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Nonprofits · head to head

CommCare vs Funraise

CommCare logo

CommCare

Nonprofits

Offline-first case management and mobile data collection for frontline health and development programmes

From
$100/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Funraise logo

Funraise

Nonprofits

Nonprofit fundraising and donor management with revenue-based free tier

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Funraise has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: CommCare pricing is by included mobile user bands with a hard step between them, so a programme at 260 mobile users pays the Pro band plus per-user overage or jumps to Advanced, and neither option matches its actual size.; Funraise premium plans require custom pricing with sales contact
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CommCare and Funraise actually diverge.

Attributes where CommCare and Funraise differ
AttributeCommCareFunraise
Starting price$100/monthFree
Pricing modelPer month by mobile user countfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsAndroid, WebWeb

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 CommCare

  • Case management
  • Offline-first mobile app
  • App builder
  • Multi-language support
  • Two-way SMS
  • Report builder
  • API access
  • BI integration

Only in Funraise

Nothing recorded that CommCare does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

CommCare

  • A community health worker programme where each worker must see their own assigned households, what is overdue and what happened last visit, which a survey tool cannot representnot Funraise
  • A ministry of health digitising a national frontline protocol and requiring in-region data hosting for legal reasonsnot Funraise
  • An NGO running the same intervention in four countries that needs one application, several languages and consolidated reportingnot Funraise
  • A research team collecting longitudinal data on the same participants over years, where linking visits to a case rather than a submission is the whole requirementnot Funraise

Funraise

  • Managing recurring donor relationships and pledge trackingnot CommCare
  • Conducting peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns for eventsnot CommCare
  • Processing multiple payment types including stock donationsnot CommCare
  • Screening donors for wealth and giving capacitynot CommCare
  • Automating email workflows based on donor behaviornot CommCare

Where each one falls short

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

CommCare

  • Pricing is by included mobile user bands with a hard step between them, so a programme at 260 mobile users pays the Pro band plus per-user overage or jumps to Advanced, and neither option matches its actual size.
  • The subscription is the small number; application design, device procurement, worker training and supervision dominate the real cost, and grant budgets that fund only the licence stall at deployment.
  • Grant funding cycles and subscription renewals rarely align, so programmes routinely face a year-four cliff where the software is embedded in a workflow and the money that paid for it has ended.
  • It is Android-only on the device side, which is usually right for the target markets but blocks iOS-issued staff and makes the platform a poor fit for programmes in higher-income settings.
  • The open source option is real but effectively theoretical: self-hosting CommCare HQ requires substantial engineering, so the licence being free does not translate into an escape from the subscription.

Funraise

  • Premium plans require custom pricing with sales contact
  • Processing fees of 5% platform fee plus 2.9% plus $0.60 per transaction on Free plan
  • Processing fees 0-3% platform fee plus 2.9% plus $0.60 per transaction on Premium plans

Pricing, plan by plan

CommCare

$100/month
  • Standard$100/month
    • 50 mobile users included
    • $2 per additional mobile user per month
    • Unlimited free web users
  • Pro$500/month
    • 250 mobile users included
    • Case sharing and child cases
    • Web report builder
  • Advanced$1000/month
    • 500 mobile users included
    • Power BI and Tableau integration
    • Web applications
  • Enterprise$4000/month
    • Custom mobile user count
    • Single sign-on
    • Named account management

Funraise

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Donation forms and pages
    • Recurring donations
    • Events and tickets
  • Premium$null/mo
    • Custom pricing
    • Onboarding and dedicated success manager
    • Peer-to-peer fundraising

Which should you pick?

Choose CommCare if

  • You need case management.
  • You work on Android, Web.
  • You also want offline-first mobile app.
CommCare review

Choose Funraise if

  • You want to start without paying.
Funraise review

Questions people ask

Is CommCare or Funraise better?
Neither clearly leads. CommCare starts at $100/month and Funraise at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CommCare or Funraise?
Funraise has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $100/month for CommCare and Free for Funraise.
Does CommCare or Funraise run on more platforms?
CommCare runs on Android, Web. Funraise runs on Web.
Can I use Funraise for free?
Yes. Funraise has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. CommCare starts at $100/month.
What is CommCare best used for?
CommCare is most often used for a community health worker programme where each worker must see their own assigned households, what is overdue and what happened last visit, which a survey tool cannot represent, a ministry of health digitising a national frontline protocol and requiring in-region data hosting for legal reasons, an ngo running the same intervention in four countries that needs one application, several languages and consolidated reporting, a research team collecting longitudinal data on the same participants over years, where linking visits to a case rather than a submission is the whole requirement. Of those, a community health worker programme where each worker must see their own assigned households, what is overdue and what happened last visit, which a survey tool cannot represent and a ministry of health digitising a national frontline protocol and requiring in-region data hosting for legal reasons are not what Funraise is typically brought in for.
What can CommCare do that Funraise cannot?
CommCare covers Case management, Offline-first mobile app, App builder, Multi-language support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CommCare: How much does CommCare cost?

Standard is $100 a month for 50 mobile users, Pro $500 for 250, Advanced $1,000 for 500 and Enterprise from $4,000. Extra mobile users are $2 each per month; web users are unlimited and free.

Funraise: How much does Funraise cost?

Funraise offers a free plan for organizations raising under $1 million annually. Premium plans require custom pricing and contacting their sales team for a personalized quote based on organization needs.

Source
CommCare: Is CommCare open source?

Yes, CommCare HQ is open source, but self-hosting requires serious engineering capacity. Nearly all users take the hosted service.

Funraise: What are Funraise's payment processing fees?

Free plan has approximately 2.5% total average costs with 5% platform fee. Premium plans have approximately 0.8% total average costs with 0-3% platform fee. Both include 2.9% plus $0.60 per card transaction. Approximately 90% of donors cover fees, reducing net costs.

Source
CommCare: Where is our data stored?

You choose United States, European Union or India hosting, which is what makes it acceptable to ministries with data residency rules.

Funraise: Are there setup fees for Funraise?

Funraise has no setup fees. Pricing is transparent and usage-based for premium plans, with volume pricing available for high-volume fundraisers.

Source
CommCare: Who funds CommCare?

Dimagi is a for-profit B Corporation funded by customer subscriptions and services. Individual deployments are usually funded by donors such as USAID successors, the Gates Foundation or national health budgets.

CommCare: Does it do case management or just forms?

Case management. Workers hold a caseload of individuals or households and see history and due actions, which is the main reason to choose it over a form tool.

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