SignUpGenius alternatives, with prices checked October 30, 2026

Is SignUpGenius free?

Yes. The free version gives you unlimited sign-up pages with automatic confirmation and reminder emails, and it shows ads. Silver, the cheapest paid tier, costs $8.99 a month billed annually ($107.89 a year), or $11.99 monthly, and takes the ads off one sign-up. Gold clears 10 sign-ups and Platinum clears all of them. Checked Oct 30, 2026.

One thing to look at before you plan around a feature: SignUpGenius's own pages have disagreed on it. On 16 October its sign-ups page offered waitlists on a free account, and its pricing table put them on Gold. Ask them which one holds for your account.

SignUpGenius alternatives, side by side

Every price below comes from the vendor's own page. Click one to check it yourself, since these change.

Tool	Free version	Cheapest paid	Good fit
SignUpGenius	Yes, with ads Checked Oct 30, 2026	Silver: $8.99/mo billed annually, or $11.99 monthly Checked Oct 30, 2026	The one to beat for one-off sign-ups. Nobody needs an account to sign up.
SignUp.com	Yes, with ads Checked Oct 30, 2026	Starter: $99.99 a year ($8.34/mo) Checked Oct 30, 2026	A close match. Ads stay on every tier unless you buy the ad-free add-on.
POINT	Yes, unlimited volunteers and admins Checked Oct 30, 2026	Pro: $99/mo billed annually, or $140 monthly Checked Oct 30, 2026	Free reminders and time tracking, with a portal and a mobile app.
Volunteer Shift Manager	Yes, up to 50 volunteers Checked Oct 30, 2026	Engage: $19/mo Checked Oct 30, 2026	Small programs that want reminders by text as well as email.
PlanHero	Yes, 1 active event Checked Oct 30, 2026	Essentials: $11.67/mo billed annually, or $14 monthly Checked Oct 30, 2026	One event at a time, with no ads.
VolunteerSignup.org	Yes, for non-commercial volunteer groups Checked Oct 30, 2026	None Checked Oct 30, 2026	Simple sheets for groups run by volunteers. No ads or fees.
Zelos	Yes, 25 active tasks or shifts Checked Oct 30, 2026	Pro: $99/mo billed annually, or $119 monthly Checked Oct 30, 2026	Teams that coordinate from a phone.
GivePulse	Yes (Basic) Checked Oct 30, 2026	Give Joy: $20/mo billed annually Checked Oct 30, 2026	One admin who needs hours tracked and verified.
Timecounts	Yes, for approved organizations Checked Oct 30, 2026	Pro: $79/mo billed annually, or $89 monthly Checked Oct 30, 2026	One admin and a volunteer directory, if your group is approved.
Google Forms	Yes, with a Google account Checked Oct 30, 2026	None needed Checked Oct 30, 2026	A handful of people. The help pages we read cover no shift limits or reminders.
Jotform	Yes, 5 forms and 100 submissions a month Checked Oct 30, 2026	Bronze: $39 monthly, or $408 a year Checked Oct 30, 2026	Collecting details, not running shifts. Half off for nonprofits.
Track It Forward	Not confirmed Checked Oct 30, 2026	Not confirmed Checked Oct 30, 2026	Its site blocked our check, so we won't guess.
Ember Volunteers (that's us)	Yes, if your budget is under $50K a year	$29/mo billed yearly, for budgets of $50K to $100K	One link, a name and an email, then coverage counts and email reminders. No text reminders.

SignUpGenius vs Google Forms

Google Forms is free and most people already know it. It's a good way to ask a question. It isn't built to run a shift, and that's where the gap shows. SignUpGenius gives each slot a limit and sends reminders on its own. With a form, you read the responses in a sheet and count who's coming yourself.

If you have eight regulars and one Saturday a month, a form is fine. Once you're chasing people to fill the third shift, a sign-up tool earns its place. Our sign-up sheet maker covers the paper version.

How to choose

• Your volunteers will see this page. If ads in front of them bother you, start with the tools that say they show none: PlanHero, VolunteerSignup.org and Volunteer Shift Manager.
• Do you need texts? SignUpGenius's pricing table listed texts from Silver when we read it on 16 October, and Volunteer Shift Manager sends 50 text reminders a month on its free version. Ember sends email only.
• Will you need the hours later? If you report volunteer time to a funder, check where the hours live before you start. Here's how to track volunteer hours.
• Do you want more than sign-ups? See what each free version includes, or what the larger tools charge.

Where Ember fits

We make Ember Volunteers, so read this part with that in mind. Anyone can sign up for a shift from your one link with just a name and an email: no account, no password. Your first 25 public sign-ups need nothing more from you; confirm your EIN to raise the limit.

Your schedule shows each shift's coverage, like “8 of 12 filled,” days ahead. Each program emails a reminder 3 days before a shift, and you can add 2 weeks, 1 week or 1 day before. It's free if your budget is under $50K a year, with unlimited users. If you need text reminders, pick one of the tools above that sends them.

Prices and company facts were read from each vendor's own pages on the date shown above and change often. Nothing here is legal, tax or purchasing advice. Check the vendor's current pricing page before you decide, and read your own contract before you switch.

Sources: Each price was read on the vendor's own page on 30 October 2026, and each table cell links to that page. Also read that day: SignUp.com, how to make your sign-ups ad-free. SignUpGenius's waitlist wording was read on 16 October 2026. Track It Forward's site refused automated reads on 16 and 30 October 2026, so its cells say Not confirmed. Ember Volunteers and Ember pricing.