GrantStation vs Candid Pricing
Compare GrantStation vs Candid pricing with current list prices, download caps, and discount routes, plus what each plan includes for small grant teams.
Last updated: October 2026
The GrantStation vs Candid pricing choice comes down to two different billing models. GrantStation takes one payment for a one- or two-year term. Candid bills monthly or annually and meters how much you can download each month.
The real gap depends on team size, billing term and discount routes. If you are new to prospecting, our grant search primer for nonprofits covers the search itself.
Quick Answer: How Much Do GrantStation and Candid Cost?
GrantStation lists one year at $699 and two years at $1,258 (GrantStation discounts page, read September 2026). At nonprofit-discounted rates, Candid Premium is $219 a month on the monthly plan or from $1,199 billed annually, and Ultimate starts at $1,699 billed annually (Candid pricing page, read September 2026). Caps and discount routes decide the real gap.
GrantStation Pricing Right Now
GrantStation is a subscription membership that combines a grantmaker database with strategy guides, proposal tutorials, planning tools and a weekly funding newsletter (GrantStation membership page, read September 2026). The membership centers on funder research plus learning material. It is not sold as application workflow software.
GrantStation lists its regular pricing as "One-Year Membership: $699 USD" and "Two-Year Membership: $1258 USD" (GrantStation Promotion Codes and Discounts page, read September 2026). The two-year term costs less than two single years bought separately.
The membership purchase page also shows a promotional $219 figure beside $699 and $1,258, with the claim of full access for only $2 a day (GrantStation membership page, read September 2026). GrantStation's own discounts page gives the regular rate as $699 for one year (GrantStation Promotion Codes and Discounts page, read September 2026), so the $219 figure is promotional, not the list price.
GrantStation does not sell monthly billing, and its FAQ states that it is "set up only to accept payment in full for a membership" (GrantStation FAQ, read September 2026). You pay the full term at purchase.
GrantStation offers no free trial, and its membership page says so directly (GrantStation membership page, read September 2026). Visitors who are not logged in can run a search and see how many grantmakers match before paying (GrantStation membership page, read September 2026).
The membership claims 150,000+ funding profiles and 15,000+ curated grants (GrantStation membership page, read September 2026). Profiles are human-built, and TechSoup describes the method as a researcher who read four things: the funder website, the annual report, audited financials, and 990 filings (TechSoup GrantStation page, read September 2026).
The membership includes saved funders, saved search criteria grouped into projects, and alerts generated from saved criteria, but it is a research membership instead of an application workflow tool (GrantStation membership page, read September 2026). Saved projects keep repeat searches intact.
Candid Pricing Right Now
Candid search is Candid's combined funder-and-nonprofit research product, described as combining "decades of trusted data from both Foundation Directory and GuideStar" (Candid search page, read September 2026). Candid was formed in 2019 when GuideStar and Foundation Center merged, which is why Foundation Directory and GuideStar data now sit in one product line (Candid About us page, page dated February 18, 2025, read September 2026).
Candid lists a free tier at $0 that gives limited search results, basic profile views and limited personalized dashboards, with one full profile view per month (Candid pricing page, read September 2026). The free tier suits a quick look.
At its nonprofit-discounted rates, Candid Premium on the monthly plan is $219 per month (Candid pricing page, read September 2026). Candid Premium on the annual plan is listed as $100 per month with a starting price of $1,199 billed annually (Candid pricing page, read September 2026).
At the same nonprofit-discounted setting, Candid Ultimate is listed as $142 per month with a starting price of $1,699 billed annually, and an Enterprise tier is quoted separately (Candid pricing page, read September 2026).
Download caps apply on every paid Candid tier. Candid Premium on the monthly plan caps downloads at up to 250 grants per month and up to 750 profiles per month (Candid pricing page, read September 2026). Candid Premium on the annual plan raises the caps to up to 1,000 grants per month and up to 5,000 profiles per month (Candid pricing page, read September 2026).
Candid Premium includes an "AI-powered fundraising assistant" that Candid describes as its "AI agent for nonprofit fundraisers" able to "draft a letter of inquiry in seconds" (Candid pricing page, read September 2026). One Reddit commenter wrote that "I don't need their AI to write an LOI for me, I need to be able to download an excel of past relevant grants" (Reddit thread 1vb5ctu, read September 2026).
Candid states its data size as 1.9M+ nonprofit profiles, 304k+ funder profiles and 29M+ grants (Candid search page, read September 2026). Candid says it cleans the data, makes it discoverable, and enriches it with data collected directly from organizations, going beyond IRS data alone (Candid About us page, page dated February 18, 2025, read September 2026). The IRS publishes the full Form 990 series as free bulk XML downloads with files updated monthly (IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search bulk data downloads, read September 2026). For the no-cost route to the same filings, see our free ways to search foundation filings.
