Association Management Software

Our Ranking Criteria of Association Management Software Explained

To better understand our evaluation process, we have explained our ranking criteria in detail. Scroll down to learn how the brands mentioned here earned their place in our table.

Classification

Before going over the aspects that affect the ranking, we always classify the products we recommend. The categorization doesn’t play a role in our association management software comparison. It does, however, make it easier for you to find suitable options.

Industry Focus

Software products either cater to a specific industry or provide a one-for-all solution. This is important to those who need industry-specific features as it simplifies the shortlisting. For example, non-profits focus on raising funds and applying for grants. So, they need functionalities that may not be important, for instance, to alumni associations.

Below, we have listed the most common types of associations in the USA.

• Student associations
• Industry associations
• Sports associations
• Alumni associations
• Non-profit associations
• Religious associations
• Gambling associations
• Trade associations

Membership Size

This is another classification cornerstone for association management systems. Do you have 1,000 or 100,000 members? This is crucial for determining how powerful a platform you need. Some products target small associations only, while others are scalable.

Deployment

Finally, we have the deployment, i.e., the process of making the system ready for use. You can get software for associations hosted on the cloud or in-house. Both options come with benefits and drawbacks. We don’t prefer either. What would work for you depends on your preferences and needs.

The general characteristics of online association management software include easy navigation, user-friendliness, and low-cost. Such solutions require internet access. In-house software, in contrast, tends to be more robust and independent. It doesn’t always need the internet, but it requires lengthy updates. These in-house systems are also pricey and often come with a steep learning curve.

Key Functions of Association Management Solutions

Features make the software. The ones listed below are critical to platforms that provide professional association management. Solutions with all the mentioned features always have a better ranking than brands without them. These functions enable systems to unlock their full potential so that users gain all the benefits of streamlined association management.

Membership Management and Database

Members are the main asset of any association. You must attract and engage them, renew their memberships, track their dues. All top association management software marvel at this. They enable you to automate most areas of membership management by setting up rules. Plus, it lets you create multiple membership levels, benefits, and discounts.

Here, we must mention the centralized association database. It provides smooth searching, finding, and managing contact details of members.

Member Self-Service Portal

Constituents feel free and engaged when they have control over their membership. Your association can deliver this through a self-service portal. Let members add, update, or remove personal information by signing into their own profile. AMS systems should also provide details on membership status, payments, and dues.

Event and Conference Management

This is a must-have feature for associations that often organize events or conferences, letting you automate the entire process of planning and coordination. It further eliminates any chances for human errors. Specific tools that help here are event registration, promotion, and reporting.

Mass Communication

Communication with and between members is a cornerstone of any association. Your members must be able to reach you via multiple channels, and chat with one another. This is especially important for community and trade association management software.

Email, phone, mail, and social media should all be supported channels of mass communication. With this single functionality, you can send your constituents any relevant association and legal information updates.

Reporting

This feature lets you get real-time or generate custom reports, filter data as needed and gain valuable insights on member behavior. The top benefits of strong reporting capabilities also include tracking KPIs, detecting anomalies and discovering strategies that work.

Fundraising Management

This functionality is crucial for raising funds to operate your association. Non-profit association management software especially must have fundraising tools with such organizations heavily dependent on donations. Tools here provide easy association management online via managing and tracking donor records. You also get to track and manage donations, pledges, and recurring contributions.

Admin Access and Customization

Account hierarchy helps you provide and restrict access as needed. Other administrators can help you manage the platform and, therefore, the association. Interns can receive only primary roles that limit their chances of potentially doing damage.

Customization is crucial for boosting brand awareness. Custom fields, on the other hand, allow you to remove anything that doesn’t fit your organization.

Website and Content Management

Leading association management solutions must provide essential tools found in best website builders. Your website, especially in the case of constituents across the world, is the face of your organization. Make it easy-to-navigate with a simple drag-and-drop builder. Add custom fields and your branding for a full membership experience.

Content is another essential aspect of managing an association. Make sure only approved people can create and publish content on your website. Create clear guidelines on what can be posted, track the latest posts, and more.

