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Nonprofits · head to head

Aplos vs Candid

Aplos logo

Aplos

Nonprofits

Fund accounting for nonprofits and churches, with donor management and online giving attached

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Candid logo

Candid

Nonprofits

Funder and nonprofit data subscriptions from the organisation formed by Foundation Center and GuideStar

From
$219/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Aplos the donor management side is record keeping rather than fundraising software, so any organisation running segmented appeals or automation will still buy a CRM and pay twice.; Candid grant records derive largely from Form 990 filings, which are published with a lag, so the database describes what a funder did up to eighteen months ago rather than what it intends to fund now.
  • They diverge on capability: Aplos covers Fund accounting ledger, Candid covers Foundation Directory.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Aplos and Candid actually diverge.

Attributes where Aplos and Candid differ
AttributeAplosCandid
Starting priceOn request$219/month
Pricing modelPer month by feature tierPer user per month by tier
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, API

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Nonprofits).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Aplos

  • Fund accounting ledger
  • Nonprofit financial statements
  • Donor management
  • Online giving pages
  • Budgeting by fund
  • Church tools

Only in Candid

  • Foundation Directory
  • 990 based grant records
  • Nonprofit Profiles
  • Charity check
  • Data APIs and bulk feeds
  • Candid Learning
  • Funding Information Network

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Aplos

  • A nonprofit whose auditor has raised restricted fund reporting as a findingnot Candid
  • A church tracking contributions, designated funds and giving statements in one systemnot Candid
  • A small organisation replacing QuickBooks plus a spreadsheet of fund balancesnot Candid
  • An Aplos and Keela buyer wanting gifts to post from the CRM into the ledger without exportnot Candid

Candid

  • A development director building a list of foundations that have actually funded organisations of your size, sector and geography in the past three yearsnot Aplos
  • A funder verifying US tax exempt status before releasing a grant paymentnot Aplos
  • A software vendor embedding nonprofit organisation data and charity verification into its own productnot Aplos
  • A nonprofit maintaining a transparency seal on its public profile because institutional funders check it before givingnot Aplos

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Aplos

  • The donor management side is record keeping rather than fundraising software, so any organisation running segmented appeals or automation will still buy a CRM and pay twice.
  • It is not a general ledger for complex structures, so multi entity groups, consolidations and intercompany transactions push organisations back to a mainstream accounting package.
  • Higher tiers are needed for the budgeting and custom reporting many buyers assume are standard, so the entry price is rarely the real price.
  • Payroll is handled through a partner rather than natively, which adds a vendor and a reconciliation step for organisations with staff.
  • The bookkeeper ecosystem is far smaller than QuickBooks, so finding an accountant already fluent in the product is harder and handover after staff turnover takes longer.

Candid

  • Grant records derive largely from Form 990 filings, which are published with a lag, so the database describes what a funder did up to eighteen months ago rather than what it intends to fund now.
  • Foundation Directory is a research database, not a pipeline tool: there is no proposal tracking, deadline management or task assignment, so most teams pay for a grants tracker alongside it.
  • Monthly pricing is high relative to the budget of a small nonprofit, and the same database is available free in person through partner libraries in the Funding Information Network, which makes the subscription hard to justify for occasional research.
  • Coverage is US-centric and built on the US tax filing system, so it is of limited use to organisations seeking funding from UK, EU or Commonwealth foundations.
  • Many funders do not accept unsolicited proposals at all, and the database cannot reliably tell you which, so prospect lists built from it still require manual qualification before outreach.

Pricing, plan by plan

Aplos

On request
  • Aplos$undefined/month
    • Published monthly tiers separating core accounting from the full suite
    • Advanced accounting, budgeting by fund and custom reporting sit in higher tiers
    • Card and bank processing on donations charged separately

Candid

$219/month
  • Foundation Directory Essential$219/month
    • Search US grantmakers and grant records
    • Saved searches and prospect lists
    • Single user
  • Foundation Directory Professional$1499/month
    • Full grantmaker, grant and recipient search
    • Trustee and key staff search
    • Advanced filters and larger exports
  • Data licensing$undefined/year
    • API and bulk data feeds
    • Charity check and organisation verification
    • Priced by volume and use case, quoted

Which should you pick?

Choose Aplos if

  • You need fund accounting ledger.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want nonprofit financial statements.
Aplos review

Choose Candid if

  • You need foundation directory.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want 990 based grant records.
Candid review

Questions people ask

Is Aplos or Candid better?
Neither clearly leads. Aplos starts at On request and Candid at $219/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Aplos or Candid?
Aplos starts at On request and Candid at $219/month.
Does Aplos or Candid run on more platforms?
Aplos runs on Web, iOS, Android. Candid runs on Web, API.
What is Aplos best used for?
Aplos is most often used for a nonprofit whose auditor has raised restricted fund reporting as a finding, a church tracking contributions, designated funds and giving statements in one system, a small organisation replacing quickbooks plus a spreadsheet of fund balances, an aplos and keela buyer wanting gifts to post from the crm into the ledger without export. Of those, a nonprofit whose auditor has raised restricted fund reporting as a finding and a church tracking contributions, designated funds and giving statements in one system are not what Candid is typically brought in for.
What can Aplos do that Candid cannot?
Aplos covers Fund accounting ledger, Nonprofit financial statements, Donor management, Online giving pages. Candid covers Foundation Directory, 990 based grant records, Nonprofit Profiles, Charity check.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Aplos: Is Aplos an accounting system or a CRM?

Primarily fund accounting. The donor management is included but shallow compared with a dedicated nonprofit CRM.

Candid: Is Candid the same as GuideStar?

GuideStar is now part of Candid, merged with Foundation Center in 2019. GuideStar nonprofit profiles continue under the Candid brand.

Aplos: What is the relationship with Keela?

Aplos acquired Keela in 2023. The two are being integrated, so a buyer comparing them is comparing products from one company.

Candid: Can I use Foundation Directory for free?

Yes, in person. Hundreds of partner libraries and nonprofit resource centres in the Funding Information Network provide free access, which is a genuine alternative to a subscription for occasional research.

Aplos: Can it replace QuickBooks?

For a single entity nonprofit, usually yes, and it handles restricted funds far better. For multi entity consolidation, no.

Candid: How current is the grant data?

It is drawn largely from Form 990 filings and lags real time by roughly a year to eighteen months. Treat it as evidence of past funding behaviour, not current priorities.

Aplos: Does it handle payroll?

Through a partner integration rather than natively, so payroll is an extra subscription and an extra reconciliation.

Candid: Does Candid help outside the United States?

Only marginally. The data model is built on US tax filings and US registered organisations.

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