Anthology Encompass vs Starfish

Anthology Encompass is a browser-based platform for coordinating an institution’s giving, events, communications, and community engagement. It supports email campaigns with templates, audience selection, A/B tests, deliverability tools, and performance reporting. Giving features include donation campaigns, forms, recurring gifts, and transaction reports; event tools cover RSVPs, registration, fee-based activities, confirmations, reconciliation, and attendee check-in. Membership campaigns can manage dues, benefits, renewals, and scheduled payments. Its Engagement Dashboard tracks email, event, giving, membership, online usage, and volunteer activity, though only Super Admins and the Engagement Metrics Admin can access it. Institutions can also use branded crowdfunding templates and a Giving Microsite Builder; the builder was in an Early Access Beta program in the 2026.5 release. Anthology says more than 800 higher education institutions use Encompass. The service is paid, with pricing on request, and is available on Android, iOS, and the web. Constituent sites support recent mobile browsers, but administrative tools are not supported on mobile.

Starfish is a web platform for colleges and universities to coordinate student success work, identify student needs, and support timely interventions. Early Alert, Scheduling, and Case Management help institutions identify and track students, engage them, and connect them with resources aligned to their needs. Operational Analytics gives faculty and staff data for proactive advising and helps connect institutional strategy to student-success approaches. Strategic Analytics supports action for student groups identified through risk factors and offers focused dashboards for reported data. Degree Planning helps students follow academic pathways, flags when they are off track, and gives institutions information to anticipate course demand. The platform supports cohort management and intervention throughout the student journey. EAB provides implementation help, staff training, update management, and change-management guidance through dedicated Strategic Leaders familiar with each partner institution. Partners can also join the nationwide Student Success Collaborative to share strategies with peer success leaders. EAB directs prospective customers to contact its team or request a demo; no price is stated. Its Trust Center lists TX-RAMP Level 2 certification and security topics including role-based access control, single sign-on support, and multi-factor authentication.