Dex vs Clay (Mesh)
The two best-known personal CRMs, compared on the things that decide it: price, LinkedIn, enrichment, and whether the tool actually makes you follow up.
Short version: Dex is the LinkedIn-first option, Mesh (the product Clay became) is the self-updating address book, and they are priced close enough that the choice comes down to which half of the job you care about. We also make a personal CRM, so this page ends with where ours fits. Everything below was checked on their own sites in October 2026.
| Dex | Clay / Mesh | A.R.O | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | None. 7-day trial, card required | Yes, up to 1,000 contacts | Yes, up to 50 contacts, no card |
| Entry price | $12/mo billed annually, $20 month-to-month | Pro around $10-20/mo | $4.99/mo (own AI key), $14.99/mo with AI |
| Live sync, 2,500 connections (9,000 on Professional) | Imports and keeps contacts current | Import the LinkedIn export file, deduped on arrival | |
| Enrichment | Research credits, job-change tracking | Automatic: job changes, location, news mentions | None |
| Keep-in-touch cadence | Yes | Reconnect reminders | Yes, per person, with a who's-going-cold view |
| Calendar | Email and calendar integrations | Connected for context | Two-way sync, events linked to the contact |
| Meeting prep | Contact record and notes | Profile and life updates | Today's meetings with last touchpoints and open loops |
| Reminders in your task app | In-app and email | In-app | Google Tasks, Microsoft To Do, Apple Reminders |
| Mobile | Native iOS and Android | Native app | Installable web app |
| Best at | Keeping a LinkedIn-heavy network current | A beautiful address book that updates itself | Actually following up |
Pick by what you want it to do
Your network lives on LinkedIn.
- Live LinkedIn sync up to 2,500 or 9,000 connections
- Job-change tracking and research credits
- Native mobile and desktop apps
- No free plan; 7-day trial with a card
You want the address book to maintain itself.
- Free up to 1,000 contacts
- Automatic enrichment and life updates
- Pulls people in from everywhere
- Knowing is the strength; nudging is not
You keep meaning to follow up and don't.
- Cadence per person and a who's-going-cold list
- Meeting prep before the call
- Reminders pushed into your real task app
- Free for 50 contacts, $4.99 paid; no enrichment
Questions
Yes. Clay rebranded to Mesh and clay.earth now redirects to me.sh. People still search for it as Clay, so both names refer to the same product.
They optimize for different things. Dex is built around LinkedIn: live sync of your connections and nudges to reconnect, which suits people whose network genuinely lives there. Mesh is built around the contact record: it gathers your people from everywhere and keeps them enriched with job changes and news. If you want a self-updating directory, Mesh. If you want LinkedIn-driven reconnection, Dex.
As of October 2026: Dex is $12 a month billed annually ($144/year) or $20 month-to-month, with a 7-day trial that takes a card. Mesh has a free tier up to 1,000 contacts, with Pro listed around $10 a month promotional (regular closer to $20) and Team at $40 per seat.
A.R.O is the third option on this page because it is our product, so take the recommendation with that in mind. It is the cheapest of the three on paid plans, it is the only one that pushes reminders into Google Tasks, Microsoft To Do or Apple Reminders, and it leads with meeting prep rather than the contact record. It has no live LinkedIn sync and no enrichment, which is exactly why someone would pick Dex or Mesh instead.
Longer write-ups: A.R.O vs Dex · A.R.O vs Clay (Mesh) · vs Monica · vs folk
Try the third option free
50 contacts, no card, no clock. If it isn't for you, Dex and Mesh are both good products.