GLG, AlphaSights, Guidepoint and Third Bridge all arrange expert calls with former executives and operators, and each also offers some mix of transcript libraries, surveys and research platforms. They differ in the formats they emphasise, how clients engage and how their libraries work. None publishes prices on its service pages, so compare them on your own brief.
The four firms compared in one table
Each firm runs expert calls as its core format, and each has added a transcript library and a client platform. Nextyn is included as one more row for reference.
| Firm | Focus | Regions | Formats | How pricing works |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GLG | Financial services, corporations, law firms and consulting firms | Global, with round the clock service teams | Expert calls and meetings, AI moderated calls, expert content library, surveys, events, advisers and placements | Not published. Clients start through a form, the myGLG platform or a service team |
| AlphaSights | Investors, consultancies and corporations | Global, with coverage from San Francisco to Shanghai | Calls, in person meetings, surveys, longer term advisory, AlphaNow content library | Not published. Clients request a trial |
| Guidepoint | Institutional investors, investment banks, consulting and corporations | Global, headquartered in New York | One to one calls, transcript library, AskGP, surveys, healthcare intelligence | Not published. Clients request a trial. Library transcripts can be bought singly or by subscription |
| Third Bridge | Private equity, public equity, credit, investment banking, consulting and corporates | Global, with offices on several continents | Expert calls, Library, surveys, advisors, data feeds | Not published. Third Bridge says its commercial model follows the products and research requirements involved |
| Nextyn | Investors, consulting firms and corporate strategy teams | New York, Singapore, Mumbai, Bangalore and Jakarta | Expert calls, moderated and AI moderated calls, panels, surveys, advisory boards, executive search | Upfront engagement agreements that project scopes draw down against |
None of the four firms lists prices on its service pages. Each invites you to request a trial or contact the team, so the last column describes how engagement works rather than amounts. Our guide to expert network pricing explains the main models and what drives cost.
How each firm describes itself
GLG presents itself as a platform for human expertise. It lists expert calls, an expert content library of transcripts, surveys, events and advisory placements such as deal advisors, board directors and expert witnesses. Its myGLG platform adds AI tools for moderating calls and summarising transcripts, while expert selection and recruiting stay with GLG's service teams.
AlphaSights describes itself as a knowledge on demand firm. It recruits experts project by project to match each client brief, and calls are the most common way it works. Its research platform covers scheduling, messaging and a private library, and AlphaNow holds company one pagers and investor led call transcripts.
Guidepoint describes itself as one trusted partner for expert insight. Guidepoint360 brings together its expert network, a Library of interview transcripts and AskGP, which answers questions in plain language with links back to the source passage. Guidepoint presents the Library as a step before live engagements.
Third Bridge describes itself as a provider of expert insights for investors and business leaders. Its expert calls are custom sourced, and it says it vets every expert before every call. Its Library combines a company database, on demand transcripts and expert commentary, with interviews led by investors and its sector analysts.
Which firm suits which need
Your own brief matters more than a general ranking. These pointers follow how each firm describes its offer.
- You want to read before you call: Guidepoint, Third Bridge and AlphaSights each describe a searchable library. Guidepoint adds AskGP, and Third Bridge pairs transcripts with a company database.
- You want one service team across many formats: GLG lists events, advisory placements and surveys alongside calls, and describes dedicated, industry aligned service teams.
- You want experts recruited fresh for each project: AlphaSights describes project by project recruitment, and Third Bridge describes individually recruited experts.
- You want AI tools in the workflow: GLG, Guidepoint and Third Bridge each describe AI moderation or summaries, and each offers access to transcripts through MCP or integrations.
Which expert network suits private equity, Third Bridge, GLG or Guidepoint
All three describe private equity coverage across the deal. GLG sets out origination, due diligence, the post close period and exit planning. Third Bridge covers sourcing, diligence and portfolio value creation. Guidepoint covers screening, diligence, competitive processes and returning to experts after close.
The descriptions are close, so the practical test is a live brief. Send the same question to two firms and compare how soon profiles arrive, how well the experts fit the seat you need and what record you receive. Our guide to expert networks for private equity sets out the points deal teams check, and our page for private equity teams shows how Nextyn works with them.
Alternatives to GLG or AlphaSights for private equity
Guidepoint and Third Bridge are the closest alternatives to GLG or AlphaSights, and each describes private equity services on its own site. Deal teams also look at regional networks, transcript libraries and specialist firms, depending on the sector and geography of the deal. We cover the options in our guides to GLG alternatives and AlphaSights alternatives.
Guidepoint vs Tegus comes down to calls versus a transcript library
Guidepoint describes itself as an expert network, with one to one calls as its core consultation and a Library of interview transcripts you can search before you book. Its site says some customers buy individual transcripts as needed, while others subscribe for broader access.
Tegus starts with the library. Its site says Tegus is now part of AlphaSense, a different company from AlphaSights, and describes its Expert Transcript Library as investor led call transcripts, searchable inside AlphaSense. The site also advertises expert call services.
So the question is where your team starts: a live conversation with an expert chosen for your question, or a search through calls that already took place. Our guide to expert call transcript libraries explains what to check.
TASA Group, MedQuest and JurisPro serve legal cases, not research
Guidepoint vs TASA Group, Guidepoint vs MedQuest and Guidepoint vs JurisPro are not like for like comparisons. On their own sites, all three present themselves as expert witness services for legal work, while Guidepoint is an expert network for research.
- TASA Group describes itself as a referral service. Its specialists talk through a case with legal and insurance professionals, then provide expert witnesses and consultants and help arrange first conversations.
- MedQuest serves personal injury and medical malpractice attorneys. Its services include medical record review, independent medical review and medical experts available for testimony.
- JurisPro presents itself as an expert witness directory. Experts list their own qualifications by subject area and state, and users browse the directory.
The difference is the job. A research expert network arranges a conversation that informs an investment or business decision, so screening centres on conflicts and confidential information. An expert witness is retained for a legal matter, so the focus falls on qualifications, independence and opinion evidence.
Some research networks cover both. GLG lists expert witness placements, and Nextyn offers expert witness and litigation support, for example finding an independent delay expert for a construction dispute.
Where Nextyn fits
Nextyn is an expert network and primary research firm, founded in Mumbai in 2018 and headquartered in Singapore since 2022. Our team works from New York, Singapore, Mumbai, Bangalore and Jakarta, and a dedicated US team serves active US mandates. Clients include private equity firms, venture capital investors, hedge funds, investment banks, consulting firms and corporate strategy teams, across twelve industry groups.
A research lead owns each brief from the first conversation to the transcript, and every call lands in Nextyn IQ, where your team can search it later. Engagements start with an upfront agreement that project scopes draw down against. Every expert is screened for conflicts and material non public information before booking, and where your policy and ours differ, the stricter applies. You can see how a deal team used us in commercial diligence on a retail chain inside exclusivity, and our approach is on the compliance page.
If you are running a comparison, include Nextyn in the same live test. Our guide to expert network compliance lists what to ask every firm.