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Nonprofits · head to head

CiviCRM vs Wild Apricot

CiviCRM logo

CiviCRM

Nonprofits

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Wild Apricot logo

Wild Apricot

Nonprofits

Membership management for small associations and clubs

From
$60/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.; Wild Apricot the website builder is dated and constrained, and organisations that care about their public site usually end up running a separate site alongside it
  • They diverge on capability: CiviCRM covers Contribution and pledge tracking, Wild Apricot covers Member database.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CiviCRM and Wild Apricot actually diverge.

Attributes where CiviCRM and Wild Apricot differ
AttributeCiviCRMWild Apricot
Starting priceFree$60/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer month by contact count
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Linux, Self-hostedWeb, iOS, Android

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 Wild Apricot

  • Member database
  • Automated renewals
  • Event registration
  • Website builder
  • Online payments
  • Email and newsletters

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

Wild Apricot

  • Small associations and clubs replacing a spreadsheet and a separate websitenot CiviCRM
  • Volunteer-run organisations needing unlimited administrators without per-seat costnot CiviCRM
  • Professional bodies handling dues renewals and a member directorynot CiviCRM
  • Groups running paid events for members alongside membership subscriptionsnot 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.

Wild Apricot

  • The website builder is dated and constrained, and organisations that care about their public site usually end up running a separate site alongside it
  • Pricing by contact count means lapsed members and non-member contacts push you into a higher tier unless the database is actively pruned
  • Every module is adequate rather than good, so any organisation with a serious need in one area will outgrow that part first
  • Reporting is basic, and detailed membership analysis generally means exporting to a spreadsheet
  • Migration away is painful once the website, database and event history all live inside it

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

Wild Apricot

$60/month
  • Group$60/month
    • Up to 100 contacts
    • Member database
    • Website
  • Community$150/month
    • Up to 500 contacts
    • All Group features
    • More storage
  • Association$290/month
    • Up to 2,000 contacts
    • All Community features
    • Priority support
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • 5,000 contacts and above
    • Dedicated support
    • Custom arrangements

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 Wild Apricot if

  • You need member database.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want automated renewals.
Wild Apricot review

Questions people ask

Is CiviCRM or Wild Apricot better?
Neither clearly leads. CiviCRM starts at Free and Wild Apricot at $60/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CiviCRM or Wild Apricot?
CiviCRM has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for CiviCRM and $60/month for Wild Apricot.
Does CiviCRM or Wild Apricot run on more platforms?
CiviCRM runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted. Wild Apricot runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use CiviCRM for free?
Yes. CiviCRM has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Wild Apricot starts at $60/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 Wild Apricot is typically brought in for.
What can CiviCRM do that Wild Apricot cannot?
CiviCRM covers Contribution and pledge tracking, Membership management, Events and registration, Case management. Wild Apricot covers Member database, Automated renewals, Event registration, Website builder.

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.

Wild Apricot: How is Wild Apricot priced?

By contact count, not by staff seat, starting at 60 USD a month for up to 100 contacts. Unlimited administrators is the practical benefit for volunteer-run organisations.

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.

Wild Apricot: Do lapsed members count toward the limit?

Contacts count, which includes records beyond current paying members. Pruning the database matters, because tier boundaries are the main cause of unexpected cost increases.

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.

Wild Apricot: Is the website builder any good?

It is functional and dated. Organisations that care about their public web presence commonly run a separate site and use Wild Apricot for the member-only area.

CiviCRM: Can it be hosted for us?

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

Wild Apricot: Can it handle fundraising?

Basic donation collection, yes. Organisations whose main activity is fundraising rather than membership are better served by a donor management platform.

Wild Apricot: When do organisations outgrow it?

Usually at a few thousand members, or earlier if one area — events, fundraising or the website — becomes central to the organisation rather than incidental.

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