Built by the Community for Community
CiviCRM is a web-based suite of internationalised open-source software for constituency relationship management. CiviCRM was released in 2007, specifically designed for the needs of non-profit,non-governmental, and advocacy groups, and serves as an association-management system. It has been developed and extended over that time. The software is free, widely supported and extended. CiviCRM is widely used in over 11,000 organisations. In contrast, NationBuilder is a for-fee software, developed in 2009, and used by over 9,000 organisations. Both are robust and supported – one mostly by the development community and the other by the company.
Both are excellent products, but like many software choices, people have their preferences. Think Windows versus Linux. As with all CRM systems, how they are configured, integrated into business processes, and supported internally by product champions, user training, and data management will determine how successful such applications are.
CORE (WordPress, CiviCRM + enhancements) provides an out-of-the-box solution that requires minimal configuration and can be deployed within a few minutes.
Tight Integration
Tightly integrated components are provided at a little more than the cost to host a single website, but is secure and fault-tolerant to support a volunteer group of 10 to 100,000.
- A database of your supporters, volunteers and organisers. The database tracks all the people, relationships, donations, contributions, events, activities and engagement
- Provides a range of security levels and an integrated website.
- A complete Event management system – from internal to major external public events
- A complete communication system – from individual mailouts, to mass mailing lists and A/B testing, integrating SMS and two way communication. The bundling of a full and complete mailing system enables “business email addresses” limiting exposure of private communication channels
- A full and complete volunteer management system – an “HR system” that can track progress of moving from supporters to volunteers to key stakeholders, their activities and enabling rapid deployment of resources.
- Across all this robust user management, privacy and individual security, so volunteers can see what they need and no more. No spreadsheets to leak. Security to keep competitors out.
- Data and systems are stored on bank-level trusted Australian servers to make sure that external agents can’t take down your system in critical situations.
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Core Features | Core (WordPress, Civi + Other) integrated | Nation Builder Standard |
2 | Contact & Relationship Management | Unified database for individuals, organizations, groups, and relationships, with smart groups and tags for segmentation. Free from zero to hundreds of thousands Included membership management, automated drip emails | Similar. Depends on subscription. |
3 | Fundraising | Online donation forms, payment processing, contribution tracking, gift acknowledgements, Peer-to-peer fundraising tools. Real time reporting of donations | Improved from previous but little flexibility to categorise or provide real time live dashboards |
4 | Payment platforms | Stripe, Paypal, bank transfer, Eway | Stripe |
5 | Event Management | Online registration, ticketing, attendance tracking, integration with event calendars. QR Codes, easy event registration with CiviMobile Automated reminders, Name tag printing | More limited |
6 | Email & Communications | Mass mailing, A/B testing, SMS, segmentation, and campaign management. Ability to reply within the CRM | |
7 | SMS | Integrated - both outbound and inbound. Mutliple numbers can be configured to tailor messages | SMS only for USA/ Canada. Added cost for Australia |
8 | Advocacy & Campaigns | Tools to build and track advocacy efforts, linking activities, mailings, and contributions. | Similar |
9 | Volunteering (CiviVolunteer) | Integrated into the hub and user portals. | Add on SupporterBase at $1700 |
10 | Automation - scripting and Workflows | CiviRules allows for complex, multi-step triggers. Powerful rules and scripting to automate most tasks. Can be used across all modules - mail, events, volunteers, donations | Only with premium version and external consultants |
11 | AI and MCS | Implemented with full access to all API and webhooks Allowing plain language to do many of the tasks. | No |
12 | Reporting & Analytics | 40+ standard reports, custom report builders, and data dashboards. | Similar. Limited with basic version |
13 | Core Features | CiviCRM | Nation Builder |
14 | Door knocking, route mapping | Integrated into signup, rostering | Separate system, no reporting in NB |
15 | Roadside Events | Integrated into signup, rostering | Separate system, no reporting in NB |
16 | Booth Manning | Integrated into signup, rostering | Separate system, no reporting in NB |
17 | Maping and Geolocation | Integrated. Can be used to see each volunteer across the electorate, or coreflute distribution | Premium |
18 | Case Management (CiviCase) | Manage and track client/constituent workflows and cases. | Similar |
19 | Membership Management (CiviMEMBER) | Flexible membership management with online sign-ups, renewals, and payment plans. | Only with premium |
20 | Booking | Integrated booking for resources, rooms | No |
21 | Integrations & Customization | ||
22 | CMS Integration | Seamlessly connects with WordPress Common plugins - standard Astra / Elementor page builder CSS native | Uses Liquid - outdated application language and limited support |
