The short answer
OpenVC is a fundraising platform with a free investor database, deck sharing, a CRM and deck submissions, plus Premium at $99/month or $299/year (checked 2026-11-09). Zalarma is an investor database for startup founders, focused on the US: 33,282 US startup-investor records searchable by stage, check size, sector, state and investor type, with access by request and a free match list.
- OpenVC is a free, global fundraising workspace; Zalarma is a US investor database focused on fit and warm paths.
- OpenVC Premium costs $99/month or $299/year; the free plan includes unlimited investor search and CRM (checked 2026-11-09).
- Zalarma covers 33,282 US startup-investor records, each with a public source (Zalarma investor database, as of 2026-11-01).
- Choose OpenVC for an all-in-one free workspace and deck submissions; choose Zalarma for regional US investors and a curated match list.
OpenVC and Zalarma are both built for founders, which makes this a closer comparison than most. OpenVC is a fundraising platform with a free investor database, deck sharing and analytics, a fundraising CRM and a way to submit your deck to investors who accept submissions, plus a paid Premium tier. Zalarma is an investor database focused on helping founders outside the usual circles find the angels, angel groups, micro-VCs, family offices and regional funds that fit their stage, sector and city, and plan a warm path to them.
OpenVC details below come from its official pricing, upgrade and investor-database pages, checked on 2026-11-09.
At a glance
| Zalarma | OpenVC | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it's for | Pre-seed to Series A founders, especially outside Silicon Valley and the big accelerator circuit, who need investors that fit their round. | Startup founders raising from early-stage investors, worldwide. OpenVC also offers products for investors (deal flow, an LP database and events). |
| Data coverage focus | US startup investors. 85,848 investor and firm records in total, including 33,282 US records tagged as startup investors (angels, VCs, micro-VCs, family offices, corporate VCs, accelerators), each citing its public source. (Zalarma investor database, as of 2026-11-01) | Early-stage tech investors across many countries. Its site advertises an investor database of 12,000+ VCs, angels and more (and 16k+ investors on its OpenVC Map), with filters for investor type (VC firms, corporate VCs, family offices, angel groups, solo angels, accelerators and more), country, stage and how each investor prefers to be contacted. |
| Pricing (as published, checked 2026-11-09) | No published price. Request access to the database, or ask for a free match list. | Free plan. Premium: $99/month, or $299/year billed annually (shown as $25/month). |
| Strengths | Filters built around investor fit, including state/metro and check size. Investor profiles with focus, stages and portfolio signals. Watchlists, alerts, CSV export. A "Get matched with 5 investors" service. | Generous free tier (unlimited investor search, deck sharing and analytics, CRM, team members, automatic follow-ups). Deck submissions to investors who accept them. A warm intro finder that connects Gmail and LinkedIn. Founder resources and perks. |
| Limits | US focus. No built-in deck hosting or fundraising CRM. CSV export is quota-limited; research briefs are on premium. | Deck submissions are capped per day (1 on free, 5 on Premium), and the free plan has 4 investor filters versus 10 on Premium. Its database describes itself as focused on early-stage tech investors. |
| Best for | A fit-first US target list, especially regional angels, angel groups and family offices, plus a plan for warm introductions. | Running a raise in one free workspace: find investors, share and track your deck, submit to investors who take submissions, and manage your pipeline. |
How they differ in practice
Platform vs database
OpenVC bundles several fundraising tools: investor search, deck sharing with analytics, a CRM and an outreach channel. If you want one workspace for your whole raise and a free price tag, that's a real advantage.
Zalarma concentrates on the list itself: which investors fit your round, why, and how to reach them warmly. You can export your list and run outreach from the tools you already use.
Geography and investor types
OpenVC covers investors across many countries. Zalarma goes deep on the US, with investors by state and metro so a founder in Columbus, Nashville or Salt Lake City starts with the people who already back local companies. 10,508 of the US startup investors in our database with a known state are based outside California, New York and Massachusetts, and 8,652 list pre-seed as a stage (Zalarma investor database, as of 2026-11-01). See angel investors and family offices for examples of what we cover.
Getting in front of investors
OpenVC lets you submit your deck to investors who accept submissions through the platform, and its intro finder scans your connected email and LinkedIn for people who could introduce you. Zalarma focuses on the context behind each investor (focus, stages, portfolio signals, public source) and offers a match service: 5 hand-picked investors for your round, each with a one-line why-they-fit. Our warm intro playbook shows how to earn introductions when you know nobody.
Pricing
OpenVC publishes its prices: free, or Premium at $99/month or $299/year. Zalarma doesn't publish a price; access is by request, and you can ask for a free match list first.
When to choose OpenVC instead
- You want a free, all-in-one workspace for investor search, deck sharing, analytics and pipeline tracking.
- You're raising outside the US or want investors from several countries.
- You like submitting decks directly to investors who accept them through a platform.
- You want deck feedback and founder perks bundled into one subscription.
When Zalarma fits better
- You're raising in the US and want investors by state or metro, including angel groups and family offices near you.
- You want each record's public source so you can verify it before reaching out.
- You'd rather start from 5 hand-picked investors than run searches yourself.
- Your plan is warm introductions rather than cold submissions.
How to decide
- Write one sentence about your round: stage, amount, sector, city.
- If you mostly need a free place to host your deck, track opens and manage a pipeline, start with OpenVC's free plan.
- If you mostly need to know which US investors fit that sentence, and how to reach them warmly, ask Zalarma for a free match list.
- Either way, verify each investor's current focus before you send a single email.
Using both
The tools overlap less than it looks. Some founders build and verify their target list with Zalarma, then use a CRM and deck-tracking tool, OpenVC's or their own, to run the process. Whatever you pick, keep the list tight, follow up on a schedule, and send monthly updates to everyone who said "not yet". For outreach copy, start with our cold email templates.
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenVC free?
OpenVC has a free plan that includes unlimited investor search, deck sharing, deck analytics and a CRM. Premium costs $99/month or $299/year, as listed on its pricing page on 2026-11-09.
What does OpenVC Premium add?
Per its upgrade page: more deck submissions per day (5 vs 1), 10 investor filters instead of 4, unlimited intro paths, slide-by-slide deck review, and founder perks and courses.
How is Zalarma different from OpenVC?
Zalarma focuses on US startup investors with filters by state and metro, check size, stage, sector and investor type, shows the public source behind every record, and offers a free match of 5 hand-picked investors for your round.
How much does Zalarma cost?
Zalarma doesn't publish a price. Access is by request, and you can ask for a free match list.