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Alternatives · Almabase

Almabase alternatives for small alumni associations

Almabase is built for advancement offices that raise money online and live in Raiser's Edge. If your association needs a directory, reunions and good records more than giving days and auctions, here are six other options, ours included.

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AlumDeck

  • $49 a year, published
  • Installed in an afternoon on your hosting
  • Every gift recorded with a numbered receipt

vsRecords and reunions, or giving days and auctions

Almabase

  • A quote, priced by emailable contacts
  • Typically live in 8 to 12 weeks, done with you
  • Online giving days, events and auctions

Why associations look elsewhere

A fundraising platform is not always the need.

Almabase does not publish a price. Its plans page shows older tiers marked as not current, and says a one-time setup and training fee applies, with API access and text messaging extra (Almabase plans, checked September 2026). It is strong at what it is for: giving days, ticketed events with sub-events and auctions, and a two-way, field-level sync with Raiser's Edge NXT (Almabase).

Associations usually look elsewhere for one of three reasons: they need a price before a sales call, they do not fundraise online at the scale Almabase is built for, or they want their history and records on the same site as their members.

At a glance

Seven options, one table

AlumDeck comes first because it is ours. The rest run from the lowest published price to the highest, then the quote-only platforms in alphabetical order. No link on this page earns us anything.

The options at a glance
OptionPublished priceWho hosts itBest forRead more
AlumDeck (ours)$49 a yearYou, on cPanel hostingVolunteer committees and small alumni officesPricing
AlmaShinesFree directory; plans from $120 a monthAlmaShinesColleges that want a hosted platform at a published price, or a free directoryCompare
A marketplace script$45 to $49 onceYouA technical volunteer who wants to pay once and look after it aloneCompare
HivebriteFrom $895 a monthHivebriteLarge associations with chapters, paid memberships and an IT teamCompare
GraduwayQuote after a demoGravytyUniversities and schools where mentoring programmes are the centre of alumni workCompare
HoopstrQuote onlyHoopstrInstitutions, mostly in India, that want outcomes delivered as well as softwareCompare
ToucanTechQuote onlyToucanTechSchool development offices that fundraise and want one system for everythingCompare

The options

Seven ways to run your alumni association.

Each with its published price, who hosts it, what it is best for and what to watch for.

Ours, listed first

AlumDeck: the whole association site, $49 a year

Appeals with a goal, a running total and a donor wall; every gift recorded, however it arrived, with a numbered receipt and a CSV export for the treasurer. Around it: a members-only directory, reunions with QR tickets, and your history, In Memoriam and hall of fame.

  • Price: $49 a year, published, with a 14-day money-back guarantee
  • Best for: associations that collect money elsewhere and need the records
  • Watch for: members cannot give on the site yet, and there is no Raiser's Edge sync
Open the live demo

The other six, from the lowest published price

  1. AlmaShines: published plans, and free under 500 alumni

    A hosted alumni platform from India with published monthly plans, a free directory for small institutions, online payments, groups, elections and a shared app on every plan.

    Price: Free for fewer than 500 alumni (a directory only); college plans from $120, $240 or $360 a month (AlmaShines pricing)
    Who hosts it: AlmaShines, on AWS; a private-cloud Enterprise plan from $8,000 once
    Best for: Colleges that want a hosted platform at a published price, or a free directory
    Watch for: Booster caps members at 3,000; mentoring, fundraising and groups start at Pro; a branded app costs extra

    Published prices from $120 a month, against Almabase's quote. Read AlumDeck vs AlmaShines.

  2. A CodeCanyon alumni script: $45 to $49, once

    Alumni association scripts sold on CodeCanyon, which you install on your own hosting, like AlumDeck. For the best-selling script, donations and elections are $29 add-ons.

    Price: $45 to $49 once; add-ons $29 each (CodeCanyon search, "alumni")
    Who hosts it: You, on your own hosting
    Best for: A technical volunteer who wants to pay once and look after it alone
    Watch for: Support lasts 6 months unless extended, and it never covers installation

    Pay once and host it yourself; nothing like Almabase's fundraising tools. Read AlumDeck vs marketplace scripts.

  3. Hivebrite: the full community platform

    A hosted platform for alumni networks, associations and nonprofits, with chapters, paid memberships, a white-label app, single sign-on and CRM connectors. It describes itself as built for complex organisations.

