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Alternatives · Hivebrite

Hivebrite alternatives for small alumni associations

Hivebrite is good software for large organisations with regional groups, paid memberships and an IT team. If you are a committee of volunteers, it may be more than you need. Here are six other options, ours included, with the catch in each.

See the optionsOpen the live demo

AlumDeck

  • $49 a year for every feature
  • Unlimited admins, each limited to their area
  • Installed the same day on your own hosting

vsWhat a committee needs, and what Hivebrite is built for

Hivebrite

  • $10,740 a year for Core, the entry plan
  • Two admins and five groups on Core
  • Hosted for you, with migration services

Why associations look elsewhere

The price is only part of it.

Four published facts about Hivebrite's entry plan.

  • $10,740a year for Hivebrite Core, billed annually
  • 2admins included in Core
  • 5groups included in Core
  • 1 to 3months for a typical migration, by Hivebrite's account

Hivebrite describes itself as built for complex organisations, and its plans say so: the app, extra languages, CRM connectors and mentoring are paid extensions on top of the plan. None of that makes it a bad product. It makes it a large one. Sources: Hivebrite pricing and technical services, checked September 2026.

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
AlmabaseQuote onlyAlmabaseAdvancement offices that raise money online and run Raiser's EdgeCompare
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

A members-only directory, reunions with free QR tickets, recorded gifts with numbered receipts, mentoring requests, a jobs board, and your history, In Memoriam and hall of fame. It installs on your own cPanel hosting.

  • Price: $49 a year, published, with a 14-day money-back guarantee
  • Best for: volunteer committees and small alumni offices
  • Watch for: members cannot pay on the site yet, there are no groups beyond class years, and you look after the hosting
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

    The cheapest hosted option with a published price: Booster costs about a seventh of Hivebrite Core. 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

    The opposite end of the market from Hivebrite: you host it, you patch it, you pay once. Read AlumDeck vs marketplace scripts.

  3. Almabase: fundraising and events for advancement teams

    Hosted engagement and fundraising software for university and school advancement offices: giving days, ticketed events with auctions, memberships, a directory and mentoring, with two-way Raiser's Edge NXT sync.

    Price: Quote only, priced by emailable contacts, plus a one-time setup fee (Almabase plans)
    Who hosts it: Almabase, on AWS and Azure
    Best for: Advancement offices that raise money online and run Raiser's Edge
    Watch for: No published price; 8 to 12 weeks to launch is typical; API access and text messaging cost extra

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

  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

    Like Hivebrite, a hosted community platform, with mentoring programmes at its centre. 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

    Choose it over Hivebrite if you want programmes run for you rather than a platform to run yourself. 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

    ToucanTech lists Hivebrite among the systems it migrates customers from (ToucanTech). Read AlumDeck vs ToucanTech.

If you choose AlumDeck

Moving from Hivebrite, in six steps.

  1. Get your member list out as a spreadsheet (CSV). Include email, name, class year and anything else you keep.
  2. Install AlumDeck on your hosting. Six browser screens: licence, requirements, database, site and first admin, finish. The install guide walks through each one.
  3. Import your members. The wizard maps your columns, runs a dry run that lists every problem, then imports, matching people by email. Each member gets a membership number.
  4. Rebuild what does not import. Events, news, pages and giving appeals are typed in again. Most associations only need the next few.
  5. Tell your members. Imported members are not emailed an invitation yet. Send your own message pointing them to "forgotten password" on the new site.
  6. Keep Hivebrite until your renewal date, then close it.

Or stay put

When Hivebrite is still the right answer.

Choose AlumDeck if

  • A committee of volunteers runs your association
  • You want unlimited admins, each limited to their own area
  • Someone can look after cPanel hosting
  • Your history and memorials matter as much as the directory

Choose Hivebrite if

  • You run chapters that each need their own admins and pages
  • Members must pay dues or buy tickets on the site
  • Your IT team requires single sign-on or a CRM connector
  • You want the vendor to host, migrate and train

Questions

Leaving Hivebrite, asked plainly

What is the cheapest alternative to Hivebrite?

For fewer than 500 alumni who only need a directory, AlmaShines' free AlmaDirectory. Then a marketplace script at $45 to $49 once, AlumDeck at $49 a year with every feature, and AlmaShines Booster from $120 a month. Hivebrite Core is from $895 a month, billed annually.

Is there a self-hosted alternative to Hivebrite?

Yes. AlumDeck and the marketplace scripts both install on your own hosting. AlmaShines also sells a private-cloud Enterprise plan from $8,000 once, for groups of five or more institutes.

Which Hivebrite alternatives have regional groups?

Every hosted platform on this list offers groups or chapters. AlumDeck does not yet: each class year gets its own private room automatically, and groups with their own leaders are planned for release 1.5.

Can we try AlumDeck before we leave Hivebrite?

Yes. Open the live demo tonight, and when checkout opens you can run AlumDeck beside Hivebrite until your renewal date. There is a 14-day money-back guarantee.

Will our member data come across?

Members, yes, if you can get them out as a CSV file: the import wizard maps the columns and runs a dry run first. Events, news, discussions and gift history do not import, so plan to rebuild what you need.

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