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Alliance of Chief Executives vs Vistage

Alliance of Chief Executives is a in-person facilitated forum with paid facilitator. Vistage is a hybrid facilitated forum with paid facilitator. This page compares cost, requirements, format, and stage fit using verified public data. Alliance of Chief Executives: Bay Area CEOs who want confidential, facilitated strategic peer forums with industry-diverse operators. Vistage: CEOs and owners who want a Chair-facilitated confidential peer group with coaching, across a wide range of company sizes.

Side-by-side

FieldAlliance of Chief ExecutivesVistage
Formatin-personhybrid
Structurefacilitated forumfacilitated forum
Facilitationpaid facilitatorpaid facilitator
Group sizeAbout 12 per Alliance Group (target ~8 in-meeting)12 to 16
Stage fitSeries A, Growth, Late stageSeries A, Growth, Late stage
Revenue / capital floorNot published as a numeric floor; membership is fit-based, not balance-sheet gatedChief Executive program: $5M+ revenue / typically 20+ employees. Small Business program: $1–4M revenue.
Annual cost$750 one-time enrollment + $11,000 annual dues (monthly/quarterly options). Charged only after first private-group meeting confirms fit.Not published
Application modelinvite-onlyapplication
Venture-specificNoNo
Other requirementsQualified leadership position (CEO / senior leaders); personal fit interview; confidentiality and no-selling principlesCEO/owner peer groups of non-competing members; Chair-led. Qualify via form.
Time commitmentAbout 40 hours/year on Alliance participation (site claim); private group meetings plus roundtables/dinnersMonthly peer group meetings plus monthly 1:1 with Chair; speakers and events
GeographySan Francisco Bay Area / Northern California / Silicon ValleyGlobal chapters; local groups
Best forBay Area CEOs who want confidential, facilitated strategic peer forums with industry-diverse operators.CEOs and owners who want a Chair-facilitated confidential peer group with coaching, across a wide range of company sizes.
Not forPre-revenue founders seeking a startup-only room, or anyone unwilling to invest significant annual time.Founders who need a venture-scale-only room or who reject paid facilitators.
Last verified2026-09-152026-09-14

Verdict by stage

Pre-seed and seed

At Pre-seed and seed, neither group lists this stage as a primary fit. Alliance of Chief Executives targets Series A, Growth, Late stage. Vistage targets Series A, Growth, Late stage.

Series A

At Series A, both Alliance of Chief Executives and Vistage list this stage. Compare revenue floor (Not published as a numeric floor; membership is fit-based, not balance-sheet gated vs Chief Executive program: $5M+ revenue / typically 20+ employees. Small Business program: $1–4M revenue.) and format (in-person vs hybrid) to decide.

Growth

At Growth, both Alliance of Chief Executives and Vistage list this stage. Compare revenue floor (Not published as a numeric floor; membership is fit-based, not balance-sheet gated vs Chief Executive program: $5M+ revenue / typically 20+ employees. Small Business program: $1–4M revenue.) and format (in-person vs hybrid) to decide.

Late stage

At Late stage, both Alliance of Chief Executives and Vistage list this stage. Compare revenue floor (Not published as a numeric floor; membership is fit-based, not balance-sheet gated vs Chief Executive program: $5M+ revenue / typically 20+ employees. Small Business program: $1–4M revenue.) and format (in-person vs hybrid) to decide.

FAQ

How much do Alliance of Chief Executives and Vistage cost?
Alliance of Chief Executives: $750 one-time enrollment + $11,000 annual dues (monthly/quarterly options). Charged only after first private-group meeting confirms fit. (verified 2026-09-15). Vistage: Not published (verified 2026-09-14). Prices are shown verbatim from public sources; nothing is estimated.
What are the requirements for Alliance of Chief Executives vs Vistage?
Alliance of Chief Executives: Not published as a numeric floor; membership is fit-based, not balance-sheet gated Qualified leadership position (CEO / senior leaders); personal fit interview; confidentiality and no-selling principles Vistage: Chief Executive program: $5M+ revenue / typically 20+ employees. Small Business program: $1–4M revenue. CEO/owner peer groups of non-competing members; Chair-led. Qualify via form.
Which is better for venture-backed founders?
Neither Alliance of Chief Executives nor Vistage is marked venture-specific in the dataset. Compare revenue floors and stage fit instead.
Alliance of Chief Executives profile·Vistage profile

Sources

Primary public pages used for the fields above.