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Nonprofits · head to head

Instrumentl vs Raisely

Instrumentl logo

Instrumentl

Nonprofits

Grant prospecting and pipeline tracking for nonprofits, priced per organisation with published tiers

From
$299/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Raisely logo

Raisely

Nonprofits

Peer to peer and campaign fundraising platform funded by optional donor tips rather than a platform fee

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Instrumentl the funder database is built largely from IRS 990 filings, which are filed months to years after the grants they describe, so matches reflect what a funder did rather than what it is doing now.; Raisely the tip model performs unevenly, so an organisation with an older or offline recruited donor base sees a lower tip rate and quietly absorbs more of the platform cost than the model assumes.
  • They diverge on capability: Instrumentl covers Funder matching, Raisely covers Peer to peer fundraising.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Instrumentl and Raisely actually diverge.

Attributes where Instrumentl and Raisely differ
AttributeInstrumentlRaisely
Starting price$299/monthOn request
Pricing modelPer organisation per month by seat bandFree core platform funded by optional donor tips

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Instrumentl

  • Funder matching
  • 990-derived funder profiles
  • Pipeline and deadlines
  • AI application drafting
  • Post-award budget tracking
  • Team collaboration

Only in Raisely

  • Peer to peer fundraising
  • Customisable campaign pages
  • Recurring giving
  • Matched giving and appeals
  • Open API and webhooks
  • Automations

What people use each for

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

Instrumentl

  • A development director building a grant pipeline for the coming year without hiring a prospect researchernot Raisely
  • A grants consultant running searches and deadline calendars for several nonprofit clients from one loginnot Raisely
  • A nonprofit that keeps missing report deadlines and needs award requirements on the same calendar as applicationsnot Raisely
  • Justifying a grants budget to a board with a documented pipeline and expected value rather than a list of hopesnot Raisely

Raisely

  • A charity running a challenge or endurance event where supporters raise money on their own pagesnot Instrumentl
  • A campaign team that wants each appeal to look bespoke without rebuilding infrastructure each timenot Instrumentl
  • An organisation unwilling to give a platform a percentage of a large peer to peer income linenot Instrumentl
  • A digital team with front end skills or an agency partner who will customise the supporter journeynot Instrumentl

Where each one falls short

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

Instrumentl

  • The funder database is built largely from IRS 990 filings, which are filed months to years after the grants they describe, so matches reflect what a funder did rather than what it is doing now.
  • Coverage is strongly US-focused and weakest on federal and state government funding, so organisations whose income is mostly government contracts pay database prices for data they mostly cannot use.
  • Seat bands are hard limits, and a team of six on the five-seat Pre-Award tier must move to the 999 dollar tier, doubling cost for one extra person.
  • The annual discount requires paying twelve months up front, which is a real cash flow problem for the small nonprofits the entry tier targets.
  • AI drafting produces serviceable first drafts but funders increasingly screen for generic applications, so the time saved on writing tends to be spent on rewriting.

Raisely

  • The tip model performs unevenly, so an organisation with an older or offline recruited donor base sees a lower tip rate and quietly absorbs more of the platform cost than the model assumes.
  • It is a campaign platform, not a CRM, so supporter data must be synced onward and organisations that skip that step lose cross channel giving history.
  • Getting the most out of the customisation requires front end capability, and charities without it run campaigns that look like the default template while paying for a platform built for the opposite.
  • Support hours are anchored to Australian time zones, which leaves European and North American teams waiting overnight during a live campaign.
  • Payment processing is tied to a small set of processors, so organisations with an existing merchant relationship or unusual regional payment needs may not be able to keep it.

Pricing, plan by plan

Instrumentl

$299/month
  • Discover$299/month
    • Up to 3 users
    • Funder matching and search
    • Funder profiles from 990 data
  • Pre-Award$499/month
    • Up to 5 users
    • Everything in Discover
    • AI-assisted application drafting
  • Full Lifecycle$999/month
    • Up to 15 users
    • Everything in Pre-Award
    • Post-award budget and spend tracking
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Unlimited users
    • Multi-department administration
    • API access

Raisely

On request
  • Raisely$undefined/year
    • No platform percentage charged to the organisation on the core plan
    • Donors are prompted to add an optional contribution to the platform at checkout
    • Card processing is charged separately by the payment processor

Which should you pick?

Choose Instrumentl if

  • You need funder matching.
  • You also want 990-derived funder profiles.
Instrumentl review

Choose Raisely if

  • You need peer to peer fundraising.
  • You also want customisable campaign pages.
Raisely review

Questions people ask

Is Instrumentl or Raisely better?
Neither clearly leads. Instrumentl starts at $299/month and Raisely at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Instrumentl or Raisely?
Instrumentl starts at $299/month and Raisely at On request.
Does Instrumentl or Raisely run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Instrumentl best used for?
Instrumentl is most often used for a development director building a grant pipeline for the coming year without hiring a prospect researcher, a grants consultant running searches and deadline calendars for several nonprofit clients from one login, a nonprofit that keeps missing report deadlines and needs award requirements on the same calendar as applications, justifying a grants budget to a board with a documented pipeline and expected value rather than a list of hopes. Of those, a development director building a grant pipeline for the coming year without hiring a prospect researcher and a grants consultant running searches and deadline calendars for several nonprofit clients from one login are not what Raisely is typically brought in for.
What can Instrumentl do that Raisely cannot?
Instrumentl covers Funder matching, 990-derived funder profiles, Pipeline and deadlines, AI application drafting. Raisely covers Peer to peer fundraising, Customisable campaign pages, Recurring giving, Matched giving and appeals.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Instrumentl: Does Instrumentl publish pricing?

Yes, which is rare in this sector. Discover is 299 USD a month annually, Pre-Award 499 and Full Lifecycle 999, with monthly billing about 16 percent higher.

Raisely: How does Raisely make money if there is no platform fee?

Donors are prompted to add a voluntary contribution to the platform at checkout, and some organisations pay for plans that remove the prompt.

Instrumentl: Is there a free trial?

Yes, a time-limited trial is offered, and it is worth using to test coverage of your specific cause area before committing.

Raisely: Does the tip prompt reduce donation totals?

It changes the checkout, and results vary by audience. Test it against your own list rather than relying on published averages.

Instrumentl: Does it cover government grants?

Some federal opportunities are included, but the database is strongest on private and community foundation funding. Grants.gov remains the primary source for federal.

Raisely: Is it a donor CRM?

No. It runs campaigns and pushes data to a CRM through the API or an integration.

Instrumentl: Is there a nonprofit discount?

No. Every customer is a nonprofit, so the published price is the price.

Raisely: Who is it best for?

Peer to peer and challenge event fundraising where a percentage platform fee on high volume would be the largest single cost.

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