Raise Buddy vs GrantWatch and Pocketed in 2026

Q: How much does Raise Buddy cost?

The free plan opens programs up to $1,000. Plus is $14.99 a month and opens programs up to $5,000. Pro is $199 a month and opens every program, with the advisors' review and the AI assistant connection. The first three matches in each section open on every plan. No card payment fee is published for Raise Buddy.

GrantWatch and Raise Buddy compared for small-business owners who want grants: what each does, what each says it costs, and what to check before choosing.

By CDings · 2026-10-16

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

GrantWatch says its search covers 13,781 verified grants. ^[1] GrantWatch and Pocketed compared with Raise Buddy for small-business owners: what each does, what each says it costs, and what to check before choosing.

Option	Free entry	Paid prices	Card payment fee
GrantWatch	Claiming an official organization profile can bring up to 1 million free GWI Tokens ^[1]	Not published	Not published
Pocketed	Not published	Not published	Not published
Raise Buddy	Free plan opens programs up to $1,000 ^[2]	Plus $14.99 a month (up to $5,000); Pro $199 a month (every program) ^[2]	Not published

The short answer

Small business owners can start with two different grant tools. GrantWatch says its database holds 13,781 Human Verified grants, including 9,877 nonprofit grants. ^[1] Raise Buddy takes your website or a short description of what you do and lists grants, loans, credits, prizes and other funding you may be able to apply for. ^[2] The sources reviewed here give no features for Pocketed, so its own pages should be read before it is judged.

If you want a list of funding with a plain verdict on whether you can apply, Raise Buddy's sources describe that. ^[2] GrantWatch says its grant calendar and alerts track deadlines, milestones, application schedules, and funding opportunities. ^[1]

What GrantWatch, Pocketed is built for

GrantWatch says its database includes 374,397 funder profiles. ^[1] It says it holds 13,781 Human Verified grants, including 9,877 nonprofit grants. ^[1] It says its grant calendar and alerts track deadlines, milestones, application schedules, and funding opportunities in one place. ^[1]

The sources reviewed here give no features for Pocketed. Read its own pages for what it claims to cover before you compare.

What Raise Buddy is built for

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. ^[2] Each match says whether you can apply, what one step stands in the way, or what is unclear, with the funder's own words. ^[2]

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. ^[2] It includes private foundations that take applications, read from their own Form 990-PF tax returns. ^[2]

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. ^[2] 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. ^[2] It keeps track of where each of your applications stands, but you apply on the funder's own site. ^[2]

Pricing and fees

Neither GrantWatch nor Pocketed has a published monthly price in the sources reviewed here, so check each one's own pricing page before you commit. GrantWatch does say claiming an official organization profile can bring up to 1 million free GWI Tokens. ^[1]

Raise Buddy's free plan opens programs up to $1,000. ^[2] Plus is $14.99 a month and opens programs up to $5,000. ^[2] Pro is $199 a month and opens every program, with the advisors' review and the AI assistant connection. ^[2] The first three matches in each section open on every plan. ^[2] A guest's search list ends after 5. ^[2]

Neither source gives a card payment fee, so that part is not published for any tool on this page.

Getting started

GrantWatch's sources reviewed here say nothing about sign-up steps, so check its own pages to see how a new account starts. The sources reviewed here give no setup details for Pocketed either.

For Raise Buddy, no install is needed for the web app. ^[2] The app is built for the web and phones. ^[2] You paste your website or describe what you do, and the list of funding follows. ^[2] If you have a tax form or IRS letter, you can add a photo or PDF and confirm the draft profile it produces. ^[2]

AI assistants connect by adding the connection address. ^[2] On the Pro plan, Claude or any compatible AI assistant can search, and the assistant gets ten tools. ^[2] Only English is shown for now, even though five more languages are planned. ^[2]

Things to check before you choose

What does the plan you need cost each month, and is it published before you sign up?
Does the tool cover the kind of funding you want, such as grants, loans or prizes, and the country you operate in?
Does it say plainly whether your business can apply, and does it quote the funder?
Who writes the application: you, or the tool? Where do you submit it?
Does it track deadlines and spending after you win, and does it connect to the accounting software you already use?
What happens to your tax documents and identifiers when you upload them?
Is the interface in the language you work in?

How to choose

If you want a list of funding matched to a description of your business, with a verdict on whether you can apply, Raise Buddy's sources describe that. ^[2] ^[2]

If you want options beyond grants, such as SBA loans or equity crowdfunding, Raise Buddy's sources say it covers 25 ways to raise money. ^[2]

If you want funding sources from outside the US, Raise Buddy's sources list programs from several countries. ^[2]

If you want to track deadlines and funding opportunities in one place, GrantWatch says its grant calendar and alerts do that. ^[1]

If you want to browse grants by what its sources count, GrantWatch says it holds 13,781 verified grants. ^[1]

Frequently asked questions

Does GrantWatch have a free option?

It says claiming an official organization profile can bring up to 1 million free GWI Tokens. ^[1] The sources reviewed here give no monthly price, so check GrantWatch's own pricing page for what a paying account costs and what the free account includes before you sign up.

How much does Raise Buddy cost?

The free plan opens programs up to $1,000. ^[2] Plus is $14.99 a month and opens programs up to $5,000. ^[2] Pro is $199 a month and opens every program, with the advisors' review and the AI assistant connection. ^[2] The first three matches in each section open on every plan. ^[2] No card payment fee is published for Raise Buddy.

Does GrantWatch track grant deadlines?

GrantWatch says its grant calendar and alerts track deadlines, milestones, application schedules, and funding opportunities in one place. ^[1] The sources reviewed here say nothing more about how the calendar works, so check whether the deadlines shown match the funders and countries you care about before you rely on it.

Can Raise Buddy submit a grant application?

Raise Buddy keeps track of where each of your applications stands, but you apply on the funder's own site. ^[2] Each match says whether you can apply, what one step stands in the way, or what is unclear, with the funder's own words. ^[2]

What does Pocketed offer?

The sources reviewed here give no features, prices or setup steps for Pocketed. Read its own pages to see what it claims to do, what it costs, and how a new account starts before comparing it with GrantWatch or Raise Buddy. Since no facts are published here, Pocketed cannot be judged from this page.

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. ^[2]

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