GrantStation vs Candid Pricing Side by Side
Side by side, GrantStation's pricing is a single membership decision and Candid's is a choice of billing term, and at list price a year of GrantStation costs less than annual Candid Premium (GrantStation discounts page; Candid pricing page, read September 2026).
| Plan | List price read September 2026 | Billing | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrantStation one year | $699 | One year, paid in full | GrantStation discounts page |
| GrantStation two years | $1,258 | Two-year term, paid in full | GrantStation discounts page |
| Candid free | $0 | Free tier | Candid pricing page |
| Candid Premium monthly | $219 per month | Month to month | Candid pricing page |
| Candid Premium annual | $1,199 starting price, billed annually | Annual, listed as $100 per month | Candid pricing page |
| Candid Ultimate annual | $1,699 starting price, billed annually | Annual, listed as $142 per month | Candid pricing page |
| Candid Enterprise | Quoted separately | Quote | Candid pricing page |
Sources: GrantStation Promotion Codes and Discounts page; Candid pricing page, nonprofit-discounted rates (all read September 2026).
GrantStation has one decision: one year or two years, paid in full (GrantStation FAQ, read September 2026). Candid lists free, monthly Premium, annual Premium and Ultimate, with an Enterprise tier quoted separately (Candid pricing page, read September 2026). At list price, annual Candid Premium from its nonprofit-discounted $1,199 costs more than a year of GrantStation at $699, while one month of Candid Premium at $219 costs less than either (Candid pricing page; GrantStation Promotion Codes and Discounts page, read September 2026).
One Reddit commenter put GrantStation at "a little over $100 for the year" (Reddit thread 1r8eviy, read September 2026), which fits a discounted route, not the list price. Budget from the list prices and treat discount routes as savings you have to qualify for.
What Each Price Actually Buys
Price buys different work in each product. GrantStation sells curated profiles plus learning content. Candid sells scale, filters, contacts and exports with caps.
GrantStation bundles 150,000+ funding profiles and 15,000+ curated grants with guides, tutorials, planning tools and a weekly newsletter (GrantStation membership page, read September 2026). GrantStation says records are updated systematically on a daily basis, with a date stamp on updated profiles (GrantStation membership page, read September 2026). Saved funders, saved criteria grouped into projects, and alerts from saved criteria keep repeat work intact (GrantStation membership page, read September 2026).
Candid sells depth and scale. Its size claims span 1.9M+ nonprofit profiles, 304k+ funder profiles and 29M+ grants (Candid search page, read September 2026). Paid tiers add peer benchmarking, detailed financials described as more recent than the IRS, key staff contacts with LinkedIn profiles, and saved-search refresh (Candid pricing page, read September 2026).
| What you get | GrantStation membership | Candid Premium annual |
|---|---|---|
| Core content | Funding profiles plus guides and tutorials | Funder and nonprofit profiles |
| Database scale stated | 150,000+ profiles, 15,000+ curated grants | 304k+ funder profiles, 29M+ grants |
| Search memory and alerts | Saved funders, saved criteria in projects, alerts from saved criteria | Saved-search refresh |
| Contacts | Confirm with GrantStation | Key staff contacts with LinkedIn profiles |
| How profiles are built | A researcher reads the funder's website, annual report, audited financials and 990 filings | Cleaned IRS data enriched with data collected directly from organizations |
| Exports | Confirm with GrantStation | Up to 1,000 grants and 5,000 profiles a month |
| Extras | Strategy guides, proposal tutorials, planning tools | AI-powered fundraising assistant, peer benchmarking |
Sources: GrantStation membership page; TechSoup GrantStation page; Candid pricing page, Candid search page and Candid About us page (all read September 2026); TechSoup Support, updated August 6, 2026.
Discount Routes That Lower the Bill
List price is the ceiling. Association rates, seasonal sales and free access points set the floor.
TechSoup ran a GrantStation offer at $119 for a one-year membership over a two-day window on September 15 and 16, and describes it as a full membership and not a trial or a limited tier (TechSoup GrantStation page, read September 2026). The offer is limited to U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofits and public libraries, runs in the United States and Canada only, is non-refundable, and can be used to extend an existing membership by 12 months (TechSoup GrantStation page, read September 2026). That window has closed. Outside it, TechSoup lists a one-year membership at $199, or $150 for TechSoup Plus members, against GrantStation's $699 list price (TechSoup Support, updated August 6, 2026).
State nonprofit associations resell GrantStation cheaper, and the Pennsylvania association page lists a one-year membership at $139 (GrantStation membership for PANO page, read September 2026). A third-party software directory reports that state and sector nonprofit associations resell GrantStation to members for between $75 and $139 (Softwr GrantStation Review, checked August 31, 2026).
