CiviCRM vs CharityEngine

CiviCRM9.3Visit CharityEngine8.6Visit

Higher score CiviCRM #1 in Donor Management Software 9.3/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Visit CiviCRM

vs

CharityEngine #7 in Donor Management Software 8.6/10 Pricing on request ✓ 5 of 5 features Visit CharityEngine

• CiviCRM fits best

  Open-source nonprofits needing broad flexibility

• CharityEngine fits best

  Organizations needing communications and APIs

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Side by side

Feature	CiviCRM 9.3/10 Visit ↗	CharityEngine 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.3	8.6
Ranking	#1 in Donor Management Software	#7 in Donor Management Software
Best for	Open-source nonprofits needing broad flexibility	Organizations needing communications and APIs
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	$15/mo	—
Free plan	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud, Mobile
Platforms	Web	Web, iOS, Android
Support	Email, Community, Live chat, Docs	Email, Phone, Community, Docs
Compliance	GDPR	SOC 2, PCI DSS, 2FA
Integrations	8 integrations	7,000+ integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features CiviCRM 5/5 · CharityEngine 5/5
Campaign management	✓	✓
Online donation forms	✓	✓
Recurring donations	✓	✓
Automated receipts	✓	✓
Donor segmentation	✓	✓
Specs
Reporting level	Advanced	Advanced
Our review
Pros	Core software is free and open source Supports recurring gifts, receipts, segmentation and reporting Works with major CMS, payment, accounting and automation tools	Unified donor records with segmentation and advanced reporting Online, recurring, and embeddable donation management Email, SMS, direct-mail, API, and AI fundraising tools
Cons	Hosted plans cap contacts and email volumes Self-hosting requires an organization-managed deployment The breadth of features may require more configuration	Starts at $450 per month No free plan is available Enterprise pricing is customized
Our verdict	CiviCRM is a web-based, open-source constituent relationship management system for nonprofit and civic-sector organizations. It brings contact records, contributions, fundraising campaigns, memberships, events, email communications and… Read the review →	CharityEngine is a cloud-based CRM and fundraising platform for nonprofits managing donor records, campaigns, donations, communications, payments, and recurring gifts. It combines constituent management with hosted and embeddable donation… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• CiviCRM — where it wins

  • Core software is free and open source
  • Supports recurring gifts, receipts, segmentation and reporting
  • Works with major CMS, payment, accounting and automation tools

  Where it doesn't

  • Hosted plans cap contacts and email volumes
  • Self-hosting requires an organization-managed deployment
  • The breadth of features may require more configuration

• CharityEngine — where it wins

  • Unified donor records with segmentation and advanced reporting
  • Online, recurring, and embeddable donation management
  • Email, SMS, direct-mail, API, and AI fundraising tools

  Where it doesn't

  • Starts at $450 per month
  • No free plan is available
  • Enterprise pricing is customized

• CiviCRM9.3/10 · Free plan

  A flexible donor system with broad fundraising tools and open-source deployment options.

  Visit CiviCRMFull verdict →
• CharityEngine8.6/10 · Pricing on request

  A broad donor management suite for organizations that need communications and APIs.

  Visit CharityEngineFull verdict →