CDings Plain comparisons of small-business tools

Grant finders for disabled business owners

Compare grant finders for disabled business owners, including their funding sources, eligibility information, free access, and application tracking.

By CDings ยท

CDings is published by the makers of Raise Buddy and ProductCost, which are compared here alongside other tools.

Disabled business owners need grant finders that keep setup short, show eligibility in plain language, run on a phone, and track deadlines in one place. Instrumentl says its database includes 450,000+ funder profiles and 37,000+ active RFPs [1]. GrantStation offers a way to compare funding prospects and rule out poor fits [2]. OpenGrants lets users create a free account to open any grant, save it, and check eligibility [3]. Grantmakers.io says its service is forever free [4]. Hello Alice offers a free tier [5]. Raise Buddy, made by the team that publishes this site, lists grants, loans, credits, and prizes from your website description [6], builds a draft profile from tax documents [6], and says whether you can apply [6].

OptionStarting priceFree accessKey data scopeApplication tracking
GrantStation41 cents a day [2]Free weekly funding updates by sign-up [2]150,000+ funder records, 15,000+ curated opportunities [2]Tools for comparing funding prospects and identifying strengths and gaps in a proposal [2][2]
OpenGrantsFree 7 days, then $9 a month or $99 a year [3]Free account to open, save, and check eligibility [3]8,000+ open grants and contracts [3]Not published
GrantWatchNot publishedNot published13,781 grants described as verified, 374,397 funder profiles [7][7]Track grants and donors through 12 stages; start with existing funder and grantee records [7][7]
Hello AliceFree tier [5]Free tier [5]Not publishedNot published
Grantmakers.ioForever free [4]Free [4]Foundation records built from public 990s [4]Not published
Raise BuddyFree (up to $1,000 programs); Plus $14.99/mo; Pro $199/mo [6]Each guest search list stops after the first 5; the Free plan opens the first three matches in each section [6][6]Grants, loans, credits, prizes; private foundations; UK, AU, FR, JP, ES, AT sources [6][6][6]Tracks status; you apply on funder site [6]

What disabled business owners need from grant finders

Disabled business owners often fit funding searches around appointments, health, and energy that varies from day to day, so the jobs below are about time and reach, not about numbers. They need a tool that does not add setup work before the first search. They need to know fast whether a grant is worth an application, because each one costs focus they may not have to spare. An interface that works on a phone and reads clearly helps when a computer is not in reach. Eligibility shown in plain language matters more when there is little energy left to decode fine print. Application tracking in one place cuts the need to hold every deadline in memory. Owners also look for funding beyond grants, such as loans and credits, when a grant search alone comes up empty. Check what a tool costs, what limits a free or trial access has, and whether it is shown in the language you need. Some owners want a tool that builds a profile from their own documents so they do not retype everything. Some sell across borders and want sources in more than one country.

GrantStation for disabled business owners

GrantStation advertises its GS Membership at 41 cents a day [2]. It offers a way to compare funding prospects and rule out poor fits before spending time on applications [2]. GrantStation offers free weekly funding updates and expert insights by sign-up [2].

OpenGrants for disabled business owners

OpenGrants lets users search more than 8,000 open grants and contracts from federal, state, and private funders [3]. Users can create a free account to open grants, save them, and check eligibility [3]. OpenGrants offers a free 7-day period followed by pricing of $9 a month or $99 a year [3].

GrantWatch for disabled business owners

GrantWatch describes 13,781 grants as verified, including 9,877 nonprofit grants [7]. GrantWatch lets users track grants and donors through 12 stages [7]. GrantWatch says claiming an official organization profile can bring up to 1 million free GWI Tokens [7].

Hello Alice for disabled business owners

Hello Alice offers a free tier [5]. Hello Alice says its board has six advisors [5].

Grantmakers.io for disabled business owners

Grantmakers.io says its service is forever free [4]. The site runs on an annual budget of $200 [4]. Grantmakers.io says it provides access to foundation records without barriers or paywalls [4].

