comparisons · frontrun vs nfx signal
frontrun vs NFX Signal
NFX Signal helps founders find the warmest path to a VC. Frontrun helps VCs find the founder before anyone's asking for an intro.
NFX Signal is a free founder-VC intro network and fundraising CRM - maps warm intro paths between founders and a large directory of investors, free, by connecting your Gmail. Frontrun is a different bet: it watches what 1,000+ venture investors do on X (who they follow) and flags companies months before a round, at $99/mo.
| NFX Signal | Frontrun | |
|---|---|---|
| Signal type | Intro-path graph built from founders' and investors' email connections (directory + warm paths) | Investor follow-graph (pre-round, behavioral) that flags net-new companies |
| Earliest you hear about a company | When a founder is actively fundraising and seeking intros | Before any announcement, often at <100 followers |
| Price | Free | $99/mo, 7-day trial |
| Best for | Founders finding and reaching the right investors | Investors sourcing companies before they raise |
| Agent access | None documented (web app) | API + MCP server (npx) |
Different sides of the table, and complementary. NFX Signal is built for founders raising; Frontrun is built for investors sourcing. Free and useful - just not a pre-round sourcing feed.
the receipts
Frontrun's flags carry dated provenance, so "we saw it early" is checkable per company:
- @techdollarhq - flagged at 13 followers, $3M pre-seed 123 days later
- @orthogonal_sh - flagged 184 days before a $4.3M round led by Pantera
- @rialto_xyz - flagged at 18 followers, 26 days before its Robinhood partner announcement