Compare
PeopleBlade compared with Dex
Dex and PeopleBlade answer the same problem, contacts scattered across accounts, from opposite directions. Dex syncs them into a hosted service you reach through web, desktop, mobile, and a browser extension; PeopleBlade imports them into one SQLite file on your computer that your agent can also work with. The subscription versus local-file split shapes everything else on this page.
What Dex does
Dex is a subscription personal CRM, self-described as the Rolodex reimagined. It syncs contacts from LinkedIn, Gmail, Outlook, calendars, WhatsApp, iMessage, Facebook, Instagram, phone contacts, and CSV, merges duplicates, and builds a per-contact timeline of meetings, calls, emails, messages, and notes. Keep-in-touch reminders run on a cadence you set per contact, and pre-meeting briefs arrive before calendar events.
Beyond the book, Dex sells an AI layer and reach: Dex Copilot organizes the network, AI Assist drafts, a voice mode and an SMS interface talk to the assistant, Dex Research writes contact briefings from monthly credits, mail merge sends bulk email, and a map view plots where people are. API and Zapier access open on the Professional tier, which also raises the LinkedIn sync cap from 2,500 to 9,000 connections.
Premium costs $12 a month billed annually, $16 quarterly, or $20 monthly; Professional costs $20, $27, or $34 on the same periods; Enterprise adds SAML SSO, a SOC 2 report, and team billing at custom pricing. Every paid plan starts with a seven-day trial that requires a card.
What PeopleBlade does
PeopleBlade imports the same class of sources, but onto your computer instead of into a service: macOS Contacts, Google Contacts, Beeper, WhatsApp, iMessage interaction metadata without message text, and the official LinkedIn, Instagram, and X exports. Each detail records which source it came from, and two people join only when a matching email, phone, or account ID supports it and you approve.
Your agent works the book through peopleblade commands that print JSON, and a Soulscrape packet hands one person's background over without exposing other contacts. Notes are private Markdown with history and never leave the machine. There are no cadence reminders, no timeline across your email, no phone app, and no AI persona; the agent you already run is the assistant.
Public CLI · npm 0.6.0. Install it with bun add --global @hraness/peopleblade@0.6.0 on macOS or Linux.
How they compare
Dex is a service that does the relationship upkeep for you: live syncs, reminders, briefs, and apps on every device. PeopleBlade is a local file you and your agent work on. The table maps where that lands.
| Aspect | Dex | PeopleBlade |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A hosted personal CRM that syncs your existing accounts and reminds you to keep in touch | A local personal CRM: one private book of the people you know, unified from your existing sources |
| Where it runs | Dex's cloud service, reached through web, desktop, mobile, and browser-extension apps | A SQLite file on your Mac or Linux computer, plus a local browser workspace |
| Cost | Premium $12 to $20 a month and Professional $20 to $34 a month depending on billing period; Enterprise is custom; the seven-day trial needs a card | Free and MIT licensed; optional hosted research is prepaid per contact |
| Sources | More than 15 live syncs: LinkedIn, Gmail, Outlook, calendars, WhatsApp, iMessage, Facebook, Instagram, phone contacts, and CSV | macOS Contacts, Google Contacts, Beeper, WhatsApp, iMessage interaction metadata, and official LinkedIn, Instagram, and X exports |
| Keep in touch | Cadence reminders per contact, birthday notifications, and pre-meeting briefs ahead of calendar events | No reminder engine; notes sit beside each person and you can sort by last contact |
| Timeline | A unified timeline of meetings, calls, emails, messages, and notes for each contact | Content-free interaction counts where a source allows them; message text is never imported or stored |
| Agent and AI | Dex Copilot and AI Assist inside the app, voice mode, an SMS interface, and API plus Zapier on Professional and up | Your own agent runs the local CLI with JSON output, receives one-person packets, or reads synced contacts through an approved-device API |
| Where the data lives | On Dex's servers; the company says it never sells or gives your data to third parties | On your computer; optional sync sends a listed set of contact details to a private dashboard |
| Release state | A subscription SaaS in continuous operation | Public CLI · npm 0.6.0 |
Which one fits
Choose Dex when you want the product to do the keeping-in-touch work: cadence nudges, a timeline assembled from your email and calendar, briefings before meetings, and apps wherever you are, in exchange for a subscription and a hosted copy of your network.
Choose PeopleBlade when you want the master copy on your own computer at no cost, when your agent should work contacts through commands instead of a hosted account, and when you would rather set your own reminders than get nudged.
Questions
Does PeopleBlade sync LinkedIn the way Dex does?
Not as a background feed. Your LinkedIn network comes from your official data export, and for a connection already imported, one peopleblade linkedin contact-info command reads that person's Contact info panel. There is no job-change notification.
Can PeopleBlade remind me to keep in touch?
No. There is no cadence or reminder engine. Notes sit beside each person, and sorting by last contact tells you who has drifted, but nothing pings you.
Can I import contacts exported from Dex?
There is no generic CSV or vCard import. The practical route is the same accounts Dex was syncing: import Google Contacts or macOS Contacts directly, plus your LinkedIn export, and PeopleBlade rebuilds the unified book from those sources.
Is there a PeopleBlade mobile app?
No. The workspace is a local web page on your computer. An optional private web dashboard shows synced contact details in a browser, but the master copy stays on your machine.
Which protects my contacts better?
PeopleBlade holds the whole book locally and sends nothing by default. Dex holds a synced copy on its service and pledges not to sell or share it. Whether a hosted copy is acceptable is the question the subscription price sits behind.