Nonprofits · alternatives
Alternatives to Charity Navigator
24 nonprofits tools sit alongside Charity Navigator in this directory. Below is what separates each from Charity Navigator on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 24
- With a free tier
- 6
- Cheaper to start
- -
- Charity Navigator starts at
- Free
Why people look past Charity Navigator
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Charity Navigator entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is only one tier
Charity Navigator publishes a single plan, Free Profile at Free. There is no smaller tier to drop to if the fit is wrong or the budget moves.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Platform for modern nonprofit fundraising
- No free tier, where Charity Navigator has one.
- Publishes an entry price of $300/month, where Charity Navigator does not.
Email marketing and event management
- Sold on a subscription model rather than free.
- 2 tiers to Charity Navigator's 1.
Online fundraising platform for nonprofits
- Publishes an entry price of $150/month, where Charity Navigator does not.
- Sold on a freemium model rather than free.
- 2 tiers to Charity Navigator's 1.
WordPress donation plugin for nonprofits
- No free tier, where Charity Navigator has one.
- Publishes an entry price of $199/year, where Charity Navigator does not.
- Sold on a subscription model rather than free.
- 3 tiers to Charity Navigator's 1.
Fundraising software given free to nonprofits, funded by its founders rather than by fees
- Sold on a Free to nonprofits, card processing charged by the processor model rather than free.
Low-cost grant search across federal, state and private funders, with a paid consultant marketplace alongside
- Publishes an entry price of $9/month, where Charity Navigator does not.
- Sold on a Per user per month model rather than free.
- 2 tiers to Charity Navigator's 1.
Every Charity Navigator alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charity Navigator (this page) | Free | Free | 1 | |
| ClassyPlatform for modern nonprofit fundraising | $300/month | - | - | vs Charity Navigator |
| Constant ContactEmail marketing and event management | Free | Subscription | 2 | vs Charity Navigator |
| DonorboxOnline fundraising platform for nonprofits | Free, then $150/month | Freemium | 2 | vs Charity Navigator |
| GiveWPWordPress donation plugin for nonprofits | $199/year | Subscription | 3 | vs Charity Navigator |
| Give Lively | Free | Free to nonprofits, card processing charged by the processor | 1 | vs Charity Navigator |
| OpenGrants | Free, then $9/month | Per user per month | 2 | vs Charity Navigator |
| Tendenci | Free | Open source, with paid hosting available | 2 | vs Charity Navigator |
| CiviCRM | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Charity Navigator |
| CommCare | $100/month | Per month by mobile user count | 4 | vs Charity Navigator |
| Foundant Technologies | On request | Quote | 3 | vs Charity Navigator |
| CharityEngine | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Charity Navigator |
| Instrumentl | $299/month | Per organisation per month by seat band | 4 | vs Charity Navigator |
| Fluxx | On request | Quote | 2 | vs Charity Navigator |
| Sumac | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Charity Navigator |
| Bonterra | On request | Quote | 3 | vs Charity Navigator |
| Blackbaud Grantmaking | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Charity Navigator |
| SmartSimple Cloud | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Charity Navigator |
| Submittable | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Charity Navigator |
| GrantStation | $199/year | Per organisation per year | 2 | vs Charity Navigator |
| Keela | On request | Per month by contact count | 1 | vs Charity Navigator |
| MemberClicks | On request | Quote | 2 | vs Charity Navigator |
| Fundraise Up | On request | Percentage of each donation | 1 | vs Charity Navigator |
| Candid | $219/month | Per user per month by tier | 3 | vs Charity Navigator |
| Glue Up | On request | Quote | 3 | vs Charity Navigator |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Charity Navigator badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (6)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Constant Contact , Free
- Donorbox , Free, then $150/month
- Give Lively , Free
- OpenGrants , Free, then $9/month
- Tendenci , Free
- CiviCRM , Free
What you would be giving up
Charity Navigator is most often brought in for nonprofit evaluation and research, charitable giving decisions, donor due diligence. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Charity Navigator is broadly right and the question is cost, the Charity Navigator pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Nonprofits category lists everything the directory holds, and best nonprofits tools ranks them.
Charity Navigator runs on web, mobile-responsive. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Charity Navigator alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Charity Navigator?
- 24 other nonprofits tools are listed in this directory, led by Classy, Constant Contact, Donorbox, GiveWP. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Charity Navigator?
- 6 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Constant Contact, Donorbox, Give Lively, OpenGrants, Tendenci.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Charity Navigator?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: there is only one tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Charity Navigator?
- Charity Navigator is most often brought in for nonprofit evaluation and research, charitable giving decisions, donor due diligence. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Charity Navigator?
- None of the nonprofits tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these Charity Navigator alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Nonprofits, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Charity Navigator against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Charity Navigator covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every nonprofits tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Nonprofits category, 24 tools beside Charity Navigator. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.