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Top 10 Best Nonprofit Membership Software in 2023

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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:

Nonprofit membership software

 

What is the best membership software for nonprofits?

Many organizations start the process of choosing nonprofit membership management software by making a list of “must have” and “nice to have” features. It’s helpful to make a comparison chart in a spreadsheet where you can also note important differences such as price, fees, setup costs, integrations, support options, and more. We’ve gathered information in this chart and guide to help you find the right fit.
Top 10 Best Nonprofit Membership Management Software Comparison Chart
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 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

Membershipworks logo1. 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

YourMembership logo2. 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

Support: Email, phone

See a YourMembership comparison

Donorbox logo3. 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.

Support: Email

See a Donorbox comparison

Wild Apricot logo4. 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

Support: Chat, email, forums

See a WildApricot comparison

GlueUp logo5. 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

Support: Phone, email, chat

See a GlueUp comparison

NeonOne logo6. 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

MemberClicks logo7. 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

See a MemberClicks comparison

Kindful logo8. 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

Support: Email, chat

See a Kindful comparison

Springly logo9. 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)

See a Springly comparison

HiveBrite logo10. 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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