UK charity software guide
20+ free and discounted software offers for UK charities
UK charities can access genuinely free productivity plans, annual cloud credits, and published software discounts, but the headline saving rarely explains user limits, excluded plans, renewal, or implementation cost. Five additions were checked on 30 September 2026: Claude, its separate research-group offer, Airtable, Webflow and Perplexity. Earlier entries retain their individual source-review dates. Eligibility and UK approval still vary by programme.
UK charity software offers at a glance
The figures below are the provider's published nonprofit offer, not an estimate of total ownership cost. Follow the linked source-checked page for eligibility, exclusions, renewal, and implementation checks.
| Product | Published nonprofit offer | Best use | Important limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude for NonprofitsManaged team workspace | Team USD 8 per user monthly; Enterprise sales-led | Grant drafts, public reports and internal documentation | Minimum two seats; Goodstack review; the USD 3 country-specific rate is not a UK price |
| Claude for nonprofit researchScientific research groups only | Standard seats free; Premium USD 15 per user monthly for 12 months | Eligible nonprofit research institutes and academic labs | Verified PI or equivalent; 1-25 seats; limited places and then-current renewal price |
| AirtableOperational databases | 50% off monthly Team list price: USD 12 per billable collaborator monthly | Owned programme, grant and volunteer workflows | Team only; Commenters are billable; care providers and other organisation types excluded; no Omni add-on |
| WebflowWebsite Site plan | 50% off one Premium Annual Site plan for 12 months | Public charity websites with a content owner | One plan per Workspace; no Ecommerce, Workspace plans or add-ons; reapply for renewal |
| PerplexityEnterprise Pro research | USD 30 per seat monthly or USD 300 per seat yearly | Public-source research with evidence checking | Support-led approval; confirm UK eligibility; not a consumer-plan or API offer |
| Microsoft 365Email, documents, Teams, security | Business Basic free for up to 300 users; Standard USD 3.00 and Premium USD 5.50 per user monthly, paid yearly | Managed charity email and collaboration | Business Basic uses web and mobile apps; validate users, UK billing, tax, and migration dates |
| Google WorkspaceEmail, storage, meetings | USD 0 per user monthly; Business Standard USD 3.50 and Business Plus USD 6.16 per user monthly on annual terms | A no-cost core productivity stack | The no-cost and discounted Business plans have a 2,000-user limit; final price can vary slightly |
| Microsoft AzureCloud hosting and data | USD 2,000 in Azure service credits per year | A named cloud workload with a technical owner | Unused credit does not roll over and usage becomes pay-as-you-go after the credit is exhausted |
| Microsoft Power AppsSmall internal workflows | Power Apps per App free for up to 10 users; additional users USD 2.50 monthly | Owned forms, approvals, and operational apps | The grant is for the per-App plan; connectors, data, support, and app ownership still need review |
| monday.comProjects, grants and volunteers | 10 free seats, with discounts on additional seats and selected capabilities | Cross-team programme and grant delivery | Eligibility review applies; configuration, data migration and workspace ownership are not included |
| Box.orgControlled document storage | First 10 Starter licences free; discounts on other plans and add-ons | Board papers, grant files and external collaboration | Compare with storage already included in Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace before adding another repository |
| Adobe for NonprofitsPDF, design and creative work | Adobe Express can be available at no charge; Acrobat Pro and Creative Cloud use nonprofit pricing routes | Campaign creative, reports, PDFs and video | Creative Cloud is administered through TechSoup; product and user limits differ |
| Slack for NonprofitsTeam and volunteer communication | Free or discounted eligible workspace upgrades | Distributed teams and partner networks | Current plan, member count, retention and guest terms need confirmation before migration |
| Zoom charity discount UKZoom for Nonprofits | 50% off select annual Zoom products | External webinars, training, and large meetings | Operating budget must be USD 10 million or less; several organisation types and products are excluded |
| OpenAI for NonprofitsManaged ChatGPT workspace | Business Standard USD 8 per seat monthly annually or USD 10 monthly; Enterprise up to 75% off | Managed staff access with workspace controls | Premium seats and API excluded; Business does not offer a BAA and Goodstack validates eligibility |
