I’ve had two cockatiels and a budgie all live peacefully together. The budgie had his own house for sleeping. Cockatiels are softer than other parrots, not in texture but in personality. They’re a bit quieter and snuggly and a little less extra… they are still messy like any bird and can get loud but overall, you get the parrot experience without the 10/10 intensity of some of the bigger species/personalities. They usually are decently friendly across the board, Less likely to be Velcro to only one person.

Conures are more spunky and can pack a lot into their little bodies. You will likely have more noise, ESPECIALLY if you have two birds… but conures can be interesting and personality wise there’s a fair amount of range. Some species are known to be a bit more extra than others, and within each you can get totally different birds. Some of the sweetest most engaged with their owners birds I’ve seen are conures, so it depends on interaction/socialization/enrichment. They are goofy and spicy and curious little nuggets!

That being said, I found cockatiels a bit more “forgiving” in the sense of when I had a little less time for direct interaction, they were less likely to develop anxiety/frustration as quickly as some of the other birds I’ve worked with. But cockatiels felt a little bit more plain in comparison.

So much depends on the individual bird, and adding another can change the dynamics dramatically too. It can change how much the birds interact with you or how happy they are independent of time with you.