NationBuilder vs Engaging Networks

by Gralio Feb 20, 2025

NationBuilder and Engaging Networks are both donor management and fundraising platforms, but they cater to different needs. NationBuilder is a comprehensive platform with website building and campaign management tools, suitable for organizations seeking an all-in-one solution. Engaging Networks focuses on donor engagement and flexible fundraising, ideal for organizations prioritizing personalized communications and multi-channel fundraising.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 157 reviews and 60 websites, saving 1 hour, 22 minutes of reading.

NationBuilder

Website LinkedIn Twitter

Engaging Networks

Website LinkedIn Twitter

About

NationBuilder is a software platform designed to help organizations grow and mobilize their communities. It offers tools for managing contacts, fundraising, running campaigns, building websites, and sending emails and text messages. NationBuilder is used by non-profits, political campaigns, and advocacy groups of all sizes around the world. It aims to provide a central hub for managing all aspects of community engagement.

Engaging Networks provides online tools for nonprofits to raise money and manage relationships with their supporters. It features tools for online donations, advocacy campaigns, events, email marketing, and more. Known for its flexibility and innovation, Engaging Networks releases updates every few weeks and serves nonprofits globally.

Summary

Main difference

NationBuilder offers a more comprehensive suite of tools for website building, email marketing, and campaign management, making it suitable for organizations needing an all-in-one platform. Engaging Networks excels in personalized donor communication and flexible fundraising tools, catering to organizations prioritizing donor engagement and multi-channel fundraising.

Relative strengths of NationBuilder (compared to Engaging Networks)

NationBuilder provides built-in website building tools, allowing for greater control over online presence.
NationBuilder offers a wider range of features for managing campaigns and communications.
NationBuilder's pricing is more transparent, with clear tiers and add-on options.

Relative weaknesses of NationBuilder (compared to Engaging Networks)

Engaging Networks has a more user-friendly interface for managing donor communications.
Engaging Networks offers more flexibility in fundraising and donation management.
Engaging Networks provides better customer support, known for patience and helpfulness.

Who should use NationBuilder VS. Engaging Networks

NationBuilder is a comprehensive platform ideal for nonprofits, political campaigns, and advocacy groups seeking to streamline communications, fundraising, and community engagement. Users praise its integrated tools and powerful database management, but some find the website customization options limiting. With positive reviews on its customer support and all-in-one features, NationBuilder helps organizations effectively manage their supporters and achieve their goals.

Engaging Networks is a robust platform ideal for small to medium-sized nonprofits seeking to enhance their digital fundraising, advocacy, and supporter management. Users praise its flexible tools, frequent updates, and excellent customer support. However, some find the reporting limited and the interface complex. If your organization needs a comprehensive fundraising solution and prioritizes responsive support, Engaging Networks is worth considering.

Best for small to medium-sized nonprofits, political campaigns, and advocacy groups.
Ideal for Non-profits & Government, suitable for Legal and Software/IT companies.

Best fit for small to medium-sized nonprofits.
Ideal for nonprofits seeking to streamline fundraising and advocacy.

NationBuilder and Engaging Networks features

Supported

Partially supported

Not supported

Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

Email marketing & Newsletters

Supported

NationBuilder allows sending bulk emails and newsletters to donors.

Supported

Engaging Networks supports sending bulk emails and newsletters.
Communication tools

Supported

NationBuilder offers built-in email and text messaging for volunteer communication.

Partially supported

Email is supported, but text messaging is not mentioned.
NationBuilder integration

Supported

NationBuilder supports data synchronization with various third-party tools, but the extent of synchronization depends on the specific integration.

Not supported

Engaging Networks does not offer direct integration with NationBuilder.
Collaboration tools

Not supported

NationBuilder does not directly support collaboration on grant applications.

Not supported

Engaging Networks does not directly support collaboration on grant applications.
Social media integration

Partially supported

Social media integration is supported, but contacting decision-makers requires third-party tools.

Partially supported

Social media integration is supported for sharing and lead capture, but not for directly contacting decision-makers.
Personalized messaging

Supported

NationBuilder allows personalized messages to donors via smart fields and automations.

Supported

Engaging Networks allows personalized emails based on donor profiles, interests, and giving history.

Qualities

Value and Pricing Transparency

+0.33

Rather positive sentiment

No data
Customer Service

+0.76

Strongly positive sentiment

+1

Strongly positive sentiment
Ease of Use

+0.43

Rather positive sentiment

+0.43

Rather positive sentiment
Reliability and Performance

+0.54

Rather positive sentiment

No data
Ease of Implementation

-0.33

Rather negative sentiment

No data
Scalability

+0.8

Strongly positive sentiment

No data

NationBuilder and Engaging Networks Pricing

NationBuilder offers flexible pricing plans to suit different organizational needs, from Starter to Enterprise. They provide a 14-day free trial for Starter and Pro plans. Monthly billing is based on contact count and add-ons, while annual billing offers discounts. Add-ons enhance functionality across various areas. Enterprise plan pricing is customized.

Plans

User sentiment

Rather positive

+0.33

See full Pricing page

No data

We couldn't find a pricing page for Engaging Networks.

NationBuilder and Engaging Networks review insights

156 reviews analysed from

Users love

Excellent and responsive customer support, praised for helpfulness.
All-in-one platform integrates core campaign tools effectively.
Powerful database management and filtering capabilities.
Integrated payment system simplifies donation processing.
Facilitates targeted communications through tagging and segmentation.