23 | SEO | Native SEO, using standard SEO plugins Yoast, Google tags | Custom |
24 | Financial | Full financial reporting of donations, sales, events, and integration into the CRM | Pro or Custom |
25 | Shopping Carts - sales of merchanise | Integration with Woo Commerce for sales of goods and services | Custom |
26 | Third-Party Integrations | Connects with various financial, marketing, and productivity tools. | Custom |
27 | Customization | Highly customizable with open-source flexibility, allowing tailored workflows and data fields. | Pro or Custom |
28 | Mobile Access (CiviMobile) | View and update profiles, manage activities on the go, even offline. | Pro or Custom |
29 | Project Management | Integration with Zephr project manager | no |
30 | Internal communication | Integration with Buddy Press | No |
31 | Self-Service Portals | Allows supporters to update details, manage memberships, and access information. | Custom |
32 | Social media posting | Multiple software intergrations that can hook into Civi/WordPress | Pro or Custom |
33 | Training and Support | ||
34 | Getting Started | A tailored package for Voices and candidates for Australia providing an out-of-the-box solution that addresses 2025 campaign review shortcomings | Paid Deployment. Requires more customisation for groups |
35 | Training and Support | CivoAcademy, step by step on CIB with videos | Paid agency support |
36 | Further enhancements | From the global opensource community can integrate new features and services, including AI | Product roadmap - developed by NB |
37 | About | ||
38 | Company | Started 2006. Not for profit LLC | Started 2009. For profit |
39 | Links | https://civicrm.com/features/ | https://nationbuilder.com/feature_guide |
40 | Number of subscribers | Over 11,000 | Stated 9,000 customers |
41 | Support and Customisation | Range of Australian turnkey system providers - could move content and control to other providers E.g. Agile Ware provides turnkey support to other voluntary organisations https://agileware.com.au/portfolio/ | Limited number of providers |
42 | Subscribers of note Aust | Australian Greens, Wikipedia, Amnesty International, CERN | Australian Conservation, CIP Candidates 2025, Refugee Council of Australia |
43 | Open or Closed System | Open system. Can develop new integrations, new apps | Closed system. Has API |
44 | |||
45 | CORE Deployment | CiviCRM | Nation Builder |
46 | Hosting | Hosted in Amazon ECS Australia Provide industrial strength hosting | Hosted in USA, optional AU |
47 | Deployment | 5 minutes | Signup |
48 | Website Deployment | Standard WordPress - most organisations have competent graphics and wordsmiths. Comes with all the standard pages a volunteer organisation needs - including Privacy, terms, conditions ready for Australian compliance | System uses Liquid, literally stuck in the past. Requires specialist bespoke support Not standard website Need external consultants |
49 | Website customisation | Over 50% of websites globally are WordPress. Comes with most plugins needed for full operation. Managed approved plugins to ensure data security, SEO, Fast response Support can be localised - both volunteer or paid. Is fully extendable with online shops, AI, social media apps, integration with SEO tools, | At a fee or not provided |
50 | Configuration of domains / DNS services / Emails | Can provide full managed DNS services. Using Cloudflare / Amazon all the complexity is removed and can be part of initial deployment. Requires individual purchase of domains Can provide email forwarder and other services | At a fee or not provided |
51 | Email system | Full standards base opensource email system integrated Configuration within Civi. Multiple email addresses for mail outs (hubs, groups) Use of MXRoute (bundled) provides unlimited domains and mailboxes for your organisation Reasonable storage. Forwarding, Spam. Enables volunteers to separate personal and organisation accounts | Not provided - additional cost of GSuite / Office / Limited mail system within NB Cost of 10 mailboxes can easily cost >$100 month extra |
52 | SMS system | Fully integrated - only needs an account with a provider. (eg Mobile Messages) Cost is <2c per sms Inbound and outbound - can configure multiple SMS Numbers (eg Hub Managers) for additional personalisation | Only through addons such as Supporter base. Cost 5c per sms |
53 | Donations and contributions | No fee - only fees are through Stripe or Eway. Integration into Xero and MYOB Configured but needs organisation details. Stripe fees are: Domestic Cards: 1.70% + A$0.30 per successful charge. International Cards: 3.50% + A$0.30 (1.70% + 1.5% international fee). Stripe Terminal (In-Person): 1.70% + A$0.10. Instant Bank Payments: 2.6% + A$0.30. | Fees are levied on all contributions. Non-profit Rates (Australia): 1.4% + 30¢ (domestic), 1.75% + 30¢ (international). Custom Donations: A specialised 1.5% platform fee applies per transaction. |
54 | Support | Community support from over 14 community groups across Australia Paid consulting groups | Paid support |
55 | Backup and security | Daily backups - available for download | Unknown |
56 | Health and Security Checks | Weekly "Doctor" report highlighting action items Users with too much access Logging cyber attacks Snapshot of activity. | Nil |
57 | Pricing | Sponsored version (free) Mid Large value range | Starts at $50for 1500 CRM. Increases with contacts and functionality $200 pm for extra functionality |