Free
Real free tier
Hub, 3 AI drafts a day, Action Queue, CSV import, and CRM. Competitors are trial-only or paid from day one.
Not an automation bot · honest comparison
CareerHound vs LinkedHelper vs Dux-Soup vs Expandi
CareerHound builds the strongest case you can prove and helps it reach a real person, and it never automates LinkedIn. This table exists because people confuse it with the automation tools below. The difference is risk: they hold your login and click send from a script; CareerHound never logs in, and every message is yours to review and send. See Trust.
Feature matrix
Numbers from public competitor pricing and product pages. Scroll sideways on small screens.
| Capability | CareerHound | LinkedHelper | Dux-Soup | Expandi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing & access | ||||
| Starting price | $0 Free · Pro $29/mo | $15-45/mo | $14-65/mo | $99/mo |
| Free tier with real features | ✓ 3 drafts a day + CRM | - 14-day trial only | - Trial / paid | - No free tier |
| License / source | BSL 1.1 open-source core | Closed source | Closed source | Closed source |
| Architecture | ||||
| Where it runs | Desktop Hub (local copilot) | Desktop app | Chrome extension | Cloud SaaS |
| Logs into LinkedIn for you | - Never | Yes (session / desktop) | Yes (extension) | Yes (cloud account) |
| Local-first data | ✓ On your machine | Desktop local | Cloud-dependent | - Cloud storage |
| Data in | Official CSV export + paste | Live LinkedIn session | Live LinkedIn session | Cloud campaigns |
| Actions out | Copy + open link (you send) | App sends | Extension sends | Cloud sends |
| AI & outreach control | ||||
| AI personalization | True AI from profile text you provide | Spintax + capped AI credits | Limited AI | Cloud AI / templates |
| Local AI (Ollama) | ✓ 3 a day on Free | - | - | - |
| Human-in-loop (you click Send) | ✓ Required | Optional / silent send | Campaign send | Campaign send |
| Role analysis | ✓ Pro | - | - | - |
| CRM + pipeline | ✓ Included | Basic campaign stats | Basic stats | Campaign dashboards |
| CRM export (HubSpot / Salesforce / Pipedrive) | ✓ Included on Pro | Often paid / add-on path | Integrations vary | Integrations / paid plans |
Competitor pricing and capabilities change. Verify on their sites before buying. Not affiliated with LinkedIn, LinkedHelper, Dux-Soup, or Expandi.
Ten reasons teams pick us
The gaps we designed for. Pair with the honest limits below.
Free
Local AI via Ollama
3 drafts a day on Free via Ollama or BYO after trial. No hosted credit meter.
Free
You click Send
Copy plus Open profile on every draft. Human-in-loop by default, not silent send.
Trust
Never logs into LinkedIn
No password, no session file, no extension that clicks for you. Trust.
BSL
BSL 1.1 open-source core
Inspect the core. Closed-source desktop and cloud tools leave you trusting a black box.
Free
Three AI providers
Claude, Ollama, and Groq. Switch when one is down or when you want fully local drafts.
Free
Official CSV import
LinkedIn's own data export. Connections, invitations, messages. Paste-a-profile when you need one more.
Pro
CRM export included
HubSpot, Salesforce, and Pipedrive-friendly export on Pro. Not a separate paid add-on tax.
Pro
Role analysis
Job-description-aware bullets plus study guides. Outreach tools rarely ship this.
Free
No extension fingerprint
CareerHound never logs into LinkedIn. Drafts and copy-to-clipboard only. You click send in your own browser.
Where we are not ahead
Buy for fit, not hype. These are real tradeoffs.
You do the sending
We will not fire invites while you sleep. If you want unattended bulk send, that is a different (and riskier) product category. We do not ship it.
Desktop Hub
The copilot runs on your machine. Close the laptop and the Hub is not open. There is no always-on cloud farm.
Newer product
We do not invent Capterra stars or "300,000+ users." LinkedHelper has more years of public reviews. Judge us on the Free tier and the Hub you can run today.
Try the free path first
Install locally, import a CSV, copy a draft, then decide if Pro is worth it.