Excellent and responsive customer support, praised for patience and helpfulness.
Flexible platform with many tools for online fundraising, advocacy, and communications.
Easy-to-use page builder with drag-and-drop functionality.
Seamless integrations with other systems, enabling efficient data management.
Continuous innovation and frequent updates with new features based on user feedback.

Users dislike

Limited website customization options, often requiring coding knowledge.
API limitations and lack of webhooks can hinder custom integrations.
Learning curve can be steep, especially for advanced features.
Occasional slow loading times with large datasets.
Website builder can be restrictive for complex designs.

Reporting functionality is limited, especially visual reporting and data downloads.
Frequent software updates can be disruptive to daily functions.
Limited out-of-the-box customization options, often requiring custom code for pages and emails.
Steep learning curve and complex interface, can be challenging for non-technical users.
Email marketing features are not as robust as other platforms, lacking some customization and functionality.

NationBuilder and Engaging Networks Ratings

G2

4.1/5

(105)
TrustPilot

3.2/5

(1)
Glassdoor

3.4/5

(75)

G2

4.3/5

(51)

Company health

Employee growth

3% decrease in the last year

2% increase in the last year

Web traffic

3% decrease in the last quarter

49% increase in the last quarter

Financing

August 2018 - $25M

No data

Which product best supports rapid scaling for a high-growth nonprofit?

NationBuilder is better suited for rapid scaling due to its explicit scalability score of 0.8. While both platforms cater to nonprofits, NationBuilder provides a more comprehensive suite of features relevant to a growing organization, including website building, email marketing, and robust database management. Engaging Networks has strong customer support and focuses on fundraising and advocacy but lacks readily available scalability information and has limitations in reporting and customization. For a high-growth nonprofit, NationBuilder's all-in-one approach and demonstrated scalability make it the more suitable choice.

How do NationBuilder's website tools compare to Engaging Networks' page builder?

Engaging Networks' page builder is praised for its ease of use and drag-and-drop functionality, while NationBuilder's website tools are criticized for limited customization options and often requiring coding knowledge. This suggests Engaging Networks offers a more user-friendly website building experience for non-technical users. However, it's worth noting that Engaging Networks users also mention limited out-of-the-box customization, potentially requiring custom code for more complex designs.

What are the advantages of NationBuilder?

NationBuilder offers a more integrated suite of tools for managing all aspects of community engagement, including website building, fundraising, and communications, making it a more comprehensive solution than Engaging Networks. NationBuilder's integrated payment system simplifies donation processing and it offers more robust features for managing online donations, pledges, and recurring giving. While both platforms cater to nonprofits, NationBuilder offers more transparent pricing.

What are the disadvantages of NationBuilder?

NationBuilder suffers from limited website customization options, often requiring coding knowledge for modifications. Its API has limitations and lacks webhooks, hindering custom integrations with other platforms. Users often cite a steep learning curve, especially for advanced features. Furthermore, some experience slow loading times when dealing with large datasets, and the website builder can be restrictive for complex designs.

Alternatives to NationBuilder and Engaging Networks

DonorPerfect

DonorPerfect is fundraising software designed to help nonprofits raise more money and manage their donors. It offers tools to manage donations, track donor relationships, send communications, and gain insights from data. DonorPerfect is known for its monthly giving features and integrates with popular platforms like Constant Contact. Over 50,000 nonprofits use DonorPerfect, reporting a 25% increase in funds raised in their first year.

Greater Giving

Greater Giving provides software to help nonprofits fundraise, particularly through events. Its tools support online registration and donations, event management, online and silent auctions, and onsite payment processing. They offer packaged solutions, additional services like auction item boosting, and free educational resources for nonprofits.

QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online is cloud-based accounting software designed to help businesses manage their finances. It offers tools for tracking income and expenses, creating invoices, managing inventory, and generating financial reports. QuickBooks Online is primarily geared towards small to medium-sized businesses and offers a user-friendly interface for managing financial data.

Bonterra Supporter Engagement

Bonterra Supporter Engagement is a software platform designed to help organizations manage and engage their supporters. It offers tools for event management, fundraising, CRM, advocacy, and impact tracking. The platform aims to streamline supporter interactions, enhance communication, and enable organizations to better understand and engage their audience. It is primarily geared towards nonprofit organizations and advocacy groups seeking to improve their outreach and engagement efforts.

DonorDock

DonorDock is a donor management software designed for small to midsize nonprofits in the USA. It offers a user-friendly platform to manage contacts, donations, fundraising campaigns, and donor communications. Key features include online giving pages, email and text message marketing, reporting, and integrations with other tools. DonorDock stands out for its simplicity, transparent pricing with no platform fees, and strong customer support. It aims to streamline donor management, saving nonprofits time and money.

Raklet

Raklet is a cloud-based platform that helps organizations manage their members and build active communities. It offers tools for membership management, event planning, fundraising, communication, and data analysis. Raklet aims to simplify these tasks for a variety of organizations, from small businesses to large nonprofits. Features include digital membership cards, online payments, automated reminders, and integrations with other popular tools.

Page co-authored by

Michal Kaczor

CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

Tymon Terlikiewicz

CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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