FirstDistro vs Gainsight
Gainsight costs $50,000+/year and takes 6 months to set up.
FirstDistro costs $79/month and takes 30 minutes.
Same health scores. Fraction of the price. No enterprise complexity.
Head-to-head comparison
| Feature | FirstDistro | Gainsight |
|---|---|---|
| Setup time | 30 minutes | 3-6 months |
| Price | $79/month | $50,000+/year |
| Health scores | ||
| Churn alerts | ||
| Contract | Monthly | Annual |
| Sales call required | No | Yes |
| Dedicated admin needed | No | Yes |
| Best for | SMB SaaS | Enterprise |
The real difference
Gainsight
- 6-month implementation project
- Dedicated admin required to maintain
- $50,000+ annual contract
- 47 features you'll never use
- Requires sales call to get pricing
- Built for Fortune 500 companies
FirstDistro
- 30-minute self-serve setup
- No admin needed—it just works
- $79/month, cancel anytime
- Core features that actually matter
- Start in 2 minutes, no sales call
- Built for growing SaaS companies
When to choose each
We're honest about when Gainsight makes sense
Choose Gainsight if:
- •You're a Fortune 500 company
- •You have a 10+ person CS team
- •Budget is not a constraint
- •You need complex playbook automation
- •You have 6+ months to implement
Choose FirstDistro if:
- •You're a SaaS with under 1,000 customers
- •You want health scores today, not next quarter
- •You don't have a dedicated CS admin
- •You need core features without bloat
- •Budget matters to your business
Let's do the math
Gainsight
Annual license: $50,000
Implementation: $20,000+
Time to first health score: 6 months
= $70,000+ before you see ROI
FirstDistro
Annual cost: $948 ($79 × 12)
Implementation: $0
Time to first health score: 30 minutes
= Health scores today for 1.3% of the cost
Save $69,000+/year
Same health scores. Same churn alerts. Tiny fraction of the price.
Frequently asked questions
Can FirstDistro really replace Gainsight?
For core health scoring and churn alerts—yes. If you need complex playbook automation, journey orchestration, or enterprise SSO, Gainsight might be better. But if you just want to know which customers are healthy and which need help, FirstDistro does that for 98% less.
What features does Gainsight have that FirstDistro doesn't?
Gainsight has playbook automation, journey orchestration, advanced integrations, and enterprise features like SSO and audit logs. FirstDistro focuses on the core: health scores, churn alerts, activity tracking, and Slack integration. Most SMB SaaS companies only need the core.
Is it hard to switch from Gainsight to FirstDistro?
No. FirstDistro is a separate system that tracks health independently. You can run both in parallel during a transition, or start fresh with FirstDistro. Most teams are live with FirstDistro in 30 minutes.
Why is FirstDistro so much cheaper?
Gainsight is built for enterprise sales motions with 6-month implementations and dedicated success managers. We built FirstDistro for self-serve: no sales team, no implementation consultants, no feature bloat. Those savings get passed to you.