While many charity nonprofits focus on soliciting donations, other nonprofits such as chambers, associations, and networking groups rely on membership dues. Organizations like these can benefit from nonprofit membership management software that keeps track of renewal dates, handles online payments, and more.
Finding the best nonprofit membership software can feel overwhelming. Whether you end up choosing our software or a competitor, the goal of this guide is to help you find the best fit for your organization.
In this Guide:
- What is the best membership software for nonprofits?
- What is member management software for nonprofits?
- How do you choose nonprofit membership software?
- Who are the top 10 nonprofit membership management software?
What is the best membership software for nonprofits?
| MembershipWorks | YourMembership | Donorbox | WildApricot | GlueUp | NeonOne | Memberclicks | Kindful | Springly | HiveBrite | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price per month starts at | $0; paid plans start at $35/mo. | starts at $292/mo. | $0 | $0; paid plans start at $48/mo. | starts at $125/mo. | starts at $99/mo. | starts at $250/mo. | starts at $100/mo. | $0; paid plans start at $25/mo. | starts at $500/mo. |
| Setup Fee | $0 | varies | $0 | $0 | $0 | optional | $3,000 | $199 | $0 | $0 |
| Additional per-transaction charges (beyond payment gateway fees) | $0 | 2.95% on top of payment gateway fees | Must use their affiliated payment gateway which has higher fees for nonprofits than other choices ** | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
| Member Only Content | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Directory | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Event Calendar / Registration | Yes | Yes | No calendar; yes registration | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Classifieds | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Job Board | Yes | Yes | No | Yes, but with revenue sharing | Yes | No | Yes, but with revenue sharing | Yes | No | Yes |
| Announcement Board or Forum | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Donations | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Shopping Cart | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | via Shopify | Yes | No |
| CMS compatibility | WordPress, Weebly, Squarespace, Wix, Duda, WithoutCode, Drupal, Joomla, Spacecraft, HTML5 sites | Requires their custom CMS | WordPress, Weebly, Squarespace, Wix, Webflow | Custom CMS. Uses iframes to embed widgets on other platforms | Requires their custom CMS | WordPress | Not applicable. They build your website. | WordPress, Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Spacecraft | Requires their custom CMS | Requires their custom CMS |
| Key Integrations | MailChimp, Quickbooks Online and Desktop, Xero | Quickbooks online, LMS, API | * Salesforce, MailChimp, Double the Donation | Quickbooks Desktop, Make (connects WA to other apps) | Quickbooks, Xero, API | Double the Donation, Constant Contact, MailChimp, Eventbrite, Quickbooks for plans over $149/mo. | Higher Logic, Hubspot, Salesforce, Learning Management System | MailChimp, Shopify, Constant Contact, Classy, Emma | Quickbooks | Salesforce, Blackbaud, MS Dynamics 365, Raiser’s Edge, API |
| Payment Gateways | Stripe, Authorize.net, PayPal | Affinipay, BluePay | Stripe, PayPal, Venmo, Google Pay, Apple Pay | Affinipay (Paypal and Authorize.net at an additional cost) | Stripe, Adapay | NeonPay, Authorize.net, BluePay, IATS | Authorize.net, Bambora, CardPointe, PayPal | Stripe, PayPal, Square, Authorize.Net | Springly’s in house solution | Stripe, PayPal |
| Support | Phone, email, live screen share | Phone, email | Forum, chat, email | Phone, Chat, Email | Phone and chat support available at $300/mo plan | Email, phone, forum | Email, chat | Chat, email, $150 per hour training | Phone, Chat, Email | |
| # of Admin Seats on paid plans | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unknown | Unlimited | 2; additional admins are $15/mo. each | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
* Added cost for each integration ranges from $8/mo. to $50/mo.
** Wild Apricot adds 20% to its monthly/annual fees if you don’t use their affiliated payment gateway. Nonprofits can often find lower transaction fees with other payment gateways like Stripe, but the 20% fee increase comes into play if you go that route.
What is member management software for nonprofits?
