# Lob vs Thanks.io: which do AI models recommend for direct mail, October 2026

GTM AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, Print. One of fourteen models named Lob first on the direct prompt; zero named Thanks.io. Page: https://gtm-ai-index.com/marketing/print/lob-vs-thanks-io/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lob | 8% | #2 of 10 | 23% | 57 | 14 of 14 |
| Thanks.io | 4% | #6 of 10 | 0% | 11 | 10 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Kimi K2: lob first (first choices: Lob, Postal) (alternatives: PFL, Postalytics)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither first, one named (first choices: Postalytics) (alternatives: Lob, Sendoso)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Reachdesk) (alternatives: Alyce, Lob, PostGrid, Postal, Postalytics, Sendoso)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: neither first, one named (first choices: Sendoso) (alternatives: Lob, PostGrid Print & Mail)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Postalytics) (alternatives: Lob, PFL, Postal, Postie, Sendoso)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Sendoso) (alternatives: CIENCE, Cobro, Lob, PebblePost)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither first, one named (first choices: Postalytics) (alternatives: Lob, PostGrid, Postal, Sendoso)
- GPT-6 Luna: neither first, one named (first choices: Postalytics) (alternatives: Lob, Postal, Reachdesk)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: neither first, one named (first choices: PFL - Printing For Less) (alternatives: Lob, Postal, Postalytics, Reachdesk, Sendoso)
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither named (first choices: Sendoso) (alternatives: PFL)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither named (first choices: PostGrid) (alternatives: Reachdesk)
- Mistral Small: neither named (first choices: Postie) (alternatives: PFL, Postalytics)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named (first choices: Postie) (alternatives: Postal)
- MiniMax M2.5: neither named (first choices: Postalytics) (alternatives: PFL Direct Mail Platform)

## What the models said about Lob

- "Best Avoid If: You're not technical, need global reach, or budget-sensitive." (Grok 4.1 Fast, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "Avoid Lob if your marketing team doesn't have engineering support, as there is no visual, marketer-friendly builder out of the box." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, paraphrase prompt, soft negative)
- "1. Lob - Focus: API-driven platform for automating personalized direct mail ... Strengths: Nationwide Print Delivery Network" (Mistral Small, comparative prompt, first choice)
- "Postal.io or Lob offer the best balance of features, pricing transparency, and scalability for mid-market B2B companies" (Kimi K2, direct prompt, first choice)
- "Lob — Best for API-First, Developer-Led Mail ... The category leader for API-first (REST API) programmatic direct mail." (DeepSeek V4 Flash, comparative prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Thanks.io

- "Click2Mail or thanks.io (pay-as-you-go plan) stand out as the best direct mail automation platforms" (Grok 4.1 Fast, budget prompt, first choice)
- "Thanks.io is the gold standard for low-budget operations." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, budget prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.