Which grant management software should a funder pick?
Intake, review, post-award: three jobs, and only three vendors that publish their price.
Applications land in a shared inbox, reviewers score in a spreadsheet, and nobody knows which grantee sent its final report. One public funder said it plainly in its own case study: with files tracked in a spreadsheet, the risk of error is very high.
The short answer. Good Grants is the best pick for most grantmakers: $3,950 a year, unlimited users, review and post-award tracking included. Common Grant Application suits a small program, from $175 a month with no contract. Submit.com frames one large round at €5,995 a year. Submittable, Optimy, Fluxx, SmartSimple and Foundant do not publish prices: they are covered further down.
Are you a nonprofit applying for grants? This page is not for you: read our grant software for nonprofits comparison. Here, we talk to the side that gives the money.
The ranking is editorial: a sponsored spot is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link changes a score.
The best grant management software for your case
3 grant management tools compared
This ranking is for organizations that give grants: private and family foundations, community foundations, corporate giving programs and public agencies. A tool gets in only if it takes applications, runs the review and tracks awards, with a price on its own site. Prices come from official pricing pages; Submit.com bills in euros.
| Best for | What sets it apart | Free plan | Team size | Visit | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Good Grants | Best for most grantmakers | Unlimited users, budgets tracked | 4.4/5 | Intro $3,950/yr | — | Foundations and funds | Visit → |
| 2 | Common Grant Application | Most flexible for a small program | Monthly, no contract, all features | 4.1/5 | $175 to $250/mo | — | Small grantmakers | Visit → |
| 3 | Submit.com | Most structured for one large program | 1,000 applicants, 20 reviewers on Starter | 3.9/5 | Starter €5,995/yr | — | One crowded grant round | Visit → |
Scores are ours: none of these three tools has a full review on the site yet, and each keeps the same score in every language. Submittable, Optimy, SmartSimple, Foundant and Fluxx do not publish prices, so they sit outside the ranking, below.
Is your tool missing from this page? Email us: hello@hackceleration.com
How we compared and ranked
This page is for the person running a grant program: a program officer at a foundation, a grants manager at a community foundation, a corporate giving lead. You know your criteria. What you need is one tool that holds from the first application to the last grantee report.
We reviewed about ten grantmaking tools on their official sites, then read user feedback, starting with the complaints: reports that are hard to export, prices tied to application volume, scoring setups that take time to learn. A tool enters the ranking only if it does all three jobs and shows a price on its official page. Review and post-award weigh the most, because that is where tools differ: almost all of them can display a form.
- Review and scoringScoring, decision stages, panels, conflicts of interest.25%
- Post-award trackingBudgets, payments, grantee reports, and on which plan.25%
- Application portalConfigurable forms, number of programs, attachments.20%
- Clear pricing and volume costPublic price, effect of applications and users.20%
- Ease of setupOnboarding, training, support.10%
The ranking is editorial: a sponsored spot is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link changes a score.
Good Grants
Good Grants covers the whole funder side in one tool. An application portal for applicants. A review stage with scoring, unlimited decision stages and a ranked shortlist. Then funding management after the award, with multiple budgets, a dashboard and Excel or CSV exports.
What puts it first is a public price, which is rare here. Intro costs $3,950 a year and Premium $7,900, with unlimited users, so your whole review panel can log in without raising the bill. Both plans take up to 10,000 applications, and the vendor takes no cut of the money you pay out.
- Unlimited users on Intro, reviewers and board members included
- Unlimited decision stages, scoring and ranking
- Multiple budgets tracked, Excel and CSV exports for finance
- ✓Published price and no fee on disbursements
- ✓Up to 10,000 applications a year on both plans
- ✓14-day trial, enough to build a real round
- ✗Annual billing only, no monthly option
- ✗Intro allows 1 form: a second program means Premium (10 forms)
- ✗It tracks payments but does not send them: your accounting system still pays grantees
The default pick for a funder leaving spreadsheets without a long procurement. Start on Intro for one round a year; move to Premium for a second round, or if your board votes.