Membership management software helps nonprofits bring efficiencies to their operations. Beyond collecting dues, these membership platforms help organizations segment their members and engage them online. Not for profit membership software also provides membership site features like online donations, event registration, member directories, and more.
How do you choose nonprofit membership software?
When choosing between membership software for nonprofits, key factors to consider include:
- Price – Membership plugin pricing can vary from free to hundreds of dollars per month. The number of accounts in your nonprofit membership database can be a determining factor. Some systems charge for extras like transaction fees, support, and integrations. Be sure to consider the total cost of ownership for any system.
- Features – Some nonprofits may want a member directory and event registration tools while others may need to focus on recurring donations. Gather a list of “must have” features before beginning your research. For example, do you need to restrict access to content? Some systems offer this feature while others do not.
- Additional transaction fees – Payment gateways allow you to accept credit cards on your site and charge transaction fees in the 2.2-3% range. Some membership site platforms also charge an additional percentage on top of payment gateway fees. Not all member management software for nonprofits charge these fees. In some cases, these extra fees are as high as 7% per transaction.
- Payment gateway integration choices and associated fees – Some systems require that you use their own gateway for paid memberships. These in-house gateways can have higher rates than if you use other providers like Stripe that offer a nonprofit discount.
- Integrations – It’s important to check to see if the software will work on your existing website. You’ll also need to know if it is compatible with systems you already use like Quickbooks. Check to see if additional fees are charged for the integrations you need.
- User experience – Software should be easy to use whether members are updating user profiles or staff is setting up membership levels. Some older systems will have less modern interfaces that are less intuitive.
- Support – Consider what types of support your organization may need, whether it’s by phone, email, attending group trainings where you can ask questions, watching videos, chat, or one-on-one live screen share. Some charity membership software charges for support and training while others include support in the price of the product.
Top 10 Membership Management Software for Nonprofits
1. MembershipWorks
MembershipWorks helps organizations quickly add non profit membership software to their website. Because MembershipWorks is compatible with a variety of website platforms, many organizations keep their existing website. No code knowledge is required. They offer a free plan for customers with fewer than 50 accounts.
Cost: Pricing starts at free; first paid level is $35/mo.
Setup fee: $0
Per-Seat charges: $0; admin seats are unlimited on all paid plans
Additional transaction fees: $0
Top additional features: Event registration, calendars, online directory, restricted content, donations, job bank, shopping carts, classified ads, announcement boards, forms, member only content.
Key integrations: Quickbooks Desktop, Quickbooks Online, Xero, MailChimp, Stripe, Authorize.net, PayPal Checkout, PayPal Pro
Support: Free and unlimited, phone, email, and live screen share training.
See how MembershipWorks compares to other systems
2. YourMembership
YourMembership integrates many aspects of nonprofit management into one tool. Along with their membership database for nonprofits, they also offer an integrated Learning Management System for an extra fee. Although their pricing is higher, their service includes a membership website builder.
Cost: starts at $292/month
Setup fee: varies
Top additional features: Online community, job board, event calendar and registration, directory, member only content, online store, mobile event app
Key integrations: Quickbooks Online, Career center, LMS
See a YourMembership comparison
3. Donorbox
Donorbox has recently expanded their service to include memberships. They are easy to integrate into many types of websites. However, Donorbox is light on membership features when compared to other membership platforms. While they appear to be a free membership management software, they do have extra charges for integrations. They also charge a hefty 2.95% platform fee on top of payment gateway charges.
Cost: $0 monthly fees; see platform fee
Setup fee: $0
Additional transaction fees: 2.95% platform fee in addition to payment gateway charges and integration fees
Top additional features: Donations, event registration (no calendar), peer-to-peer fundraising, easy integration
Key integrations: Integrations incur additional fees of $8-$50/month per integration. They include: MailChimp, Double the Donation and Salesforce. Note that Donorbox does not integrate directly with Quickbooks.
