BriefGate vs FileInvite: the alternative for agencies and developers
Introduction
FileInvite started as a general document-request tool but has repositioned around commercial and complex lending: its own site claims "500+ complex lenders" and "37,000+ five-star reviews", and the current feature set — PDF form-fill and multi-party signing, a borrower document portal, loan-origination and core-banking integrations, AI-powered email intake matching by loan and customer — is built for CRE, SBA, construction, and equipment-finance lenders processing dozens or hundreds of commercial loans a year. Pricing is annual and enterprise-shaped: $9,900/year for the Standard plan, custom quotes above that.
BriefGate is not a lending tool. It is a client-intake service for agencies, freelancers, and AI coding agents: you list what a project needs (files, text, structured answers, credentials), the client gets one branded portal link with no account to create, and the results come back as typed data through the dashboard, a REST API, or an MCP server your agent can call directly. A self-serve free plan exists, and there is no annual contract.
If you are choosing a document-collection tool for a web, design, or software project — not a loan file — this page lays out where each tool actually fits.
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | FileInvite | BriefGate |
|---|---|---|
| Primary interface | Human dashboard (web UI), built for loan officers and processors | Dashboard, plus MCP tools and REST API for an AI agent |
| Define a request | Web UI templates, some with conditional logic by loan amount or property type | define_intake() from your agent, or the dashboard |
| Client account needed | No — borrowers access a secure portal via link; optional password protection | No — the client opens a magic link |
| Item / field types | Files (PDF, Word, Excel, images), PDF form-fill, single and multi-party e-signature | 12 typed items, including structured JSON validated against a schema, colour list, and encrypted secret |
| Secrets / credential handling | Not offered as a field type on the pages we checked | Encrypted vault (libsodium, encrypted on the server), one-time reveal |
| Automated reminders | Yes — "Smart Notifications" at customizable intervals | Chase engine: preset cadences, custom interval on paid plans, quiet hours, reminder cap |
| Webhooks | Not documented on FileInvite's public pages; Zapier triggers/actions exist, described as available on "Pro and Team" plans in the help centre, which is not one of the two plans shown on the current pricing page | Yes (item.submitted, intake.completed, etc.) |
| Public API | "Enterprise-grade API", included only on the custom-quote Enterprise tier | REST API with OpenAPI spec, plus llms.txt for AI agent autodiscovery |
| MCP server | Not offered | Yes, first-party: npx @briefgate/mcp or hosted at https://mcp.briefgate.dev/mcp |
| Compliance certifications | SOC 2 Type II, MFA, document virus scanning | Not SOC 2 certified; see the security page for the current control set |
| Data residency | Hosted on AWS across multiple regions; a specific region is selectable only on Enterprise | Yes, fixed EU (netcup Germany + Cloudflare R2 EU) |
| Pricing | $9,900/year (Standard), custom quote (Enterprise) — no free tier, no monthly plan disclosed on the pricing page | Free tier (1 active intake, 10 items); paid from $29/month (Solo) |
Facts about FileInvite were checked on 18 September 2026 against FileInvite's pricing, features, security, and integrations pages, its public homepage, and its help-centre Zapier article. We note above where FileInvite's own pages disagree with each other (Zapier plan names vs. current pricing tiers); we did not guess which is current.
When to choose FileInvite
- You are a commercial lender — CRE, SBA, construction, or equipment finance — processing dozens or hundreds of loans a year
- You need native integrations with loan-origination systems, core banking platforms, Salesforce, or SharePoint, built and supported by FileInvite's own team
- You need built-in PDF form-fill and multi-party e-signature as part of the same product
- You need SOC 2 Type II certification, MFA, and document virus scanning out of the box, with an annual contract and dedicated support
- You already run FileInvite for loan processing and are expanding within that workflow
- An annual, enterprise-priced contract (from $9,900/year) fits your budget better than a monthly SaaS bill
FileInvite is a mature, well-reviewed product in its chosen niche. If your document-collection problem is a loan file, not a web or software project, it is worth evaluating on its own terms.
When to choose BriefGate
- Your project is a website, an app, a brand identity, or any deliverable outside lending, and you need files, copy, structured answers, or credentials from a client
- Your Claude Code or Cursor agent builds the deliverable and needs assets to keep going — it calls
define_intakeandget_intake_resultsdirectly, no human handoff or loan officer in the middle - You want a self-serve free plan to try the product, not a $9,900/year minimum commitment
- You need credential collection (passwords, API keys) with proper encryption — FileInvite does not list a secret/password field type on its feature pages
- You want a webhook-based, agent-loop-safe API with rate limits and
Retry-After, documented with an OpenAPI spec, not an enterprise-only "custom API" behind a sales conversation - EU data residency matters and you want it guaranteed by default, not as an Enterprise-only option on US-hosted infrastructure
The key difference is scope and audience: FileInvite optimized itself for one regulated, high-value vertical with an annual enterprise sales motion. BriefGate stayed general-purpose and self-serve, with the agent — not a loan processor — as the primary caller.
Migration from FileInvite
If you are coming from FileInvite for a non-lending use case, the concepts map like this:
| FileInvite | BriefGate |
|---|---|
| Invite | Intake |
| Checklist item / request | Item |
| Template | Template |
| Borrower portal | Client portal (magic link) |
| Smart Notification | Chase engine (automated) |
| Approve / reject | Auto-approve window, or a revision request (Solo plan or higher) |
| Connected workflow integration | Webhook |
FileInvite's PDF form-fill and multi-party e-signature have no BriefGate equivalent — if a signed document is part of what you collect, plan to keep a dedicated e-signature step outside BriefGate. Everything else — files, text answers, and credentials — maps onto BriefGate item types. Define each template once with POST /v1/templates and reuse it per client; the REST API has an OpenAPI spec at GET https://api.briefgate.dev/v1/openapi.json.
Sources
- Pricing: https://fileinvite.com/pricing/
- Features: https://fileinvite.com/features/
- Homepage and product claims: https://fileinvite.com/
- Security and compliance: https://fileinvite.com/security/
- Integrations: https://fileinvite.com/integrations/
- Zapier integration and plan availability: https://help.fileinvite.com/connect-using-zapier