Grantmakers.io alternatives in 2026
Compare Grantmakers.io alternatives for finding grants: GrantStation, Candid, GrantWatch, Grants.gov and Raise Buddy, with facts and questions to check.
CDings is published by the makers of Raise Buddy and ProductCost, which are compared here alongside other tools.
Grantmakers.io alternatives for finding grants include GrantStation, Candid Foundation Directory, GrantWatch, Grants.gov and Raise Buddy. They differ in how they are priced, what they search and what they help with after you find a match. The sections below give each option's stated facts so you can match them to your situation.
| Option | Own fee or price | Card fee | Free way to start |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grantmakers.io | not published | not published | not published |
| GrantStation | 41 cents a day [1] | not published | Free weekly funding updates [1] |
| Candid Foundation Directory | Premium monthly from $219/month [2] | not published | Free registration [3] |
| GrantWatch | not published | not published | not published |
| Grants.gov | not published | not published | not published |
| Raise Buddy | Plus $14.99 a month, Pro $199 a month [4] | not published | Free plan opens programs up to $1,000 [4] |
Why small-business owners look past Grantmakers.io
The facts available here do not say what Grantmakers.io covers, what it costs, or whether it helps with anything beyond funder research. Check its own site for its scope and price. Some owners want a tool that does more than foundation lookup, covers other countries, or includes loans and credits alongside grants. The options below differ on those points.
GrantStation: curated funding opportunities and planning tools
GrantStation advertises its GS Membership at 41 cents a day. [1] It says its database holds more than 150,000 funder records and more than 15,000 curated funding opportunities. [1] It says it covers funders in the U.S., Canada and internationally, with AI-assisted tools to help narrow a search. [1] It offers a Decision Matrix for comparing funding prospects and ruling out poor fits. [1] Its membership includes planning tools such as calendars, goal-setting tools, the Grant Diversification Assessment and Benchmarker. [1] GrantStation members can connect with a real Member Services person for help. [1] It offers a Proposal Reviewer that helps identify strengths and gaps in a proposal before it is submitted. [1]
Candid Foundation Directory: search organizations and grant data
Candid says its search covers 1.9 million organizations by name, EIN or keyword. [3] It says it offers 3 million annual grant transactions. [3] It says registration is free. [3] Candid lists a Premium monthly plan starting at $219/month, billed monthly. [2] Candid says it offers APIs that provide real-time data updates. [3] Candid lists a Premium annual plan at $100/month starting price, $1,199 billed annually. [2] It lists an Ultimate annual plan at $142/month starting price, $1,699 billed annually. [2] Its Ultimate plan adds a data visualization tool for funding trends on top of Premium. [2] It can also provide custom nonprofit data sets. [3]
GrantWatch: grant discovery through post-award reporting
GrantWatch says its platform supports every stage of the grant process, from finding prospects through reporting after an award. [5] It says it has 13,781 Human Verified grants, including 9,877 nonprofit grants. [5] It says its database includes 374,397 funder profiles. [5] It says its dashboard recommends grants and donors matched to your organization's location and focus areas. [5] It says claiming an official organization profile can provide up to 1 million free GWI Tokens. [5] It says you can track each grant and donor through pipelines with 12 stages. [5] It also says it has 4.69 million IRS 990 records. [5]
Grants.gov: federal funding opportunities
Grants.gov says its Contact Center will be closed October 12 in observance of Columbus Day. [6] It says federal agencies do not publish personal financial assistance opportunities on it. [6] Grants.gov lists its next system maintenance as September 19 to 21, 2026. [6] Its facts here say little more, so check its own site for what it lists and whether your business type is covered.
Raise Buddy: match your business with funding sources
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. [4] Each match says whether you can apply, what one step stands in the way, or what is unclear, with the funder's own words. [4] It includes private foundations that take applications, read from their own Form 990-PF tax returns. [4] 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. [4] 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. [4] 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. [4] It keeps track of where each of your applications stands, but you apply on the funder's own site. [4] 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. [4] On the Pro plan, you can connect an AI assistant such as Claude so it can search Raise Buddy, with ten tools to use. [4] The Free plan opens programs up to $1,000, Plus is $14.99 a month (up to $5,000), and Pro is $199 a month (every program, advisors' review, AI connection). [4] Only English is shown for now, even though five more languages are planned. [4]
How to pick the right Grantmakers.io alternative
If you want a membership with curated opportunities, a way to compare prospects and funders across the U.S., Canada and internationally, look at GrantStation. [1] If you want to research organizations and grant history, Candid Foundation Directory is built around search and data. [3] If you want a tool that covers each stage from finding prospects through reporting after an award, look at GrantWatch. [5]
If your business is looking at federal programs, check Grants.gov's own site for what it lists and whether your business type is covered. [6] If you want funding beyond grants, such as loans, credits and prizes, matched from a description of your business, Raise Buddy does that, and each match states whether you can apply. [4] If you need programs outside the U.S., Raise Buddy lists sources from the UK, Australia, France, Japan, Spain and Austria. [4]
Before you choose, check what each tool charges for your business size, whether it covers your country, and whether you need tracking after you apply.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to Grantmakers.io?
Some options have a free way to start. Candid says registration is free. [3] GrantStation offers free weekly funding updates by sign-up. [1] Raise Buddy has a Free plan that opens programs up to $1,000. [4] Check what each free tier includes before relying on it.
Does Grantmakers.io charge a fee?
They also do not say whether it covers funders outside the United States. Check its own site for what it offers and whether any paid features exist.
How much does GrantStation cost?
GrantStation advertises its GS Membership at 41 cents a day. [1] It also says its database holds more than 150,000 funder records and more than 15,000 curated funding opportunities. [1] Check on its site how that daily rate is billed and what the membership covers.
What does Candid Foundation Directory cost?
Candid lists a Premium monthly plan starting at $219/month, billed monthly. [2] It lists a Premium annual plan at $100/month starting price, $1,199 billed annually. [2] It lists an Ultimate annual plan at $142/month starting price, $1,699 billed annually. [2]
What does Raise Buddy cost?
The Free plan opens programs up to $1,000, Plus is $14.99 a month (up to $5,000), and Pro is $199 a month (every program, advisors' review, AI connection). [4] The first three matches in each section open on every plan. [4]
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. [4]
Try Raise BuddySources
- GrantStation, grantstation.com, read 2026-10-07
- Candid Foundation Directory, candid.org/find-funding, read 2026-10-07
- Candid Foundation Directory, candid.org, read 2026-10-07
- Raise Buddy's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher)
- GrantWatch, grantwatch.com, read 2026-10-07
- Grants.gov, grants.gov, read 2026-10-07
Related comparisons
- Grant finders compared in 2026
- Grant finders for arts organization managers in 2026
- Best grant finders for business advisors
- Grant finders for business consultants in 2026
- Grant finders for community organization leaders in 2026
- Grant finders for ecommerce sellers in 2026
- Best grant finders for small-business founders in 2026
- Candid Foundation Directory alternatives in 2026
- Candid Foundation Directory vs GrantForward in 2026
- Candid Foundation Directory vs Grantmakers.io in 2026