Common Grant Application
Common Grant Application is built for small grantmakers. Price depends on three things: admins, applications and dollars awarded. With 1 or 2 admins, up to 50 applications and up to $500,000 distributed, you pay $175 to $250 a month.
The vendor says every feature is included: portal, unlimited reviewers, post-award tracking, setup, support and training. You pay monthly by card, with no contract. For a first program, it is the easiest way off spreadsheets without a twelve-month commitment.
- Unlimited reviewers at every price tier
- Setup, support and training included
- No contract: stop paying when the program stops
- ✓The only one of the three you can pay monthly
- ✓All features included, post-award tracking too
- ✓Pricing designed for low volume
- ✗Card payment required
- ✗The vendor states final pricing may vary: get your rate in writing
- ✗Above 5 admins, the price climbs past $450 a month
The right tool for a first grant round, or a foundation giving a few hundred thousand dollars a year. Past 5 admins, compare with Good Grants, whose price does not move with user count.
Grant software pricing moves. Get the changes that hit your budget
Submit.com
Submit.com handles intake and review well. Starter, at €5,995 a year, takes 1,000 applicants, 5 admins and up to 20 reviewers for one program. It is a clean frame for a single, crowded grant round. The vendor publishes this price in euros only, so a US funder pays at the exchange rate.
Its limit is post-award. Grant tracking (amounts awarded, drawdowns) is not in Starter: you need Pro or Enterprise, both on quote. If you report on every dollar paid out, ask for that quote on day one.
- Up to 20 reviewers on Starter
- 1,000 applicants included in Starter
- Published entry price
- ✓A clear frame for one large round
- ✓A 20-person panel at no extra cost
- ✓Good fit for European funders billing in euros
- ✗Grant tracking is not included in Starter
- ✗One program on Starter: a second round means a quote
- ✗Priced in euros only, the highest published entry price of the three
A good pick if your challenge is screening many applications with a panel. If it is tracking payments and grantee reports, Good Grants does that on its first plan, for less.
Other options, quote only
These tools do a grantmaker's job but publish no price. They stay outside the ranking: you learn what they cost only after a demo or a call. For a large foundation, that is often the normal route.
Submittable: the best-known name
Meeting firstSubmittable runs multi-stage reviews and financial tracking; payments to grantees are reserved for Enterprise. Users like its conditional forms. They also mention onboarding that can be complex, reports that are a pain to download in usable form, and pricing tied to application volume that they cannot set themselves.
No published price: the pricing page only offers to book a meeting.
- Price
- Quote after a meeting
- Watch out
- Price tied to application volume
Optimy: deepest review for corporate giving
CorporateOptimy goes furthest on review: eligibility checks, weighted criteria, blind review and conflict-of-interest handling. Tracking separates allocated, committed and paid amounts per program, with agreements, deliverables and e-signatures. Forms run in 22+ languages, useful for a company giving in several countries.
No readable price on the site: you go through a demo. Some users find the scoring setup a bit complex, while praising the support team.
- Price
- Quote after a demo
- Best for
- Corporate foundations
Fluxx: built for large foundations
EnterpriseFluxx covers the full grant lifecycle for large foundations. Its pricing page was not reachable during our comparison, and reviewers describe enterprise pricing and a real learning curve that make it heavy for small or occasional programs.
Worth a look if you run several programs with a dedicated team.
- Price
- On quote
- Best for
- Large foundations
SmartSimple and Foundant GLM: full lifecycle on request
On requestBoth cover intake to final report. SmartSimple asks you to request a pricing proposal and adds implementation fees to the subscription. Foundant's Grant Lifecycle Manager asks you to request pricing; its users often cite migration support as a strong point.
Below a few million dollars a year in grants, the three ranked tools do the job at a price you know in advance.
- Price
- On request, implementation fees at SmartSimple
- Best for
- Mid to large foundations
ZoomGrants and GivingData: on quote too
On requestZoomGrants charges a subscription plus a fee per program, which matters if you run many small rounds. GivingData sells Go, Pro and Enterprise tiers, all on request. Neither shows an amount on its pricing page.
