CiviCRM Review

PROS: I think the advantages of CiviCRM are it is open source, community focused, and affordable. In my opinion it is the best platform for non-profit and community organizations like ours.

CONS: My only peeve is I don’t have enough time to check out all the features and refine our use of this application.

PROS: I love that I can use CiviCRM to create forms for users to sign up, have both paid and free events, can do mass emailing without paying extra, and even do memberships. I use it for my organization where I have employees and volunteers contacting people. I can keep track of all their interactions in the system.

CONS: There are a few glitches. Upgrading can be difficult and you need to start with a new database and import in all your SQL. Plus, I face issues sometimes and cannot find adequate support to resolve them.

PROS: I think CiviCRM offers an unmatched combination of user-friendly interface with full customizability. For support, you can approach the helpful community and engage with the large network of skilled developers.

CONS: With many organizations using CiviCRM, it is possible the product may not offer the specific features your organization needs. It does offer a wide range of features, but cannot match other specialized apps when it comes to niche features. However, you can integrate the CRM with other business systems to get what you need.

PROS: I feel CiviCRM is an ideal app for non-profits who can use it for memberships, event tracking, and collecting donations. You simply have to configure the interface to enable the system to do all these tasks. Another factor non-profits will appreciate is CiviCRM is a free app as it is open source. Finally, it integrates smoothly with Drupal, so you can make it interactive with your website.

CONS: If you want to use CiviCRM for extra functions, you need a PHP developer which is a hassle. To be fair, this case is the same with all CRM solutions. The reporting can be improved and the developers can make it easier to do queries. Another pain is there is no customer support as CiviCRM is open source. But you make use of the responsive community forums to find answers to your issues.

PROS: I think CiviCRM is an ideal app for nonprofits. It offers features for advocacy campaigns, marketing automation, case management, event management, and fundraising. The system integrates smoothly with your website if your CMS platform is Drupal or WordPress. Integration is offered for Gravity Forms in WordPress and for Webforms in Drupal. Since CiviCRM is open source, it offers a robust API that developers can use to integrate it with other business systems. Thus, organizations can easily customize the app for their specific requirements.

CONS: CiviCRM is not a SaaS product and you need some help to set it up. By my calculation, an organization with 100 users can save about $500,000 over five years compared to a similar system from Salesforce. Apart from the initial setup expenses, there are no licensing costs.

PROS: For me, the highlights of CiviCRM are it is open source, offers excellent out-of-box features, and integrates smoothly with Drupal. I feel these features make it the perfect app for nonprofits and associations.

CONS: The developers can make the user experience more consistent. For example, some changes do not require form submission while others do. It can be a bit difficult to use the system until you get used to its peculiarities.

PROS: I love that CiviCRM is a free app. You can use it to manage contributions, events, and contacts. Even a lay user can easily customize the system as it offers powerful built-in customization features. There are many more useful features and I have only pointed out my favorites.

CONS: Though CiviCRM is a free app, you need some technical knowledge to make full use of the system. The app was written originally for Drupal CMS, so you can face some issues when you use it inside WordPress CMS. You may find it difficult to program CiviCRM for WordPress.

PROS: CiviCRM offers a host of useful features: It is a robust and stable app for non-profits with a constant supply of new features. You can use the system for bulk email, phone surveys, online petitions, grant administration, memberships, event registrations, and fundraising/development. You can install a large library of extensions such as WordPress plugins. Plus, the platform integrates smoothly with popular accounting systems like QuickBooks. It works well with Joomla, Drupal, and WordPress. Since the app is open source there is a large community of developers who can customize the system. Finally, it works well in non-English and multi-lingual installations.

CONS: Since the system is flexible and powerful, you may find it a bit difficult to configure it initially. However, you can make use of sensible defaults and a handy checklist for the purpose.

PROS: I recommend CiviCRM for non-profit organizations as it is an excellent Constituent Relationship Management app that offers features for contact creation and management, events registrations, building campaigns, and multiple forms for memberships, fundraising, etc. It also enables easy communication within the organization.

CONS: The only glitch is the limitation regarding manual submission of XML as it takes a lot of time and the permission is not fine-grained.

PROS: CivICRM is a feature-rich CRM that offer limitless possibilities for website integration. The app is open source which means there is no license fee and is supported by a large community of developers. It is an ideal platform for NGOs of all sizes who can use it for mailing, membership management, event management, and fundraising. Plus, you can use extensions to improve the functionality.

CONS: Initially, it is difficult to use the software because of the rich functionality. However, you can utilize the extensive documentation and the help of partners to learn to use the app effectively.