Payments

Regardless of whether you need a sport or a realtor association management software product, it must support payments. You want to be able to create invoices with a few clicks and send them to constituents. Being able to receive online payments easily is also critical. Other useful functions here include transaction tracking, setting due dates, and sending automatic receipts.

Marketing Tools

Even the most basic will do the trick. Your membership association software should help you reach your constituents easily. This is possible through creating fun campaigns. Employ various email marketing efforts or boost your social media game. Marketing tools allow you to produce engaging content using tested templates, while customization lets you try your own strategies. Targeted marketing and contact segmentation are also useful functionalities in this category.

Integrations

MailChimp, Google Analytics, Slack, and SurveyMonkey are only a few apps popular among professional association managers. The best association management software supports them all and more. Integrability is crucial for any software as it enables you to streamline and connect your day-to-day operations. So, solutions that smoothly integrate with other applications always get better rankings.

User-Friendly, Accessible, Scalable

Nobody likes using complex systems. Nobody wants to spend hours learning how to operate something that should make their work easier. This is why we value user-friendly platforms. Such an associate management system would come with an intuitive UI, customizable dashboards, and would be simple to set up.

Accessibility and scalability are crucial too. The first allows multiple users to access the platform using various devices. Here, mobile-readiness and native apps are a must. Scalability meanwhile enables the software to adjust to your association size. Plus, it allows the system to grow alongside your organization, thus eliminating the need for changing it.

These features boost the rankings of any software, regardless of whether it’s an onboarding, expenses, or membership management software.

Pricing

We include the cheapest options in our association management software reviews. False. We list the most expensive platforms. Also wrong. Rather than providing low-cost solutions, our team of experts is determined to offer our readers products that are worth the money.

We value efficiency more than price. This means that products with excellent value for money would rank better than extremely cheap or overpriced platforms. Our expert team tries to list systems whose price aligns with the industry average. If we include pricey solutions, they always come with an exceptional set of features.

Two other aspects that boost the brands’ rankings include free trials and money-back guarantees. These allow consumers to test the platform before committing financial resources to it.

Reviews of Association Management Software

Join It

At a Glance

Simple, efficient, and affordable. Those are the three critical characteristics of Join It. The platform helps growing organizations to further enlarge their community and streamline their processes. Small associations get to use this feature-packed system for free. Join It works for organizations of any type, thanks to its flexibility and a long list of functionalities.

Pros

• Membership types
• Financial configuration
• Payments via Stripe
• Targeted emails
• Event management

Cons

• No Zapier integration
• No committee management
• No mobile apps

Features

As a top-rated association membership software, Join It enables you to configure membership programs, run your organization, and empower members. Multiple membership tiers, custom profiles, multi-user access, and account hierarchy are some of the system’s top tools. You also get to create a beautiful portal, thanks to custom fields.

Join It has partnered with Stripe to provide smooth online payments. The platform will also send automatic notifications and reminders. Reach your constituents with targeted emails and track their timeline. Give them the freedom to manage their own profiles through the self-service portal.

Other functions that make Join It the perfect AMS system include event management, member surveys, and financial configuration. Integrations could be better, with only 16 supported options. We, therefore, view the absence of Zapier as a severe drawback.

Pricing

Any organization can test Join It via a 30-day free trial. Small associations with up to 100 members can further try out the free plan.

Those whose community counts between 101 and 50,000 members can choose one of four options.

• Starter (up to 1,000 members) – $29/month + 3.0% transaction service fee
• Growth (up to 2,500 members) – $49/month + 2.5% transaction service fee
• Total (up to 10,000 members) – $99/month + 2.0% transaction service fee
• Upgraded Total (up to 50,000 members) – $250/month + 3.0% transaction service fee

Join It’s association membership software offers a 20% discount to nonprofits, while annual payments land organizations an additional 20% discount.

Wild Apricot

At a Glance

Homeowners, law, political, alumni, and many other types of associations use Wild Apricot to manage their constituents. The platform boasts high customer satisfaction rates and promises quick results. Wild Apricot users get access to a robust system rich in essential features, including a drag-and-drop website builder, membership database, and payments.