- Price
- On quote
- Watch out
- Per-program fee at ZoomGrants
What grant software really costs at your volume
The sticker price is only part of it. Three things raise the bill: application volume, number of programs, and whether post-award tracking sits on a higher plan. Here is the yearly cost for three funder profiles, at official prices.
One small program, under 50 applications
Common Grant Application: $175 to $250 a month with 1 or 2 admins, so $2,100 to $3,000 a year, monthly and no contract. Good Grants Intro: $3,950 a year. At this volume, Common Grant Application wins, especially if the program may stop.
Two or three grant rounds a year
Good Grants Premium: $7,900 a year, 10 forms, unlimited users. Submit.com Starter covers one program only: beyond that, you need a quote. Common Grant Application climbs with each admin and with the dollars you award.
One large program, hundreds of applicants
Submit.com Starter: €5,995 a year for 1,000 applicants and 20 reviewers. Good Grants takes up to 10,000 applications on both plans. Beyond that, or for several million dollars awarded, Submittable, Optimy, SmartSimple or Foundant go through a demo.
- Count last year's applications and add a margin: a successful round raises the bill on volume-based plans
- Check which plan includes post-award tracking: at Submit.com it is not in Starter
- Ask for implementation fees in writing: some vendors bill them separately
- Confirm a full data export before signing, so you can leave one day
- Ask how payments reach grantees: most tools track amounts, your finance system still pays
Launch your first online grant round
Software does not do everything. These settings avoid the most common launch mistakes.
Write your scoring rubric before the form
Before launchStart from your funding criteria, then build the form so it gives reviewers exactly what they score. Otherwise they dig through attachments. On Good Grants and Submit.com, the rubric is set before the round opens.
- Time
- Half a day with your committee
Handle conflicts of interest inside the tool
ReviewA board member who sits on an applicant's board should not score that application. Optimy handles this natively; elsewhere, add a stage that removes the reviewer. That is what an auditor will ask for.
- Most complete
- Optimy
Cap the round before it caps your budget
PricingOn volume-priced tools, an open call that goes viral can push you to the next tier. Put a short eligibility step before the full form: ineligible applicants stop there and never count as applications.
- Useful on
- Volume-based plans
Export every closed round
Every yearExport each closed round to Excel or CSV. Tools do shut down: a grant-seeker tool, GrantHub, closed early in 2026. With your exports, you switch vendors without losing your grantee history.
- Format
- Excel or CSV
What grantmakers ask before choosing
What is grant management software?
It takes applications, organizes the review and tracks awarded funds until the final report. For a funder, it replaces the inbox, spreadsheet and shared drive where documents get lost.
What is the difference between grant tracking and grant management?
Tracking follows deadlines and amounts. Management adds the application portal, the review and the decisions. Grantmakers need management; a grant seeker often only needs tracking.
Do I need grant software, or is a spreadsheet enough?
A spreadsheet works for a dozen applications. Past a few dozen, versions multiply and grantee reports slip. Airtable stretches the limit, but its linked tables get hard to maintain for one person.
What is the cheapest grant management software for a small foundation?
Among tools with a public price, Common Grant Application, from $175 a month with no contract. Good Grants Intro, at $3,950 a year, costs more but includes unlimited users.
Can grant software pay grantees directly?
Rarely. Good Grants tracks budgets but does not describe payment processing. Submittable reserves payments for Enterprise. Plan an export to your accounting system.
Does grant software integrate with an ERP?
Ask before you sign. The ranked tools export to Excel or CSV; deeper connections usually come with enterprise tiers or implementation work, billed separately at some vendors.
Is grant software different for government agencies?
Often, yes: agencies buy through procurement, which favors quote-based vendors, and the applicant form must meet accessibility rules. Ask for an accessibility statement.
What about software to find and write grants?
That is the applicant side, with tools like Instrumentl. Read our grant software for nonprofits comparison.