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Nonprofits · head to head

Keela vs Kindful

Keela logo

Keela

Nonprofits

Nonprofit CRM and fundraising platform with Canadian tax receipting built in

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Kindful logo

Kindful

Nonprofits

Simple donor management and fundraising

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Keela pricing scales with contact count, so a charity that keeps twenty years of lapsed donors pays every month for records it never contacts, and the only fix is deleting history it may need for reporting.; Kindful kindful's own site now states that Kindful is a Bloomerang product and directs visitors to demo Bloomerang instead
  • They diverge on capability: Keela covers Donor records and segmentation, Kindful covers Online donation forms.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Keela and Kindful actually diverge.

Attributes where Keela and Kindful differ
AttributeKeelaKindful
Pricing modelPer month by contact countsubscription
PlatformsWebWeb, Mobile-responsive
FoundedUnknown2014

Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), 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 Keela

  • Donor records and segmentation
  • CRA and IRS receipting
  • Donation forms and pages
  • Email and automation
  • Grant and pledge tracking
  • Reporting dashboards

Only in Kindful

  • Online donation forms
  • Donor segmentation
  • Recurring donation management
  • Volunteer portal
  • Stripe
  • PayPal
  • Mailchimp
  • Google Analytics

What people use each for

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

Keela

  • A Canadian registered charity that must issue CRA compliant receipts without building templates itselfnot Kindful
  • A development team of two to five people replacing spreadsheets and a mailing toolnot Kindful
  • An organisation already running Aplos fund accounting that wants gifts to post through automaticallynot Kindful
  • A bilingual charity sending French and English donor communications from one contact listnot Kindful

Kindful

  • Donation and fundraising managementnot Keela
  • Nonprofit donor relationship managementnot Keela
  • Grant and donation trackingnot Keela

Where each one falls short

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

Keela

  • Pricing scales with contact count, so a charity that keeps twenty years of lapsed donors pays every month for records it never contacts, and the only fix is deleting history it may need for reporting.
  • The email marketing tools are adequate for donor appeals but weaker than a dedicated platform, so organisations with heavy newsletter programmes end up paying for a second tool and syncing lists.
  • Custom reporting is limited to the fields and filters Keela exposes, so questions the product did not anticipate require exporting to a spreadsheet.
  • The integration list is short next to Salesforce or Blackbaud, so a charity running an unusual event, membership or advocacy tool will be moving data by CSV.
  • Since the 2023 Aplos acquisition the roadmap serves a combined accounting and fundraising suite, so investment favours the accounting join rather than standalone CRM depth.

Kindful

  • Kindful's own site now states that Kindful is a Bloomerang product and directs visitors to demo Bloomerang instead
  • The Bloomerang Giving Platform starts at $242 per month billed annually
  • Bloomerang Fundraising starts at $40 per month billed annually but must be purchased as part of a bundle with Bloomerang CRM
  • All plans are annual; there is no month to month option
  • Pricing is constituent based, so the bill rises with the size of the donor database
  • Only a starting price is published and the actual figure comes from contacting sales

Pricing, plan by plan

Keela

On request
  • Keela$undefined/month
    • Published tiers priced by number of contacts held, not by user seat
    • Higher tiers unlock automation, custom fields and additional reporting
    • Card processing is charged separately by the payment processor

Kindful

On request
  • Starter$50/month
    • Online donation forms
    • Donor segmentation
  • Growth$120/month
    • Volunteer portal
    • Multi-channel fundraising

Which should you pick?

Choose Keela if

  • You need donor records and segmentation.
  • You also want cra and irs receipting.
Keela review

Choose Kindful if

  • You need online donation forms.
  • You work on Web, Mobile-responsive.
  • You also want donor segmentation.
Kindful review

Questions people ask

Is Keela or Kindful better?
Neither clearly leads. Keela starts at On request and Kindful at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Keela or Kindful?
Keela starts at On request and Kindful at On request.
Does Keela or Kindful run on more platforms?
Keela runs on Web. Kindful runs on Web, Mobile-responsive.
What is Keela best used for?
Keela is most often used for a canadian registered charity that must issue cra compliant receipts without building templates itself, a development team of two to five people replacing spreadsheets and a mailing tool, an organisation already running aplos fund accounting that wants gifts to post through automatically, a bilingual charity sending french and english donor communications from one contact list. Of those, a canadian registered charity that must issue cra compliant receipts without building templates itself and a development team of two to five people replacing spreadsheets and a mailing tool are not what Kindful is typically brought in for.
What can Keela do that Kindful cannot?
Keela covers Donor records and segmentation, CRA and IRS receipting, Donation forms and pages, Email and automation. Kindful covers Online donation forms, Donor segmentation, Recurring donation management, Volunteer portal.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Keela: Does Keela issue CRA compliant tax receipts?

Yes, receipt numbering, required wording and batch issuance are built in, which is the main reason Canadian charities choose it over US products.

Kindful: How much does Kindful cost?

Kindful does not publish pricing on its website. Contact their sales team at 888-854-3230 or [email protected], or schedule a demo to receive a custom quote.

Source
Keela: Who owns Keela?

Aplos Software, a US fund accounting vendor, acquired it in 2023. Keela is still sold as its own product but shares a roadmap with Aplos.

Kindful: Does Kindful offer transaction fees for donations?

Transaction fee information is not disclosed on the website. Contact Kindful sales for details on payment processing costs.

Source
Keela: Is pricing per user?

No, it is by contact count. Adding staff does not raise the bill, growing the mailing list does.

Keela: Can it replace a fund accounting system?

No. It records income and pledges but does not do fund accounting, so you still need Aplos, QuickBooks or an equivalent.

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