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Nonprofits · head to head

CiviCRM vs Virtuous

CiviCRM logo

CiviCRM

Nonprofits

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Virtuous logo

Virtuous

Nonprofits

CRM designed for faith-based and mission-driven organizations

From
On request
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.; Virtuous the pricing page publishes no rate, no minimum and no cost driver for any product; every tier says Request Pricing
  • They diverge on capability: CiviCRM covers Contribution and pledge tracking, Virtuous covers Donor management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CiviCRM and Virtuous actually diverge.

Attributes where CiviCRM and Virtuous differ
AttributeCiviCRMVirtuous
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Linux, Self-hostedWeb, IOS, Android
FoundedUnknown2013

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 Virtuous

  • Donor management
  • Volunteer tracking
  • Giving analysis
  • Ministry management
  • Stripe
  • PayPal
  • Mailchimp
  • Slack

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 Virtuous
  • An advocacy group needing to hold constituent data on infrastructure it controlsnot Virtuous
  • A charity already running Drupal or WordPress that wants CRM inside the same stacknot Virtuous
  • An organisation with unusual data requirements that no hosted product will build for itnot Virtuous

Virtuous

  • Donor management and pipeline tracking for mid-sized and large nonprofitsnot CiviCRM
  • Marketing automation and supporter journeys tied to giving datanot CiviCRM
  • Online donation forms and giving pages connected to the CRMnot 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.

Virtuous

  • The pricing page publishes no rate, no minimum and no cost driver for any product; every tier says Request Pricing
  • Tier eligibility is set by the nonprofit's own annual fundraising revenue, with a $5 million threshold separating Platform from Enterprise
  • CRM+, Raise, Insights, Analytics, Volunteer and Momentum are packaged as separate products, each with its own Request Pricing button
  • Momentum, the AI fundraising agent, is sold separately from the CRM rather than included

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

Virtuous

On request
  • Starter$99/month
    • Donor management
    • Volunteer tracking
  • Advanced$199/month
    • Giving analysis
    • Ministry management
    • Email campaigns

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 Virtuous if

  • You need donor management.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want volunteer tracking.
Virtuous review

Questions people ask

Is CiviCRM or Virtuous better?
Neither clearly leads. CiviCRM starts at Free and Virtuous at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CiviCRM or Virtuous?
CiviCRM has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for CiviCRM and On request for Virtuous.
Does CiviCRM or Virtuous run on more platforms?
CiviCRM runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted. Virtuous runs on Web, IOS, Android.
Can I use CiviCRM for free?
Yes. CiviCRM has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Virtuous starts at On request.
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 Virtuous is typically brought in for.
What can CiviCRM do that Virtuous cannot?
CiviCRM covers Contribution and pledge tracking, Membership management, Events and registration, Case management. Virtuous covers Donor management, Volunteer tracking, Giving analysis, Ministry management.

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.

Virtuous: How are Virtuous tiers defined?

Virtuous offers a Platform Tier for nonprofits with fundraising revenue up to $5 million annually and an Enterprise Tier for organizations over $5 million. Specific pricing requires a demo request.

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.

Virtuous: What products are included in Virtuous?

Virtuous offers CRM+, Raise (donation forms and pages), Momentum (AI-powered donor outreach), Insights (donor segmentation), Analytics (business intelligence), and Volunteer (recruitment and scheduling).

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.

Virtuous: How do I get a Virtuous pricing quote?

Virtuous does not publish pricing online. Visit their pricing page to request pricing or schedule a demo with their sales team.

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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