Nonprofits · alternatives
Alternatives to GuideStar
24 nonprofits tools sit alongside GuideStar in this directory. Below is what separates each from GuideStar 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
- -
- GuideStar starts at
- Free
Why people look past GuideStar
Nothing on the record flags a reason to move. GuideStar has a free tier. People still switch over fit and workflow, and those are not things a catalogue entry can measure, which is what the comparisons below are for.
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 GuideStar has one.
- Publishes an entry price of $300/month, where GuideStar does not.
Email marketing and event management
Priced and rated the same as GuideStar on the figures we hold. The difference, if there is one, is in the feature records.
Online fundraising platform for nonprofits
- Publishes an entry price of $150/month, where GuideStar does not.
- Sold on a freemium model rather than subscription.
WordPress donation plugin for nonprofits
- No free tier, where GuideStar has one.
- Publishes an entry price of $199/year, where GuideStar does not.
- 3 tiers to GuideStar's 2.
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 subscription.
- 1 tier to GuideStar's 2.
Low-cost grant search across federal, state and private funders, with a paid consultant marketplace alongside
- Publishes an entry price of $9/month, where GuideStar does not.
- Sold on a Per user per month model rather than subscription.
Every GuideStar 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GuideStar (this page) | Free | Subscription | 2 | |
| ClassyPlatform for modern nonprofit fundraising | $300/month | - | - | vs GuideStar |
| Constant ContactEmail marketing and event management | Free | Subscription | 2 | vs GuideStar |
| DonorboxOnline fundraising platform for nonprofits | Free, then $150/month | Freemium | 2 | vs GuideStar |
| GiveWPWordPress donation plugin for nonprofits | $199/year | Subscription | 3 | vs GuideStar |
| Give Lively | Free | Free to nonprofits, card processing charged by the processor | 1 | vs GuideStar |
| OpenGrants | Free, then $9/month | Per user per month | 2 | vs GuideStar |
| Tendenci | Free | Open source, with paid hosting available | 2 | vs GuideStar |
| CiviCRM | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs GuideStar |
| CommCare | $100/month | Per month by mobile user count | 4 | vs GuideStar |
| Foundant Technologies | On request | Quote | 3 | vs GuideStar |
| CharityEngine | On request | Quote | 1 | vs GuideStar |
| Instrumentl | $299/month | Per organisation per month by seat band | 4 | vs GuideStar |
| Fluxx | On request | Quote | 2 | vs GuideStar |
| Sumac | On request | Quote | 1 | vs GuideStar |
| Bonterra | On request | Quote | 3 | vs GuideStar |
| Blackbaud Grantmaking | On request | Quote | 1 | vs GuideStar |
| SmartSimple Cloud | On request | Quote | 1 | vs GuideStar |
| Submittable | On request | Quote | 1 | vs GuideStar |
| GrantStation | $199/year | Per organisation per year | 2 | vs GuideStar |
| Keela | On request | Per month by contact count | 1 | vs GuideStar |
| MemberClicks | On request | Quote | 2 | vs GuideStar |
| Fundraise Up | On request | Percentage of each donation | 1 | vs GuideStar |
| Candid | $219/month | Per user per month by tier | 3 | vs GuideStar |
| Glue Up | On request | Quote | 3 | vs GuideStar |
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 GuideStar 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
GuideStar is most often brought in for business operations, productivity, automation. 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 GuideStar is broadly right and the question is cost, the GuideStar 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.
GuideStar 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 GuideStar alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to GuideStar?
- 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 GuideStar?
- 6 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Constant Contact, Donorbox, Give Lively, OpenGrants, Tendenci.
- Is there a reason to switch away from GuideStar?
- Nothing in the data flags one. GuideStar has a free tier. Fit and workflow are the usual reasons to move, and those are not things this record can measure.
- What would I give up by switching from GuideStar?
- GuideStar is most often brought in for business operations, productivity, automation. 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 GuideStar?
- 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 GuideStar 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 GuideStar against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against GuideStar 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 GuideStar. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.