Beacon vs ClubExpress
Beacon
beaconcrm.org
ClubExpress
clubexpress.comSide by side
| Figure | Beacon | ClubExpress |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | £37/mo | $0.30/mo |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | Yes | 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) | 9.0 (#2) |
| Documentation | The help centre contains articles covering data management, forms, reporting, payments, Gift Aid, integrations, security, automation, account administration and developers. | The Help Center is organized into getting started, membership, built-in modules, finance, website, communications, add-ons, events, FAQs and release notes. |
| Hosting | Beacon says its infrastructure and customer data are hosted in the UK on AWS and Google infrastructure, with private-cloud servers. | ClubExpress is cloud-hosted on AWS, with AWS also storing selected documents, photos and audio/video files. |
| 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 Zapier integration can send membership, donation, renewal, and event data to services such as HubSpot, Google Calendar, and Mailchimp; it is designed for incremental synchronization rather than historical migration. |
| Rating on G2 | 4.7 out of 5 from 10 reviews | 4.0 out of 5 from 247 reviews |
| Security | Beacon states that it holds ISO 27001:2022 and Cyber Essentials Plus certifications. | ClubExpress says it uses nightly offsite backups, real-time database backups, salted and hashed passwords, and HTTPS with a minimum of TLS 1.2. |
| Security controls | The company states that data is encrypted at rest, traffic uses HTTPS, two-factor authentication is available, and permissions can be controlled at feature, record and field level. | The vendor states that it uses AWS firewalls, VPN monitoring, nightly and real-time backups, salted one-way password hashing, encrypted card data, PCI Level 2 compliance, HTTPS, TLS 1.2 and TLS 1.3. |
| Support | All plans include live chat and email support, free Lighthouse training and webinars; Beacon targets a five-minute response time. | The vendor advertises U.S.-based phone and email Customer Success support plus context-sensitive online help, webinars and tutorials. |
Plans
Beacon
- Starter£37 a month
- Standard£127 a month
- Premium£325 a month
- UltimatePriced on request
ClubExpress
- 501–1000 members$0.30 a month
- 301–500 members$0.34 a month
- 201–300 members$0.38 a month
- Up to 200 members$0.42 a month
- 501-1000 Members$30 a month
- 301-500 Members$34 a month
- 201-300 Members$38 a month
- Up to 200 Members$42 a month
- Basic Setup$150, paid once
- Organizations larger than 1000 membersPriced 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.
ClubExpress
ClubExpress gives clubs and associations a website, member login and database, and tools for managing membership and organization activity. Members can sign up online, select configurable membership types, and handle renewals and expirations. The platform includes more than 22 purpose-built modules, such as committees, forums, documents, photo albums, surveys, blogs, event calendars, and volunteering. Its member-focused mobile app runs on Apple iOS and Google Android, alongside web and API support. A Zapier integration can send membership, donation, renewal, and event data to services such as HubSpot, Google Calendar, and Mailchimp; it is intended for incremental synchronization rather than historical migration. Optional QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop integrations export transactions, payments, credits, fees, and customer records. ClubExpress says its servers are hosted on AWS behind a firewall, and lists nightly offsite and real-time database backups, salted and hashed passwords, and HTTPS with a minimum of TLS 1.2. It states that it is a PCI Level 2 merchant. The paid service offers a 60-day trial, limited to 10 manually entered members; credit card processing and non-member database imports are disabled during the trial.