If you’re an Aplos customer who has recently learned that your fundraising process is changing because of the move to Raisley, you may be wondering what this means for you.
You chose Aplos because it was marketed as an all-in-one solution for your organization. You trusted it with your accounting, donor information, and financial reporting. But when a software provider changes the tools and workflows your organization has to come to rely on, you’re left with an important question:
Do we adapt to the changes or take this opportunity to find a platform that better fits where our nonprofit is going?
If you’re already evaluating options, MonkeyPod is worth a serious look.
Why are Aplos users now looking for alternatives?
Aplos users are looking for alternatives because of significant increases in pricing. Since 2024, prices on their Core and Advanced plans have increased by $30 and $40 per month respectively. And that’s just for the base plan. If you need more than two users or more than 500 contacts, you’ll be adding on additional fees.
Some Aplos users are also looking to switch due to changes in their approach to improving the software. Aplos has recently been acquiring other software platforms as a way to improve functionality, changing it from an all-in-one solution to a package of software tools.
In practice, that’s led to an increasingly disjointed experience for Aplos users. Aplos and Raisely (and Keela, the CRM Aplos acquired) all have separate logins to keep track of. And because they are separate integrated systems rather than an all-in-one, you have to take extra steps to manage the connection between Raisely and Aplos from within Aplos.
When using Raisely was optional, this didn’t create too much hassle. If you wanted to use Raisely, you could. But if it was too complicated, you can use Aplos’ built-in fundraising forms.
That changed in September.
What is changing about Aplos’ fundraising forms?
Aplos has recently started forcing users to switch from Aplos fundraising forms to Raisely fundraising forms. The change started taking effect in September 2026, and going forward, the only way nonprofits that use Aplos can accept donations is through Raisely.
With Raisely’s fundraising forms, users are being charged higher fees. Raisely requires you to either pay a 4% platform fee or enable tips, which could charge your donors an extra 10% or more on top of their donation. That can be confusing for donors – they might think your nonprofit gets that extra 10% when in reality it goes straight to Raisely and Aplos.
Being forced to change how you collect donations, manage designations, and connect fundraising to accounting can be frustrating. And it can be frustrating for your donors too, especially with new, confusing fees added on.
That's why an unexpected technology change can actually be a good time to step back and ask a bigger question: Is Aplos still the best system for our organization?
MonkeyPod gives you an alternative as a true all-in-one
MonkeyPod was built around a simple idea: nonprofit teams shouldn't have to stitch together a collection of disconnected systems just to manage their organization.
MonkeyPod brings together:
CRM and donor management
Nonprofit accounting
Online fundraising
Grant management
Email marketing
Reporting and financial management
Instead of maintaining separate systems for your donors, fundraising, accounting, and grants, you can manage your organization's operations in one connected platform.
That means fewer integrations to maintain, fewer places for information to get lost, and less time spent moving data from one system to another.
Top 4 Reasons Aplos Users Switch to MonkeyPod
1. One system instead of a collection of multiple tools
Aplos is built specifically for nonprofit accounting, and that's a good thing. But accounting is only one part of running a nonprofit.
Your development team is tracking donors. Your fundraising team is processing gifts. Your program team is managing grants and budgets. Your leadership team needs reports. And your board wants to know what's happening financially.
You can do all that in Aplos, but the functionality is basic. And rather than improving those features, Aplos has chosen to acquire third party platforms like Raisely and Keela.
With MonkeyPod, these functions aren't isolated from one another.
Donations can flow directly into your accounting. Donor information lives alongside financial information. Grants, budgets, fundraising, and programs can all be connected.
The result is one source of truth instead of a collection of systems that each tell part of the story.
2. Fundraising and accounting work together
One of the biggest advantages of an all-in-one nonprofit platform is eliminating unnecessary handoffs.
When fundraising and accounting live in separate systems, your team has to worry about integrations, exports, imports, mappings, reconciliation, and whether information made it from one system to the other correctly.
MonkeyPod connects fundraising and accounting from the start.
Donations can be recorded with the appropriate fund and account, helping your team maintain accurate financial records without constantly moving information between systems. That's more than a convenience.
For a small nonprofit, it can mean hours saved every month. For a growing organization, it can mean fewer manual processes and fewer opportunities for mistakes.