Pros

• Online self-service portal
• Membership management
• Online payments
• Donation management
• Mobile apps

Cons

• No property database
• Outdated UI design

Features

Apart from the lack of a property database and an outdated UI design, Wild Apricot has virtually no drawbacks. This association management system is equipped with tons of functions. Complete membership management lets you automate applications and renewals. You can create group memberships, send automatic confirmation emails, and process payments without moving a finger. Plus, the database is customizable, meaning anyone with access can browse, enter, or edit information.

Members get access to a sleek online self-service portal, which also leads to effective association data management. With Wild Apricot’s native Android and iOS apps, the system is available on the go as well. Event and email management are two other useful tools of this AMS platform. The feature set is completed with online payments, a website builder, and an online store. The last functionality makes Wild Apricot stand out from its competitors since not many brands offer it.

Via Integromat, Wild Apricot connects to more than 230 apps, including Facebook, WordPress, Xero, and QuickBooks.

Pricing

You can start your Wild Apricot free trial right away. The process doesn’t require a credit card, and is completely risk-free. Small associations (50 contacts) can test the association membership software by claiming the Free Plan. It comes with all the features for 30 days, and then it offers only limited capabilities.

• Personal for 100 contacts – $40/month
• Group for 250 contacts – $50/month
• Community for 500 contacts – $90/month
• Professional for 2,000 contacts – $160/month
• Network for 5,000 contacts – $290/month
• Enterprise for 15,000 contacts – $350/month
• Global for 50,000 contacts – $600/month

All plans are flat-rate and all-inclusive. They come without setup, customization, or training fees. Each plan includes unlimited admins, free support, free Amazon hosting, and a free SSL certificate. Prepaying for one or two years for the AMS database can cave you 10% and 15%, respectively.

Amilia

At a Glance

Various associations can use Amilia, regardless of their type, size, and number of locations. Clients of the platform get tools that enable them to sell services, manage members, track activities, and reach new audiences. In addition to its useful functionalities, Amilia is also simple and beautifully designed.

Pros

• Online registrations
• Activity calendars
• Custom forms
• Flexible membership options
• Client retention tools

Cons

• No event management
• No website management

Features

Amilia is a leading association management software for organizations that don’t have events or committees. Despite its lack of event, committee, and website management, this product is perfect for small and growing associations. These get to manage their members, track their activities and use client retention tools.

Users can set flexible membership options, auto-renewals, and one-time payments. You can also treat your constituents with discounts, unique offers, and member-only content. Online registrations alongside payments help associations grow. Your community members can browse and register for activities with a few clicks. If you have merchandise, Amilia enables you to sell it through the Pro-Shop functionality.

In-depth reporting is another critical feature of this association membership management software. It allows for real-time intelligence, custom reports, and tracking attendance. Amilia will also generate activity reports and let you manage a centralized client database.

Pricing

While packed with functionalities, Amilia isn’t an affordable option. Following a 30-day free trial, clients can go for the Essential or the Enterprise Plan. The first costs $99 per month per location, and is suitable for associations with up to four locations. The second is $799 per month and includes multiple locations. Both plans have an additional 1% transaction fee.

The packages only have minor differences in terms of AMS features. For example, the Essential Plan is Amilia-branded and doesn’t include a dedicated support manager.

EventBank

At a Glance

EventBank lets you maximize member engagement, boost client retention rates, and organize world-class events. This is a reliable cloud-hosted platform, suitable for associations of any size and within any industry. Tackling several issues simultaneously, EventBank handles event and membership management alongside email marketing, CRM, and finance.

Pros

• Event website builder
• Registration and payments
• Member accounts
• Renewal workflows
• Mobile apps

Cons

• Needs more flexibility
• No surveys and feedback
• No monthly billing

Features

With a wide variety of functions, EventBank is much more than an association management system. This platform is, instead, a full solution for your organization. It does finance, CRM, payments, and email marketing in addition to membership and event management. So, it’s perfect for CRM associations, sports clubs, nonprofits, and more.

EventBank comes with a plethora of features for advanced association management. These include member validation, automated invoices, custom online application forms, and member export/import. Users also get to create membership workflows, sales pipelines, and custom membership types.

EventBank’s long list of event-managing tools has helped the platform land a spot among the best association management solutions on the market. Here, administrators get to streamline registration and ticketing alongside onsite operations. Website design enables you to create a beautiful destination for your constituents, while online payments provide a smooth cash collection.

