Optimy vs SmarterSelect
Optimy
optimy.comSmarterSelect
smarterselect.comSide by side
| Figure | Optimy | SmarterSelect |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | €0.08/mo | $166.67/mo |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 9 | 3 |
| Spec score · Scholarship Management Software | 7.5 (#7) | 7.7 (#5) |
| Spec score · Application Management Software | 7.4 (#13) | 7.7 (#8) |
| Audience | Optimy describes its platform as serving corporations, foundations, and public institutions. | SmarterSelect is most suitable for community foundations, private organizations, nonprofits, schools and associations running scholarship, grant or award processes. |
| Founded | 2011 | 2007 |
| Headquarters | Brussels, Belgium | Dallas, Texas, United States |
| Integrations | Optimy describes a configurable API, one-click integrations with Make, and DocuSign e-signatures. | SmarterSelect can share application data with more than 2,000 applications, including Salesforce and other CRM systems, through Zapier without programming. |
| Privacy | Optimy says it supports GDPR compliance and provides controls for privacy requests and user data deletion. | SmarterSelect says it does not sell or share personal information in connection with providing its services. |
| Purpose | Optimy manages grants, sponsorships, employee volunteering, and CSR programs in one platform. | SmarterSelect is application-management software for scholarships, grants, awards and other programs. |
| Security | Optimy says data is transmitted using HTTPS with TLS 1.2 or TLS 1.3 and stored data is encrypted with AES-256. | SmarterSelect says it maintains technical, physical, administrative and organizational security measures and industry-standard procedures for detecting and responding to attacks and failures. |
| Support | Pricing lists e-learning and a knowledge base, with service packages offering response times from 24–48 hours to 4–8 hours. | Support is included with subscriptions; support hours are 8 AM to 6 PM Central US Monday through Friday, with live chat for Enhance and Enterprise and email ticketing for Create. |
Plans
Optimy
- Start€650 a month
- Basic€1,000 a year
- Growth€2,000 a year
- Advanced€5,000 a year
- Basic (Optimy Consulting)€1 a year
- Advanced (Optimy Consulting)€5 a year
- Growth (Optimy Consulting)€2,000 a year
- ProfessionalPriced on request
- SmartPriced on request
SmarterSelect
- Create$2,000 a year
- Enhance$5,000 a year
- Enterprise$7,500 a year
In their own words
Optimy
Optimy manages grants, sponsorships, employee volunteering, and CSR programs in one platform. Its workflow covers applications, reviews, approvals, project tracking, and impact reporting, with custom KPIs and audit-ready reports. Listed capabilities include scoring and rubrics, reviewer collaboration, an applicant portal, analytics, and payment collection. Optimy describes a configurable API, one-click integrations with Make, and DocuSign e-signatures; external API connections may be offered on request and can incur additional fees. The platform supports 22+ languages and is aimed at corporations, foundations, and public institutions. Optimy says it transmits data using HTTPS with TLS 1.2 or TLS 1.3 and encrypts stored data with AES-256. It also describes GDPR-related privacy request and data deletion controls. Hosting is on AWS infrastructure in North America and Europe. The Start plan is listed from €650/mo. Optimy says implementation usually takes 6 to 8 weeks. Support plans list e-learning and a knowledge base, with response-time packages from 24–48 hours to 4–8 hours.
SmarterSelect
SmarterSelect is application-management software for scholarship, grant, award, and other programs. It helps organizations collect applications, manage applicants, evaluate submissions, and track awards. Forms support multiple question types and file attachments, with layouts for phones, tablets, and laptops. The platform can automate scoring and calculations, send email and text notifications and reminders, and track awards. Reviewers can use scoring and rubrics; administrators can create custom reports and export applicant or evaluation data as CSV or PDF files. Through Zapier, application data can be shared with more than 2,000 applications, including Salesforce and other CRM systems, without programming. Single sign-on lets users access the platform with credentials from a CRM or member-management system. Subscriptions include support, with hours of 8 AM to 6 PM Central US Monday through Friday. The no-credit-card trial has no time limit but is limited to ten users for testing. SmarterSelect says it does not sell or share personal information in providing its services and supports GDPR access, erasure, and portability requests. Plans start at $2,000 USD per year.