    Price: Core from $895 a month, Flex from $1,995 a month, billed annually (Hivebrite pricing)
    Who hosts it: Hivebrite, in the EU, US, Switzerland or Australia
    Best for: Large associations with chapters, paid memberships and an IT team
    Watch for: Core includes 2 admins and 5 groups; the app, languages, connectors and mentoring cost extra

    Where Almabase puts fundraising first, Hivebrite puts community first, with groups, feeds and an app. Read AlumDeck vs Hivebrite.

  4. Graduway: community and mentoring, from Gravyty

    The alumni community and mentoring product in Gravyty's suite, with structured mentoring programmes, groups, events, single sign-on and an app or PWA. Giving, video and fundraiser tools are separate Gravyty products.

    Price: Quote after a demo, sized to your alumni community (Gravyty Graduway)
    Who hosts it: Gravyty, on AWS, with regional data residency
    Best for: Universities and schools where mentoring programmes are the centre of alumni work
    Watch for: You see a price only after a demo; other suite products are quoted separately

    Graduway leans on mentoring where Almabase leans on giving; both are quoted. Read AlumDeck vs Graduway.

  5. Hoopstr, formerly Vaave: a platform with programmes run for you

    An alumni portal and native app with chat, groups, events, membership fees and jobs, sold alongside programmes Hoopstr runs itself: meetups, mentoring tracks and fellowships. Its Magic service finds unregistered alumni on the web.

    Price: An annual subscription with no published price (Hoopstr offerings)
    Who hosts it: Hoopstr, on AWS
    Best for: Institutions, mostly in India, that want outcomes delivered as well as software
    Watch for: Profiles found on the web and scored for earning and donor potential may not suit a privacy-first association

    Quoted, like Almabase, and aimed mostly at Indian universities and schools. Read AlumDeck vs Hoopstr.

  6. ToucanTech: a CRM and website for school development offices

    One hosted system with a contact database, website builder, email, events, fundraising and payments, sold mostly to schools in the UK, Ireland, the US and Australia, with an account manager and phone support.

    Price: Quote only; the app and accounting module are paid add-ons (ToucanTech integrations)
    Who hosts it: ToucanTech, cloud only
    Best for: School development offices that fundraise and want one system for everything
    Watch for: Migration takes 60 to 90 days by its own account; no SOC 2 or ISO certification claimed

    Like Almabase it takes gifts online, but it is a CRM in its own right rather than a layer on Raiser's Edge. Read AlumDeck vs ToucanTech.

If you use Raiser's Edge

The sync question comes first.

If your advancement office keeps donors in Raiser's Edge NXT and needs profiles, gifts and event attendance to flow back automatically, the realistic options are Almabase itself, Hivebrite and Graduway, which list Raiser's Edge NXT integrations, and AlmaShines, which claims two-way sync. Ask each for a demonstration with your own fields.

AlumDeck exports members, gifts and event attendance as CSV files, which Raiser's Edge can import. That works for a committee that sends a file to the development office once a term. It does not work for a team that needs the data the same day.

Or stay put

When Almabase is still the right answer.

Choose AlumDeck if

  • Your association collects money elsewhere and needs the records
  • You want a price you can put in a budget today
  • Your history and memorials belong on the members' site
  • Someone can look after cPanel hosting

Choose Almabase if

  • You run giving days and online donation forms
  • Raiser's Edge NXT needs a two-way, automatic sync
  • You sell event tickets, auction lots or memberships
  • Your IT review asks for SOC 2 and a HECVAT

Questions

Leaving Almabase, asked plainly

What is a cheaper alternative to Almabase?

Almabase publishes no price, so we cannot say how much cheaper. The options here with published prices are AlmaShines (free under 500 alumni, then from $120 a month), marketplace scripts ($45 to $49 once), AlumDeck ($49 a year) and Hivebrite (from $895 a month).

Which Almabase alternatives work with Raiser's Edge?

Hivebrite and Graduway both list Raiser's Edge NXT integrations, and AlmaShines claims two-way sync. ToucanTech replaces Raiser's Edge rather than syncing with it. AlumDeck exports CSV files only, so a person moves the data.

Can AlumDeck run our giving day?

No. AlumDeck runs appeals with a goal, a running total and a donor wall, and records every gift with a numbered receipt, but it has no online donation form yet (planned for release 1.2) and no giving-day countdown or class leaderboard (planned for release 1.6).

Which alternative is quickest to launch?

AlumDeck installs the same day on hosting you already have. Hoopstr says 7 days and AlmaShines 7 to 15 days, hosted for you. Almabase says 8 to 12 weeks is typical.

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