Raise Buddy for disabled business owners

Raise Buddy is made by the team that publishes this site. You paste your website or describe what you do, and it lists grants, loans, credits, prizes, and other funding you may be able to apply for [6]. It can read a Schedule C, Form 1120, 1065, or 990, or an IRS letter, from a photo or PDF into a draft profile you confirm, and it does not keep the EIN or the papers [6]. Each match says whether you can apply, what one step stands in the way, or what is unclear, with the funder's own words [6]. It includes private foundations that take applications, read from their own Form 990-PF tax returns [6]. Its program list includes the UK's Find a Grant, Australia's GrantConnect, France's Aides-territoires, Japan's jGrants, Spain's BDNS, and Austria's Transparenzportal [6]. It covers 25 ways to raise money, such as angel investors, SBA loans, and equity crowdfunding, each with its official rules and a first step [6]. On the Pro plan, ten AI assistants review your organisation and matches and suggest what to do first; none of them is a real person [6]. It keeps track of where each of your applications stands, but you apply on the funder's own site [6]. On Pro, an AI assistant such as Claude can search Raise Buddy for you, with ten tools to use [6]. The Free plan opens programs up to $1,000, Plus costs $14.99 a month for programs up to $5,000, and Pro costs $199 a month and opens every program, with advisors' review and the AI connection [6]. The first three matches in each section open on every plan [6]. A guest's search list ends after 5 [6]. The app works on the web and on phones [6]. The web app needs nothing installed; an AI assistant is connected by adding Raise Buddy's address to it [6]. Only English is shown for now [6].

Matching the tool to the job

If you want to compare free access, Grantmakers.io says its service is forever free and provides access to foundation records without paywalls [4][4]. OpenGrants lets users create a free account to open grants, save them, and check eligibility [3]. Check the terms to confirm what access continues after any free period. If you want to compare prospects and rule out poor fits before spending an application's worth of effort, GrantStation offers a Decision Matrix for that [2]. If you want grants described as verified and a way to track progress, GrantWatch describes 13,781 grants as verified and lets users track grants and donors through 12 stages [7][7]. If you want to compare a free tier, Hello Alice offers one [5]. You paste your website or describe what you do, and it lists grants, loans, credits, prizes, and other funding you may be able to apply for [6]. It can read tax documents into a draft profile you confirm [6]. Each match says whether you can apply, what one step stands in the way, or what is unclear, using the funder's own words [6]. It includes private foundations that take applications and funding sources in several countries [6][6]. It also tracks where each application stands, although you apply on the funder's own site [6]. Check each tool's own information for details about eligibility, access, costs, and application tracking before choosing.

Questions to ask before you choose

Can you start searching without a paid subscription, and what limits apply to free or trial access? Does the tool run on a phone when a computer is not in reach? Does it explain eligibility in plain language and make clear whether you can apply? Can it read your tax documents or website to build a profile without retyping everything? Does it cover funding types beyond grants, such as loans, credits, or prizes? Does it track application status, and do you apply on the funder's site or through the tool? What are the monthly or annual costs, and what changes at each tier? Does it include sources outside your own country if you sell across borders? Is the interface shown in your language, or only in English? And does the tool keep your tax documents, or does it hold only what you confirm?

Frequently asked questions

Is Raise Buddy free for disabled business owners?

Raise Buddy offers a Free plan that opens programs up to $1,000 and shows the first three matches in each section [6]. A guest's search list ends after 5 [6]. The Plus plan costs $14.99 a month for programs up to $5,000, and the Pro plan costs $199 a month and opens every program, with advisors' review and AI connection [6].

Does GrantStation have a free option for a funding search?

GrantStation advertises its GS Membership at 41 cents a day [2]. It offers free weekly funding updates and expert insights by sign-up [2]. It offers a Decision Matrix to compare prospects and rule out poor fits [2].

Can OpenGrants check eligibility on a free account?

OpenGrants lets users create a free account to open any grant, save it, and check eligibility [3]. OpenGrants offers a free 7-day period followed by pricing of $9 a month or $99 a year [3]. Users can search more than 8,000 open grants and contracts from federal, state, and private funders [3].

Does Grantmakers.io cost money to use?

Grantmakers.io says its service is forever free [4]. It says it provides access to foundation records without barriers or paywalls [4]. The site runs on an annual budget of $200 [4]. There is no stated card fee, since it is not a payment tool.

Does Raise Buddy read tax documents to build a profile?

Raise Buddy can read a Schedule C, Form 1120, 1065, or 990, or an IRS letter, from a photo or PDF into a draft profile you confirm, and it does not keep the EIN or the papers [6]. It also lists grants, loans, credits, prizes, and other funding from a website description [6], and says whether you can apply with the funder's own words [6].

Free plan opens programs up to $1,000; Plus is $14.99 a month (up to $5,000); Pro is $199 a month (every program, advisors' review, AI connection). The first three matches in each section open on every plan. [6]

Try Raise Buddy

Sources

  1. Instrumentl, instrumentl.com, read 2026-10-07
  2. GrantStation, grantstation.com, read 2026-10-07
  3. OpenGrants, opengrants.io, read 2026-10-10
  4. Grantmakers.io, grantmakers.io, read 2026-10-10
  5. Hello Alice, helloalice.com, read 2026-10-10
  6. Raise Buddy's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher)
  7. GrantWatch, grantwatch.com, read 2026-10-07

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