Compare · Hoopstr, formerly Vaave
AlumDeck vs Hoopstr
Hoopstr, which was called Vaave until its rename, sells an alumni portal and app together with programmes it runs for you: meetups, mentoring tracks and fellowships. AlumDeck is software only, $49 a year, on your own hosting.
AlumDeck
- $49 a year, published, every feature
- Knows only what members tell it, with recorded consent
- Runs on your own hosting; the data never leaves it
- History, In Memoriam and a hall of fame, built in
vsSoftware you run, or a platform with services around it
Hoopstr
- No published price; an annual subscription
- Finds unregistered alumni on the web and scores them
- A native app with chat, feed and a membership card
- Meetups, mentoring tracks and fellowships run for you
Side by side
Seventeen questions, both answers
Every Hoopstr answer links to a Hoopstr or Vaave page.
| Feature | AlumDeck | Hoopstr |
|---|---|---|
| Price you can read before talking to sales | Yes. $49 a year, on the pricing page | No. Annual subscription; no price published |
| 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 your own server | Yes. Yes. Your database, on your host, in the country you choose | No. No; a branded portal on your own domain |
| Try it without a sales call | Yes. The live demo: no form, reset every night | Partly. A demo, on request |
| Members-only directory | Partly. Members-only, with 10 privacy fields. Search by name, city, job, employer and class year | Yes. Search on portal and app |
| Only people who sign up are in it | Yes. Yes. Members join, and each consent is recorded | No. Magic also finds unregistered alumni on the web |
| Groups and chapters | Partly. One private room per class year, made automatically. No other groups yet | Yes. Groups and chapters |
| Events with QR check-in | Yes. RSVP, capacity, free QR tickets and check-in on any phone | Yes. QR tickets and check-in through the app |
| Membership fees and paid events | No. Not yet. Gifts are recorded with numbered receipts; the money moves elsewhere | Yes. Fees at sign-up, online or offline |
| Chat between members | No. No. Members exchange details only when both agree | Yes. One-to-one and group chat |
| Mobile app | Partly. An installable web app on any phone. Not in the app stores | Yes. Native iOS and Android app |
| Jobs | Partly. Member job board with moderation. Posts expire after 60 days | Yes. Job board and career centre |
| Elections | No. No. Planned for release 1.6 | Partly. Yes, with voting opened and closed by staff |
| 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 |
| 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, SOC 2 and GDPR claimed |
| Programmes run for you | No. No. Software only | Yes. Meetups, mentoring tracks, fellowships |
| Launch time | Yes. The same day, once your hosting is ready | Yes. 7 days |
Sources: Hoopstr platform (checked Sep 2026); Hoopstr offerings (checked Sep 2026); Hoopstr Magic (checked Sep 2026); Vaave events article (checked Sep 2026); Vaave memberships article (checked Sep 2026); Vaave elections guide (checked Sep 2026)
The fair part
What Hoopstr does better
Five things Hoopstr offers and AlumDeck does not, each linked to its own page.
A difference of principle
Finding alumni, or waiting to be found.
Hoopstr Magic scans the web for alumni who never registered, adds them to your database, refreshes their job titles automatically and gives each person a score across seven dimensions, including earning, recruiter and donor potential (Hoopstr Magic). For an institution that wants to find and rank its graduates, that is a real capability, and AlumDeck has nothing like it.
We have chosen not to build it. AlumDeck holds only what members tell it, each consent is recorded with the version of its wording, and nothing about a person is added from outside your site. The list grows the slow way: people join, classmates vouch for them, and your committee approves them.
Decide
Which one fits you
Choose AlumDeck if
- You want software your committee runs, not a programme someone runs for you
- Your members should only be in the directory if they chose to join
- You want a published price and every feature for it
- Your history and memorials belong on the same site
Choose Hoopstr if
- You want the vendor to build your database from public profiles
- You want meetups, mentoring tracks or fellowships run for you
- Members must pay membership fees as they register
- A native app with chat is essential for your members
Proof without customer logos
Check it yourself, no sales call needed.
We do not name customers or print testimonials. These are the things you can open and check tonight.
Check it
Live demo, no form
Sign in as an admin or a member and click anything. It puts itself back every night.
Open the demoCheck it
A published price
$49 a year, the same for every association, with a 14-day money-back guarantee.
See pricingCheck it
Dated releases
Every release is in the changelog with its date and what changed.
Read the changelogCheck it
A public roadmap
What is planned and in which release. Nothing on it is sold as finished.
See the roadmapCheck it
What it does not do
The honest list, before you find out for yourself.
Read the listCheck it
Security you can check
Admin two-factor sign-in, session limits, an audit log and tested backups.
See security
Questions
AlumDeck and Hoopstr, asked plainly
Is Hoopstr the same company as Vaave?
Yes. Vaave renamed itself Hoopstr: vaave.com now forwards to hoopstr.ai, and older Vaave help articles still describe the same platform. If you are comparing AlumDeck with Vaave, this is the page.
How much does Hoopstr cost?
Hoopstr does not publish a price. It sells the portal and app as an annual subscription, charges per profile for building a database, and prices its consulting programmes separately; some programmes are free to the institution and paid by alumni or sponsors (Hoopstr offerings, checked September 2026). AlumDeck is $49 a year.
Can AlumDeck find alumni who have not registered, like Hoopstr Magic?
No, and it will not. Hoopstr Magic scans the web to find unregistered alumni and scores each person on seven dimensions, including earning and donor potential. AlumDeck only holds what members tell it, with four recorded consents. Some institutions value the discovery; we think a privacy-first product should not profile people who never signed up.
Does AlumDeck run meetups or mentoring programmes for us?
No. AlumDeck is software only: it gives your committee events, mentoring requests and a jobs board to run your own programmes. Hoopstr runs meetups, mentoring tracks and fellowships as services.
Does AlumDeck have elections?
Not yet; online elections are planned for release 1.6. Hoopstr has an elections module, though its own guide says staff open and close voting by hand and hand the results over as a spreadsheet (Vaave elections guide).
Keep reading
Related comparisons
All seven comparisons
Six hosted alumni platforms and the marketplace scripts, side by side.
Five-year cost calculator
AlumDeck against every rival that publishes a price, with the source for each figure.
What AlumDeck does not do
The things AlumDeck does not do yet, in plain words, with the release that plans each one.
The public roadmap
What each planned release adds, and what we have decided not to build.
See it running before you spend a thing.
Open the live demo, sign in, click anything. It puts itself back every night.