Best grant finders for web and app agency owners in 2026

Q: Does SBIR give funding without giving up equity?

SBIR says the government takes 0% equity or IP ownership . It says it provides equity-free funding through federal agencies to American small businesses . SBIR says Phase II provides $750,000 to $1.8 million over 24 months . Phase phases and amounts should be checked before an agency applies.

Compare grant finders for web and app agency owners. See what each tool offers and choose the one that fits your funding search.

By CDings · 2026-10-30

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

Web and app agency owners need grant finders that fit a schedule split between client work and the business itself. Instrumentl says it offers a 14-day free trial ^[1]. GrantWatch says it has 13,781 Human Verified grants, including 9,877 nonprofit grants ^[2]. Hello Alice says it offers a free tier ^[3]. OpenGrants says users can search more than 8,000 open grants and contracts from federal, state, and private funders ^[4]. SBIR says it provides equity-free funding through federal agencies to American small businesses ^[5]. Raise Buddy, made by the team that publishes this site, lists grants, loans, credits and prizes from your website description ^[6]. It can build a draft profile from tax documents ^[6], says whether you can apply ^[6], and includes private foundations ^[6] and sources in several countries ^[6].

Option	Starting price	Free access	Key data scope	Application tracking
Instrumentl	Not published	14-day free trial ^[1]	450,000+ funder profiles and 37,000+ active RFPs ^[1]	Auto-generated deadlines and milestones from the award letter ^[1]
GrantWatch	Not published	Up to 1 million free GWI Tokens for claiming an official organization profile ^[2]	13,781 Human Verified grants, including 9,877 nonprofit grants; 374,397 funder profiles ^[2]^[2]	12-stage grant and donor pipelines ^[2]
Hello Alice	Free tier ^[3]	Free tier; no setup, no credit card ^[3]^[3]	AI advisory board backed by insights from 1.6 million founders ^[3]	Not published
SBIR.gov	Not published	Government takes 0% equity or IP ownership ^[7]	Phase II provides $750,000 to $1.8 million over 24 months ^[7]	Not published
OpenGrants	Free for 7 days, then $9 per month or $99 per year ^[4]	Free account to open any grant, save it, and check eligibility ^[4]	8,000+ open grants and contracts from federal, state, and private funders ^[4]	Not published
Raise Buddy	Free (up to $1,000 programs); Plus $14.99 a month; Pro $199 a month ^[6]	Guest search ends after 5; Free plan opens first three matches per section ^[6]^[6]	Grants, loans, credits, prizes; private foundations; UK, AU, FR, JP, ES, AT sources ^[6]^[6]^[6]	Tracks where each application stands; you apply on the funder's site ^[6]

What web and app agency owners need from grant finders

Web and app agencies build sites, apps, and digital products for clients. Owners split their days between client work and running the business, so a grant finder has to respect that schedule. They need to know fast whether a grant is worth the time before they start an application. Eligibility rules should appear in plain language, not buried in fine print. Owners should check which tax documents a tool accepts before relying on it to read them into a draft profile. Many owners build technology, which makes SBIR and STTR programs worth checking, since they fund early-stage technology development through federal agencies. Owners also need to see where each application stands without juggling spreadsheets. Some money comes as grants, but loans, tax credits, and equity options can matter just as much. Agencies that serve overseas clients may want funding sources outside their home country. Finally, owners should check what free or trial access includes before paying, so the first search does not cost money it does not need to.

Instrumentl for web and app agency owners

Instrumentl says it offers a 14-day free trial ^[1]. It auto-generates deadlines and milestones from the award letter ^[1]. Instrumentl says it connects to accounting systems, calendars, and CRMs ^[1].

GrantWatch for web and app agency owners

GrantWatch says it has 13,781 Human Verified grants, including 9,877 nonprofit grants ^[2]. It says its grant and donor pipelines have 12 stages ^[2]. GrantWatch says claiming an official organization profile can provide up to 1 million free GWI Tokens ^[2].