GrantStation runs six named partner programs that carry discounted access: Premium Licensing, Membership Value, Product Referral, Volume Purchase, Library Access and Education Access (GrantStation Promotion Codes and Discounts page, read September 2026). Grant Professionals Association (GPA) members can redeem a free annual GrantStation subscription through the GPA site (Grant Professionals Association Exclusive Offers page, read September 2026).
Candid has two no-cost routes. Candid offers free, in-person access to GuideStar and Foundation Directory at any of Candid's partner locations, which is the library and resource center route (Candid Learning free access page, read September 2026). Call ahead: one Reddit commenter warned that "a lot of places have been dropping Candid over the past year or two" (Reddit thread 1p511oo, read September 2026). A second route is Go for Gold, which gives a free year of Candid Premium to eligible nonprofits that have annual revenue or expenses totaling less than $1M and earn a 2026 Gold Seal of Transparency (Candid Learning free access page, read September 2026). The Go for Gold discount covers up to two users on Candid Premium (Candid Learning subscription features page, read September 2026).
Which Price Fits Your Team
A one-person shop that searches in bursts fits a GrantStation year or a month of Candid Premium. A team that prospects all year should compare the two annual rates against each other. A team that exports long lists every month needs the annual Candid plan for its higher caps.
Start with term. GrantStation requires full payment for the membership term with no monthly option (GrantStation FAQ, read September 2026). Candid annual Premium at a nonprofit-discounted starting price of $1,199 billed annually suits steady use (Candid pricing page, read September 2026).
Then check caps and seats. Annual Candid Premium allows up to 1,000 grants and 5,000 profiles a month, against 250 grants and 750 profiles on the monthly plan (Candid pricing page, read September 2026). Candid Premium includes 2 user licenses, the same two users the Go for Gold route covers (Candid Learning subscription features page, read September 2026).
Teams that need tracking as well as search can price a third shape. GrantCue combines live federal, state and foundation listings with a kanban-style pipeline, adding AI fit scoring from the Team plan up; its free personal tier is $0 with basic discovery, 10 active opportunities, 3 AI summaries a month and the core pipeline, and paid tiers run from Essentials at $49 a month for 3 users to Organization at $229 a month for 20 users, with annual billing saving 20% (grantcue.com, September 2026). Set GrantCue's seat-based plans beside the two bills above before you commit to either.
FAQ
How Much Does GrantStation Cost per Year?
GrantStation lists regular pricing at $699 for one year and $1,258 for two years (GrantStation Promotion Codes and Discounts page, read September 2026). The purchase page has also shown a lower promotional figure beside a claim of full access for only $2 a day (GrantStation membership page, read September 2026). Association rates and seasonal sales lower the bill further.
Is Candid Cheaper Than GrantStation?
Not at list price for a full year. Annual Candid Premium starts at a nonprofit-discounted $1,199 billed annually against GrantStation's $699 for one year, though a single month of Candid Premium costs $219 on the monthly plan (Candid pricing page; GrantStation Promotion Codes and Discounts page, read September 2026). Short bursts of research can favor Candid's monthly plan; year-round prospecting favors comparing the two annual rates.
Does GrantStation Offer Monthly Billing or a Free Trial?
No to both. GrantStation states it accepts payment in full for a membership with no monthly billing (GrantStation FAQ, read September 2026). Its membership page states that it does not provide free trials (GrantStation membership page, read September 2026). Visitors can run a search and see match counts before buying (GrantStation membership page, read September 2026).
What Does Candid's Annual Plan Add Over Monthly Billing?
The annual plan lowers the listed nonprofit-discounted rate from $219 a month to $100 a month, with a starting price of $1,199 billed annually, and raises the download caps from 250 grants and 750 profiles a month to 1,000 grants and 5,000 profiles a month (Candid pricing page, read September 2026). Twelve months of the monthly plan cost more than the annual starting price.
How Can a Small Nonprofit Pay Less for GrantStation?
Check association and seasonal routes before paying list. TechSoup ran a $119 one-year GrantStation offer for eligible nonprofits and libraries over a two-day window on September 15 and 16, and that offer has closed (TechSoup GrantStation page, read September 2026). A state association page lists a one-year membership at $139 (GrantStation membership for PANO page, read September 2026). A directory reports association resales between $75 and $139 (Softwr GrantStation Review, checked August 31, 2026).
Pick the Bill You Will Use Each Week
Buy the plan your team will open each week. GrantStation at $699 for one year suits steady curated research paid in full (GrantStation Promotion Codes and Discounts page, read September 2026). Candid Premium annual at a nonprofit-discounted starting price of $1,199 billed annually suits teams that need wider filters, contacts and higher export caps (Candid pricing page, read September 2026).
Check one discount route before checkout. Then put the renewal date and the cap limits in writing, and set up a shared grant tracking sheet once the search turns into applications.