4 Instrumentl Alternative and Competitors

We’re confident that Instrumentl is the best grant management solution on the market. However, we also know that it might not be the right fit for everyone or every organization.

In this article, we’ll explore:

• Why you might look for an alternative grant management software.
• Four of the best Instrumentl alternatives on the market.
• What to consider when choosing the right solution for you. 

By the end, you’ll be able to decide which tool aligns best with your nonprofit’s needs.

Instrumentl is an all-in-one grant research, tracking, and management platform that streamlines the entire grant lifecycle from start to finish. It allows you to collaborate under one roof, stay on top of deadlines, and discover good-fit funders faster.

With that being said, there are a few reasons why you might consider looking for an Instrumentl alternative:

Pricing

Instrumentl is the premium and top tool on the market. The platform offers more features than any other, and its pricing reflects that. Because of this, it may not make the most sense for smaller nonprofits with smaller operating budgets.

Software Features and Focus

Some nonprofits are used to doing a lot of the groundwork of grant management by hand, researching and tracking opportunities manually, or using several lightweight tools to get the job done.

This approach probably works just fine if you only apply for one or two grants a year—additional tools won’t add much value. You might not need a lot of the features Instrumentl has to offer, such as:

• Automatic deadline reminders and updates
• RFP data connected to foundation profiles
• Smart matching
• 990 snapshots
• Awards tracking

While these tools make finding good-fit funders easier and managing your grants pipeline more streamlined, they may not be necessary for nonprofits with limited grants strategies.

Integration Capabilities

Integration can help streamline workflow and allow your organization to grow.

Currently, Instrumentl integrates with:

• Raiser’s Edge NXT
• Salesforce
• Calendar (Google, Outlook, and Apple)

However, if you’re looking for a specific integration that Instrumentl does not currently offer, you may find yourself considering an alternative solution.

If you want to explore Instrumentl alternatives, here are four of the top ones to check out. We’ll be breaking down each based on their highlights, drawbacks, and what kind of organization or grant consultant they are best suited for.

1. GrantHub

GrantHub is a cloud-based grant management software that strives to help nonprofits and consultants optimize their workflow to land more funding opportunities. It lists all types of funders across the United States, Canada, and around the world.

Highlights

When you are looking at GrantHub, they have a lot of great features that can help you manage your funding, including:

• Task tracking
• Reminders
• Grant document repository
• Dashboard
• Six reporting options
• Training
• Licenses for up to 35 users

GrantHub costs $95/month or $995/year. There is also a GrantHub Pro, which is $249/month or $2,988/year.

Drawbacks

Here are some downsides to GrantHub:

• Bugs and glitches make it not function as expected
• Lacks strong prospecting tools

Bottom Line

GrantHub is a customer favorite when it comes to tracking and managing grants.

However, if you’re also trying to find new grants, GrantHub is probably not the best option. It lacks strong prospecting tools, so you’ll need to find opportunities elsewhere before moving into GrantHub to track your workflow.

2. Fluxx Grantseeker

Fluxx Grantseeker is first and foremost a grant management tool. It helps users track their awards efficiently through a cloud-based solution.

Highlights

Some of the top features on Fluxx Grantseeker include:

• Submission tracking
• Calendar
• CSV and PDF reporting options
• Collaboration
• No user or content limits
• Select software integrations available at the enterprise level, (Microsoft Office, Google, GuideStar, LexisNexis Bridger, etc.)

Fluxx Grantseeker offers different pricing tiers, including a free option to help nonprofits try before they buy.

• Premium: $14.99/month
• Prospecting: $39.99/month
• Enterprise: $129/month

You must be at least a prospecting member or higher to access their funder database.

Drawbacks

There are some drawbacks to this software, including:

• No active grants or RFPs
• You need to pay more to get access to all the features, including the searchable funder database
• Does not provide information on government funders

The search and filter functionalities help narrow down funders, but users still need to do external research to see if they have any active grants or are currently accepting applications.

Bottom Line

Fluxx Grantseeker is great for organizations who want a strong grant management tool to streamline their workflow. 

However, if you want a complete solution that allows you to research active grant opportunities and track them, this might not be the best fit for you. You will still need to do your own prospecting research when you use this tool.

3. FoundationSearch

FoundationSearch is one of the oldest prospecting platforms, helping nonprofits find funding information since 1995. It lists all types of funders in its database, including government, private, corporate, foundations, and international funders.

Highlights

Some of FoundationSearch’s top features include:

• Comprehensive funder database
• Recipient Profiles
• Foundation profiles
• Report generator (save to CSV or PDF)
• List of upcoming tasks

At this time, FoundationSearch’s pricing is not publicly available as it depends on what your organization’s needs are. However, you can expect pricing to start at $333/month for their annual plan.

Drawbacks

• Limited multi-user collaboration capabilities
• Only one user on the platform at a time
• Does not provide active grant opportunities
• Out-of-date interface hard to navigate

Bottom Line

FoundationSearch is a great solution for uncovering all different types of funding, including international funders.

However, it does not list active grant opportunities, meaning that once you find a funder, you will have to do external research to determine if they are accepting applications or have any active grants. FoundationSearch also lacks grant management tools to help you track opportunities, streamline workflows, and collaborate with others directly within the tool.

Overall, FoundationSearch is best for organizations looking for a simple way to research a wide array of funders.

4. GrantScape

GrantScape helps nonprofits find grant opportunities across all sectors, including public, private, and government sources. They have a particular emphasis on government opportunities and offer compliance information to help streamline the application process.

Highlights

GrantScape has several features available, including:

• Robust search features and filter capabilities
• Automatic deadline reminders
• Calendar
• Custom alerts
• Saved searches

GrantScape will tailor its pricing based on your needs.

• Individual plan: $29/month or $348/year
• Pro plan: $99/month or $1,188/year
• Enterprise plans are also available.

Drawbacks

• Newer platform with limited reviews
• Few built-in grant management capabilities.

Bottom Line

GrantScape is a great tool to help you locate grant opportunities across various sectors. It is designed to help keep you on track so you do not miss funding opportunities.

However, it lacks features to support the full grant management life cycle, so if you are looking to centralize your workflow and collaborate within one tool, you may want to explore alternative solutions.

Now that you know what other grant management software have to offer, let’s discuss some additional points of consideration when it comes to Instrumentl.

Size

Instrumentl is typically best for medium and larger-sized nonprofits. Smaller nonprofits may not have a need for all its tools or be able to afford the investment at this time.

Instrumentl is also a great option for consultants who want to stay organized by bringing all of their client prospecting and tracking to one place.

Revenue

While Instrumentl serves nonprofits of all sizes, we often find nonprofits with 501c3 status and at least $1M+ in operating revenue succeed most with our platform.

The reason for this is most nonprofits who’ve reached this stage typically:

• have either validated grants as a viable funding pathway and are looking to scale their grantseeking or
• are ready to invest in seriously exploring grants and have the capacity to do so.

Volume of Grants Managed

Instrumentl is the best choice for nonprofits or consultants who are managing a high volume of grants. Instrumentl streamlines the entire grant management lifecycle from start to finish—meaning you’ll have everything you need under one single platform.

Nonprofits that only apply for one or two grants a year may find that using multiple cheaper tools alongside their own external research or manually tracking can meet their needs.

It’s hard to tell what the best alternative to Instrumentl is—because we’re confident that it’s the best grant management tool on the market today!

From a comprehensive database that matches you with active funding opportunities to 990 foundation profiles to tracking and everything in between, Instrumentl is the only one-stop shop when it comes to grant management software.

Experience all that Instrumentl has to offer with a free, 14-day trial today!