Every founder researching how to find investors eventually runs into the same ten or so names. They don't all do the same job — some are raw investor databases, some are fundraising CRMs, some are institutional data terminals priced for VCs rather than founders. This is a sourced comparison of all ten, plotted on one chart, so you can see where each one actually sits before picking one.
One disclosure up front: this is written by Brouky, and Brouky is on the list. We've sourced every figure below from each platform's own site or public pricing pages (linked where useful) rather than guessing, and we've been specific about what each tool doesn't do, not just what it does.
Where each platform lands
The chart plots two dimensions: how large each platform's investor database is, and whether it ranks those investors by predicted fit for your specific startup or hands you a raw, filterable list you still have to evaluate yourself. Most of the list clusters along the bottom — big databases (Crunchbase, PitchBook, Dealroom, Foundersuite) or curated ones (Visible.vc), all requiring manual evaluation. Brouky sits alone at the top: a mid-sized database, but the only one of the 10 that scores and ranks investors by fit rather than listing them.
The full comparison
| # | Platform | Investor coverage | Targeting | Outreach / CRM | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brouky | 36,000+ investors, 84,000+ startups, 100,000+ tracked rounds, 130+ countries | AI-ranked by fit — the only one of the 10 | Direct VC messaging + AI-drafted per-VC outreach + pipeline stages; no automated multi-touch sequences or deck-open tracking | Free directories + AI VC Finder + VC messaging; paid analytics for VCs/startups |
| 2 | OpenVC | ~20,000 VC funds + ~100,000 angels, family offices, PE firms | Filterable + AI-personalized outreach, not fit-ranked | Automated follow-ups, AI-personalized emails, intro finder, deck tracking | ~90% free forever; Premium $99/mo or $299/yr |
| 3 | Visible.vc | 19,000+ VC funds ("Visible Connect") | Filterable list, no fit ranking | Full CRM — pipelines, send-from-your-domain, per-slide deck analytics | Free Starter; $59-$249/mo paid tiers by investor-send limit |
| 4 | Foundersuite | 216,000+ investors (HNW, VCs, family offices, fund-of-funds, PE) | Filterable list, no fit ranking | Full CRM with pipeline, due-diligence tracking, reporting | $62-$134/mo, investor-count caps by tier |
| 5 | NFX Signal | 10,000+ investor profiles, sector-specific breakdowns | Warm-intro path finder — targets reachability, not fit | Basic fundraising process management, no send-tracking | 100% free |
| 6 | Gust | 85,000+ investment professionals, 75,000+ accredited investors, 2,000+ orgs in 157 countries | Passive — accelerators/angel groups find you, not the reverse | None — no founder-initiated outreach | $450-$3,500/yr (mostly formation/legal tooling, not investor search) |
| 7 | AngelList | 72,000+ investors on-platform (largely LPs, not an open search database) | Not applicable — deal/fund infrastructure, not discovery | SPVs, rolling funds — not outreach campaigns | Free to raise <$1M (US entities); SPV setup $9,950-$19,500 + 5% carry on platform LPs |
| 8 | Crunchbase | 100,000+ investors indexed, 4M+ private companies | Filterable, explicitly manual research required | None — explicitly no contact info or outreach tools | Limited free tier; Pro $49-99/mo, Business $199/mo |
| 9 | Dealroom | 2M+ companies, strongest European coverage of this list | Filterable + saved-search alerts, manual evaluation | None — research/monitoring tool, not a CRM | €12,500+/yr, 3-seat minimum, annual only |
| 10 | PitchBook | 6M+ companies, 4.7M+ professional profiles | Filterable, manual research, built for analysts not founders | None — enterprise data terminal, not a founder tool | $12,000-$70,000+/yr |
What each one is actually for
1. Brouky — AI-ranked matching + built-in outreach
The only platform on this list that scores and ranks investors for a specific startup rather than filtering or listing them. Submit a URL or description and the AI VC Finder analyzes historical investment relationships to rank fit, with the reasoning behind each match — and each investor on that ranked list can be messaged directly, with an AI-drafted note and pipeline stages (saved, contacted, responded, invested). What it doesn't have: automated multi-touch follow-up sequences or deck-open tracking. See the full Brouky vs OpenVC comparison for the detail.
2. OpenVC — free directory + outreach automation
The closest thing to an all-in-one free option: a large combined database, deck upload with AI review, and automated outreach (follow-ups, personalized emails, an intro finder) once you're past discovery. Premium removes the daily outreach cap.
3. Visible.vc — the CRM with reporting
Built as an investor-relationship hub first, fundraising tool second — it also handles post-raise LP/board reporting. The free Starter tier covers dashboards and two pipelines; paid tiers scale by how many investors you can email from your own domain.
4. Foundersuite — the biggest raw contact list
216,000+ contacts is the largest database in this comparison, spanning VCs down to individual angels and family offices. The CRM layer is solid but the database is the draw — useful when you need volume more than curation.
5. NFX Signal — free warm-intro finder
Smaller and free. Its differentiator is surfacing warm-introduction paths into specific investors rather than just listing contact details, which matters more than raw volume for a founder with even a thin existing network.
6. Gust — accelerator and angel-group pipeline
Different model entirely: founders build one profile, and it's the 2,000+ accelerators and angel groups on Gust who search and discover you, not the other way around. Most of its pricing is actually company-formation and legal tooling, not investor search.
7. AngelList — US fund and SPV infrastructure
Less a discovery tool than deal infrastructure — SPVs, rolling funds, fund administration. Free for raises under $1M, but built around US entities, and the fee structure (SPV setup fees, carry on platform LPs) makes it a different category of tool than the rest of this list.
8. Crunchbase — research before outreach
The default for company and funding-history research, with AI search and alerts added in recent updates. It's explicit about its own gap: no contact information and no outreach tools, so it's a research step before you take the list somewhere else to actually reach out.
9. Dealroom — European market depth
The most Europe-specific data platform here, with meaningfully deeper EU coverage than Crunchbase. Priced and built for institutional research teams (3-seat minimum, five-figure annual pricing), not individual founders running a raise.
10. PitchBook — the institutional terminal
The deepest data (6M+ companies) and the highest price ($12K-$70K+/yr), built for VC/PE firms, investment banks, and consultants doing deal research — not a tool a solo founder would reasonably buy for a single raise.
Which to actually use
If you're early and don't yet know who to target: start with a ranking tool (Brouky) or a free directory (OpenVC, NFX Signal) over a paid data terminal — you don't need PitchBook-level depth to build a first target list. Brouky's ranked shortlist comes with its own pipeline and direct messaging, so you can start reaching out without switching tools. Reach for a heavier CRM (Visible.vc, Foundersuite, or OpenVC's) specifically when you need automated multi-touch follow-ups or deck-open tracking across a large, high-volume list — see the target-list guide for how to sequence that.