Connections Business Directory vs Sift

Connections Business Directory is a self-hosted WordPress plugin for building address books, staff directories, business directories, and link directories. The maker says it can manage hundreds of thousands of entries. Listings support repeatable addresses, phone numbers, email, instant messaging, social media, links, dates, custom fields, search, and filters. Basic templates display entries, while premium templates change front-end presentation. Free and premium extensions add CSV import, visitor submission forms, and custom ordering. The Form extension sends submissions to moderation and can notify administrators. The Contact extension lets visitors email listings without exposing their addresses, with logging and anti-spam measures. Administrators can restrict viewing to logged-in users and mark entries public, private, or unlisted. Pro Pack connectors link the plugin with Frontend File Manager and Gravity Forms. The free plugin costs nothing, while paid bundles include one-time options such as Extension Pro Pack at 29.99 USD and Pro Pack — Unlimited Sites at 299.99 USD.

Sift helps organizations find colleagues, map reporting relationships, and understand how work is distributed. Its searchable people directory filters profile data by skills, roles, and other information. An automatically updated org chart uses company people data to show formal and informal reporting lines. Profiles can include skills, experience, projects, interests, pronouns, name pronunciation, and languages. Sift aggregates employee data from multiple systems into one profile, using prebuilt identity connectors and SFTP workflows. Listed integrations include Workday, UKG, Microsoft Entra ID, Google Workspace, Okta, Ping Identity, CSV files, Microsoft Teams, and Slack. Access is available in browsers, Windows and Mac desktop downloads, and iOS and Android apps, as well as through an API. Sift says customer data is encrypted at rest and in transit, segmented between customers, and regularly tested by third parties for penetration vulnerabilities. It also says it completed a SOC 2 Type 2 audit and is GDPR compliant. Plans start at $150 a month, billed annually, for 20 users; a 14-day trial provides access to Sift Complete. Sift does not offer native messaging or chat.