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Nonprofits · head to head

OpenGrants vs Raisely

OpenGrants logo

OpenGrants

Nonprofits

Low-cost grant search across federal, state and private funders, with a paid consultant marketplace alongside

From
Free
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

  • Only OpenGrants has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: OpenGrants coverage of private foundations is thinner and less curated than Candid or Instrumentl, so a prospect list built solely from OpenGrants will miss foundations that never post public opportunity notices.; 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: OpenGrants covers Grant search, 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 OpenGrants and Raisely actually diverge.

Attributes where OpenGrants and Raisely differ
AttributeOpenGrantsRaisely
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer user per monthFree core platform funded by optional donor tips
Free tierYesNo

Identical on both: 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 OpenGrants

  • Grant search
  • Saved searches and alerts
  • Funder profiles
  • Opportunity tracking
  • Consultant marketplace
  • Free tier

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.

OpenGrants

  • A small nonprofit with no research budget that needs to know whether relevant grants exist before hiring anyonenot Raisely
  • A startup hunting SBIR, state innovation and economic development funding across multiple agenciesnot Raisely
  • A freelance grant writer covering several clients who cannot pass on a several-hundred-dollar monthly database costnot Raisely
  • An organisation wanting to hire a grant writer for one application without running a procurementnot Raisely

Raisely

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

Where each one falls short

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

OpenGrants

  • Coverage of private foundations is thinner and less curated than Candid or Instrumentl, so a prospect list built solely from OpenGrants will miss foundations that never post public opportunity notices.
  • The index leans on public opportunity feeds, which means it is strongest on government funding and weakest on the relationship-driven private philanthropy that most nonprofits actually rely on.
  • Matching is keyword driven rather than fit-scored, so users receive alerts for opportunities they are ineligible for and must qualify each one by hand.
  • The consultant marketplace is a directory with variable quality rather than a vetted panel, so buyers carry the risk of choosing a weak grant writer themselves.
  • It is a US-focused index, offering little to organisations seeking UK, EU or Canadian funding.

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

OpenGrants

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Core grant search
    • Limited results and saved searches
    • No card required
  • Subscription$9/month
    • Full search access
    • Saved searches and alerts
    • Funder profiles

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 OpenGrants if

  • You need grant search.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want saved searches and alerts.
OpenGrants review

Choose Raisely if

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

Questions people ask

Is OpenGrants or Raisely better?
Neither clearly leads. OpenGrants starts at Free and Raisely at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, OpenGrants or Raisely?
OpenGrants has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for OpenGrants and On request for Raisely.
Does OpenGrants or Raisely run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use OpenGrants for free?
Yes. OpenGrants has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Raisely starts at On request.
What is OpenGrants best used for?
OpenGrants is most often used for a small nonprofit with no research budget that needs to know whether relevant grants exist before hiring anyone, a startup hunting sbir, state innovation and economic development funding across multiple agencies, a freelance grant writer covering several clients who cannot pass on a several-hundred-dollar monthly database cost, an organisation wanting to hire a grant writer for one application without running a procurement. Of those, a small nonprofit with no research budget that needs to know whether relevant grants exist before hiring anyone and a startup hunting sbir, state innovation and economic development funding across multiple agencies are not what Raisely is typically brought in for.
What can OpenGrants do that Raisely cannot?
OpenGrants covers Grant search, Saved searches and alerts, Funder profiles, Opportunity tracking. Raisely covers Peer to peer fundraising, Customisable campaign pages, Recurring giving, Matched giving and appeals.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

OpenGrants: How much does it cost?

$9 a month or $99 a year after a seven day trial, with a free tier of core search retained.

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.

OpenGrants: Why is it so much cheaper than Candid?

Because it indexes public and semi-public opportunity feeds with automation rather than employing researchers to code foundation records from tax filings. You trade depth of private foundation intelligence for price.

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.

OpenGrants: Does it cover private foundations?

Partially. It is strongest on federal and state programmes. For systematic private foundation research, Candid remains the reference source.

Raisely: Is it a donor CRM?

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

OpenGrants: Is the consultant marketplace vetted?

It is a directory, not a vetted panel. Check references and past awards yourself.

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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