Founder matching · Pricing guide
YC Co-Founder Matching costs no money. What it costs is time: up to a week of approval, a cap of 15 invitations a week, and 2 to 4 weeks of close work after a match. The one paid rival in this guide is CoFoundersLab at $29 a month, with a 30-day trial. [1] [2] [5]
Add Omnitwine as a preferred source on Google| Plan | Per month (monthly) | Per month (annual) | What you get | Is it worth it? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YC Co-Founder Matching | Free | Free | Profile, 15 invitations a week, preference filters, Startup School course (about 7 weeks), meetups in two cities | Yes, for a founder who can wait up to a week for approval and spend 2 to 4 weeks on a match[1] [2] [3] |
| CoFoundersLab Premium | $29 | Not listed | “Unlimited Search,” a 30-day free trial, “Cancel Anytime” | Only after you’ve used the free route and found a gap it leaves[5] |
| CoffeeSpace | Free for profile, matching and chat | Free for profile, matching and chat | Profile, matching and chat at no cost; recruiter tools priced separately | Yes, as a second free place to look; check the recruiter tool price before you buy[6] |
| Omnitwine | Free | Free | AI connects you with members on the other side who fit what you need, each with a reason; member directory for signed-in members, listing every member's name, email and LinkedIn; no cut | Yes for any match, co-founders included, from a co-founder to a job or a hire; both people decide whether to connect[7] [8] [9] |
For most founders, yes. The free route gives you a profile, filters and 15 invitations a week, which is what a co-founder search depends on. Paid CoFoundersLab offers more search, but its page doesn’t say how that differs from YC’s free search. [1] [5]
Test the free route for two weeks before you pay for anything. Send 30 invitations, which is your two-week allowance, and count the replies. If several reply, the channel works for you. If you run out of people who fit your filters before the cap, the problem is the pool, and a 30-day paid trial is worth trying. [2]
YC calls matching “a free product we run to help people find co-founders,” and the Startup School FAQ calls Startup School “completely free.” You pay nothing to join. What you pay is time: approval can take up to a week, invitations are capped at 15 a week, and YC recommends 2 to 4 weeks of close work before you decide. [1] [2]
YC’s standard investment of $125,000 for 7% plus a $375,000 uncapped SAFE applies to accepted companies. It is funding, not a fee for matching, so it doesn’t add to what you pay here. [4]
Fifteen invitations a week is the most you can send. That is 30 in two weeks and 60 in four. Sixty invitations is the most a month of outreach can reach, so spend them on people you would actually work with. [2]
CoFoundersLab costs $29 a month and lists a 30-day trial, “Unlimited Search” and “Cancel Anytime.” Its annual price is not listed. Pay for it only if the free route has run out of candidates you want to meet, and set a reminder to cancel before the trial ends. [5]
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