---
title: Dex alternative: a free, local personal CRM · PeopleBlade
description: Dex is a hosted personal CRM at $12 to $34 a month that syncs more than 15 sources. PeopleBlade keeps your contact book on your own computer for free.
canonical_url: https://peopleblade.com/compare/dex
last_updated: 2026-09-26T00:00:00.000Z
---

# PeopleBlade compared with Dex

Dex and PeopleBlade both gather contacts that are scattered across your accounts. Dex syncs them into a hosted service you use through web, desktop, mobile, and browser-extension apps. PeopleBlade imports them into one SQLite file on your computer that your agent can also work with. Most other differences follow from that: Dex is a subscription that keeps a copy of your network on its servers, and PeopleBlade is free and keeps the book on your machine.

## 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.

Dex also sells AI and outreach features. 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.

[Dex's product overview](https://getdex.com/product-overview) · [Dex's pricing](https://getdex.com/pricing)

## What PeopleBlade does

PeopleBlade imports similar sources onto your computer instead of into a hosted 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. Two people join only when a matching email, phone number, or account ID supports it, and only when you approve the join or run an opt-in pass that accepts exact matches.

Your agent works the book through `peopleblade` commands that print JSON, and a Soulscrape packet, a file with one person's background, hands that person to the agent without exposing other contacts. Notes are private Markdown with history and never leave the machine. PeopleBlade has no cadence reminders, no timeline built from your email, no phone app, and no built-in assistant; the agent you already run fills that role.

Public CLI · npm 0.6.0. Install it with `bun add --global @hraness/peopleblade@0.6.0` on macOS or Linux.

[Read the contact-book guide](https://peopleblade.com/guide) · [See what leaves your computer](https://peopleblade.com/privacy)

## How they compare

Dex does the upkeep for you with live syncs, reminders, briefs, and apps on every device. PeopleBlade is a local file that you and your agent work on. The table compares them point by point.

| Aspect | Dex | PeopleBlade |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What it is | A hosted personal CRM that syncs your existing accounts and reminds you to keep in touch | A personal CRM on your computer that combines the people in the accounts and exports you already have |
| 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 reminders; notes sit beside each person, and you can sort people by last interaction |
| 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 to choose

Choose Dex if you want the product to do the work of keeping in touch, with cadence nudges, a timeline assembled from your email and calendar, briefings before meetings, and apps wherever you are. You pay for it with a subscription and a hosted copy of your network.

Choose PeopleBlade if you want the master copy on your own computer at no cost, want your agent to work with contacts through commands instead of a hosted account, and 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. PeopleBlade has no cadence or reminder feature. Notes sit beside each person, and sorting by last interaction shows who you have not talked to in a while, but nothing notifies 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. The choice comes down to whether you accept a hosted copy of your network.

## Sources

Compared facts were read from each product's own pages on September 26, 2026.

- [Dex product overview: sources, reminders, timeline, and AI features](https://getdex.com/product-overview), Dex, checked 2026-09-26
- [Dex pricing: Premium and Professional tiers, trial terms, and API access](https://getdex.com/pricing), Dex, checked 2026-09-26