3. Platform affordability and predictability
If your nonprofit is growing, you need software that grows with you. You shouldn't have to think twice before adding another user, donor, campaign, grant, or program because you're worried about hitting a software limit.
MonkeyPod offers unlimited users and data with every subscription plan, so you can grow your organization without constantly redesigning your software plan (and budget) around limits. MonkeyPod doesn’t require long-term contracts, and your price is guaranteed for three years. You can feel confident knowing your price won’t grow as your organization does. Whether you're adding staff, expanding your donor base, launching new fundraising campaigns, or managing more grants, MonkeyPod is designed to grow with you.
This stands in contrast to Aplos’ approach to pricing. Aplos charges fees based on the number of donors and vendors you have, the number of tags you have, and more. Aplos prices have been climbing since 2024, making it difficult to build a software and technology budget.
Now, if you want to take donations, you need to add on Raisely. If you need more than basic CRM functionality, you need to add on Keela. And while you’re not being forced to switch to Keela today, that could change in the future. All the while, you’re left hoping that everything flows properly between all three platforms.
Running a nonprofit is unpredictable enough on its own, you don’t need the added stress of increasing software expenses. That’s why MonkeyPod keeps pricing affordable, transparent, and predictable.
4. You get a partner, not just software
Changing nonprofit software can feel overwhelming. You have historical data and financial records to preserve, and your staff has to learn a new system. And what about when you have a question?
MonkeyPod staff comes from the nonprofit world. We see you; we’ve been you. We want you to get the most out of the platform so you can let it do the busywork while you focus on your mission. That's why we pride ourselves in the customer support we offer. We have team members available across the country ready to respond within minute. You will always be able to reach a real person, not a bot.
During onboarding, you’ll have a dedicated implementation specialist working with you. Once you’re up and running, that support doesn't disappear. Every MonkeyPod plan includes:
Comprehensive onboarding with a dedicated implementation expert
Unlimited email support
Weekly office hours
Access to MonkeyPod Academy
Aplos vs. MonkeyPod: What's the difference?
The biggest difference isn't simply a list of features.
It's the philosophy behind the platforms.
Aplos is primarily an accounting platform designed specifically for nonprofits and can be paired with fundraising tools such as Raisely.
MonkeyPod takes a different approach: put the core systems your nonprofit relies on into one connected platform.
MonkeyPod | Aplos | |
|---|---|---|
Nonprofit fund accounting | ✅ | ✅ |
Donor management | ✅ | ✅ |
Online fundraising | ✅ | ❌ — only available with separate Raisely subscription |
Grant management | ✅ | Available at higher tiers |
Email marketing | ✅ | Basic |
Unlimited users | ✅ | ❌ |
Unlimited donors and vendors | ✅ | ❌ |
Data migration support | ✅ | ✅ |
The goal isn't to say that Aplos is a bad product. It isn't.
The question is whether the changes you're being asked to make are an opportunity to rethink your entire nonprofit technology strategy.
You Don't Have to Switch Just Because Aplos Did
Software migrations are a big decision. If Aplos is still working well for your organization, you may decide that adapting to the Raisely workflow makes sense.
But if the changes have prompted you to reconsider your fundraising and accounting systems anyway, ask yourself:
Can our accounting and fundraising systems work together without creating extra work?
Do we have a single source of truth for our donor and financial data?
Can our software support grants, fundraising, CRM, and accounting as we grow and not increase our costs?
Are we spending too much time maintaining integrations?
What would our team be able to accomplish if we eliminated unnecessary data entry?
Those are the questions that can lead you to a better long-term solution.
Make the switch an upgrade—not just a migration
If you're leaving Aplos because of price increases, the changes surrounding Raisely, customer support issues, or something else, you don't have to think of this as simply replacing one system with another.
Think bigger.
This is an opportunity to consolidate your nonprofit technology, eliminate unnecessary busywork, and give your team a system designed around the way nonprofits actually operate.
MonkeyPod combines accounting, CRM, fundraising, grants, and email in one platform—giving your organization a connected system instead of another collection of tools to manage.
And you don't have to figure out the transition alone.
Our onboarding and data migration specialists can help you plan the move, migrate your existing information, configure MonkeyPod for your organization, and get your team up and running.
If the Raisely transition has you reconsidering Aplos, now might be the right time to see what a different approach looks like.
Schedule a demo and see how your nonprofit could bring accounting, fundraising, donors, grants, and more together in one place.