In addition to all these capabilities, EventBank has powerful reporting functionalities. So, you get to create custom reports, check real-time insights, and analyze valuable business intelligence data.

Pricing

Schedule a demo to test if EventBank works for your organization. If it’s a good match, you can pick a pricing plan that suits your association size. Please note that all Chamber and Association Management Software plans are available with annual subscription only.

Here’s what you can choose from:

• Basic for 1,500 contacts – includes four events and 25,000 emails/year
• Standard for 3,000 contacts – includes 12 events and 50,000 emails/year
• Advanced for 5,000 contacts – includes 25 events and 100,000 emails/year
• Premium for 10,000 contacts – includes 50 events and 300,000 emails/year
• Superior for 20,000 contacts – includes 50+ events and unlimited emails

All plans offer unlimited users, and their pricing is provided upon request.

Aplos for Nonprofits

At a Glance

Aplos is a top-class church and non-profit association management software. That said, its functionalities set makes it perfect for associations of any type. This robust platform covers budgeting, fundraising, member management, and more. Any organization can oversee and engage its constituents with Aplos, regardless of how large or small their membership base is.

Pros

• Member directory
• Marketing and communication
• Event registration and tracking
• Online donations and payments
• Reporting and analytics

Cons

• Needs more integrations
• No mobile apps

Features

This platform is rich in features and performs various actions. Equipped with tools for CRM, fundraising, payments, and more, Aplos is the most versatile system on the market. Plus, those with specific needs can always go for the optimized bookkeeper, schools, sports, or homeowners association management software. These come with industry-specific functionalities like HOA fees management or tuition tracking.

As for Aplos for Nonprofits’ capabilities, check out the platform’s areas along with their specific tools:

• Member management – member directory, database, custom lists, member portal, communication
• Fundraising – donor retention tools, donor database, dynamic contact lists, reports on fundraising
• Donations and payments – donation forms, recurring giving management, donation widget
• Marketing and communication – event registration, campaign email, website builder, event attendee tracking

Reporting and analytics – reminders, contribution statements, budget reports
CRM – contact management, list creation, contact segmentation

Pricing

Anyone can test the Aplos association management system through a 15-day free trial. The entire Aplos Suite starting price is $59 per month plus standard fees of 3% + 0.30 per transaction. This plan includes all crucial features and comes with a 10% discount for annual subscriptions.

Those who need advanced accounting can go for a customized solution, whose starting price is $159 per month. Plus, Aplos offers additional add-ons like Payroll with Gusto, bookkeeping, and implementation.

Bitrix24

At a Glance

Any association, regardless of its type and size, can use the powerful Bitrix24 system to streamline critical processes. This product, equipped with tens of valuable association software tools, handles members, events, marketing, and communication. Bitrix24 comes with a free plan, mobile apps, and an intuitive UI.

Pros

• Association structure
• Member database
• Planning and scheduling
• Private social network
• Mobile apps

Cons

• No fundraising
• No dues management

Features

Bitrix24 is rich in all kinds of features, which makes it perfect for running associations. Client management is possible with several tools, including user groups, document management, intranet and private social networks, calendars, and email. Using Bitrix24 as association membership software gets you a great-looking website too. The platform’s web builder includes free hosting, visual editor, templates, online stores, and responsive design.

A fully equipped contact center guarantees constituents can always get in touch. Here, we have a live chat, messengers, email, social networks, phone, and contact forms. A full CRM suite takes things a step further with its email marketing, product catalog, and online payment options.

The dynamic member portal is a classic AMS system functionality of Bitrix24. It provides video conferencing, group chat, opinion polling, email notifications, and more. Planning, scheduling, tasks, and project management software help towards smooth association operations as well.

Pricing

The best way to test Bitrix24 is by subscribing to its Free Plan. This option, however, comes with limited capabilities and many restrictions. Below, you can find the monthly pricing of each cloud-hosted plan. Subscribing for six, 14, or 24 months to the association software gets you respective discounts of 6%, 21%, and 30%.