Hello Alice for web and app agency owners

Hello Alice says it offers a free tier ^[3]. It says its AI advisory board is backed by insights from 1.6 million founders ^[3]. Hello Alice says users can start without setup or a credit card ^[3].

SBIR.gov for web and app agency owners

SBIR says it provides equity-free funding through federal agencies to American small businesses ^[5]. SBIR says Phase II provides $750,000 to $1.8 million over 24 months ^[7]. SBIR says the government takes 0% equity or IP ownership ^[7].

OpenGrants for web and app agency owners

OpenGrants lets users search more than 8,000 open grants and contracts from federal, state, and private funders ^[4]. It allows users to create a free account to open grants, save them, and check eligibility ^[4]. OpenGrants offers a free period followed by pricing of $9 per month or $99 per year ^[4].

Raise Buddy for web and app agency 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]. 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]. 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]. 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 personas read your organisation and matches and write 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 the Pro plan, you can connect an AI assistant such as Claude so it can search Raise Buddy, with ten tools to use ^[6]. The Free plan opens programs up to $1,000, Plus is $14.99 a month for programs up to $5,000, and Pro is $199 a month for every program, 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; you connect an AI assistant by adding Raise Buddy's address to it ^[6]. Only English is shown for now, even though five more languages are planned ^[6].

Matching the tool to the job

If you build technology and want equity-free federal money, SBIR says it provides equity-free funding through federal agencies to American small businesses ^[5]. If you want a single view of what is due, Instrumentl says it auto-generates deadlines and milestones from the award letter ^[1] and GrantWatch says its pipelines have 12 stages ^[2]. If you want to start without cost, Hello Alice says it offers a free tier that needs no setup and no credit card ^[3]^[3], and OpenGrants says a free account opens grants, saves them, and checks eligibility ^[4]. If you want matches from pasting your website or describing what you do, Raise Buddy lists grants, loans, credits and prizes you may be able to apply for and shows whether you can apply ^[6]^[6]. It includes private foundations that take applications ^[6] and keeps track of where each application stands ^[6]. Separately from those grant matches, it covers 25 other ways to raise money, each with its official rules and a first step ^[6].

Questions to ask before you choose

Does the tool include the funder types your agency can use, such as state technology programs or SBIR-style awards? Can you start searching without a paid subscription, and what limits apply to free or trial access? Does it show eligibility in plain language so you know the one step that blocks an application? Can it read your tax documents or website to build a profile without manual entry? Does it include funding types beyond grants, such as loans, tax credits, or equity options? How does it track application status, and do you apply on the funder site or through the tool? What are the monthly or annual costs, and what changes at each tier? Does it offer alerts for new matches or deadline changes? Can you export or download grant details for offline review? Is the interface available in your language, or only in English?

Frequently asked questions

Is Raise Buddy free for web and app agency 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 ^[6]. The Pro plan costs $199 a month for every program, advisors' review, and AI connection ^[6].

Does GrantWatch verify grants before listing them?

GrantWatch says it has 13,781 Human Verified grants, including 9,877 nonprofit grants ^[2]. GrantWatch also says claiming an official organization profile can provide up to 1 million free GWI Tokens ^[2]. Whether the verification covers the kinds of programs an agency needs is worth checking against the specific funders an agency wants to approach.

Does SBIR give funding without giving up equity?

SBIR says the government takes 0% equity or IP ownership ^[7]. It says it provides equity-free funding through federal agencies to American small businesses ^[5]. SBIR says Phase II provides $750,000 to $1.8 million over 24 months ^[7]. Phase phases and amounts should be checked before an agency applies.

What does OpenGrants cost for agencies?

OpenGrants says it offers a free period followed by pricing of $9 per month or $99 per year ^[4]. It also says users can create a free account to open any grant, save it, and check eligibility ^[4]. That means an agency can review what the free period and account include before deciding to pay.

Does Raise Buddy include private foundations that take applications?

Raise Buddy includes private foundations that take applications, read from their own Form 990-PF tax returns ^[6]. Because the tool reads the funder's own words into each match, an agency can see whether it can apply and what one step stands in the way before it prepares an application ^[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