folk alternatives in 2026
Compare folk alternatives by what they actually do: Dex, Clay, Covve, Monica, and Connections by Uncommon Comforts.
Uncommon Comforts is published by the team behind Connections, whose products are compared here alongside other tools.
people who run things can compare folk with Dex, Clay, Covve, Monica, and Connections, a contact book made by the team that publishes this site. Each differs in where contacts live and how relationships are logged, so the right one matches the way people are kept. People compare folk on a few facts: its per-member price, its plans, and how its contacts are handled. What the other tools charge and what they do is covered below.
| Option | Own plan fee | Card payment fee |
|---|---|---|
| Dex | Premium, $12 a month, includes mobile, extension, web, and desktop [1]; Professional, $20 a month, includes all Premium features [1]; Team, $40 a user a month, billed monthly [1] | not published |
| Clay | Free to get started [2]; paid pricing not published | not published |
| Covve | Starter, $12 a user a month [3]; Business, $31 a user a month [3]; Team, $20 a user a month [3] or $199 a user a year [3]; native CRM integration add-on, $6 a user a month [3] | not published |
| Monica | Hosted plan is a paid subscription; price not published [4] | not published |
| Connections | Free, $0 [5]; Pro, $39.99 a month [5]; Business, $99.99 a month [5] | not published |
Why people who run things look past folk
People who run things compare folk's price and payment shape before choosing. folk bills by the number of members in the workspace, [6] with Standard at $30 a member a month, [6] Premium at $60 a member a month, [6] and Enterprise from $100 a member a month. [6] New workspaces get a two week free trial with all premium features and no credit card. [6] folk accepts credit cards as its only payment method. [6] Billing is calculated per workspace, and a member can belong to several workspaces. [6]
Dex: a contact book you can take along
Dex keeps contacts in a book you take on the go. Its Premium plan is $12 a month and includes mobile, browser extension, web, and desktop access. [1] Dex's Premium and Professional plans start with a 7-day free trial. [1]
Clay: an AI navigator for your network
Clay's Mesh product offers a Teams version that shows who knows whom and helps surface warm intros. [2]
Covve: a contact book with unlimited scanning
Covve is a contact book built around scanning. Its Starter plan for Scanner and Lead Capture is $12 a user a month. [3] Its Team plan is $199 a user a year for Scanner and Lead Capture. [3] Covve also offers a free trial of 14 days that can be cancelled at any time. [3]
Monica: a private record you can host yourself
Monica offers a hosted contact and relationship record that is a paid subscription. [4] Its code is free and always will be, and it can be run on the reader's own server without paying. [4] Support staff can only access an account with the explicit permission of the person who owns it, for a specific problem. [4] Contacts can be imported into Monica from vCard and CSV files. [4]
Connections: a contact book that logs your relationships
Connections is made by the team that publishes this site. It keeps a contact book of the people in your life, and the core contacts stay free on every plan. [5] Each contact is organized with folders, tags, five-star ratings, and follow-up flags. [5] Every meeting or conversation can be logged on a contact so you can see when you last spoke. [5] Contacts come in from Google, Apple, or a CSV file. [5] The app reads business cards, flyers, and documents, [5] and a pasted note or screenshot files the details to a contact. [5] Contacts are not capped on any plan, the free plan included. [5]
How to pick the right folk alternative
Start with how contacts get in. A book that scans the work around you fits when cards and documents cross a desk: Covve scans event badges, business cards, and LinkedIn QR codes, [3] and Connections reads business cards, flyers, and documents. [5] If capture is about notes and text, Connections files a pasted note or screenshot to a contact. [5]
How to pick the right folk alternative
Match the tool to the devices you use most, such as a phone, a browser, or a desktop computer. Dex's Premium plan bundles mobile, extension, web, and desktop access, [1] and Connections runs as a web app, with mobile versions for phones. [5] For teams, Clay's Mesh Teams version shows who knows whom, [2] and folk bills per member per workspace. [6]
How to pick the right folk alternative
Privacy and control narrow the choice. Monica can be run on your own server without paying, [4] and says its support staff only read an account with explicit permission. [4] Dex is supported by subscriptions rather than advertising and says it will never sell user data to third parties. [7] Covve's Starter plan for Scanner and Lead Capture is $12 a user a month. [3] Follow-up matters too: Connections logs every conversation so you see when you last spoke, [5] and gives a relationship follow-up digest outside the app. [5] Check what each candidate charges in your currency, since some quote in dollars and euros by location. [3] [6]
Frequently asked questions
Is folk free to use?
folk gives a new workspace a two week free trial with all premium features, and the trial needs no credit card. [6] After that, folk bills by the number of members, with Standard at $30 a member a month, [6] Premium at $60 a member a month, [6] and Enterprise from $100 a member a month. [6] For a tool that stays free beyond a trial, compare other options since folk's pricing is per member.
Which folk alternative works offline or on a phone?
Dex keeps contacts in a book you can take on the go, with mobile access on its paid plans. [1] Covve scans business cards, badges, and LinkedIn QR codes online or offline. [3] Connections runs as a web app, with mobile versions for phones. [5] If you need to scan cards with no internet connection, check whether each tool's scanning works offline and what its plan allows.
Can a folk alternative be run on its own server?
Monica can. Its code is free and always will be, and it can be run on the reader's own server without paying anything. [4] The hosted version is a paid subscription that funds the open-source project. [4] The other tools here do not state a self-hosting option, so check each candidate's terms if running your own server is required.
What does Dex's Premium plan cost? [[f:dex-37f8b6a5]]
Dex's Premium plan is $12 a month and includes mobile, extension, web, and desktop access. [1] Students get 50% off for a year. [1] Choose a tier by where relationships are kept and how many accounts need access.
Which folk alternative sends follow-ups or reminders?
Clay's Mesh product sets reminders for the moments that matter. [2] Dex's Premium and Professional plans start with a 7-day free trial. [1] Connections logs every meeting or conversation on a contact so you can see when you last spoke, and offers a relationship follow-up digest outside the app. [5] [5] For automatic follow-up that runs without an action from you, check each tool's reminder and digest settings.
Connections Free costs $0, and going over a limit stops the feature rather than billing you. [5] Connections Pro, the first paid plan, is $39.99 a month and adds premium features across every Connections product. [5]
Try ConnectionsSources
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