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Updated August 2026
Keela was acquired in 2024 and folded into a new suite called Velora in 2025. If that has you shopping, here is the landscape, with prices, and with who each tool actually fits. One disclosure up front: we make Ember, one of the options below.
Aplos acquired Keela in June 2024. In August 2025, Aplos, Keela and Raisely launched together as Velora, under the same private equity owner. Keela keeps running inside that suite. Nothing here says it is shutting down. But an acquisition and a rebrand are a fair moment to check the market, and contact-tier pricing means your bill grows with your list either way.
Contacts, gift history, notes, emails. Do it while everything works and you are calm, not during a migration.
Keela starts near $164 a month at 1,000 contacts on annual billing, and rises with your list. Know your real contact count and what it costs on each tool before comparing anything else.
Migrations take longer than planned. Start well before renewal, not the week of it.
| Tool | Entry price | Bill grows with | Honest fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stay on Keela / Velora | ~$164/mo at 1,000 contacts | Contacts, add-ons | If it works and the price holds, switching has real costs too. |
| Little Green Light | $45/mo to 2,500 records | Records only | Donor management done simply. Unlimited users, no contracts, 19 years of the same flat plan. |
| Bloomerang | $125/mo | Contacts | The donor retention specialist, now a full giving suite. Unlimited users, private equity owned. |
| CiviCRM | Free software; hosted from $15/mo | Hosting and help | Powerful and free, but it needs someone technical or a paid implementer. |
| Zeffy | $0 | Nothing; funded by donor tips | Fundraising and donor tracking only. Your donors are asked to tip Zeffy at checkout. |
| Ember (that's us) | $0 under $50K budget; $29/mo to $100K | Your annual budget band, never contacts | A whole suite: donors, volunteers, programs, grants, board, compliance. Newest tool on this list, built for the smallest orgs. |
If donor management is the whole job, Little Green Light is hard to beat on price and calm. If donor retention analytics matter most, that is Bloomerang's home turf. If you have technical help and no budget, CiviCRM does the most for free. If you only need donation forms, Zeffy costs nothing, with the tip model as the tradeoff.
Ember's honest pitch is different: one place for the whole operation, priced by your budget so a growing contact list never raises your bill. We are also the newest tool here. If you want a decade of track record, that is Little Green Light, not us.
This is general information, not legal or accounting advice. Federal grant rules change and are applied differently by different agencies and auditors. Check with your auditor, your grant officer, or an attorney before relying on any of it.
Where Ember fitsSimple tools built only for nonprofits, priced by your annual budget, never by contacts or seats. Free under $50K, every app and unlimited users on every tier.
There is no announcement of a shutdown. Keela was acquired by Aplos in June 2024 and became part of the Velora suite in August 2025. It continues to operate; the change is in ownership, branding, and roadmap direction.
As of August 2026, Keela's own pricing page starts near $164 per month on annual billing for up to 1,000 contacts, rising with contact count, with support and texting add-ons priced separately. Check their page for current figures.
For donor management alone, Little Green Light at $45 per month with unlimited users. For donation forms alone, Zeffy at $0, funded by optional donor tips. For a whole operations suite, Ember is free for nonprofits under $50,000 in annual budget.
Export contacts, gift history, and communications from Keela before you start evaluating anything else. Every serious alternative imports CSV files. Do a small test import on the new tool before committing the full migration.
Ember brings your programs, grants, volunteers, and donors into one place, built only for nonprofits, with a free tier and no credit card.
No credit card · Unlimited users included
Sources: Prices read from each vendor's own pricing page on 29 August 2026. Acquisition facts from company press releases: Aplos acquired Keela (June 2024), Aplos announcement; Velora launch (August 2025), BusinessWire. Pricing changes often; check the vendor's page before deciding.