Which personal CRM should you actually use?
We wrote these the way we would want to read them: real prices, checked in October 2026, and a section on each page about when the other tool is the better call.
Dex vs Clay (Mesh), head to head
The two best-known personal CRMs compared against each other, with A.R.O as the third option rather than the hero.
Read the head-to-headA.R.O vs Dex
Dex is the LinkedIn-first personal CRM. A.R.O is the calendar-and-contacts-first one.
Read the comparisonA.R.O vs Clay (now Mesh)
Mesh (formerly Clay) is a beautiful, automatic address book. A.R.O is a working keep-in-touch system.
Read the comparisonA.R.O vs Monica
Monica is open source and self-hostable. A.R.O is hosted and connected to the accounts you already use.
Read the comparisonA.R.O vs folk
folk is a CRM for a team with a pipeline. A.R.O is for one person's relationships.
Read the comparisonThe short version
- Your network lives on LinkedIn and you want it synced continuously: Dex.
- You want a self-updating address book with enrichment and news: Clay, now called Mesh.
- You want to own the server and run the code yourself: Monica.
- A team needs one shared pipeline: folk, or a traditional CRM.
- You keep meaning to follow up and don't: that is the gap A.R.O was built for. Cadences, who's going cold, meeting prep, and reminders that land in the task app you already use.