12inf vs OpenVC

Short answer: OpenVC is a large, mostly free investor database. You set the filters, then submit decks or email investors from its CRM. 12inf starts from your website and deck, writes a brief, and returns a shorter pre-seed/seed shortlist with a stated reason and sources for each investor. Choose OpenVC for free breadth and built-in outreach. Choose 12inf for researched fit.

Disclosure: 12inf wrote this page. OpenVC facts come from OpenVC's own site and help docs, checked 11 October 2026.

At a glance

How each one finds investors

OpenVC is database-first. You describe your company as filters: verticals, the country where you are incorporated, a company stage (idea, prototype, early revenue, and so on) and your total round size. OpenVC then ranks investors by fit to those filters. Premium adds filters for check size, lead preference, investor type, HQ, "solicitation" (investors who have received fewer decks that week) and verified status. The method works well when you already know what a good investor looks like for your company.

12inf is brief-first. You give 12inf your website, and optionally your deck. It writes a short brief: what you do, who it is for, your industry, and what kind of investor to look for. It then searches for candidate funds and angels and assesses each against your stage, sector, geography and round. Each profile carries a match score and the reasons behind it, so you can disagree with a match before you contact anyone. The method works well when you are not yet sure who your investors are, or you want to see the reasoning.

Neither approach replaces checking an investor's own site. A filter match can be stale, and a reason is only as good as its source.

Evidence and provenance

OpenVC is open about where its records come from. Its help docs say that verified investors "have signed up to OpenVC themselves and provided first-hand data". Non-verified investors were assembled by OpenVC from public sources. That distinction matters, but filtering by it is a Premium feature.

12inf says its sources are public profiles, investment theses and portfolio references. It asks you to "check the investor's focus, sources and relevant portfolio where available" before reaching out. Its methodology sets out how fit is judged: stage, sector, geography, cheque and investor type are checked separately.

Contacts and outreach

This is OpenVC's clear advantage. Many investors on OpenVC accept decks through the platform. The free plan includes a CRM, deck analytics and automatic follow-ups. Premium raises the limit to 5 investors a day contacted directly, and adds an intro finder that scans your network.

12inf does not send anything for you. Its homepage puts it plainly: "You do the outreach." Paid access unlocks contact details where they exist.

Price

OpenVC's core is free, and Premium costs $99/month or $299/year. 12inf gives you the brief and a three-profile preview without signing in. Full profiles need paid access. See current pricing.

When to choose which

Choose OpenVC if you:

• want the largest free pool and are comfortable setting filters yourself;
• want to send decks to investors who accept inbound through the platform;
• need a free CRM, deck analytics and follow-ups;
• are raising beyond seed (OpenVC covers stages up to pre-IPO).

Choose 12inf if you:

• are raising pre-seed or seed and are unsure which investors fit;
• want a short list with a stated reason and sources for each name;
• would rather review a few dozen reasoned profiles than filter thousands;
• will run outreach in your own inbox or CRM.

Use both if you want 12inf to define and justify your target list, then OpenVC to reach the investors on it who accept decks there.

FAQ

Sources

Checked 11 October 2026.

• OpenVC: home, pricing, Filter the right investors
• 12inf: home, pricing, try, methodology