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Nonprofits · head to head

CharityEngine vs Trello for Nonprofits

CharityEngine logo

CharityEngine

Nonprofits

Nonprofit CRM with its own in-house payment processing rather than a third-party gateway

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Trello for Nonprofits logo

Trello for Nonprofits

Nonprofits

Simple project management for nonprofits

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Trello for Nonprofits has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: CharityEngine payment processing rates are negotiated and never published, so the total cost cannot be compared to a licence-only CRM without getting a quote and modelling your own volume in basis points.; Trello for Nonprofits free plan limited to 10 collaborators per Workspace, which restricts larger team usage
  • They diverge on capability: CharityEngine covers In-house payment processing, Trello for Nonprofits covers Kanban boards.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CharityEngine and Trello for Nonprofits actually diverge.

Attributes where CharityEngine and Trello for Nonprofits differ
AttributeCharityEngineTrello for Nonprofits
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotesubscription
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, IOS, Android
FoundedUnknown2011

Identical on both: 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 CharityEngine

  • In-house payment processing
  • Recurring giving recovery
  • Direct mail segmentation
  • Peer-to-peer and events
  • Advocacy and membership
  • Marketing automation

Only in Trello for Nonprofits

  • Kanban boards
  • Card management
  • Team collaboration
  • Integrations
  • Labels and checklists
  • Slack
  • Google Drive
  • Zapier

What people use each for

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

CharityEngine

  • A nonprofit processing high recurring gift volume that wants card updater and dunning built into the CRM rather than bought separatelynot Trello for Nonprofits
  • Replacing a stack of a CRM, an email tool and a separate donation gateway with one contract and one reconciliationnot Trello for Nonprofits
  • A direct mail heavy organisation that needs offline gift entry and mail file segmentation as first-class features, not add-onsnot Trello for Nonprofits
  • An organisation whose finance team wants a single settlement file that already reconciles to donor recordsnot Trello for Nonprofits

Trello for Nonprofits

  • Project management and team collaboration for nonprofit organizationsnot CharityEngine

Where each one falls short

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

CharityEngine

  • Payment processing rates are negotiated and never published, so the total cost cannot be compared to a licence-only CRM without getting a quote and modelling your own volume in basis points.
  • Because the vendor is both the software provider and the merchant processor, switching CRM also means re-papering merchant services and re-tokenising every recurring donor, which is a far larger project than a normal migration.
  • Subscription pricing is quote-only and reported entry points come from third parties rather than the vendor, so small organisations often discover the floor is well above what they budgeted.
  • The interface is dense and configuration-heavy, and organisations without a dedicated database administrator tend to use a fraction of what they pay for.
  • Implementation and data migration are billed on top of the subscription and are commonly the largest first-year line item, which is easy to miss when comparing monthly figures.

Trello for Nonprofits

  • Free plan limited to 10 collaborators per Workspace, which restricts larger team usage
  • Pricing shown is per-user monthly subscription; total cost grows with team size

Pricing, plan by plan

CharityEngine

On request
  • CharityEngine$undefined/year
    • Donor CRM and gift processing
    • In-house payment processing at a negotiated rate
    • Email, SMS and direct mail tools

Trello for Nonprofits

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 10 collaborators per Workspace
    • Unlimited cards
    • Up to 10 boards
  • Standard$5/month
    • Annual billing; $6 USD per user per month with monthly billing
    • AI features
    • Unlimited boards
  • Premium$10/month
    • Annual billing; $12.50 USD per user per month with monthly billing
    • Multiple views (Calendar, Timeline, Table, Dashboard, Map)
    • Unlimited command runs
  • Enterprise$17.5/month
    • Billed annually at $210 per user per year
    • Unlimited Workspaces
    • Organization-wide permissions

Which should you pick?

Choose CharityEngine if

  • You need in-house payment processing.
  • You also want recurring giving recovery.
CharityEngine review

Choose Trello for Nonprofits if

  • You need kanban boards.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want card management.
Trello for Nonprofits review

Questions people ask

Is CharityEngine or Trello for Nonprofits better?
Neither clearly leads. CharityEngine starts at On request and Trello for Nonprofits at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CharityEngine or Trello for Nonprofits?
Trello for Nonprofits has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for CharityEngine and Free for Trello for Nonprofits.
Does CharityEngine or Trello for Nonprofits run on more platforms?
CharityEngine runs on Web. Trello for Nonprofits runs on Web, IOS, Android.
Can I use Trello for Nonprofits for free?
Yes. Trello for Nonprofits has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. CharityEngine starts at On request.
What is CharityEngine best used for?
CharityEngine is most often used for a nonprofit processing high recurring gift volume that wants card updater and dunning built into the crm rather than bought separately, replacing a stack of a crm, an email tool and a separate donation gateway with one contract and one reconciliation, a direct mail heavy organisation that needs offline gift entry and mail file segmentation as first-class features, not add-ons, an organisation whose finance team wants a single settlement file that already reconciles to donor records. Of those, a nonprofit processing high recurring gift volume that wants card updater and dunning built into the crm rather than bought separately and replacing a stack of a crm, an email tool and a separate donation gateway with one contract and one reconciliation are not what Trello for Nonprofits is typically brought in for.
What can CharityEngine do that Trello for Nonprofits cannot?
CharityEngine covers In-house payment processing, Recurring giving recovery, Direct mail segmentation, Peer-to-peer and events. Trello for Nonprofits covers Kanban boards, Card management, Team collaboration, Integrations.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CharityEngine: Does CharityEngine publish pricing?

No. Both the subscription and the payment processing rate are quoted. Third-party sites report a starter tier around 550 US dollars a month, but the vendor does not confirm this.

Trello for Nonprofits: How much does Trello Standard plan cost?

Trello Standard costs $5 USD per user per month with annual billing, or $6 USD per user per month with monthly billing. Standard includes AI features, unlimited boards, custom fields, card mirroring, and 1,000 workspace command runs monthly.

Source
CharityEngine: Is the payment processing optional?

In practice no. The processing is the product. Using an external gateway removes most of what distinguishes CharityEngine from cheaper CRMs.

Trello for Nonprofits: What is the difference between Trello Premium and Enterprise plans?

Premium ($10 per user per month annually, $12.50 monthly) includes multiple views, unlimited command runs, and admin controls. Enterprise ($17.50 per user per month or $210 annually) adds unlimited Workspaces, organization-wide permissions, multi-board guests, Atlassian Guard Standard, and 24/7 Enterprise Admin support.

Source
CharityEngine: Is there a nonprofit discount?

Every customer is a nonprofit, so there is no separate discount; pricing is tiered by contact count and gift volume instead.

Trello for Nonprofits: What is included in Trello Free plan?

Trello Free includes unlimited cards, up to 10 boards, up to 10 collaborators per Workspace, Inbox, unlimited Power-Ups, assignees, due dates, mobile apps, and two-factor authentication. No payment required.

Source
CharityEngine: How long is the contract?

Annual terms are standard, and multi-year commitments are used to buy down the rate.

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Related pages

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