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Nonprofits · head to head

Give Lively vs GrantStation

Give Lively logo

Give Lively

Nonprofits

Fundraising software given free to nonprofits, funded by its founders rather than by fees

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
GrantStation logo

GrantStation

Nonprofits

A low-cost grant opportunity database sold on annual membership, usually at a heavy standing discount

From
$199/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Give Lively has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Give Lively eligibility is limited to US 501(c)(3) organisations, so charities registered in the UK, Canada, Australia or the EU cannot use it at all regardless of fit.; GrantStation it is a database with no pipeline, no deadline tracking against your own applications and no post-award reporting, so any team of more than one ends up managing grants in a spreadsheet anyway.
  • They diverge on capability: Give Lively covers Branded donation pages, GrantStation covers US grantmaker database.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Give Lively and GrantStation actually diverge.

Attributes where Give Lively and GrantStation differ
AttributeGive LivelyGrantStation
Starting priceFree$199/year
Pricing modelFree to nonprofits, card processing charged by the processorPer organisation per year
Free tierYesNo

Identical on both: platforms (Web), 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 Give Lively

  • Branded donation pages
  • Peer-to-peer fundraising
  • Text-to-donate
  • Event ticketing
  • Donor database
  • DAFpay
  • Multiple processors

Only in GrantStation

  • US grantmaker database
  • Federal and state funding
  • International and Canadian databases
  • Weekly opportunity bulletin
  • PathFinder library
  • Saved searches

What people use each for

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

Give Lively

  • A US nonprofit currently paying a percentage platform fee on every gift and wanting that money back in programme budgetnot GrantStation
  • Running a peer-to-peer campaign where thin margins make a per-donation platform cut painfulnot GrantStation
  • A small organisation with no software budget that still needs branded, mobile-ready donation pagesnot GrantStation
  • Adding donor advised fund giving at checkout without paying for a separate DAF integrationnot GrantStation

GrantStation

  • A small nonprofit with no grants budget that needs a starting list of plausible funders in its statenot Give Lively
  • A solo grant writer validating whether a cause area has enough funders to justify a grants strategynot Give Lively
  • An organisation whose state nonprofit association resells the membership at 75 to 139 dollars, making it near-free researchnot Give Lively
  • Supplementing an existing donor CRM with opportunity discovery without adding a second four-figure subscriptionnot Give Lively

Where each one falls short

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

Give Lively

  • Eligibility is limited to US 501(c)(3) organisations, so charities registered in the UK, Canada, Australia or the EU cannot use it at all regardless of fit.
  • The platform is funded by its founders' personal philanthropy rather than by revenue, so there is no contractual commitment to a roadmap or a service level and no paying customer base to keep it alive if that funding stops.
  • Support is email based with no paid escalation tier, so an organisation mid-campaign with a broken form has no way to buy faster attention.
  • The donor database is adequate for gift tracking but thin compared with a real CRM, so most organisations still pay for Bloomerang, DonorPerfect or Salesforce alongside it and maintain a sync.
  • Optional donor tips appear at checkout to fund the platform, which some boards object to because it puts a second ask in front of a donor who has already decided what to give.

GrantStation

  • It is a database with no pipeline, no deadline tracking against your own applications and no post-award reporting, so any team of more than one ends up managing grants in a spreadsheet anyway.
  • The published 699 dollar list price bears no relation to the market price, which means buyers who purchase direct without checking association rates routinely overpay by three to nine times.
  • Funder records are broad but shallow compared with 990-derived tools, so vetting whether a foundation actually funds organisations like yours still requires separate research.
  • There are no integrations with donor CRMs or accounting systems, so nothing found in GrantStation flows anywhere else without manual re-entry.
  • Data freshness varies by database, and the international pool in particular is thin relative to the US listings it is bundled with.

Pricing, plan by plan

Give Lively

Free
  • Give LivelyFree
    • All fundraising products included
    • No platform fee on donations
    • No setup or subscription charge

GrantStation

$199/year
  • Membership (promotional or association rate)$199/year
    • Full US, Canadian and international databases
    • Weekly opportunity bulletin
    • PathFinder training library
  • Membership (list price)$699/year
    • Identical access to the promotional rate
    • Rarely the price actually paid

Which should you pick?

Choose Give Lively if

  • You need branded donation pages.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want peer-to-peer fundraising.
Give Lively review

Choose GrantStation if

  • You need us grantmaker database.
  • You also want federal and state funding.
GrantStation review

Questions people ask

Is Give Lively or GrantStation better?
Neither clearly leads. Give Lively starts at Free and GrantStation at $199/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Give Lively or GrantStation?
Give Lively has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Give Lively and $199/year for GrantStation.
Does Give Lively or GrantStation run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Give Lively for free?
Yes. Give Lively has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. GrantStation starts at $199/year.
What is Give Lively best used for?
Give Lively is most often used for a us nonprofit currently paying a percentage platform fee on every gift and wanting that money back in programme budget, running a peer-to-peer campaign where thin margins make a per-donation platform cut painful, a small organisation with no software budget that still needs branded, mobile-ready donation pages, adding donor advised fund giving at checkout without paying for a separate daf integration. Of those, a us nonprofit currently paying a percentage platform fee on every gift and wanting that money back in programme budget and running a peer-to-peer campaign where thin margins make a per-donation platform cut painful are not what GrantStation is typically brought in for.
What can Give Lively do that GrantStation cannot?
Give Lively covers Branded donation pages, Peer-to-peer fundraising, Text-to-donate, Event ticketing. GrantStation covers US grantmaker database, Federal and state funding, International and Canadian databases, Weekly opportunity bulletin.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Give Lively: Is it genuinely free, or free with a percentage taken?

Genuinely free. Give Lively takes no cut of donations and charges no subscription. You pay only the card processing fee, which goes to Stripe, Shift4 or PayPal, starting around 1.99% plus $0.25.

GrantStation: What does GrantStation actually cost?

List price is 699 USD a year but the standing promotional rate is 199, and nonprofit associations resell it to members for 75 to 139. Check your association before buying direct.

Give Lively: How does the company make money?

It does not, in the ordinary sense. Operating costs are covered by its founders as a philanthropic commitment, plus voluntary tips donors can add at checkout.

GrantStation: Does it track my applications?

No. It finds opportunities. Pipeline, deadlines and reporting have to live elsewhere.

Give Lively: Can a UK or Canadian charity use it?

No. Give Lively requires US 501(c)(3) status.

GrantStation: How does it compare with Instrumentl?

It is roughly a tenth of the price and does roughly a tenth of the job. Instrumentl adds matching, pipeline and post-award tracking.

Give Lively: Does it replace a donor CRM?

Not for most organisations. It stores donors and gift history, but fundraisers running major gift or grant pipelines usually keep a dedicated CRM and sync to it.

GrantStation: Is there a free trial?

GrantStation offers a limited free search tool and periodic trials, but the full databases require membership.

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