and Marketing agents [1] |
| Scheduled Triggers & Automations | Autonomous execution via scheduled jobs and event-driven triggers (May 2026) [2] |
| AI-Assisted Agent Builder | Build agents through conversation; refine instructions via AI chat panel [2] |
| Tool Connections | 2,000+ integrations including Jira, Confluence, Gmail/Calendar, Salesforce, Notion, plus custom MCP servers [2] |
| BYOK Models | Bring-your-own-key for Claude Opus 4.7, Claude Sonnet 4.6, and Gemini via Vertex AI [2] |
| Per-User Auth | Per-user authentication on shared agents [1] |
Target Teams
- Support Ops
- CX Ops
- Data Ops
- Sales Ops
- Revenue Ops
- HR / Marketing
Pricing & Licensing
Flat team pricing with credit-based usage — no per-seat billing. One credit per model call; quick answers cost ~5 credits, workflows 20–50, deep work 300–1,500. [5]
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Team | $79/mo flat | 20,000 credits/mo, 5 builders, Slack/Discord/Teams, MCP actions, personal agents |
| Business | $319/mo flat | 100,000 credits/mo, 10 builders, + HubSpot & Zendesk, BYOK, CRM integrations |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom credits and builders, priority support SLAs, custom implementation |
14-day free trial on Team and Business, no credit card required. [5]
Funding & Company
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2023 |
| Funding | One round: pre-seed, September 2023 [4] |
| Accelerator | Techstars 2024 [4] |
| Team size | ~10 employees [4] |
Strengths
- No-code setup — Agents configured in ~10 minutes without engineering involvement [1]
- Broad integrations — 2,000+ tools for rich context and action [1]
- Autonomous execution — Scheduled triggers and event-driven automations as of May 2026 [2]
- Team-flat pricing — Whole-team access from $79/mo, no per-seat math [5]
- Enterprise posture — SOC 2 Type II in production, per-user auth on shared agents [1]
- Proven scale — 300K+ users as of June 2026 [3]
Cautions
- Credit-based usage — Flat price caps at monthly credits; deep-work tasks burn 300–1,500 credits each [5]
- Small team, thin funding — ~10 people on a single pre-seed round; execution risk on a broad roadmap [4]
- Chat-platform dependent — Value tied to Slack/Teams/Discord usage
- Competitive space — Crowded field of agents-in-Slack products
- Inconsistent vendor numbers — Homepage cites 2,000+ integrations while some pages cite 2,700+ [6]
Competitive Positioning
| Competitor | Differentiation |
|---|---|
| Viktor | Runbear offers prebuilt ops agents plus BYOK model choice; Viktor is its own agent |
| Lobu | Runbear is no-code SaaS; Lobu requires self-managed infrastructure |
| Native LLM apps for Slack | Runbear adds 2,000+ tool context, scheduled automations, and per-user auth on shared agents |
The May 2026 release shifted Runbear from human-in-the-loop assistance toward autonomous operation, narrowing the gap with full agent platforms while keeping the no-code, in-chat deployment model. [2]
Bottom Line
Runbear is no longer just a bridge for connecting OpenAI apps to Slack — it is a team agent platform with prebuilt ops agents, custom MCP tool actions, and autonomous scheduled triggers, deployed where teams already work. Flat team pricing from $79/mo undercuts per-seat competitors for larger teams, though the credit system means heavy automation workloads need the Business tier or above.
Recommended for: Ops, support, and revenue teams wanting shared AI agents in Slack/Teams/Discord with minimal setup
Not recommended for: Teams not living in chat tools, or those needing self-hosted/deeply customized agent infrastructure
Outlook: Active and shipping fast (major releases in Feb and May 2026), but small and lightly funded — watch for a seed round or consolidation in the crowded agents-in-Slack category.
Research by Ry Walker Research • methodology