| XeroAccounting | 25% off eligible business pricing plans | Bookkeeping, VAT, expenses, payroll, and invoicing | The discount is applied after subscription and status confirmation; Xero Simple is excluded |
| MailchimpEmail marketing | 15% off marketing plans for verified charities | Newsletters and supporter journeys | Request before purchase; discounts are not retroactive and exclude ads and third-party purchases |
| BufferSocial media scheduling | 50% off every paid plan for qualifying nonprofits | Multi-channel publishing and approvals | Paid pricing is per connected channel; confirm UK VAT, account ownership and renewal |
| JotformForms, applications and surveys | 50% off annual paid plans for qualifying nonprofits | Volunteer, event and service forms | Payment gateway fees, Gift Aid, data retention and CRM exports remain separate decisions |
| BalsamiqWireframes and service design | 50% off Starter and Teams plans | Planning websites, services and internal tools | Applications and continued eligibility are reviewed case by case |
| DatawrapperCharts, maps and impact reporting | 20% off annual and monthly Custom plans | Public data and annual-report visualisation | The general Free plan may already be sufficient; paid exports, users and VAT need review |
| Help Scout for GoodShared inbox and help centre | 10% lifetime nonprofit discount; mission-aligned applicants may receive up to 100% | Supporter and service enquiry operations | The larger award is application dependent and should not be budgeted as guaranteed |
| Zoho for NonprofitsCRM, finance and low-code apps | One-time USD 5,000 credit covering up to 50% of eligible subscription purchases | A multi-product charity operations stack | Some apps are excluded and normal cost resumes after the credit is consumed |
| GitLab for NonprofitsSoftware delivery | Ultimate licence free for one year, up to 20 seats | Charities maintaining software or technical projects | First come, first served; annual renewal required and support is not included |
| PandaDoc for nonprofit organizationsPricing and use guide | General Free eSign plan; confirm any nonprofit quote with sales | Contracts, forms, applications, and proposals | Five free sends per month on current plans; older annual accounts differ; charity discount not confirmed |
| MiroWhiteboards and workshops | 30% off paid plans for eligible nonprofit organisations | Remote workshops and service mapping | Set guest access, retention and export rules before adding sensitive material |
| Canva for NonprofitsTemplates and campaign design | Nonprofit application route; confirm the current included plan and team terms | Brand templates and everyday campaign assets | Exact seat and plan terms should be checked in the approved account rather than inferred from old articles |
Free and discounted software for charities
- Start with Google Workspace for Nonprofits or the Microsoft 365 Business Basic grant when the charity needs professional email, documents, meetings, and shared storage
- Compare Microsoft 365 Standard or Premium only when desktop Office apps, endpoint security, or device management justify the paid plan
- Use Microsoft Azure nonprofit credits only for a named hosting, data, analytics, or integration workload with budgets, alerts, tags, and a technical owner
- Treat 'free' precisely: some entries are no-cost plans, some are annual credits, some are limited seats, and others are percentage discounts or quote-only routes
- Check design, reporting, mapping, accounting, and communications offers only when they replace a measured recurring cost or a documented capability gap
- Use TechSoup, Charity Digital, and direct provider pages to validate UK availability, administration fees, renewal rules, and current offer terms
Choose charity software by task
- Email and documents: compare the no-cost Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 Business Basic routes before buying Slack, Box, Zoom or another overlapping collaboration tool
- Accounting and Gift Aid: shortlist software only after mapping restricted funds, VAT, payroll, bank reconciliation, donor declarations and HMRC claim exports
- CRM and fundraising: define donor history, consent, campaign attribution, recurring gifts, Gift Aid, finance exports and ownership before comparing Zoho, Dynamics, Salesforce or fundraising platforms
- Forms and signatures: use Jotform, PandaDoc, Power Apps or Adobe only after deciding data fields, approval, payment, retention and export requirements
- Communications and design: compare Canva, Adobe, Buffer, Mailchimp, Datawrapper and Zoom by channels, users, accessibility, approvals and evidence needed
