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Nonprofits · head to head

Candid vs Tendenci

Candid logo

Candid

Nonprofits

Funder and nonprofit data subscriptions from the organisation formed by Foundation Center and GuideStar

From
$219/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Tendenci logo

Tendenci

Nonprofits

Open-source association management system for nonprofits

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Tendenci has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Candid grant records derive largely from Form 990 filings, which are published with a lag, so the database describes what a funder did up to eighteen months ago rather than what it intends to fund now.; Tendenci self-hosting is a real operational commitment, and organisations without technical capacity should not treat the free licence as a free system
  • They diverge on capability: Candid covers Foundation Directory, Tendenci covers Open-source licence.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Candid and Tendenci actually diverge.

Attributes where Candid and Tendenci differ
AttributeCandidTendenci
Starting price$219/monthFree
Pricing modelPer user per month by tierOpen source, with paid hosting available
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb, Linux, Self-hosted, Cloud

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 Candid

  • Foundation Directory
  • 990 based grant records
  • Nonprofit Profiles
  • Charity check
  • Data APIs and bulk feeds
  • Candid Learning
  • Funding Information Network

Only in Tendenci

  • Open-source licence
  • Membership management
  • Events and registration
  • Donations
  • Content-managed website
  • Email

What people use each for

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

Candid

  • A development director building a list of foundations that have actually funded organisations of your size, sector and geography in the past three yearsnot Tendenci
  • A funder verifying US tax exempt status before releasing a grant paymentnot Tendenci
  • A software vendor embedding nonprofit organisation data and charity verification into its own productnot Tendenci
  • A nonprofit maintaining a transparency seal on its public profile because institutional funders check it before givingnot Tendenci

Tendenci

  • Nonprofits whose boards require member and donor data to stay under their own controlnot Candid
  • Organisations with data residency obligations a hosted platform cannot satisfynot Candid
  • Groups with technical capacity wanting to avoid per-member subscription costs at scalenot Candid
  • Associations needing to customise workflows beyond what a proprietary platform allowsnot Candid

Where each one falls short

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

Candid

  • Grant records derive largely from Form 990 filings, which are published with a lag, so the database describes what a funder did up to eighteen months ago rather than what it intends to fund now.
  • Foundation Directory is a research database, not a pipeline tool: there is no proposal tracking, deadline management or task assignment, so most teams pay for a grants tracker alongside it.
  • Monthly pricing is high relative to the budget of a small nonprofit, and the same database is available free in person through partner libraries in the Funding Information Network, which makes the subscription hard to justify for occasional research.
  • Coverage is US-centric and built on the US tax filing system, so it is of limited use to organisations seeking funding from UK, EU or Commonwealth foundations.
  • Many funders do not accept unsolicited proposals at all, and the database cannot reliably tell you which, so prospect lists built from it still require manual qualification before outreach.

Tendenci

  • Self-hosting is a real operational commitment, and organisations without technical capacity should not treat the free licence as a free system
  • The community is small compared with mainstream open-source projects, so answers are harder to find and contributors are few
  • The interface is dated against the commercial association platforms and this is the most common user complaint
  • Fewer integrations than commercial competitors, and building them is a development task rather than a configuration one
  • Feature depth in events and continuing education is behind the specialist commercial systems

Pricing, plan by plan

Candid

$219/month
  • Foundation Directory Essential$219/month
    • Search US grantmakers and grant records
    • Saved searches and prospect lists
    • Single user
  • Foundation Directory Professional$1499/month
    • Full grantmaker, grant and recipient search
    • Trustee and key staff search
    • Advanced filters and larger exports
  • Data licensing$undefined/year
    • API and bulk data feeds
    • Charity check and organisation verification
    • Priced by volume and use case, quoted

Tendenci

Free
  • Self-hostedFree
    • Full source code
    • No per-member licence
    • Community support
  • Managed hosting$undefined/month
    • Hosted and maintained
    • Updates applied
    • Support included

Which should you pick?

Choose Candid if

  • You need foundation directory.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want 990 based grant records.
Candid review

Choose Tendenci if

  • You need open-source licence.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Cloud.
  • You also want membership management.
Tendenci review

Questions people ask

Is Candid or Tendenci better?
Neither clearly leads. Candid starts at $219/month and Tendenci at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Candid or Tendenci?
Tendenci has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $219/month for Candid and Free for Tendenci.
Does Candid or Tendenci run on more platforms?
Candid runs on Web, API. Tendenci runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Cloud.
Can I use Tendenci for free?
Yes. Tendenci has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Candid starts at $219/month.
What is Candid best used for?
Candid is most often used for a development director building a list of foundations that have actually funded organisations of your size, sector and geography in the past three years, a funder verifying us tax exempt status before releasing a grant payment, a software vendor embedding nonprofit organisation data and charity verification into its own product, a nonprofit maintaining a transparency seal on its public profile because institutional funders check it before giving. Of those, a development director building a list of foundations that have actually funded organisations of your size, sector and geography in the past three years and a funder verifying us tax exempt status before releasing a grant payment are not what Tendenci is typically brought in for.
What can Candid do that Tendenci cannot?
Candid covers Foundation Directory, 990 based grant records, Nonprofit Profiles, Charity check. Tendenci covers Open-source licence, Membership management, Events and registration, Donations.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Candid: Is Candid the same as GuideStar?

GuideStar is now part of Candid, merged with Foundation Center in 2019. GuideStar nonprofit profiles continue under the Candid brand.

Tendenci: Is Tendenci really free?

The software is, under an open-source licence with no per-member fee. Running it is not: hosting, updates, backups and security are the organisation responsibility unless managed hosting is purchased.

Candid: Can I use Foundation Directory for free?

Yes, in person. Hundreds of partner libraries and nonprofit resource centres in the Funding Information Network provide free access, which is a genuine alternative to a subscription for occasional research.

Tendenci: Who should choose it?

Organisations with a genuine requirement to control their own data, and the technical capacity to act on it. Choosing it purely to avoid subscription cost usually ends badly.

Candid: How current is the grant data?

It is drawn largely from Form 990 filings and lags real time by roughly a year to eighteen months. Treat it as evidence of past funding behaviour, not current priorities.

Tendenci: Can I move my data out?

Yes, entirely. That is the point. Data lives in a PostgreSQL database you control, and there is no vendor holding it.

Candid: Does Candid help outside the United States?

Only marginally. The data model is built on US tax filings and US registered organisations.

Tendenci: How does it compare to Wild Apricot?

Wild Apricot is easier, better supported and better looking. Tendenci is the answer when data ownership is a requirement rather than a preference.

Tendenci: Is it actively maintained?

It is developed openly on GitHub with a small team and community. Check recent commit activity before committing, as with any small open-source project.

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