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Nonprofits · head to head

Salesforce for Nonprofits vs SmartSimple Cloud

Salesforce for Nonprofits logo

Salesforce for Nonprofits

Nonprofits

Enterprise CRM for nonprofit organizations

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SmartSimple Cloud logo

SmartSimple Cloud

Nonprofits

Configurable grants, research and case management platform for large funders

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Salesforce for Nonprofits has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Salesforce for Nonprofits the Power of Us free grant covers only 10 Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud or Sales/Service Cloud licences; every licence beyond that is paid; SmartSimple Cloud almost everything useful is configured rather than switched on, so first-year cost is dominated by professional services and a live system is typically months rather than weeks away.
  • They diverge on capability: Salesforce for Nonprofits covers Donor management, SmartSimple Cloud covers Configurable object model.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Salesforce for Nonprofits and SmartSimple Cloud actually diverge.

Attributes where Salesforce for Nonprofits and SmartSimple Cloud differ
AttributeSalesforce for NonprofitsSmartSimple Cloud
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, IOS, AndroidWeb
Founded1999Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Salesforce for Nonprofits

  • Donor management
  • Campaign tracking
  • Volunteer management
  • Program tracking
  • Advanced reporting
  • Stripe
  • Google Analytics
  • Slack

Only in SmartSimple Cloud

  • Configurable object model
  • Workflow and approval engine
  • Peer review
  • Budget and payments
  • Grantee portal
  • Report writer
  • Research administration

What people use each for

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

Salesforce for Nonprofits

  • Nonprofit constituent CRM covering fundraising, programs, outcomes and volunteersnot SmartSimple Cloud
  • Consolidating donor, grant and program data on the Salesforce platformnot SmartSimple Cloud

SmartSimple Cloud

  • A national research council running peer-reviewed funding calls with panel conflict rules and multi-year milestone paymentsnot Salesforce for Nonprofits
  • A private foundation whose grant process differs enough between programmes that packaged software would need four separate instancesnot Salesforce for Nonprofits
  • A government department that must show a full audit trail of every decision and payment against public fundsnot Salesforce for Nonprofits
  • A health charity running grants and beneficiary case management in one system with shared contact recordsnot Salesforce for Nonprofits

Where each one falls short

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

Salesforce for Nonprofits

  • The Power of Us free grant covers only 10 Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud or Sales/Service Cloud licences; every licence beyond that is paid
  • Nonprofit Cloud Enterprise is $60 per user per month billed annually and Nonprofit Cloud Unlimited is $100 per user per month billed annually
  • The free licences require passing Salesforce eligibility criteria for the Power of Us program
  • Most Salesforce products are sold on annual contracts
  • Some products must scale together when you add or upgrade, which requires going through an Account Executive

SmartSimple Cloud

  • Almost everything useful is configured rather than switched on, so first-year cost is dominated by professional services and a live system is typically months rather than weeks away.
  • Because each deployment is bespoke, upgrades and new platform features often need configuration work before they apply to your instance, which slows the benefit of paying an annual subscription.
  • Organisations that lose their internal configurator become dependent on the vendor or a partner for even routine form changes, which turns small requests into billable work.
  • The user interface is dense and utilitarian; occasional users such as grant reviewers and applicants need instructions, which increases support load during a funding round.
  • It is priced and scoped for large funders, so a small foundation running one annual round will pay for flexibility it never uses and would be served faster by a packaged tool.

Pricing, plan by plan

Salesforce for Nonprofits

Free
  • Nonprofit CloudFree
    • Donor management
    • Campaign tracking
    • Volunteer management
  • Professional$150/month
    • Advanced reporting
    • API integrations
    • Customization

SmartSimple Cloud

On request
  • SmartSimple Cloud$undefined/year
    • Configurable grants, review and case management
    • Grantee and reviewer portals
    • Annual subscription plus separate implementation engagement

Which should you pick?

Choose Salesforce for Nonprofits if

  • You need donor management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want campaign tracking.
Salesforce for Nonprofits review

Choose SmartSimple Cloud if

  • You need configurable object model.
  • You also want workflow and approval engine.
SmartSimple Cloud review

Questions people ask

Is Salesforce for Nonprofits or SmartSimple Cloud better?
Neither clearly leads. Salesforce for Nonprofits starts at Free and SmartSimple Cloud at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Salesforce for Nonprofits or SmartSimple Cloud?
Salesforce for Nonprofits has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Salesforce for Nonprofits and On request for SmartSimple Cloud.
Does Salesforce for Nonprofits or SmartSimple Cloud run on more platforms?
Salesforce for Nonprofits runs on Web, IOS, Android. SmartSimple Cloud runs on Web.
Can I use Salesforce for Nonprofits for free?
Yes. Salesforce for Nonprofits has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. SmartSimple Cloud starts at On request.
What is Salesforce for Nonprofits best used for?
Salesforce for Nonprofits is most often used for nonprofit constituent crm covering fundraising, programs, outcomes and volunteers, consolidating donor, grant and program data on the salesforce platform. Of those, nonprofit constituent crm covering fundraising, programs, outcomes and volunteers and consolidating donor, grant and program data on the salesforce platform are not what SmartSimple Cloud is typically brought in for.
What can Salesforce for Nonprofits do that SmartSimple Cloud cannot?
Salesforce for Nonprofits covers Donor management, Campaign tracking, Volunteer management, Program tracking. SmartSimple Cloud covers Configurable object model, Workflow and approval engine, Peer review, Budget and payments.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

SmartSimple Cloud: How long does implementation take?

Plan in months, not weeks. Complex multi-programme funders routinely run six to twelve month implementations, and that work is billed separately from the subscription.

SmartSimple Cloud: Is pricing published?

No. It is quoted by modules, user counts and configuration scope. Ask specifically what future configuration changes cost, because that is the recurring surprise.

SmartSimple Cloud: Can it handle multi-currency, multi-year grants?

Yes. Tranche payments conditional on milestone reports and multi-currency awards are among the reasons large international funders choose it.

SmartSimple Cloud: Do we need our own administrator?

Practically, yes. Organisations without an internal configurator end up paying the vendor for routine form and workflow changes.

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