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Nonprofits · head to head

GrantStation vs Raisely

GrantStation logo

GrantStation

Nonprofits

A low-cost grant opportunity database sold on annual membership, usually at a heavy standing discount

From
$199/year
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

  • Each has a real cost: GrantStation it is a database with no pipeline, no deadline tracking against your own applications and no post-award reporting, so any team of more than one ends up managing grants in a spreadsheet anyway.; 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: GrantStation covers US grantmaker database, 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 GrantStation and Raisely actually diverge.

Attributes where GrantStation and Raisely differ
AttributeGrantStationRaisely
Starting price$199/yearOn request
Pricing modelPer organisation per yearFree core platform funded by optional donor tips

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 GrantStation

  • US grantmaker database
  • Federal and state funding
  • International and Canadian databases
  • Weekly opportunity bulletin
  • PathFinder library
  • Saved searches

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.

GrantStation

  • A small nonprofit with no grants budget that needs a starting list of plausible funders in its statenot Raisely
  • A solo grant writer validating whether a cause area has enough funders to justify a grants strategynot Raisely
  • An organisation whose state nonprofit association resells the membership at 75 to 139 dollars, making it near-free researchnot Raisely
  • Supplementing an existing donor CRM with opportunity discovery without adding a second four-figure subscriptionnot Raisely

Raisely

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

Where each one falls short

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

GrantStation

  • It is a database with no pipeline, no deadline tracking against your own applications and no post-award reporting, so any team of more than one ends up managing grants in a spreadsheet anyway.
  • The published 699 dollar list price bears no relation to the market price, which means buyers who purchase direct without checking association rates routinely overpay by three to nine times.
  • Funder records are broad but shallow compared with 990-derived tools, so vetting whether a foundation actually funds organisations like yours still requires separate research.
  • There are no integrations with donor CRMs or accounting systems, so nothing found in GrantStation flows anywhere else without manual re-entry.
  • Data freshness varies by database, and the international pool in particular is thin relative to the US listings it is bundled with.

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

GrantStation

$199/year
  • Membership (promotional or association rate)$199/year
    • Full US, Canadian and international databases
    • Weekly opportunity bulletin
    • PathFinder training library
  • Membership (list price)$699/year
    • Identical access to the promotional rate
    • Rarely the price actually paid

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 GrantStation if

  • You need us grantmaker database.
  • You also want federal and state funding.
GrantStation review

Choose Raisely if

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

Questions people ask

Is GrantStation or Raisely better?
Neither clearly leads. GrantStation starts at $199/year and Raisely at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, GrantStation or Raisely?
GrantStation starts at $199/year and Raisely at On request.
Does GrantStation or Raisely run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is GrantStation best used for?
GrantStation is most often used for a small nonprofit with no grants budget that needs a starting list of plausible funders in its state, a solo grant writer validating whether a cause area has enough funders to justify a grants strategy, an organisation whose state nonprofit association resells the membership at 75 to 139 dollars, making it near-free research, supplementing an existing donor crm with opportunity discovery without adding a second four-figure subscription. Of those, a small nonprofit with no grants budget that needs a starting list of plausible funders in its state and a solo grant writer validating whether a cause area has enough funders to justify a grants strategy are not what Raisely is typically brought in for.
What can GrantStation do that Raisely cannot?
GrantStation covers US grantmaker database, Federal and state funding, International and Canadian databases, Weekly opportunity bulletin. Raisely covers Peer to peer fundraising, Customisable campaign pages, Recurring giving, Matched giving and appeals.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

GrantStation: What does GrantStation actually cost?

List price is 699 USD a year but the standing promotional rate is 199, and nonprofit associations resell it to members for 75 to 139. Check your association before buying direct.

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.

GrantStation: Does it track my applications?

No. It finds opportunities. Pipeline, deadlines and reporting have to live elsewhere.

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.

GrantStation: How does it compare with Instrumentl?

It is roughly a tenth of the price and does roughly a tenth of the job. Instrumentl adds matching, pipeline and post-award tracking.

Raisely: Is it a donor CRM?

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

GrantStation: Is there a free trial?

GrantStation offers a limited free search tool and periodic trials, but the full databases require membership.

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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