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Nonprofits · head to head

Cause IQ vs OpenGrants

Cause IQ logo

Cause IQ

Nonprofits

Integrated fundraising and CRM platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
OpenGrants logo

OpenGrants

Nonprofits

Low-cost grant search across federal, state and private funders, with a paid consultant marketplace alongside

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only OpenGrants has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Cause IQ pricing is not published; OpenGrants coverage of private foundations is thinner and less curated than Candid or Instrumentl, so a prospect list built solely from OpenGrants will miss foundations that never post public opportunity notices.
  • They diverge on capability: Cause IQ covers Donor management, OpenGrants covers Grant search.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cause IQ and OpenGrants actually diverge.

Attributes where Cause IQ and OpenGrants differ
AttributeCause IQOpenGrants
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer user per month
Free tierNoYes
Founded2013Unknown

Identical on both: platforms (Web), 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 Cause IQ

  • Donor management
  • Event management
  • Online giving
  • Volunteer tracking
  • Stripe
  • PayPal
  • Salesforce
  • Google Analytics

Only in OpenGrants

  • Grant search
  • Saved searches and alerts
  • Funder profiles
  • Opportunity tracking
  • Consultant marketplace
  • Free tier

What people use each for

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

Cause IQ

  • Prospect research across nonprofit organisationsnot OpenGrants
  • Benchmarking a nonprofit client against peersnot OpenGrants
  • Building target lists for firms serving the sectornot OpenGrants
  • Enriching existing records with nonprofit financial datanot OpenGrants

OpenGrants

  • A small nonprofit with no research budget that needs to know whether relevant grants exist before hiring anyonenot Cause IQ
  • A startup hunting SBIR, state innovation and economic development funding across multiple agenciesnot Cause IQ
  • A freelance grant writer covering several clients who cannot pass on a several-hundred-dollar monthly database costnot Cause IQ
  • An organisation wanting to hire a grant writer for one application without running a procurementnot Cause IQ

Where each one falls short

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

Cause IQ

  • Pricing is not published
  • Sold to firms selling into the nonprofit sector rather than to nonprofits running their own operations

OpenGrants

  • Coverage of private foundations is thinner and less curated than Candid or Instrumentl, so a prospect list built solely from OpenGrants will miss foundations that never post public opportunity notices.
  • The index leans on public opportunity feeds, which means it is strongest on government funding and weakest on the relationship-driven private philanthropy that most nonprofits actually rely on.
  • Matching is keyword driven rather than fit-scored, so users receive alerts for opportunities they are ineligible for and must qualify each one by hand.
  • The consultant marketplace is a directory with variable quality rather than a vetted panel, so buyers carry the risk of choosing a weak grant writer themselves.
  • It is a US-focused index, offering little to organisations seeking UK, EU or Canadian funding.

Pricing, plan by plan

Cause IQ

On request
  • Standard$95/month
    • Donor management
    • Event management
  • Advanced$200/month
    • Prospect research
    • Fundraising reports
    • Advanced analytics

OpenGrants

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Core grant search
    • Limited results and saved searches
    • No card required
  • Subscription$9/month
    • Full search access
    • Saved searches and alerts
    • Funder profiles

Which should you pick?

Choose Cause IQ if

  • You need donor management.
  • You also want event management.
Cause IQ review

Choose OpenGrants if

  • You need grant search.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want saved searches and alerts.
OpenGrants review

Questions people ask

Is Cause IQ or OpenGrants better?
Neither clearly leads. Cause IQ starts at On request and OpenGrants at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cause IQ or OpenGrants?
OpenGrants has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Cause IQ and Free for OpenGrants.
Does Cause IQ or OpenGrants run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use OpenGrants for free?
Yes. OpenGrants has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cause IQ starts at On request.
What is Cause IQ best used for?
Cause IQ is most often used for prospect research across nonprofit organisations, benchmarking a nonprofit client against peers, building target lists for firms serving the sector, enriching existing records with nonprofit financial data. Of those, prospect research across nonprofit organisations and benchmarking a nonprofit client against peers are not what OpenGrants is typically brought in for.
What can Cause IQ do that OpenGrants cannot?
Cause IQ covers Donor management, Event management, Online giving, Volunteer tracking. OpenGrants covers Grant search, Saved searches and alerts, Funder profiles, Opportunity tracking.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cause IQ: Does Cause IQ offer a free plan?

Yes. Cause IQ offers a free plan with basic nonprofit searches using 8 filters and limited profile access. Core and Pro plans are paid subscriptions.

Source
OpenGrants: How much does it cost?

$9 a month or $99 a year after a seven day trial, with a free tier of core search retained.

Cause IQ: What is included in Cause IQ's pricing?

Core Plan costs $349/month (or $199/month for 501(c)(3) nonprofits) with access to 400+ filters. Pro Plan costs $5,988/year with three user licenses and unlimited exports. Annual discounts available.

Source
OpenGrants: Why is it so much cheaper than Candid?

Because it indexes public and semi-public opportunity feeds with automation rather than employing researchers to code foundation records from tax filings. You trade depth of private foundation intelligence for price.

Cause IQ: Does Cause IQ integrate with Salesforce?

Yes. Cause IQ provides direct Salesforce integration to create, update, and enrich Leads, Contacts, and Accounts with nonprofit data. Bulk operations and field mapping are supported.

Source
OpenGrants: Does it cover private foundations?

Partially. It is strongest on federal and state programmes. For systematic private foundation research, Candid remains the reference source.

Cause IQ: Does Cause IQ have an API?

Yes. Cause IQ provides a REST API that returns JSON responses. The API allows programmatic searches for nonprofits, EIN lookups, and access to over 400 organization fields.

Source
OpenGrants: Is the consultant marketplace vetted?

It is a directory, not a vetted panel. Check references and past awards yourself.

Cause IQ: How much nonprofit data does Cause IQ contain?

Cause IQ aggregates data from over a dozen sources covering 1.73 million organizations, 9.86 million people (board members and key personnel), and 52,143 vendor profiles.

Source
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