FRONT OF MIND vs Dex: Which One Moves a Deal Today?
FRONT OF MIND vs Dex: an honest feature table, October 2026 pricing, and which one tells a deal maker who to text today, why, and what to say.
By Brett Kaufman. 8 years using relationships to build sales pipelines, from political fundraising to a 7 figure business to running matchmaking for two communities. Over 1,000 introductions facilitated.
Pick Dex if you want one organized home for everyone you know, synced from email, calendar, LinkedIn and messaging, with keep in touch reminders. Pick FRONT OF MIND if you are a deal maker who wants to open your phone each morning to who to text today, why today, and a draft in your own voice.
That is the short version of FRONT OF MIND vs Dex. The rest of this page is the long one, with an honest table and October 2026 pricing.
What does Dex do well?
Full disclosure: I built FRONT OF MIND. So here is where Dex is strong, taken from its own site as of October 2026.
- It pulls everything together. Dex calls itself “a personal CRM built for people, not sales pipelines.” It says it consolidates “contacts from 15+ sources and merge duplicates,” including email, calendar, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, iMessage, Facebook, Instagram, phone contacts and CSV. (Dex)
- A real timeline. Dex shows “a unified timeline of meetings, calls, emails, and messages” for each contact, and “shows you where you left off.”
- Remember the details. Notes, custom fields, tags and groups, plus space for how you met, family, important dates, gift ideas and event history.
- Reminders. Keep in touch reminders and birthday notifications.
- Research briefings. Dex Research “builds a briefing on a contact: background, current role, and what’s changed since you last talked.” Premium includes 10 research credits a month. (Dex pricing)
- Apps and power tools. Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows and a Chrome extension. Professional adds mail merge, voice mode, Outlook, notetaker integrations, and API and Zapier access. Team adds CRM integrations and SAML SSO.
If you want one clean, deep record of everyone you know, Dex does that well.
How do FRONT OF MIND and Dex compare, feature by feature?
Dex facts below are from getdex.com and getdex.com/pricing, checked October 28, 2026.
| Feature | Dex | FRONT OF MIND |
|---|---|---|
| Import contacts | Yes (15+ sources) | Yes (iPhone, Google, Outlook, LinkedIn export, vCard, CSV; duplicates merged) |
| Notes on a contact | Yes | Yes |
| Reminders or follow up dates | Yes | Yes |
| Last email date | Yes (timeline) | Yes (from Gmail) |
| Last meeting date | Yes (timeline) | Yes (from Google Calendar), plus next meeting |
| How you know them | Yes (a how you met field) | Yes, built only from what is on record |
| Native mobile app | Yes (iOS and Android) | No. Runs in the phone’s browser, saves to home screen |
| Business card or badge scan | Not listed on their site | Yes |
| Price | No free plan; from $12 a month billed annually | Free for 25 contacts and 1 intro; $29 a month |
| Who to text today, with a one line reason | Not listed on their site | Yes |
| What contacts posted this week, confirmed and dated | Not listed on their site (Dex offers contact research briefings) | Yes |
| Drafts in your own texting voice | Not listed on their site | Yes, 40 words max, nothing sends without your tap |
| Intros with dated proof on both sides | Not listed on their site | Yes |
| Weekly report from text to deal | Not listed on their site | Yes |
| Mail merge | Yes (Professional) | No |
| CRM integrations | Yes (Team) | No |
What does FRONT OF MIND do that Dex doesn’t?
Dex gives you a deep record and reminds you to keep in touch. FRONT OF MIND decides who matters this morning and hands you the text. Here is what that means in plain words.
- Research on what your contacts posted this week. It reads what people in your network posted on LinkedIn, X, Instagram and in the news. A post is only shown when it is confirmed to be that person, and every item is dated. You will not congratulate the wrong banker.
- Drafts in your own texting voice. Record your voice once in Settings. Every draft is a short text, 40 words max, that sounds like you. It learns from your edits. Nothing sends without your tap.
- Intros with dated proof on both sides. Each week it shows intros worth making, with a dated reason on each side, so both people know why now.
- A weekly report. Messages sent, replies, meetings booked, deals, and the best story of the week. You can trace the post, the text, the reply, the meeting and the deal.
- Event capture. Say a name and a sentence out loud, snap a business card or badge, scan a LinkedIn, Instagram or badge QR code, or take a selfie together. It is filed under the event, with a follow up text that includes your booking link.
- Ask your network a question. Ask Liala “who do I know that is an M&A advisor” or “who lives in Miami” and get the right people.
What it does not have, so you know: no native iPhone app yet, no shared team pipelines, no email sequences or mail merge, no CRM integrations, and no digital business card of your own.
Where is the money in a list of who to text today?
The money is in timing. A reminder tells you someone is due. A reason tells you what to say and why it matters this week.
Who to text today and why. Say a broker you met at a conference last spring just posted a new sell side listing. A reminder app might nudge you because 90 days passed. FRONT OF MIND puts him at the top of your 10 minutes because he posted, with the post dated and a draft ready. He is building a buyer list right now. The buyers he hears from this week get the call.
The intro that pays you. Say an estate attorney you know posted that she is helping a founder plan an exit, and a family office contact just told you he wants direct deals in that space. That is an intro with a dated reason on both sides. Make it this week and you are the person both of them remember when the deal closes, and the one they come back to with the next one.
The deal that finds you because you were recent. Brokers, bankers, lawyers and CPAs run long cycles with short memories. When an off market deal crosses their desk, they call whoever they heard from last. Ten minutes a day keeps that person you.
I learned this in political fundraising. I raised $3M by logging what mattered to each donor and using it in every follow up. It worked, and it took hours a week by hand. FRONT OF MIND is that system, done for you in 10 minutes.
How much do Dex and FRONT OF MIND cost?
As of October 2026, from the Dex pricing page:
Dex
- Premium: $12 a month billed annually, $16 quarterly, $20 monthly
- Professional: $20 a month billed annually, $27 quarterly, $34 monthly
- Team: $40 per user a month, billed monthly
- 6 day free trial on Premium and Professional, credit card required. No free plan
FRONT OF MIND
- Free for your first 25 contacts and 1 intro
- $29 a month
- Concierge setup: $500 one time
- If FRONT OF MIND doesn’t surface people in your network worth reaching out to within 72 hours, we’ll refund you. No questions asked.
On an annual plan, Dex Premium costs less. Prices change, so check each pricing page before you buy.
How would I choose between FRONT OF MIND and Dex?
Pick Dex if you want a deep contact database with timelines, reminders, research briefings, native apps, mail merge or an API.
Pick FRONT OF MIND if you run acquisitions, search for a business, or broker deals, and you want to start every day knowing who to text, why today, and what to say.
You can also use both: Dex as the record, FRONT OF MIND as the 10 minutes that turns it into deals. For more, see Dex alternative for investors and acquirers, Dex vs folk for M&A deal makers, and every comparison at personal CRM comparisons.
See who comes up first in your own network
Watch the demo to see a real morning of who to text and why. Start free with your first 25 contacts and see who comes up first.