Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the way Horizon Europe proposals are prepared.
However, not every solution addresses the same stage of the proposal writing process.
Some platforms help teams write proposals collaboratively, others aim to automate large parts of the drafting process, while some focus on reviewing and improving proposals before submission.
Opaly, WinGrants.ai and CrowdHelix Review IQ illustrate these three different approaches particularly well. Understanding their underlying philosophy is often more important than comparing feature lists.
At a Glance
Opaly
WinGrants.ai
CrowdHelix Review IQ
Primary focus
Collaborative proposal writing
AI-generated proposal drafting
Proposal evaluation and review
Best for
Teams writing proposals together
Accelerating first drafts
Improving mature proposals
AI involvement
Writing assistant
End-to-end AI workflow
AI evaluation
Collaboration
Excellent
Good
Limited
Proposal drafting
Excellent
Excellent
Limited
Proposal review
Good
Excellent
Excellent
Horizon Europe focus
Strong
Very strong
Strong
What is Opaly?
Opaly is a collaborative proposal writing platform designed to help research teams prepare competitive funding applications.
Rather than replacing proposal writers, it provides a structured environment where multiple contributors can work together while benefiting from AI-assisted writing and content improvement.
Its primary goal is to make collaborative proposal development more efficient without fundamentally changing how research teams work.
What is WinGrants.ai?
WinGrants.ai is an AI-first proposal generation platform built specifically for Horizon Europe.
It automates a large part of the proposal preparation process, including call analysis, concept development, proposal drafting, evaluation and iterative improvement. Its workflow is designed to reduce the time required to prepare a first complete proposal while remaining aligned with Horizon Europe evaluation criteria.
What is CrowdHelix Review IQ?
CrowdHelix Review IQ focuses on one specific stage of proposal preparation: evaluation.
Instead of helping teams write proposals from scratch, it analyses existing drafts and provides structured feedback intended to strengthen proposals before submission.
It is particularly useful for organisations that already have mature writing processes but want additional quality assurance before submitting a proposal.
Different Product Philosophies
Although all three solutions leverage AI, they solve different problems.
Opaly views AI as a collaborative writing partner. Human experts remain at the centre of proposal development while AI assists with drafting, rewriting and improving content.
WinGrants.ai places AI at the centre of the workflow. The platform analyses calls, generates proposal drafts, evaluates them against Horizon Europe criteria and iteratively improves them through multiple AI-driven review cycles.
CrowdHelix Review IQ assumes that the proposal already exists. Rather than generating content, its objective is to identify weaknesses, inconsistencies and opportunities for improvement before submission.
None of these philosophies is inherently superior. They simply correspond to different stages of the proposal lifecycle.
Feature Comparison
Collaborative Writing
Proposal writing is fundamentally a collaborative activity involving researchers, project managers and partner organisations.
Opaly was designed around this collaborative process, whereas WinGrants.ai focuses more heavily on AI-driven production and CrowdHelix Review IQ concentrates on evaluation.
Winner: Opaly
Proposal Drafting
WinGrants.ai aims to automate much of the drafting process by generating structured Horizon Europe proposals directly from the call documentation and project context. Opaly also supports drafting, but with greater emphasis on human collaboration.
Winner: WinGrants.ai
Proposal Evaluation
Both WinGrants.ai and CrowdHelix Review IQ provide proposal assessment capabilities.
However, proposal evaluation is the core purpose of CrowdHelix Review IQ, whereas WinGrants.ai integrates evaluation within a broader drafting workflow.
Winner: CrowdHelix Review IQ
Horizon Europe Specialisation
All three solutions target Horizon Europe users.
WinGrants.ai is almost entirely dedicated to Horizon Europe proposal production, while Opaly and CrowdHelix Review IQ also support broader collaborative proposal workflows.
Winner: Draw
Learning Curve
All three platforms introduce new AI-assisted workflows.
Opaly tends to feel familiar to organisations already accustomed to collaborative proposal writing, while WinGrants.ai represents a larger change in working practices because of its stronger automation.
Winner: Slight advantage to Opaly
Which Solution Should You Choose?
Choose Opaly if you:
- Write proposals collaboratively.
- Want AI to support, rather than replace, proposal writers.
- Need an organised collaborative workspace.
- Prefer to keep humans at the centre of proposal development.
Choose WinGrants.ai if you:
- Want to accelerate proposal production.
- Intend to automate large parts of the drafting process.
- Prepare multiple Horizon Europe proposals each year.
- Are comfortable adopting an AI-first workflow.
Choose CrowdHelix Review IQ if you:
- Already have experienced proposal writers.
- Need independent quality assurance before submission.
- Want to strengthen existing proposals rather than generate new ones.
- Focus on improving evaluation scores.
Final Verdict
Although these three platforms are often mentioned together, they should not be viewed as direct competitors.
Opaly focuses on helping teams write proposals together.
WinGrants.ai seeks to automate much of the proposal production workflow using AI.
CrowdHelix Review IQ specialises in reviewing and strengthening proposals that have already been drafted.
The best choice therefore depends less on which platform has the most features than on where your organisation needs the most support: collaborative writing, AI-assisted proposal generation or proposal evaluation.
Looking for Another Alternative?
If you're looking for software that combines collaborative proposal writing with AI assistance—while keeping researchers in control of the writing process—you may also want to explore Grant Genius.
Rather than relying on either full automation or review alone, Grant Genius is designed as a proposal writing workspace where AI assists with drafting, rewriting, consistency checks and content improvement exactly where it adds value, while keeping proposal development firmly in the hands of the project team.