Bloomerang vs CiviCRM (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, CiviCRM grades higher than Bloomerang: 2.4 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Bloomerang grades higher on ease of use. CiviCRM grades higher on value for money, the free plan and features. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
CiviCRM
Open source constituent CRM for nonprofits and civic groups
Free plan · from $15/mo
Which one is for you
Pick Bloomerang if
- Fits if you run a nonprofit and track donors and giving
- Works for small charities that want a mobile app for fundraising
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a price first, because none is published
- Not for you if you need a sales pipeline, as it is built for fundraising
- Watch out: plans are annual and based on the number of constituents
- Watch out: Tap to Pay is stated for iOS devices only
Pick CiviCRM if
- Fits if you have someone technical who can host and maintain a server
- Works for groups that want to own their data and avoid per-seat pricing
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want no server work, as the free download needs hosting and upkeep
- Tight if you pick Spark: it is not the full download and takes no complex customisation
- Watch out: Spark prices rise with contacts and emails, and are listed only to 10,000 contacts
- Skip it if you want a native phone app, as there is none
How we grade them
| 1.8GPABloomerangWeak | 2.4GPACiviCRMFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price is published; the page builds a quote from your details, so the cost is graded in the middle. | BSpark Starter is $15 a month for up to 5,000 contacts, right at the category's cheaper quarter. The free download only counts as free if you run the server yourself. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan or trial is listed. The pricing page leads to a demo. | CThe software is free to download, but it needs your own server and upkeep, and CiviCRM publishes no price for hosting help. There is no trial. |
| Features | CConstituent profiles, giving insights, email campaigns, data cleanup, a mobile app and volunteer management. It is built for nonprofit fundraising, not general sales. | BContacts, contributions and memberships, events, peer-to-peer fundraising, bulk email and SMS, case management and reports. Spark ships most but not all of that. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Importing donors and setting up campaigns is setup work. | DThe main product is self-hosted and needs a server and upkeep. No store rating on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iOS and Android, with QuickBooks, Mailchimp, Constant Contact and DonorSearch connections. No desktop app. | BWeb only, with WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, Backdrop, Mailchimp, Zapier, QuickBooks and Xero. No native phone or desktop apps. |
| Best for | donor management for nonprofits | an open source CRM you can host yourself |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Bloomerang and CiviCRM. How we grade
Where they differ
- CiviCRM is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Bloomerang also covers workflow automation and forms.
- CiviCRM also covers case management.
In commonWebReportsEmail campaigns
At a glance
| Bloomerang | CiviCRM | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | Not published | $15 per month for up to 5,000 contacts (Spark Starter) |
| Free plan | None | The full software is free to download, use and share under the GNU AGPL v3; you host it yourself or pay a hosting partner. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Bloomerang | CiviCRM LLC |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | civicrm.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Bloomerang
- No prices are published; the pricing page asks for details and builds a quote.
- The pricing page says plans are annual and based on the number of constituents.
- Tap to Pay is stated for iOS devices only.
- It is built for nonprofit fundraising, not for a general sales pipeline.
CiviCRM
- The free download needs your own server and upkeep, or a paid hosting partner or expert, and the price of that is not published by CiviCRM.
- Spark is described by the vendor as not a replacement for the full download: it ships most but not all features and does not take complex customizations.
- Spark prices rise with contacts and emails; the page lists tiers only up to 10,000 contacts and 50,000 emails.
- Runs in a browser only; there are no native mobile or desktop apps.
Key features
Bloomerang
- Constituent profiles and timelines
- Each supporter has one profile with a timeline of donations, interactions and engagement, plus dynamic groups for targeted outreach.
- Dashboards and giving insights
- Interactive reports track giving trends, campaign results and donor growth, with insights that blend activity and giving potential.
- Email campaigns and automated outreach
- An AI assistant and template library help write email campaigns, and outreach can be automated from a first gift onward.
- Data cleanup tools
- Nightly National Change of Address updates, duplicate detection, deceased-donor suppression and wealth insights are built in.
- Mobile app
- Apps for iOS and Android show supporter details and tasks, and Tap to Pay accepts gifts on iOS devices without a card reader.
- Volunteer management
- Bloomerang Volunteer is a separate product in the same platform, sold alongside the fundraising and CRM products.
CiviCRM
- Contact management
- Keeps donors, members, volunteers and other contacts with their relationships and history in one place, with custom fields, import and export, and deduplication.
- Contributions and memberships
- Takes payments through customizable contribution pages and manages memberships with automated renewals and reminders.
- Events and peer-to-peer fundraising
- Runs any number of events and lets supporters raise money through their own fundraising pages.
- Bulk email and SMS
- Sends email and SMS campaigns to segments of contacts; the Spark tiers cap monthly emails.
- Case management
- Tracks ongoing work with a constituent as cases with their own processes.
- Reports and extensions
- Ships with dozens of configurable reports, and a public extensions directory adds payment gateways, accounting links and other integrations.
Plans
Bloomerang
Pricing could not be confirmed. See bloomerang.com.
CiviCRM
Self-hosted download$0
Free to download and run on your own server, standalone or with Backdrop, Drupal, Joomla or WordPress. You host and maintain it yourself.
Spark Starter$15
per month for up to 5,000 contacts
Hosted CiviCRM with unlimited users, most CiviCRM components and CiviMail.
Spark Essentials$30
per month for up to 5,000 contacts
Everything in Starter plus Mosaico HTML emails, with up to 10,000 emails.
Spark Pro$50
per month for up to 10,000 contacts
Additional extensions, up to 50,000 emails and a custom domain.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Bloomerang or CiviCRM?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Bloomerang has no price we could confirm, and CiviCRM starts at $15 per month for up to 5,000 contacts (Spark Starter).
Which has a free plan, Bloomerang or CiviCRM?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only CiviCRM has a free plan. Bloomerang does not.
Which platforms do Bloomerang and CiviCRM run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Bloomerang lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.