4. WildApricot
WildApricot is one of the oldest providers of nonprofit member management software. Accordingly, they have a large user base. Most organizations use WildApricot’s CMS to build their membership website. They offer multi-chapter organizations the ability to create a template website and copy it for their chapters to use.
Cost: Pricing starts at free; first paid level is $48/mo.
Setup fee: $0
Additional transaction fees: Wild Apricot adds 20% to its monthly or annual fees if you don’t use their payment gateway. Nonprofits can often find lower transaction fees with other payment gateways like Stripe. Stripe offers a nonprofit rate of 2.2% + $.30 versus WildApricot’s gateway that charges 2.9% + $.30 per transaction. However, the 20% fee increase comes into play if you go that route.
Top additional features: Website builder, multi-chapter features, event calendar and registration, directory, member only content, forum, online store, mobile app
Key integrations: Make, Affinipay, Website Widgets
5. GlueUp
GlueUp offers an all-in-one membership database software for nonprofits. Their features include a private social network for members and built-in email campaigns. Organizations must use their custom CMS for their website.
Cost: Starts at $125/mo. Note that not all feature modules are included on each plan type.
Setup fee: $0
Additional transaction fees: $0
Top additional features: Website builder, CPE tracking, event registration, directory, LMS, member community (social network), mobile apps
Key integrations: Quickbooks, Xero, API
6. NeonOne
NeonOne offers a variety of solutions for multiple types of nonprofits. Their products include solutions for fundraising, member-based organizations, events management and more. Higher level plans include custom reporting and phone support.
Cost: Starts at $99/mo.
Setup fee: optional $600+ for data migration service; optional $600+ for training
Additional transaction fees: $0
Top additional features: Website builder, volunteer management, peer-to-peer fundraising (at $149/mo. plan and higher), custom reporting
Key integrations: Double the Donation, Constant Contact, MailChimp, Eventbrite, Quickbooks for plans over $149/mo.
Support: Phone (on higher level plans), email, chat
7. MemberClicks
Some features that this Association Management Software (AMS) offers include event management software, an online member community, and online learning. Pricing includes a membership website provided by MemberClicks.
Cost: Starts at $250/month
Setup fee: $1,500 or $3,000 depending upon plan level
Per-seat charges: $15/month after the first two designated administrators (for MC Professional product)
Top additional features: Job board, event calendar and registration, directory, email marketing
Key integrations: Quickbooks, Hubspot, Salesforce
Support: Phone, email, online forum
8. Kindful
Kindful offers fundraising software with a focus on donations and reporting. It is more focused on donor management than membership management. Kindful extends its capabilities by offering integrations. Consider the cost of the integrations when comparing against competitors that offer an all-in-one product.
Cost: Starts at $100/month
Per-seat charges: none
Additional transaction fees: $0
Setup fee: $199
Top additional features: Events and registration, donor lifecycle analysis,
Key integrations: Constant Contact, Emma, Shopify, Classy, QGiv, Square
9. Springly
Springly is an all-in-one membership system which includes a membership website. Springly offers a nonprofit management circle where customers can share ideas with each other. It has a required in house payment gateway that charges a higher transaction fee than nonprofits can access elsewhere. Springly charges for some support options that other providers include in their monthly pricing.
Cost: Starts at $25/month
Per-seat charges: unknown
Additional transaction fees: $0
Setup fee: $0
Top additional features: Multi-chapter features, member only content, events management, online store, scannable tickets
Key integrations: Quickbooks
Support: Email, chat, online training (additional fees; $150 for a hour)
10. HiveBrite
HiveBrite provides a membership website along with features like member generated content, event management, and a built in email marketing platform. HiveBrite integrates with some of the larger and more complex database platforms. Alumni associations are fans of its community features.
Cost: Starts at $500/month
Per-seat charges: unknown
Additional transaction fees: $0
Setup fee: $0
Top additional features: Job board, member directory, forums
Key integrations: Salesforce, Blackbaud, MS Dynamics 365, Raiser’s Edge, API
Support: Phone, chat, email
Note that pricing and features may change from the information we have gathered here. Providers regularly evolve their product offerings and price points.
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