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Nonprofits · head to head

Bonterra vs Salesforce for Nonprofits

Bonterra logo

Bonterra

Nonprofits

The rolled-up parent of EveryAction, Apricot, CyberGrants and Network for Good, sold as three product lines

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Salesforce for Nonprofits logo

Salesforce for Nonprofits

Nonprofits

Enterprise CRM for nonprofit organizations

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Salesforce for Nonprofits has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Bonterra the three lines are separately acquired codebases, so buying two of them gives you two logins, two support queues and a connector rather than one system.; Salesforce for Nonprofits the Power of Us free grant covers only 10 Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud or Sales/Service Cloud licences; every licence beyond that is paid
  • They diverge on capability: Bonterra covers Case management, Salesforce for Nonprofits covers Donor management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bonterra and Salesforce for Nonprofits actually diverge.

Attributes where Bonterra and Salesforce for Nonprofits differ
AttributeBonterraSalesforce for Nonprofits
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotesubscription
Free tierNoYes
FoundedUnknown1999

Identical on both: platforms (Web, iOS, Android), 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 Bonterra

  • Case management
  • Fundraising and engagement
  • Corporate grantmaking
  • Employee giving and volunteering
  • Outcomes reporting
  • Impact data connectors

Only in Salesforce for Nonprofits

  • Donor management
  • Campaign tracking
  • Volunteer management
  • Program tracking
  • Advanced reporting
  • Stripe
  • Google Analytics
  • Slack

What people use each for

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

Bonterra

  • A human services agency that must report participant outcomes to a government funder and cannot do it in a donor CRMnot Salesforce for Nonprofits
  • A national advocacy organisation needing high-volume email, action alerts and distributed organising in one donor recordnot Salesforce for Nonprofits
  • A large employer running a global employee match and grant disbursement programme across many countriesnot Salesforce for Nonprofits
  • A nonprofit consolidating a legacy Salsa or ETO deployment onto a supported product within the same vendornot Salesforce for Nonprofits

Salesforce for Nonprofits

  • Nonprofit constituent CRM covering fundraising, programs, outcomes and volunteersnot Bonterra
  • Consolidating donor, grant and program data on the Salesforce platformnot Bonterra

Where each one falls short

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

Bonterra

  • The three lines are separately acquired codebases, so buying two of them gives you two logins, two support queues and a connector rather than one system.
  • Legacy products absorbed in the roll-up, notably ETO and older Salsa modules, receive limited development while investment goes to flagship products, leaving those customers on a slowly ageing platform.
  • No pricing is published for any line, and quotes vary widely by contact count and negotiation, so benchmarking against competitors requires a full sales cycle.
  • Private equity ownership has produced repeated renewal price increases reported by customers, and the portfolio structure reduces the credibility of threatening to switch since several obvious alternatives are also Bonterra products.
  • Implementation for Case Management is a configuration project measured in months, and agencies routinely underestimate the internal staff time required to define forms and outcome measures.

Salesforce for Nonprofits

  • The Power of Us free grant covers only 10 Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud or Sales/Service Cloud licences; every licence beyond that is paid
  • Nonprofit Cloud Enterprise is $60 per user per month billed annually and Nonprofit Cloud Unlimited is $100 per user per month billed annually
  • The free licences require passing Salesforce eligibility criteria for the Power of Us program
  • Most Salesforce products are sold on annual contracts
  • Some products must scale together when you add or upgrade, which requires going through an Account Executive

Pricing, plan by plan

Bonterra

On request
  • Bonterra Fundraising and Engagement$undefined/year
    • Donor CRM and email
    • Advocacy and organising tools
    • Priced by contact record count
  • Bonterra Case Management$undefined/year
    • Apricot participant records and assessments
    • Outcomes and funder reporting
    • Priced by user seats and programme count
  • Bonterra Corporate Social Responsibility$undefined/year
    • CyberGrants grant disbursement
    • Employee giving and volunteering
    • Enterprise contract, priced by programme spend

Salesforce for Nonprofits

Free
  • Nonprofit CloudFree
    • Donor management
    • Campaign tracking
    • Volunteer management
  • Professional$150/month
    • Advanced reporting
    • API integrations
    • Customization

Which should you pick?

Choose Bonterra if

  • You need case management.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want fundraising and engagement.
Bonterra review

Choose Salesforce for Nonprofits if

  • You need donor management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want campaign tracking.
Salesforce for Nonprofits review

Questions people ask

Is Bonterra or Salesforce for Nonprofits better?
Neither clearly leads. Bonterra starts at On request and Salesforce for Nonprofits at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bonterra or Salesforce for Nonprofits?
Salesforce for Nonprofits has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Bonterra and Free for Salesforce for Nonprofits.
Does Bonterra or Salesforce for Nonprofits run on more platforms?
Bonterra runs on Web, iOS, Android. Salesforce for Nonprofits runs on Web, IOS, Android.
Can I use Salesforce for Nonprofits for free?
Yes. Salesforce for Nonprofits has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Bonterra starts at On request.
What is Bonterra best used for?
Bonterra is most often used for a human services agency that must report participant outcomes to a government funder and cannot do it in a donor crm, a national advocacy organisation needing high-volume email, action alerts and distributed organising in one donor record, a large employer running a global employee match and grant disbursement programme across many countries, a nonprofit consolidating a legacy salsa or eto deployment onto a supported product within the same vendor. Of those, a human services agency that must report participant outcomes to a government funder and cannot do it in a donor crm and a national advocacy organisation needing high-volume email, action alerts and distributed organising in one donor record are not what Salesforce for Nonprofits is typically brought in for.
What can Bonterra do that Salesforce for Nonprofits cannot?
Bonterra covers Case management, Fundraising and engagement, Corporate grantmaking, Employee giving and volunteering. Salesforce for Nonprofits covers Donor management, Campaign tracking, Volunteer management, Program tracking.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Bonterra: Is Bonterra a single product?

No. It is three product lines built from separately acquired software. You buy one of them, and integration between them is a connector rather than a shared database.

Bonterra: What happened to EveryAction and Apricot?

They still exist as the underlying products, rebranded as Bonterra Fundraising and Engagement and Bonterra Case Management respectively.

Bonterra: Does Bonterra publish pricing?

No line has published pricing. Fundraising is generally priced by contact record count, case management by seats and programmes.

Bonterra: Should a small nonprofit consider Bonterra?

Rarely. The entry price and implementation effort suit organisations with dedicated operations staff; smaller charities are better served by a single-product CRM.

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