Expert network comparisons
Instant Expert vs AlphaSights: who finds the right expert?
Choose AlphaSights when you need a team to find and qualify experts. Choose Instant Expert when you want to select people and send paid invitations yourself.
If you need someone to find the right experts and organize the research, start with AlphaSights. If you can describe the people you want to hear from and want to approach them yourself, Instant Expert offers people search and paid invitations.
Both can lead to a conversation. The difference is how much work you want the service to take on.
What AlphaSights takes off your plate
AlphaSights assigns an account team, searches for people who match your brief, qualifies their experience, and sends profiles for you to select. It can also provide interview moderators, transcripts, survey support, and commissioned research. Those services matter when finding the right person is only part of the job. AlphaSights services
For example, suppose you want to understand how clinics choose scheduling software. “Healthcare executive” is a broad starting point. You may need a practice manager who chose a system, someone who led its rollout, and a staff member who uses it every day. You can ask AlphaSights to find those different people and arrange the interviews. If nobody on your team can lead the conversations, its moderation service is another reason to consider it.
AlphaSights also publishes a formal process for expert vetting, agreements, training, and review. If your organization requires that kind of provider oversight, have your team assess those arrangements before choosing a service. AlphaSights compliance
What you do in Instant Expert
In Instant Expert, you search for people in plain English or import contacts you already have. You choose whom to approach, write the invitation, review each person's offer, and send a paid call or reply request. For a reply, the recipient chooses text or voice. Acceptance is up to the recipient. Instant Expert
For the clinic example, start with one specific request: “I'd like to ask a practice manager about the last scheduling-software purchase they helped make.” A 30-minute call gives you room to ask what triggered the purchase, who helped choose the product, and what happened during rollout. A title alone will not tell you whether someone did that work; read their experience before inviting them.
This route suits someone willing to choose the participants and lead the discussion. It does not include an AlphaSights-style account team to source and manage a research project.
Compare the actual scope and price
The AlphaSights service pages reviewed on September 26, 2026 did not publish a fixed call price. Ask for a quote that separates expert calls from any moderation, transcripts, surveys, or research support you need. Instant Expert shows the offer for each selected person before you send.
Send AlphaSights a brief if you need help finding and managing several kinds of experts. Search Instant Expert if you already know the experience you want to ask about and are ready to write a specific invitation.