• Free – $0/1 admin/5GB online storage/12 users
• Special Plans
• Start+ – $24/1 admin/10GB online storage/2 users
• CRM+ – $69/2 admins/50GB online storage/6 users
• Project+ – $69/2 admins/50GB online storage/24 users
• Business Plans
• Standard – $99/5 admins/100GB online storage/50 users
• Professional – $199/unlimited admins, online storage, users

Little Green Light

At a Glance

Simple, beautiful, and reliable — that’s Little Green Light for you. This top-notch association management system prides itself on its uptime of 99.95% and a plethora of features. Little Green Light is scalable and adjusts to your organization’s size with ease. It works best for associations that collect payments thanks to its donation and fundraising tools.

Pros

• Membership management
• Data segmentation and maintenance
• Donations and fundraising
• Customizable dashboard
• Event planning and tracking

Cons

• Limited integrations
• No mobile apps
• No member portal

Features

With only nine supported apps, Little Green Light needs to boost its integrations game. Apart from that, this is one of the best association management software products out there.

Clubs, organizations, and nonprofits gain access to numerous useful tools for managing their constituents, donations, and finance. All this is possible through a single, highly customizable dashboard. It lets you manage your members, create workflows, and generate reports.

Little Green Light handles donations, fundraising, contacts, and events too. You can manage, plan, and track all these aspects of your operations. Reaching and engaging your customers with custom emails is possible also.

Pricing

Testing this associate management system is possible via a 30-day free trial. Then, you get to cancel your subscription, pay month-by-month, or get an annual contract.

Little Green Light offers the same functions in all its plans. The only difference lies in the pricing and number of supported contacts. Associations with up to 2,500 constituents can get the platform for $39 per month or $421 per year (with a 10% discount). The monthly price goes up to $69 for up to 20,000 members. For an additional $10/month you can add extra 10,000 contacts.

This association membership management software supports online payments for all of its plans. These come with transaction fees starting at 2.2% + $0.30. There’s an additional Little Green Light service fee of 1% (up to $50 per month).

Omnify

At a Glance

Business-focused organizations that want advanced association management should consider Omnify. This platform works for small and medium associations in various industries as well as for multi-location entities. Rather than managing members and events only, this tool will handle multiple areas of your operations, including marketing, sales, and payments.

Pros

• Event planning and management
• Member portal
• Client accounts and profiles
• Online payments and bookings
• Mobile apps

Cons

• Occasional glitches
• Pricey when billed monthly
• No certification management

Features

Listing all the features of the Omnify online association management software is next to impossible. The platform, equipped with tons of capabilities, works for both nonprofits and businesses. Below, you can find the tools for managing a specific sector of your work.

• Accounts and profiles – custom fields, guest checkout, member accounts, group accounts, member portal
• Payments and bookings – numerous payment methods, recurring payments, pay later option, waivers
• Calendars and scheduling – simple calendars, attendee management, event management, wait-lists
• Sales and marketing – quick insights, sales management, deep analytics, bookings

Besides the abovementioned classic AMS database functions, Omnify also features team management and service stores. The system supports only six applications. Zapier, however, opens the door to over 1,000 app integrations.

Pricing

Omnify offers a short seven-day free trial of its platform. Clients can schedule a personal product demo too. Otherwise, there are three premium plans on the menu. Find their monthly cost below and note that annual billing comes with a 20% discount.

• Essential – $99/5 team members
• Plus – $249/10 team members
• Pro – $599/25 team members

All these plans of the association management system software include unlimited clients, bookings, and a range of services. Multi-location organizations can go for the Multi-Location Plan, starting at $99 per month.

Smart Trakker

At a Glance

Designed with small and growing associations with under 800 members, Smart Trakker covers Events and Constituents with two separate modules. This solution is perfect for organizations that often plan and organize events. This isn’t a fancy platform. Instead, Smart Trakker represents simplicity and efficiency at a low price.

Pros

• Event management
• Membership management
• Activity reports
• Data access
• Payments

Cons

• Limited features
• No member portal

Features

Admins looking for professional and advanced association management solutions should skip Smart Trakker. This product combines two modules to simplify your organization's operations. It doesn’t, however, offer too many features or specific tools.

