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Nonprofits · head to head

Instrumentl vs Submittable

Instrumentl logo

Instrumentl

Nonprofits

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

From
$299/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Submittable logo

Submittable

Nonprofits

Application, review and grant management for funders running open calls at volume

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.; Submittable pricing is not published and tier jumps are steep, so an organisation that grows past a submission or form limit can face a renewal quote well above the previous year with limited negotiating room mid-programme.
  • They diverge on capability: Instrumentl covers Funder matching, Submittable covers Configurable application forms.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Instrumentl and Submittable actually diverge.

Attributes where Instrumentl and Submittable differ
AttributeInstrumentlSubmittable
Starting price$299/monthOn request
Pricing modelPer organisation per month by seat bandquote

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 Submittable

  • Configurable application forms
  • Blind and multi-stage review
  • Reviewer management
  • Grant payments
  • Impact reporting
  • Applicant messaging
  • API and integrations

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 Submittable
  • A grants consultant running searches and deadline calendars for several nonprofit clients from one loginnot Submittable
  • A nonprofit that keeps missing report deadlines and needs award requirements on the same calendar as applicationsnot Submittable
  • Justifying a grants budget to a board with a documented pipeline and expected value rather than a list of hopesnot Submittable

Submittable

  • A foundation running an open grant round where a volunteer panel must score hundreds of applications without seeing applicant identitiesnot Instrumentl
  • A corporate giving team collecting employee-nominated grant requests and needing an audit trail for financenot Instrumentl
  • An arts council managing fellowship and residency applications with multi-stage juriesnot Instrumentl
  • A city agency distributing relief funds and required to show equitable review and decision recordsnot 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.

Submittable

  • Pricing is not published and tier jumps are steep, so an organisation that grows past a submission or form limit can face a renewal quote well above the previous year with limited negotiating room mid-programme.
  • It is built around the application funnel rather than the funder's relationship with grantees, so long-term relationship management, pledge tracking and multi-year commitments are weaker than in a purpose-built grants CRM.
  • Applicant-facing forms are constrained by the platform's templates, and organisations wanting a fully branded application experience on their own domain will find the customisation shallow.
  • Reporting is serviceable for programme counts but limited for board-level financial reporting, so many finance teams still export to spreadsheets to reconcile awards against the general ledger.
  • Payment disbursement capability varies by tier and region, and organisations funding recipients outside the United States often still pay grants through their bank rather than through the platform.

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

Submittable

On request
  • Submittable$undefined/year
    • Application forms and applicant portal
    • Reviewer workflow and scoring rubrics
    • Grant award and reporting modules on higher tiers

Which should you pick?

Choose Instrumentl if

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

Choose Submittable if

  • You need configurable application forms.
  • You also want blind and multi-stage review.
Submittable review

Questions people ask

Is Instrumentl or Submittable better?
Neither clearly leads. Instrumentl starts at $299/month and Submittable at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Instrumentl or Submittable?
Instrumentl starts at $299/month and Submittable at On request.
Does Instrumentl or Submittable 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 Submittable is typically brought in for.
What can Instrumentl do that Submittable cannot?
Instrumentl covers Funder matching, 990-derived funder profiles, Pipeline and deadlines, AI application drafting. Submittable covers Configurable application forms, Blind and multi-stage review, Reviewer management, Grant payments.

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.

Submittable: What does Submittable actually cost?

It is not published. Reported entry points are in the low thousands of dollars a year, with price driven by submission volume, number of forms and seats. Get the tier limits written into the contract before signing.

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.

Submittable: Is it a grants management system or a submission manager?

Both, depending on tier. The review side is its strength. Award tracking, payments and grantee reporting sit on higher tiers and are less deep than a dedicated grants CRM.

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.

Submittable: Can reviewers work anonymously?

Yes. Blind review, staged rounds and conflict of interest flagging are core features rather than paid extras.

Instrumentl: Is there a nonprofit discount?

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

Submittable: Is there a nonprofit discount?

Nonprofit pricing exists but is applied inside the quote rather than published as a percentage, so compare quotes rather than assuming a standard rate.

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