The comparison at a glance
| Tool | Priced by | Entry price | Free tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Little Green Light | Records | $45/mo (to 2,500) | 30-day trial |
| Bloomerang | Records | $125/mo | No |
| Keela | Contacts | $134/mo (to 1,000) | No |
| Neon CRM | Revenue | ~$99/mo | No |
| DonorPerfect | Records (quote) | from $99/mo | No |
| CiviCRM | Free + hosting | $0 + ~$15/mo host | Open source |
| Salesforce (Power of Us) | Per seat | 10 free licenses | Yes (10 seats) |
Prices are verified from each vendor's pricing page where possible; Neon's higher tiers, DonorPerfect's exact tiers, and Salesforce's per-seat cost beyond the free ten could not be confirmed and are omitted or flagged below.
Little Green Light - the budget pick
Priced purely by record count: $45/mo to 2,500 records, $75 to 10,000, scaling gently up from there, with unlimited users and the full feature set unlocked at every tier. Online donation processing is 2.2% + $0.30, paid to the processor, not LGL. It is a donor database first, so it has fewer built-in marketing and automation features than the pricier options. Best for small and all-volunteer nonprofits on tight budgets.
Bloomerang - retention-focused
CRM from $125/mo (billed annually), priced by constituent records, with unlimited users at every tier - so cost does not climb as staff and board grow. A fundraising add-on starts at $40/mo (on top of the base), and a volunteer module at $119/mo. The trade-off: per-record pricing means your bill rises with list size regardless of how much you raise. Best for small-to-midsize nonprofits that prioritise donor retention.
Keela - all-inclusive, no surprise fees
Priced by contacts: $134/mo to 1,000, $209 to 2,500, rising from there, with unlimited users and email sends and zero platform-side transaction fees. The catch is the steep jump between tiers ($134 to $209 just past 1,000 contacts). Best for small nonprofits with modest lists that want everything included.
Neon CRM and DonorPerfect - the quote-based mid-market
Neon starts around $99/mo on revenue-based billing (cost tracks what you raise, not records stored), with add-on modules priced as a percentage of the subscription; its higher tiers are inconsistently published, so get a direct quote. DonorPerfect also starts at $99/mo but publishes no per-tier pricing table - every real quote requires a sales conversation. Both suit growing, multi-channel operations willing to talk to sales.
CiviCRM - free and open-source
The software is free; the real cost is hosting and technical capacity. Official managed hosting (CiviCRM Spark) runs $15-50/mo depending on contacts and email volume. Standout: zero license cost and full control of your data. Trade-off: "free" still needs someone technical to self-host or a paid hosting plan. Best for technically capable nonprofits (or those with a volunteer developer) who want full ownership and no lock-in.
Salesforce (Power of Us) - ten free enterprise seats
Salesforce's Power of Us program grants eligible 501(c)(3)s ten free Enterprise Edition licenses, non-expiring, after a roughly three-day approval with your determination letter. That is the most generous free tier here. The catch: pricing beyond ten seats requires a sales quote, and implementation and admin overhead are far higher than a purpose-built nonprofit CRM. Best for larger orgs (or those already on Salesforce) needing more than ten users and heavy customisation, with the capacity to set it up.
How to choose
- Under ~5,000 records on a tight budget: Little Green Light is the cheapest fully-featured verified option.
- Retention and relationships first: Bloomerang (unlimited users) or Keela (everything included).
- Growing revenue, multi-channel: Neon or DonorPerfect - but get a direct quote.
- Technical team, want full ownership: CiviCRM, self-hosted or on Spark.
- Ten or fewer users and want enterprise power for $0 in licensing: Salesforce via Power of Us, budgeting separately for setup.
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