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Nonprofits · head to head

Kindful vs Submittable

Kindful logo

Kindful

Nonprofits

Simple donor management and fundraising

From
On request
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: Kindful kindful's own site now states that Kindful is a Bloomerang product and directs visitors to demo Bloomerang instead; 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: Kindful covers Online donation forms, Submittable covers Configurable application forms.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kindful and Submittable actually diverge.

Attributes where Kindful and Submittable differ
AttributeKindfulSubmittable
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, Mobile-responsiveWeb
Founded2014Unknown

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 Kindful

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

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.

Kindful

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

Submittable

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

Where each one falls short

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

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

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

Kindful

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

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 Kindful if

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

Choose Submittable if

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

Questions people ask

Is Kindful or Submittable better?
Neither clearly leads. Kindful starts at On request and Submittable at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kindful or Submittable?
Kindful starts at On request and Submittable at On request.
Does Kindful or Submittable run on more platforms?
Kindful runs on Web, Mobile-responsive. Submittable runs on Web.
What is Kindful best used for?
Kindful is most often used for donation and fundraising management, nonprofit donor relationship management, grant and donation tracking. Of those, donation and fundraising management and nonprofit donor relationship management are not what Submittable is typically brought in for.
What can Kindful do that Submittable cannot?
Kindful covers Online donation forms, Donor segmentation, Recurring donation management, Volunteer portal. Submittable covers Configurable application forms, Blind and multi-stage review, Reviewer management, Grant payments.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
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.

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
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.

Submittable: Can reviewers work anonymously?

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

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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