Hello Alice vs SBIR.gov in 2026

Q: How much does Raise Buddy cost?

The free plan opens programs up to $1,000. Plus is $14.99 a month and opens programs up to $5,000. Pro is $199 a month and opens every program, with the advisors' review and the AI assistant connection. The first three matches in each section open on every plan. No card payment fee is published in Raise Buddy's claims.

Hello Alice and SBIR.gov compared for small-business owners: what each tool is built for, the prices published, and what to check before you choose.

By CDings · 2026-10-17

CDings is published by the makers of Raise Buddy and ProductCost, which are compared here alongside other tools.

Raise Buddy lists grants, loans, credits, prizes and other funding you may be able to apply for from a description of your business, and its free plan opens programs up to $1,000. ^[1] ^[1] No approved facts about Hello Alice or SBIR.gov are available for this page, so it makes no claim about what either one does, costs or suits. Use the sections below to compare them against your own needs.

Option	Free entry	Paid prices	Card payment fee
Hello Alice	Not published	Not published	Not published
SBIR.gov	Not published	Not published	Not published
Raise Buddy	Free plan opens programs up to $1,000 ^[1]	Plus $14.99 a month (up to $5,000); Pro $199 a month (every program, advisors' review, AI connection) ^[1]	Not published

The short answer

Hello Alice and SBIR.gov are both named in your search, but no approved facts about what either one does for a small-business owner are available for this page. The page therefore does not say which needs each tool meets.

Raise Buddy takes your website or a short description of what you do and lists grants, loans, credits, prizes and other funding you may be able to apply for. ^[1] If you want a list of funding with a plain verdict on whether you can apply, that is what Raise Buddy's claims describe. ^[1]

What Hello Alice and SBIR.gov are built for

No approved facts for Hello Alice or SBIR.gov are available for this page, so this section does not describe what either tool does. Before you rely on either one, read its own pages for the services it offers, the people it is for, and the steps it asks you to take. Then set the description you find against your own needs in the sections below.

What Raise Buddy is built for

Raise Buddy is made by the team that publishes this site. You paste your website or describe what you do, and it lists grants, loans, credits, prizes and other funding you may be able to apply for. ^[1] Each match says whether you can apply, what one step stands in the way, or what is unclear, with the funder's own words. ^[1]

It can read a Schedule C, Form 1120, 1065 or 990, or an IRS letter, from a photo or PDF into a draft profile you confirm, and it does not keep your EIN (your federal employer identification number) or the papers. ^[1] It includes private foundations that take applications, read from their own Form 990-PF tax returns. ^[1]

Its program list includes the UK's Find a Grant, Australia's GrantConnect, France's Aides-territoires, Japan's jGrants, Spain's BDNS and Austria's Transparenzportal. ^[1] It covers 25 ways to raise money, such as angel investors, SBA loans and equity crowdfunding, each with its official rules and a first step. ^[1]

It keeps track of where each of your applications stands, but you apply on the funder's own site. ^[1]

Pricing and fees

No price for Hello Alice or SBIR.gov is published in the sources approved for this page, so check each tool's own pricing page before you commit.

Raise Buddy's free plan opens programs up to $1,000. ^[1] Plus is $14.99 a month and opens programs up to $5,000. ^[1] Pro is $199 a month and opens every program, with the advisors' review and the AI assistant connection. ^[1] The first three matches in each section open on every plan. ^[1] For a guest, each search list stops after the first 5. ^[1]

No card payment fee is published in Raise Buddy's claims, so that part is not published.

Getting started

No sign-up steps for Hello Alice or SBIR.gov are approved for this page, so this section does not describe how to start with either tool. Open each tool's own site, look for its sign-up and setup pages, and note what each asks for before you give any details.

For Raise Buddy, no install is needed for the web app. ^[1] The app works on the web and on phones. ^[1] You paste your website or describe what you do, and the list of funding follows. ^[1] If you have a tax form or IRS letter, you can add a photo or PDF and confirm the draft profile it produces. ^[1]

To connect an AI assistant, you add Raise Buddy's address to it. ^[1] On the Pro plan, you can connect an AI assistant such as Claude so it can search Raise Buddy, with ten tools to use. ^[1] Only English is shown for now, even though five more languages are planned. ^[1]

Things to check before you choose

What does each tool cost, and is the price published before you sign up?
Does the tool cover the kind of funding you want, such as grants, loans or prizes, and the country where you operate?
Does it say plainly whether your business can apply, and does it quote the funder?
Who writes the application, you or the tool, and where is it submitted?
Does it track deadlines and spending after you win, and does it connect to the accounting software you already use?
What happens to your tax documents and identifiers when you upload them?
Is the interface in the language you work in?

How to choose

If you want a list of funding matched to a description of your business, with a verdict on whether you can apply, Raise Buddy's claims describe that. ^[1] ^[1]

If you want options beyond grants, such as angel investors or SBA loans, Raise Buddy's claims say it covers 25 ways to raise money, each with its official rules and a first step. ^[1]

If you want funding sources from outside the US, Raise Buddy's claims list programs from several countries. ^[1]

If you want to try a free plan first, Raise Buddy has one that opens programs up to $1,000. ^[1]

If you are comparing Hello Alice or SBIR.gov, this page has no approved facts to match them to your needs, so use the questions above on each tool's own site.

Frequently asked questions

Is Hello Alice free?

The sources approved for this page do not state a price for Hello Alice, so this page cannot say whether it is free or what it costs. Check the tool's own pricing page before you sign up. Ask what you would pay each month, whether any card payment fee applies, and whether the tool charges anything once you receive funding. Write the answers down so you can compare them with the other tools you consider.

Is SBIR.gov free to use?

The sources approved for this page do not state a price for SBIR.gov, so this page cannot say whether it is free to use. Look on the official site for any stated cost before you start. Also check whether you need an account to search or apply, and what details that account asks for. Keep a note of what you find so you can compare it with the other tools you consider.

How much does Raise Buddy cost?

The free plan opens programs up to $1,000. ^[1] Plus is $14.99 a month and opens programs up to $5,000. ^[1] Pro is $199 a month and opens every program, with the advisors' review and the AI assistant connection. ^[1] The first three matches in each section open on every plan. ^[1] No card payment fee is published in Raise Buddy's claims.

Can Raise Buddy submit a grant application?

Raise Buddy keeps track of where each of your applications stands, but you apply on the funder's own site. ^[1] Each match says whether you can apply, what one step stands in the way, or what is unclear, with the funder's own words. ^[1] Check the funder's site for its own steps and deadlines before you submit anything.

Does Raise Buddy keep tax documents?

Raise Buddy can read a Schedule C, Form 1120, 1065 or 990, or an IRS letter, from a photo or PDF into a draft profile you confirm, and it does not keep your EIN or the papers. ^[1] You confirm the draft before it is used, so check each field against your own records. Ask any tool you consider how it handles uploaded tax documents before you send yours.

Free plan opens programs up to $1,000; Plus is $14.99 a month (up to $5,000); Pro is $199 a month (every program, advisors' review, AI connection). The first three matches in each section open on every plan. ^[1]

Try Raise Buddy

Sources

Raise Buddy's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher)