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Nonprofits · head to head

Keela vs Salsa CRM

Keela logo

Keela

Nonprofits

Nonprofit CRM and fundraising platform with Canadian tax receipting built in

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Salsa CRM logo

Salsa CRM

Nonprofits

Integrated CRM and email marketing for nonprofits

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.; Salsa CRM no longer sold as Salsa. salsalabs.com redirects to Bonterra, which absorbed it alongside EveryAction
  • They diverge on capability: Keela covers Donor records and segmentation, Salsa CRM covers Contact management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Keela and Salsa CRM actually diverge.

Attributes where Keela and Salsa CRM differ
AttributeKeelaSalsa CRM
Pricing modelPer month by contact countsubscription
PlatformsWebWeb, Mobile-responsive
FoundedUnknown2000

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 Salsa CRM

  • Contact management
  • Email marketing
  • Fundraising tools
  • Advocacy campaigns
  • Analytics
  • Stripe
  • PayPal
  • Salesforce

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 Salsa CRM
  • A development team of two to five people replacing spreadsheets and a mailing toolnot Salsa CRM
  • An organisation already running Aplos fund accounting that wants gifts to post through automaticallynot Salsa CRM
  • A bilingual charity sending French and English donor communications from one contact listnot Salsa CRM

Salsa CRM

  • Business operationsnot Keela
  • Productivitynot Keela
  • Automationnot 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.

Salsa CRM

  • No longer sold as Salsa. salsalabs.com redirects to Bonterra, which absorbed it alongside EveryAction
  • Pricing is not published

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

Salsa CRM

On request
  • Essential$85/month
    • Contact management
    • Email marketing
  • Advanced$200/month
    • Fundraising tools
    • Advocacy campaigns
    • Reporting

Which should you pick?

Choose Keela if

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

Choose Salsa CRM if

  • You need contact management.
  • You work on Web, Mobile-responsive.
  • You also want email marketing.
Salsa CRM review

Questions people ask

Is Keela or Salsa CRM better?
Neither clearly leads. Keela starts at On request and Salsa CRM at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Keela or Salsa CRM?
Keela starts at On request and Salsa CRM at On request.
Does Keela or Salsa CRM run on more platforms?
Keela runs on Web. Salsa CRM 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 Salsa CRM is typically brought in for.
What can Keela do that Salsa CRM cannot?
Keela covers Donor records and segmentation, CRA and IRS receipting, Donation forms and pages, Email and automation. Salsa CRM covers Contact management, Email marketing, Fundraising tools, Advocacy campaigns.

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.

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.

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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