Compare · AlmaShines
AlumDeck vs AlmaShines
AlmaShines is a hosted alumni platform from India that, unusually, publishes its prices. AlumDeck is a $49-a-year alumni site on your own hosting. Both are priced for colleges and schools, not enterprises, so this is the closest comparison on the site.
AlumDeck
- $49 a year, every feature, unlimited members
- Runs on your own hosting, in any country
- History, In Memoriam and a hall of fame, built in
- Nightly backups with a weekly restore test
vs$49 a year for everything, or from $120 a month by plan
AlmaShines
- From $120 a month; a free directory under 500 alumni
- Live in 7 to 15 days, hosted on AWS
- Online payments, groups and elections
- A shared app on every plan; a branded one costs extra
Two published price lists
Every plan, side by side.
AlmaShines is one of only two platforms we compared that publish a price. Here is every college plan it lists, with one and five years worked out.
| Plan | Published price | Per year | Five years | Members |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AlumDeck | $49 a year | $49 | $245 | Unlimited |
| AlmaShines AlmaDirectory | Free | $0 | $0 | Fewer than 500 alumni; directory only |
| AlmaShines Booster | From $120 a month | $1,440 | $7,200 | Up to 3,000 |
| AlmaShines Pro | From $240 a month | $2,880 | $14,400 | No limit |
| AlmaShines Advanced | From $360 a month | $4,320 | $21,600 | No limit |
| AlmaShines Enterprise | From $8,000 once | Paid once | $8,000; free updates for 2 years | For groups of 5 or more institutes |
AlmaShines prices are "starts at" figures from its pricing page, checked September 2026. Booster includes 50,000 email credits; Pro adds mentoring, fundraising and groups; Advanced adds unlimited email, ID cards and a business directory. AlumDeck's figure does not include your hosting.
Side by side
Sixteen questions, both answers
Every AlmaShines answer links to the AlmaShines page it comes from.
| Feature | AlumDeck | AlmaShines |
|---|---|---|
| Price you can read before talking to sales | Yes. $49 a year, on the pricing page | Yes. From $120 a month; the page also says "request pricing" |
| Members included | Yes. Unlimited, on the one licence | Partly. Up to 3,000 on Booster; no limit from Pro |
| Everything in one plan | Yes. Every feature, unlimited members and admins | Partly. Mentoring, fundraising and groups start at Pro |
| Hosted and looked after for you | No. No. You install it on your own cPanel hosting and apply updates yourself | Yes. Yes, on AWS |
| Runs on infrastructure you control | Yes. Yes. Your database, on your host, in the country you choose | Partly. Enterprise private cloud, from $8,000 |
| A free option | No. No. A live demo and a 14-day money-back guarantee instead | Yes. AlmaDirectory, for fewer than 500 alumni |
| Class-year spaces | Yes. One private room per class year, made automatically | Yes. Batch-wise directory |
| Groups beyond class years | Partly. One private room per class year, made automatically. No other groups yet | Yes. Yes, from Pro |
| Events with RSVP and QR check-in | Yes. RSVP, capacity, free QR tickets and check-in on any phone | Yes. Events, with paid ticketing |
| Online payments | No. Not yet. Gifts are recorded with numbered receipts; the money moves elsewhere | Yes. Razorpay, PayTM and PayPal |
| Elections | No. No. Planned for release 1.6 | Yes. Yes; free up to 20 voters |
| Mobile app | Partly. An installable web app on any phone. Not in the app stores | Yes. A shared app on every plan; your own brand costs extra |
| History, In Memoriam and hall of fame pages | Yes. History timeline, In Memoriam with family consent, hall of fame | No. Not in its feature list |
| Nightly backups with a restore test | Yes. Nightly at 02:30, restore-tested every Sunday | Partly. Backups listed; no restore test described |
| Independent security certification | No. No. Your host runs the server; admin two-factor sign-in and an audit log are built in | Yes. ISO 27001, a GDPR audit and a penetration test |
| Launch time | Yes. The same day, once your hosting is ready | Yes. 7 to 15 days, done for you |
Sources: AlmaShines pricing (checked Sep 2026); AlmaShines home page (checked Sep 2026); AlmaShines data security (checked Sep 2026); AlmaShines elections (checked Sep 2026); Why AlmaShines (checked Sep 2026); AlmaShines platform (checked Sep 2026)
The fair part
What AlmaShines does better
Five things AlmaShines offers and AlumDeck does not, each linked to its own page.
Decide
Which one fits you
Choose AlumDeck if
- You want every feature and unlimited members at one low price
- You would rather own the install than rent a plan
- Your school's history and memorials matter as much as the directory
- Someone can look after cPanel hosting
Choose AlmaShines if
- You have fewer than 500 alumni and only need a directory, for free
- Members must pay for events or memberships on the site
- You need online elections for your committee
- You want it hosted and live within two weeks, done for you
Questions
AlumDeck and AlmaShines, asked plainly
Is AlmaShines cheaper than AlumDeck?
Its free AlmaDirectory is, for institutions with fewer than 500 alumni, if a directory is all you need. Its paid college plans start at $120 a month, which is $1,440 a year, against AlumDeck's $49 a year for every feature (AlmaShines pricing, checked September 2026).
What does the AlmaShines Enterprise plan give that AlumDeck does not?
Enterprise, from $8,000 once, is a private-cloud install for groups of five or more institutes, with lifetime access, a one-year warranty and two years of free updates. It is the only self-hosted-style option among the hosted platforms we compared. AlumDeck runs on your own hosting for $49 a year, with every release in your licence year.
Does AlmaShines have features AlumDeck lacks?
Several: online payments through Razorpay, PayTM and PayPal, groups, elections, an app (shared on every plan, white-labelled for a fee), WhatsApp and text outreach, and ISO 27001 certification. See "What AlmaShines does better" above.
Are the AlmaShines prices per month or per year?
Per month, shown as "starts at", in rupees and US dollars: Booster $120, Pro $240, Advanced $360. The page also says "request pricing", so the final figure may differ.
Which one is easier to launch?
AlmaShines says you can go live in 7 to 15 days, and it hosts everything (AlmaShines). AlumDeck installs in an afternoon on hosting you already have, but someone on your side has to do it.
Keep reading
Related comparisons
Five-year cost calculator
AlumDeck against every rival that publishes a price, with the source for each figure.
All seven comparisons
Six hosted alumni platforms and the marketplace scripts, side by side.
What AlumDeck does not do
The things AlumDeck does not do yet, in plain words, with the release that plans each one.
AlumDeck for alumni associations
How a volunteer committee runs its directory, reunions and records on AlumDeck.
Open the demo tonight, decide tomorrow.
Sign in as the admin, set up a reunion, record a gift. It puts itself back every night.