Springly is the cheaper start (free tier, then $45/mo for 250 contacts) and the only one of the two with built-in fund accounting; Wild Apricot (from $66/mo for 100 contacts) has the more mature website builder, events and email, a 60-day trial and a much larger North American user base.
Both price by contacts, so both get expensive as your list grows. Organizations that also run programs, rent facilities or schedule volunteers usually end up looking at a third option.
Nonprofit membership tool with events, email and built-in accounting.
Membership database, events, email and a website builder, priced by total contacts.
Communal is listed as a third column because organizations comparing these two usually need the same things it was built for: memberships, programs and facilities in one database at a flat price.
| Feature | Springly | Wild Apricot | Communal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Membership management | Included | Included | IncludedTiers, custom fields, segments |
| Automated renewals | Included | Included | IncludedReminders and auto-renew |
| Digital membership cards (Apple / Google Wallet) | Not offered | Partial | IncludedIncluded in every plan |
| Event registration & ticketing | Included | Included | Add-onPrograms & events, +$50/mo |
| Program & class registration | Not listed | Not listed | Add-onWaitlists, capacity, attendance, rosters |
| Facility booking & rentals | Not offered | Not offered | Add-onFrom +$50/mo; approvals, invoices, agreements, iCal |
| Volunteer shifts & hour tracking | Partial | Not offered | IncludedShifts, hours, auto volunteer discounts |
| Donations & fundraising | Included | Included | IncludedIncluded; donor covers fees option |
| Automatic tax receipts | Included | PartialDonation receipts | IncludedAutomatic |
| Member self-service portal | Included | IncludedMember app | Included |
| Email campaigns | Included | Included | IncludedCampaigns and segments |
| Website builder | Included | Included | Not offeredWorks beside your site |
| Public API | Partial | Included | IncludedREST API, Zapier webhooks, MCP server |
| Detail | Springly | Wild Apricot | Communal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free; paid from $45/mo | From $66/mo | $75/mo |
| Pricing model | Per contact, tiered | Per contact, tiered | Flat, by member band (to 250 members at the floor) |
| Contract | Subscription auto-renews;Detailscancel anytime with one month's notice. Monthly vs annual billing not stated on pricing page. | Month-to-month available;Detailsoptional 1-year and 2-year prepay discounts; no cancellation fees | No contracts, prorated billing, cancel any module any time |
| Payment fees | Payment processor is Adyen at 3.1% + $0.30 per transaction (built-in;Detailsno external gateway choice). On Liberty the fee is covered by donor tipping; on paid plans you choose between the tipping system and paying the transaction fee. | No per-transaction fee from WildApricot itself when using the integrated Personify Payments processor (processor rates not published on the pricing page).DetailsUsing a third-party gateway (Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.Net) triggers a Payment System Servicing Fee described in the help center as 20% of the subscription plan price, applied to US/Canada accounts; vendor pricing page calls this 'an additional fee'. | Card-processing application fee set in your agreement, often 2%; no monthly minimums |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of all features on paid plans; free Liberty plan | 60-day free trial, no credit card required; no permanently free plan | Free trial, no credit card |
Pick Springly if you are a small, volunteer-run nonprofit whose treasurer wants the books and the member list in one place and the free or $45/mo tier covers your contact count. Pick Wild Apricot if you need a proper website builder, a long trial to set it up, and a product with fifteen-plus years of events, email and member-app history behind it. Pick neither if your week includes hall rentals, kids programs or volunteer shifts: both tools stop at memberships and events.
Both products charge by the number of contacts in the database, not by paying members, so lapsed members, newsletter subscribers and one-time event attendees all push you up a tier. Springly adds per-contact overage billing; Wild Apricot adds a 20% subscription surcharge if you use an outside payment gateway. Before choosing, count your real contacts after a clean-up and price the tier you will actually land on in both tools, then add the payment fees for your annual volume (Springly: 3.1% + $0.30 through Adyen; Wild Apricot: its processor's rates, or the surcharge).
| If you are... | Lean towards |
|---|---|
| A volunteer-run club or small association under 250 contacts | Springly (free or $45/mo) |
| A group whose treasurer wants accounting in the same tool | Springly Professional |
| A club or association that needs a website and membership from one vendor | Wild Apricot |
| An association running many events with waitlists and guest registration | Wild Apricot |
| A community league, rec center or club that rents space or runs programs | Neither; see the third column in the table above |
If the reason you are comparing these two is that your current setup no longer fits, check what your organization actually does week to week. Communal was built for groups that run memberships alongside programs, facility rentals, donations and volunteers, and prices by members rather than contacts: $75/mo to 250 members with volunteers, donors and POS included, programs +$50/mo, facilities from +$50/mo, no contract and free migration from either tool. It does not include a website builder, which is the honest trade.
Short answers, with the numbers where they exist.
At the entry level, yes. Springly's Liberty plan is free for payments and forms, and Serenity starts at $45/mo for up to 250 contacts, against Wild Apricot's $66/mo for 100 contacts. Above a few thousand contacts the two converge: Springly's Serenity reaches $239/mo at 5,000 contacts and Professional $399/mo, while Wild Apricot's 5,000-contact tier is around $462/mo per third-party listings. Check both vendors' current tier tables.
No. Wild Apricot tracks payments and invoices and syncs to QuickBooks; it does not keep a general ledger. Springly's Professional tier includes double-entry nonprofit accounting with budgets and financial statements, which is its main structural advantage.
Wild Apricot. Its drag-and-drop builder, themes and member-only pages are more developed and have a longer track record; Springly includes a site builder on paid plans but it is simpler. If you already have a website you like, neither builder matters much and a tool that embeds in your existing site may serve you better.
Springly processes through Adyen at 3.1% + $0.30 per transaction, or lets donors tip to cover it. Wild Apricot charges no platform fee when you use its own Personify Payments processor, but using an outside gateway such as Stripe or PayPal adds a Payment System Servicing Fee of 20% of your subscription price.
Neither Springly nor Wild Apricot has facility booking or volunteer shift scheduling, and program registration is limited to events. Communal covers memberships, program registration with waitlists and attendance, facility booking with approvals and invoices, donations with tax receipts and volunteer shifts in one member database, at a flat price by member count.