How Alder compares.
Every charity is different, and the right CRM depends on what you need. We believe in transparency — here’s how Alder stacks up against the alternatives.
Donorfy
Donorfy is a solid CRM with a 4.2/5 overall rating in the Fundraising Magazine CRM Survey 2025 and 96% recommendation. They were acquired by Access Group in 2024, which raises reasonable questions about future roadmap and feature direction.
What’s different
Full platform, not just fundraising. Donorfy is fundraising-focused. Alder covers fundraising, case management, volunteers, events, compliance, and governance. If you need to track more than donor interactions, Alder is the better fit.
No feature gating. Donorfy Essentials is limited. Alder Free has every feature: case management, volunteer scheduling, compliance workflows, board reporting, everything. Pay only for scale, never for capability.
Significantly cheaper at scale. For a 100,000-contact charity, Donorfy costs £933/month (estimated). Alder Scale is £349/month for unlimited contacts. That’s a difference of £7,008 per year — enough to fund an extra part-time team member.
Free data migration and parallel running. Switching CRMs is painful. Any Alder paid plan includes free data migration and guides to run both systems in parallel while you verify. Donorfy’s PM said it best: “Changing CRMs is like open-heart surgery.” We make sure you survive it.
| Alder CRM | Donorfy | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes — 500 contacts, 3 users, every feature | No (trial only) |
| Typical cost (10k contacts) | £59–£149/mo | £99–£249/mo |
| Case management | Full (records, safeguarding, outcomes) | Basic |
| Volunteer management | Full (scheduling, DBS, hours) | Limited |
| Feature gating | None — all features, every tier | Yes (Essentials vs Professional) |
| Free data migration | Yes (any paid plan) | No |
| Governance/board reporting | Yes | No |
| CRM Survey 2025 rating | New — not yet rated | 4.2/5 (72 respondents, 96% recommend) |
The Access Group question
Donorfy’s 2024 acquisition by Access Group brings uncertainty. We can’t predict Access Group’s roadmap or investment priorities. If you’re considering Donorfy, it’s worth trying Alder free first — 500 contacts, every feature, no credit card. See if a purpose-built charity platform feels right before committing to a larger vendor with different strategic goals.