Best Dex alternatives.
An honest roundup from the people who make one of the options below, so grade our first pick on a curve. The right answer depends on who you’re staying in touch with. Updated September 2026.
The short list.
Clay (now Mesh) is the closest like-for-like Dex swap for networking. Wavepal is the pick when the people you’re losing touch with are friends and family, not contacts. Self-hosted Monica is the free, own-your-server option. All three are below, with honest notes on when each fits.
Why people look for a Dex alternative.
Dex is a genuinely good networking CRM, so the search usually starts with fit, not failure: the price feels like a work expense ($12 a month billed annually as of July 2026); the LinkedIn-and-pipeline energy feels wrong for personal relationships; or automated follow-ups start making outreach feel hollow.
What to look for in a Dex alternative.
Three questions sort the field fast. Who is this actually for: a professional network or the people you love? Where does the data come from: synced in automatically, or written down on purpose? And how do the reminders feel when you miss one: like a lost deal, or like nothing at all?
Recommended options.
Wavepal, for friends and family.
Our tool, so calibrate accordingly. Wavepal keeps Dex’s core loop, per-person cadences, birthdays, and notes, and drops the networking machinery. Nothing syncs in, nudges wait patiently instead of nagging, and it’s free up to 10 people, then $5 a month billed annually. The full case: Wavepal vs Dex.
Clay (now Mesh), for networking with more polish.
The closest like-for-like swap. Clay pulls contacts, calendar, email, LinkedIn, X, and even iMessage and WhatsApp activity into one timeline, wraps it in the best-designed app in the category, and costs slightly less on annual billing ($120 a year as of September 2026). The free plan requires a credit card. See Dex vs Clay.
Monica, for open-source self-hosting.
A beloved open-source personal CRM for friends and family. Free if you host it yourself, $9 a month hosted as of July 2026, with a document-your-life breadth: journal, gifts, activity logs. Volunteer-paced development and no official mobile app are the tradeoffs. See Wavepal vs Monica.
Switching to Wavepal, honestly.
You keep
Keep-in-touch reminders with a cadence per person
Birthdays and important dates
Notes, tags, and the little details on each person’s page
You lose
LinkedIn sync and auto-updating job titles
Email and calendar integration, AI meeting briefs, mail merge
Native Android and desktop apps (Wavepal is web, plus an iPhone app in beta)
You gain
Guilt-free nudges that wait instead of nagging
Privacy by architecture: nothing syncs in, ever
One simple plan: free up to 10 people, then $5 a month billed annually
If the “you lose” column made you wince, stay on Dex. Those features are the point of Dex, and it does them well. Wavepal is for the people who were never in your pipeline. For the full side-by-side, read Wavepal vs Dex.
Common questions.
- What is the best Dex alternative overall?
- For professional networking, Clay is the closest swap. For friends and family, Wavepal. For self-hosters, Monica. The category splits by audience before it splits by features.
- What is the best free Dex alternative?
- Self-hosted Monica is fully free if you run the server. Wavepal is free up to 10 people with no card. Clay’s free plan covers 1,000 contacts as of July 2026, but requires a credit card and auto-starts a paid trial.
- What is the best Dex alternative for keeping up with friends, not networking?
- That’s the job Wavepal was built for: guilt-free nudges on a per-person rhythm, nothing syncs in, and no pipeline energy anywhere.
- Can I import my Dex contacts?
- Into Wavepal, no; there’s no importer today. Wavepal starts small on purpose: add the handful of people you actually want to stay close to, and grow from there. Clay and Monica both offer imports.
- Is any of these a full Dex replacement?
- For professional networking, Clay comes closest. Wavepal isn’t trying to replace Dex. It does a different job: keeping you close to friends and family.
Be the friend who remembers.
Add your first few people in minutes. Wavepal takes it from there.
Free up to 10 people. No card. Nothing for your friends to install.