Event Trakker focuses on events and fundraisers. Its registration tool lets you provide flexible and multiple registrations. You can also track progress and any specific KPIs, generate reports and create smooth workflows. The system fully integrates with Member Trakker, a low-budget membership management platform.

Member Trakker comes with invoicing, data access, and mass emailing. You can set up subgroups with this system, create solutions that suit your association model, and gain insights. Other useful association management system software functions here include dues collection, quick notifications, automated member signup, and payments. All these enable the smooth running of a small community.

Pricing

Smart Trakker lets you mix and match modules as you wish. You can test the platform by requesting a product demo, which should help you see what features you need.
Here’s the pricing for Event Trakker.

• Bronze – $80/year + 3.1% platform rate/$5,000 expected in annual transactions
• Silver – $550/year + 2.9% platform rate/$40,000 expected in annual transactions
• Gold – $1,300/year + 2.5% platform rate/$100,000 expected in annual transactions

The Member Trakker module of the AMS is free of charge for up to 25 people. Otherwise, here’s its pricing:

• Excursion – $200/year/up to 100 members
• Safari – $500/year/up to 250 members
• Expedition – $800/year/up to 800 people

Just pick the suitable Event, and Member Trakker plans to get the price of your Smart Trakker annual subscription.

Sumac

At a Glance

Constituent management, fundraising, case management, and volunteer management are all among Sumac’s capabilities. The platform’s customization options make it unique when compared to other association management systems. It comes with versatile add-ons that let you create just the product you need. Sumac’s client base includes small, medium, and large nonprofits, health organizations, and various types of associations.

Pros

• Contact management
• Email marketing
• Prospecting
• Event management
• Fundraising

Cons

• No website builder
• No mobile apps
• No social media management

Features

Online donation pages, built-in email marketing, reporting, automatic receipting, and online donation pages streamline your fundraising. Contact management, donation management, and payment processing are part of the basic CRM features of Sumac. Here, you also get access to event management, invoicing, accounting, and time tracking software.

If you need a robust association management solution, you can go for the membership management add-on. It automates application and renewals, and generates member-related reports. This tool also lets you create multi-level membership programs and use a member database.

Other useful add-ons you can use on-demand include volunteer, grant, and case management. We also must mention the proposals, forms, prospecting, and reminders functionalities, all of which streamline specific processes and simplify your job.

Pricing

Those who aren’t sure what Sumac add-ons they need should request a product tour before subscribing. There’s also a Freemium version of this association management software that includes 500 contacts, one user, and free online training.

These are the other Sumac deals. Keep in mind that these prices are the starting point, with each add-on increasing the final monthly cost.

• Silver for 1,000 contacts – $45/1 user
• Gold for 2,500+ contacts – $90/unlimited users
• Platinum for 30,000+ contacts – price upon request/unlimited users/any 5 add-ons

Every Sumac plan comes with unlimited upgrades and usage. In addition to free online training, the Gold and Platinum packages also include personal training.

How to Find the Best Association Management System for Your Business?

It’s never right to just pick the best-rated product or the cheapest one. Customers should, instead, focus on solutions that work for their associations.

To help our readers, we’ve created this simple yet efficient buying guide. Follow the steps below, and you will discover which platform meets your specific requirements.

Step 1: Shortlist Based on Categorization

Stick to solutions created for associations like yours. If you run a sports organization, you’ll be better off with systems that target that specific field.

Don’t overlook your membership size either. You need an AMS platform powerful enough to handle both a few and a few thousand constituents. If you have any deployment preferences, this is the step to consider them too.

Step 2: Define Your Needs

These platforms come with the essentials only or are packed with features. If you’re a small association, you probably don’t need advanced association management. So, no need to overpay for such features. That’s why you must define your needs in advance and shortlist AMS systems that have them.

Try to be realistic and objective here. List only the features that are necessary to your operations. For example, if you never organize events, don’t include event management. If payments are crucial, however, make sure to add them to your list.

Step 3: Decide Your Budget

How much money can you invest in this type of platform? This is the last question you need to ask yourself before finding the best solution. Define your budget and compare it against the products you shortlisted in Step 2.

Any remaining association management software should be an excellent match for you and your organization.