Beacon vs CharityEngine
Beacon
beaconcrm.orgCharityEngine
charityengine.netSide by side
| Figure | Beacon | CharityEngine |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | £37/mo | $450/mo |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 10 |
| Spec score · Nonprofit CRM Software | 9.2 (#1) | 8.7 (#6) |
| Spec score · Donor Management Software | 9.2 (#1) | 8.6 (#6) |
| Founded | 2017 | LinkedIn states that CharityEngine was founded in 1999. |
| Headquarters | Shoreditch, London, United Kingdom | Sarasota, Florida, United States |
| Integrations | The integration directory lists Stripe, GoCardless, PayPal, Mailchimp, Gmail, Outlook, Gift Aid, JustGiving, Enthuse, Xero, QuickBooks, WordPress, Wix, Drupal, Joomla and Zapier among others. | The vendor documents Zapier connectivity to more than 7,000 apps, including QuickBooks, Mailchimp and Eventbrite. |
| Product | Beacon is a cloud CRM designed specifically for charities and nonprofit organisations. | CharityEngine describes itself as an all-in-one nonprofit fundraising CRM that combines CRM, fundraising tools, payments, and supporter data. |
| Rating on G2 | 4.7 out of 5 from 10 reviews | 4.3 out of 5 from 61 reviews |
| Security | Beacon states that it holds ISO 27001:2022 and Cyber Essentials Plus certifications. | CharityEngine states that it is Level 1 PCI-certified and SOC 2 Type 2-certified. |
| Support | All plans include live chat and email support, free Lighthouse training and webinars; Beacon targets a five-minute response time. | The FAQ says plans include the support team, training library, and community resources, while the company guide describes standard support with an eight-business-hour response target. |
Plans
Beacon
- Starter£37 a month
- Standard£127 a month
- Premium£325 a month
- UltimatePriced on request
CharityEngine
- The Fundraising PlatformPriced on request
- Events & VolunteersPriced on request
- Membership + AdvocacyPriced on request
- Monthly GivingPriced on request
- Engagement SuitePriced on request
- Digital FundraisingPriced on request
- Enterprise CRMPriced on request
- Standard$450 a month
- Professional$700 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
Beacon
Beacon is a CRM built especially for charities, combining fundraising, memberships, events, and case management. Fundraising tools include branded donation forms, grants, major gifts, legacies, recurring payments, and Gift Aid. Organizations can create branded membership and event ticketing forms and track attendance. For service work, Beacon tracks enquiries, ongoing use, and activities over time. Workflow automation and AI tools support data filtering, email drafting, and database logic.
Listed integrations include Mailchimp, Dotdigital, Sendgrid, Xero, JustGiving, Stripe, GoCardless, PayPal, and Zapier. Beacon also provides a documented RESTful API for custom integrations and Beacon-powered features. The service has web, iOS, Android, and API platform listings. Plans start at £37/mo, with annual billing also listed for Starter, Standard, and Premium; Ultimate pricing is custom. Beacon says its infrastructure and customer data are hosted in the UK and that it holds ISO 27001:2022 and Cyber Essentials Plus certifications. All plans include in-app chat and email support. Implementation is not included in plan pricing and is handled by certified Implementation Partners. Beacon was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Shoreditch, London.
CharityEngine
CharityEngine is a fundraising and donor-management platform available on the web, iOS, and Android. Its core capabilities include campaign management, online donation forms, recurring donations, automated receipts, donor segmentation, and advanced reporting. The Fundraising Platform offering includes giving pages, email and automated workflows, event management, direct mail, segmentation, and custom dashboards. Other offerings address events and volunteers, membership and advocacy, monthly giving, engagement, digital fundraising, and enterprise CRM. Listed tools include ticketed events, auctions, peer-to-peer fundraising, volunteer scheduling, mobile messaging, donor journeys, payment recovery, donor portals, and CRM integration. Monthly Giving and Enterprise CRM list automated reactivation and AI-powered payment recovery, while Digital Fundraising includes attribution, tracking, and website hosting. CharityEngine was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Sarasota, Florida. Pricing is available on request; none of the listed offerings has a displayed price.