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Nonprofits · head to head

CiviCRM vs Qgiv

CiviCRM logo

CiviCRM

Nonprofits

Open source constituent relationship management for nonprofits, with no per contact or per donation fee

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Qgiv logo

Qgiv

Nonprofits

Complete fundraising platform for nonprofits

From
$40/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only CiviCRM has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: CiviCRM nobody maintains it for you, so security patches and major version upgrades are your operational responsibility and organisations that skip them end up stranded on an old release.; Qgiv qgiv has been renamed Bloomerang Fundraising and qgiv.com/pricing now redirects to bloomerang.com/pricing
  • They diverge on capability: CiviCRM covers Contribution and pledge tracking, Qgiv covers Online donation forms.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CiviCRM and Qgiv actually diverge.

Attributes where CiviCRM and Qgiv differ
AttributeCiviCRMQgiv
Starting priceFree$40/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Linux, Self-hostedWeb, IOS, Android
FoundedUnknown2007

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 CiviCRM

  • Contribution and pledge tracking
  • Membership management
  • Events and registration
  • Case management
  • CMS integration
  • Extension framework

Only in Qgiv

  • Online donation forms
  • Peer-to-peer fundraising
  • Event registration
  • Text-to-give
  • Auction management
  • Salesforce
  • Blackbaud
  • Mailchimp

What people use each for

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

CiviCRM

  • A membership organisation with a large contact file that refuses to pay a per contact meternot Qgiv
  • An advocacy group needing to hold constituent data on infrastructure it controlsnot Qgiv
  • A charity already running Drupal or WordPress that wants CRM inside the same stacknot Qgiv
  • An organisation with unusual data requirements that no hosted product will build for itnot Qgiv

Qgiv

  • Nonprofit fundraisingnot CiviCRM
  • Donor relationship managementnot CiviCRM
  • Volunteer managementnot CiviCRM
  • Church givingnot CiviCRM

Where each one falls short

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

CiviCRM

  • Nobody maintains it for you, so security patches and major version upgrades are your operational responsibility and organisations that skip them end up stranded on an old release.
  • The interface and configuration model are dated compared with hosted competitors, and staff turnover is expensive when the next fundraiser has to be trained on it from scratch.
  • Extension quality is inconsistent, so a payment processor or integration that works on one version can break on the next with no vendor obligation to fix it.
  • Total cost of ownership is genuinely low only at scale, and a five person charity often pays more to a partner for setup and support than a hosted product would have charged outright.
  • Implementation partners hold the practical knowledge of your configuration, so switching partners can be as disruptive as switching products despite the software being free.

Qgiv

  • Qgiv has been renamed Bloomerang Fundraising and qgiv.com/pricing now redirects to bloomerang.com/pricing
  • The fundraising product starts at $40 per month billed annually but must be purchased as part of a bundle with Bloomerang CRM, which itself starts at $125 per month
  • All published prices are billed annually with no monthly billing option shown
  • The full Giving Platform starts at $242 per month billed annually
  • Every listed price is a starting price and the page directs buyers to Contact Sales for actual pricing

Pricing, plan by plan

CiviCRM

Free
  • CiviCRMFree
    • No licence fee, no per contact charge and no percentage of donations
    • Costs are hosting, implementation partner time and upgrade work
    • Paid hosting and support available from partners at their own rates

Qgiv

$40/month
  • Bloomerang Fundraising$40/month
    • Donation forms
    • Events
    • Mobile apps
  • Bloomerang CRM$125/month
    • Donor management
    • Predictive insights
    • Marketing automation
  • Bloomerang Volunteer$119/month
    • Volunteer recruitment
    • Scheduling
    • Communications
  • The Giving Platform (All-in-One)$242/month
    • Fundraising, CRM, Volunteer management all included
    • Prospect AI
    • Predictive insights

Which should you pick?

Choose CiviCRM if

  • You need contribution and pledge tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Self-hosted.
  • You also want membership management.
CiviCRM review

Choose Qgiv if

  • You need online donation forms.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want peer-to-peer fundraising.
Qgiv review

Questions people ask

Is CiviCRM or Qgiv better?
Neither clearly leads. CiviCRM starts at Free and Qgiv at $40/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CiviCRM or Qgiv?
CiviCRM has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for CiviCRM and $40/month for Qgiv.
Does CiviCRM or Qgiv run on more platforms?
CiviCRM runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted. Qgiv runs on Web, IOS, Android.
Can I use CiviCRM for free?
Yes. CiviCRM has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Qgiv starts at $40/month.
What is CiviCRM best used for?
CiviCRM is most often used for a membership organisation with a large contact file that refuses to pay a per contact meter, an advocacy group needing to hold constituent data on infrastructure it controls, a charity already running drupal or wordpress that wants crm inside the same stack, an organisation with unusual data requirements that no hosted product will build for it. Of those, a membership organisation with a large contact file that refuses to pay a per contact meter and an advocacy group needing to hold constituent data on infrastructure it controls are not what Qgiv is typically brought in for.
What can CiviCRM do that Qgiv cannot?
CiviCRM covers Contribution and pledge tracking, Membership management, Events and registration, Case management. Qgiv covers Online donation forms, Peer-to-peer fundraising, Event registration, Text-to-give.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CiviCRM: Is CiviCRM really free?

The software is, with no licence, per contact or per donation charge. Hosting, implementation and support are real costs and are where the budget goes.

Qgiv: How much does QGIV cost?

QGIV's website redirects to Bloomerang, which offers pricing starting at $40/month for Fundraising, $119/month for Volunteer, $125/month for CRM, or $242/month for the all-in-one Giving Platform.

Source
CiviCRM: Do we need a developer?

You need technical capacity, either in house or a retained partner. Treating it as a hosted product without support is the common failure mode.

Qgiv: What is Bloomerang's pricing model?

Bloomerang uses constituent-based pricing where costs scale with the number of records/contacts in your database, not per user. All plans include unlimited users.

Source
CiviCRM: Where does it win against commercial CRMs?

At scale. A large contact file or high donation volume that would cost tens of thousands a year in metered fees costs nothing in licence here.

Qgiv: What does the Giving Platform include?

The Giving Platform at $242/month (billed annually) is an all-in-one solution including fundraising, CRM, volunteer management, Prospect AI, and predictive insights with unlimited users.

Source
CiviCRM: Can it be hosted for us?

Yes, several partners offer managed CiviCRM hosting, which removes the upgrade burden and reintroduces a monthly fee.

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