Kuali Research vs GrantsNow

Kuali Research9.0Visit GrantsNow8.6Visit

Higher score Kuali Research #3 in Research Administration Software 9.0/10 Pricing on request ✓ 7 of 7 features Visit Kuali Research

vs

GrantsNow #7 in Research Administration Software 8.6/10 Pricing on request ✓ 7 of 7 features Visit GrantsNow

• Kuali Research fits best

  Research offices needing deep compliance coverage

• GrantsNow fits best

  Mature teams managing grants and contracts

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Side by side

Feature	Kuali Research 9.0/10 Visit ↗	GrantsNow 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.0	8.6
Ranking	#3 in Research Administration Software	#7 in Research Administration Software
Best for	Research offices needing deep compliance coverage	Mature teams managing grants and contracts
Pricing model	Paid	Paid
Starting price	Pricing on request	Pricing on request
Free plan	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud
Support	Email, Docs, Tickets	Email
Integrations	3 integrations	4 integrations
Built for	Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Kuali Research 7/7 · GrantsNow 7/7
Grant lifecycle	✓	✓
Proposal management	✓	✓
Award management	✓	✓
Compliance workflows	✓	✓
Agreement management	✓	✓
Budget tracking	✓	✓
API access	✓	✓
Our review
Pros	Covers proposals, awards, budgets, submissions, subawards, and closeout Includes ethics, biosafety, radiation safety, and export-control workflows Supports REST APIs, GraphQL, and direct Grants.gov submission	Covers opportunity search through awards, contracts, and compliance Configurable approvals, costing, ethics, risk, and reporting workflows Integrates with Oracle ERP, Oracle HR and Finance, and DocuSign
Cons	Pricing requires contacting sales rather than reviewing public plan details Broad compliance coverage may exceed the needs of narrower teams Configurable workflows and controls require administrative design	Pricing requires a contact-led sales process Web is the listed platform Its broad scope may require substantial configuration
Our verdict	Kuali Research is a research administration suite for colleges and universities managing the full research lifecycle. It brings proposal development, internal routing, compliant budget creation, Grants.gov submission and status tracking,… Read the review →	GrantsNow is a cloud-based grants administration platform for research institutions, universities, and schools. It covers the grant lifecycle from opportunity search and filtering through proposal creation, full economic costing,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Kuali Research — where it wins

  • Covers proposals, awards, budgets, submissions, subawards, and closeout
  • Includes ethics, biosafety, radiation safety, and export-control workflows
  • Supports REST APIs, GraphQL, and direct Grants.gov submission

  Where it doesn't

  • Pricing requires contacting sales rather than reviewing public plan details
  • Broad compliance coverage may exceed the needs of narrower teams
  • Configurable workflows and controls require administrative design

• GrantsNow — where it wins

  • Covers opportunity search through awards, contracts, and compliance
  • Configurable approvals, costing, ethics, risk, and reporting workflows
  • Integrates with Oracle ERP, Oracle HR and Finance, and DocuSign

  Where it doesn't

  • Pricing requires a contact-led sales process
  • Web is the listed platform
  • Its broad scope may require substantial configuration

• Kuali Research9.0/10 · Pricing on request

  A broad research administration suite for institutions with complex compliance workflows.

  Visit Kuali ResearchFull verdict →
• GrantsNow8.6/10 · Pricing on request

  A full-lifecycle grants platform for institutions with complex research workflows.

  Visit GrantsNowFull verdict →