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.
Spreadsheets
Roughly 30% of UK charities have no formal CRM. They’re managing on Google Sheets, shared documents, shared drives. You’re not alone — but you’re also at risk.
What spreadsheets can’t do
Data protection. A shared spreadsheet has no access controls, no audit trail, no consent management. Everyone can see everything. Anyone can delete anything. You can’t prove who changed what, when, or why. GDPR compliance becomes guesswork.
Safeguarding. A spreadsheet shared across your team is a safeguarding risk. Sensitive information about vulnerable people is visible to anyone with the link. You can’t restrict access to certain records. You can’t track who accessed what.
Board reporting. A finance trustee needs to see annual giving. A safeguarding trustee needs to see case counts and outcomes. An operations trustee needs to see volunteer hours. Pulling this data from multiple spreadsheets takes days. Your data is fractured.
Automation. No automatic thank-you letters. No DBS renewal reminders. No donation receipts. No Gift Aid tracking. Every action requires manual work — and manual work scales linearly with your charity’s growth. At some point, someone is spending 40 hours a week on spreadsheet maintenance.
Single view. The same person is in four rows with four different name spellings. You send two donation receipts by accident. You don’t know that Jane Smith (row 42) is the same person as J. Smith (row 156). Your data quality spirals.
| Alder Free | Spreadsheets | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | £0 (forever) | £0 (but hidden time cost) |
| Access controls | Yes (role-based) | No (all or nothing) |
| Audit trail | Yes (all actions logged) | No |
| Consent tracking | Yes (GDPR-ready) | No |
| Safeguarding workflows | Yes (restricted access) | No |
| Automation | Yes (emails, reminders, Gift Aid) | No |
| Board reporting | Yes (pre-built dashboards) | Manual extraction |
| Duplicate detection | Yes (prevents data quality issues) | No |
| Data quality assurance | Yes (validation rules) | No |
What if it was free?
Alder is free — 500 contacts, 3 users, every feature, forever. No credit card, no trial period, no upsell email. Alder Free is built for micro-charities trying a CRM for the first time. It guides you with governance checklists, safeguarding workflows, compliance reminders, and Gift Aid tracking. Everything a charity needs.
If you’ve been meaning to move off spreadsheets but haven’t found the right moment — this is it. No cost barrier. No “we’ll wait until next budget cycle.” Start today.
Spreadsheet alternative — frequently asked questions
Why should our charity stop using spreadsheets?
Spreadsheets can't track Gift Aid automatically, manage GDPR consent, handle safeguarding workflows, schedule volunteers, or generate board reports. They don't enforce data quality, can't send automated thank-you emails, and become unmanageable once you grow beyond a few hundred contacts. Alder is free for up to 500 contacts — there is no financial reason to stay on spreadsheets. You get a fully-featured CRM at no cost.
What's the cheapest way to switch from spreadsheets to a CRM?
Alder's Free tier is £0 forever — 500 contacts, 3 users, every feature included. No credit card required. Takes 2 minutes to sign up. Import your existing spreadsheets via CSV or Excel import — our tool maps your columns, validates data, and flags duplicates automatically. You only pay when you outgrow 500 contacts, and upgrading is instant with no migration or downtime.
Can I import data from Google Sheets or Excel into Alder?
Yes. Alder supports CSV and Excel import on all tiers, including Free. Export from Google Sheets, Excel, or any spreadsheet tool as CSV, then use Alder's import tool to map columns, validate data, and flag duplicates. Free self-serve import on the Free tier; full data migration service included on all paid plans.