Deckwise vs Affinity
Affinity is a deal-flow CRM with relationship intelligence: it captures your network and pipeline automatically from email and calendar data, and enriches company records. Deckwise is the evaluation pipeline that decides which candidates hold up: it sources candidates on your thesis, scores and ranks them on one basis, runs deep due diligence on the finalists, and verifies every material claim against public sources. Affinity manages your relationships and pipeline; Deckwise takes a candidate from first signal to a defensible committee decision.
For many funds the two live at different stages. Affinity tracks who you know and what is in the pipeline. Deckwise evaluates whether a given candidate's story is true and how it ranks, then takes it through due diligence. They are complementary, not substitutes.
Side by side
| Affinity | Deckwise | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Deal-flow CRM / relationship intelligence | End-to-end evaluation pipeline |
| Network & pipeline capture | Yes, its core strength | No |
| Sourcing on your thesis | Enrichment of known companies | Yes, finds candidates from public data |
| Scoring & shortlist | Pipeline stages, not a shared scoring basis | One common basis, weighted, versioned, ranked |
| Due diligence | No | Yes, memo and verdict on finalists |
| Claim verification | No | Every material claim vs public sources |
| Pricing | Public, per user/year | Public, evaluators included |
Where Affinity is strong
Affinity is a category leader for investors who need to manage relationships and deal flow. It automatically captures relationship data from emails, calendars and other sources to map a firm's network, tracks the pipeline, and enriches company records from many sources. For sourcing warm intros and managing a continuous pipeline, that automation is genuinely valuable, and Affinity is a de facto standard among VCs. It also publishes its pricing, which is rare in this market. If your job is managing relationships and pipeline, Affinity does that well, and Deckwise does not replace it.
What Deckwise does that Affinity does not
Affinity manages the relationship layer. Deckwise does the evaluation, across three pillars:
- Sourcing. It finds candidates matching your thesis from public data, not just enriches companies you already track.
- Selection. It scores every candidate on the same basis (is it true, is it a good company, is it a good fit), with versioned weights, into a ranked shortlist. Affinity has pipeline stages, not a shared, evidence-based scoring standard.
- Due diligence. It goes deep on finalists, into a sourced memo and a verdict for the committee.
- Verification, throughout. Every material claim is checked against public sources and returned as verified, qualified, contradicted or to-confirm. Affinity enriches and captures data; it does not confront a candidate's claims against public registers to confirm or contradict them.
Two practical differences also matter. Per-seat pricing: Affinity's published plans are priced per user per year (Essential, Scale, Advanced, with Enterprise by quote), and third-party sources note annual contract floors in the low five figures, so involving more reviewers costs more, exactly when a committee evaluates. Deckwise includes evaluators. Data licensing: enrichment data is licensed, so what you can redistribute is constrained; the verdicts and sourced reasoning Deckwise produces on your candidates are yours to use.
Using them together
A fund can run Affinity for pipeline and relationships, and Deckwise for the evidence-based evaluation, verification and due diligence on the candidates that pipeline surfaces. (See How to Choose a Startup Screening Tool.)
Frequently asked questions
Is Deckwise a CRM like Affinity? No. Affinity manages relationships and pipeline; Deckwise sources, scores, verifies and runs due diligence on candidates into a defensible shortlist. Different stages, and they work well together.
Does Deckwise only verify claims? No. Verification is one of four things it does. It sources on your thesis, scores and ranks, runs due diligence into a memo, and verifies throughout, end to end.
How is pricing different? Affinity publishes per-user/year pricing (with an Enterprise quote tier). Deckwise publishes pricing and includes evaluators rather than charging per seat, so involving your whole committee does not add cost.
Can I use both? Yes, and many funds do: Affinity for pipeline and network, Deckwise for evidence-based evaluation, verification and due diligence.
The bottom line
Affinity is an excellent deal-flow CRM and relationship-intelligence tool, a de facto standard for VCs managing pipeline. It is not built to source on a thesis, score a cohort on a common basis, run due diligence, or verify claims, which is the end-to-end evaluation Deckwise is built for. They sit at different stages: Affinity for relationships and pipeline, Deckwise for the evidence-based decision.
Related: Deckwise vs Harmonic · The Complete Guide to Startup Screening