CiviCRM vs Neon CRM (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, CiviCRM grades higher than Neon CRM: 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
CiviCRM grades higher on value for money and the free plan. Neon CRM grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on features and 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
Neon CRM
Nonprofit CRM priced by revenue raised, with unlimited records
Which one is for you
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
Pick Neon CRM if
- Fits if you run a small or midsize nonprofit and want unlimited records and users
- Works for groups that run events, volunteers and memberships from one database
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you are tiny: $99 a month is the starting point and the page gives no further prices
- Watch out: payment processing runs through Neon Pay and its fees are on another page
- Watch out: onboarding and data migration packages are sold separately
- Not for you if you want a free plan or trial, as neither is listed
How we grade them
| 2.4GPACiviCRMFair | 1.8GPANeon CRMWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | D$99 a month is the floor and it rises with your revenue. Memberships and volunteers each add 10% and events add 20%. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | FNo free plan and no trial is listed on the pricing page. |
| Features | 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. | BSupporter profiles, fundraising, email and text journeys, events, volunteers, memberships, reports and an open API. Nothing in the listing is missing from the job. |
| Ease of use | DThe main product is self-hosted and needs a server and upkeep. No store rating on record. | CNo store rating on record. A database with forms, workflows and reports you build, and onboarding sold separately. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, Backdrop, Mailchimp, Zapier, QuickBooks and Xero. No native phone or desktop apps. | BWeb, with QuickBooks, Constant Contact, Eventbrite, Zapier and an open API. No mobile or desktop app is listed. |
| Best for | an open source CRM you can host yourself | a nonprofit donor database with events and memberships |
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: CiviCRM and Neon CRM. How we grade
Price against what you get
CiviCRM starts at $15 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Neon CRM starts at $99 a month and scores 2.7.
Neon CRM scores higher, and starts $84 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other CRM tools on the chart, 14 score higher than CiviCRM for less, and 9 score higher than Neon CRM for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- CiviCRM is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- CiviCRM also covers case management.
- Neon CRM also covers workflow automation, forms, sMS marketing and dashboards.
At a glance
| CiviCRM | Neon CRM | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $15 per month for up to 5,000 contacts (Spark Starter) | $99 per month, rising with the revenue your nonprofit raises |
| Free plan | The full software is free to download, use and share under the GNU AGPL v3; you host it yourself or pay a hosting partner. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | CiviCRM LLC | Neon One |
| Price read from | civicrm.com | neonone.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Neon CRM
- The price depends on annual revenue; the page gives only the $99 a month starting point.
- Memberships and volunteers add 10% of the CRM price each, and events add 20%.
- Payment processing runs through Neon Pay; its fees are on a separate page.
- Onboarding and data migration packages are sold separately.
Key features
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.
Neon CRM
- Supporter profiles
- One record gathers giving history, emails, notes, events and volunteer hours, with segments built from live data.
- Fundraising tools
- Drag-and-drop donation forms, multi-level campaigns, peer-to-peer pages, recurring gifts and grant management are in the base plan.
- Email, text and journeys
- A branded email builder, text messaging and trigger-based stewardship journeys, with unlimited sends and workflows.
- Dashboards and reports
- Live dashboards, more than 50 ready-made reports and a drag-and-drop builder for custom ones, including board reporting.
- Events, volunteers and memberships
- Optional add-ons cover event ticketing and seating, volunteer shifts and timesheets, and member portals with auto-renewals.
- Open API and integrations
- Every customer can use the Open API. Listed integrations include QuickBooks, Windfall wealth data, Constant Contact and Zapier.
Plans
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.
Neon CRM
Neon CRM$99
per month and up, based on annual revenue
Unlimited contacts, users, forms, workflows, emails and reports, with chat, email and phone support included.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, CiviCRM or Neon CRM?
As of Nov 13, 2026, CiviCRM is cheaper to start with: $15 a month, against $99 a month for Neon CRM. CiviCRM starts at $15 per month for up to 5,000 contacts (Spark Starter), and Neon CRM starts at $99 per month, rising with the revenue your nonprofit raises.
Which has a free plan, CiviCRM or Neon CRM?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only CiviCRM has a free plan. Neon CRM does not.
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.