- Project and service delivery: compare monday.com, Slack, Miro and Balsamiq against a documented workflow rather than adopting four overlapping workspaces
First 30 days
- Choose Google Workspace for Nonprofits or Microsoft 365 identity and email after mapping staff, trustee, volunteer, and shared accounts
- Use the free Microsoft 365 Business Basic grant when web and mobile apps are sufficient; pay for Standard or Premium only when desktop apps or stronger security are required
- Add Zoom only when webinars, large meetings, online training, or external events need controls beyond the core meeting tool
- Roll out a password manager and multi-factor authentication before adding more cloud services
- Define shared file ownership, retention, external sharing, and leaver access
- Set up basic website analytics and conversion tracking for fundraising, volunteering, services, and applications
Fundraising and campaigns
- Google Ad Grants
- YouTube Nonprofit Program for video storytelling, supporter education, and campaign trust
- Google Earth and Maps when service locations, resource directories, or donor impact maps matter
- Zoom for webinars, online briefings, volunteer onboarding, and virtual fundraising events when the 50% nonprofit route applies
- Canva templates
- CRM ownership in Salesforce, HubSpot, monday.com, or Dynamics 365
- JustGiving or Enthuse for online fundraising when donation pages, event registration, Gift Aid, and supporter journeys matter
- Xero or a carefully reviewed accounting tool for donation, Gift Aid, payroll, VAT, and fund reconciliation
- Twilio.org routes for SMS, WhatsApp, helplines, and donor communications
Operations and delivery
- Asana, ClickUp, or monday.com for recurring programs
- Dynamics 365 only when finance, service, sales, automation, and reporting ownership are funded
- Power Apps only for small owned workflows where data sources, permissions, and support are clear
- Notion or Confluence for internal knowledge
- Slack for volunteer channels
- Microsoft Teams when already using Microsoft 365
Security and infrastructure
- Cloudflare Project Galileo for exposed public-interest work
- Box.org or Microsoft/Google for controlled documents
- AWS or Azure credits only with budgets, tags, and a technical owner
- Microsoft 365 security controls only after admin ownership is clear
How to compare charity software
- Write down the workflow, users, data sensitivity, integrations, support owner, and success measure before comparing providers
- Calculate total cost across licences, VAT, marketplace fees, migration, configuration, training, support, renewal, and staff administration
- Separate staff, trustees, volunteers, members, beneficiaries, and external partners because nonprofit licence eligibility can differ by user type
- Verify every offer on the provider's official page and record the date, region, plan, seat limit, renewal route, and evidence required
- Pilot with a small team and real acceptance checks before moving email, donor, finance, casework, or safeguarding data
- Keep an exit plan for exports, account ownership, domain control, backups, integrations, and records retention before adopting a discounted platform
Official sources
Official source
Claude for Nonprofits
New catalogue entry checked on 30 September 2026; Team pricing and international validation.
Official source
Claude Team for scientists
Research-only offer, introductory term and seat limits checked on 30 September 2026.
Official source
Airtable nonprofit plans
Team discount, billable roles and excluded organisations checked on 30 September 2026.
Official source
Webflow nonprofit discount
Annual Site plan discount and renewal conditions checked on 30 September 2026.
Official source
Perplexity subscription guidance
Enterprise Pro nonprofit price checked on 30 September 2026; UK approval requires confirmation.
Official source
Microsoft 365 for nonprofits
Official Microsoft page for nonprofit Microsoft 365 plan scope, discounts, and user eligibility.
Official source
Microsoft 365 nonprofit plans and pricing
Official plan comparison for the Business Basic grant and paid nonprofit Business plans.
Official source
Microsoft Azure for nonprofits
Official Microsoft page for the annual Azure nonprofit credit and onboarding route.
Official source
Google Workspace for Nonprofits
Official Google page for the no-cost Workspace plan and discounted nonprofit editions.
Official source
Zoom for Nonprofits
Official Zoom page for the 50% discount, included annual products, Goodstack route, budget cap, and exclusions.
Official source
OpenAI for Nonprofits
Official OpenAI Help Center page for ChatGPT Business and Enterprise nonprofit terms and limitations.
Official source
Xero for non-profits
Official Xero UK page for the 25% registered not-for-profit discount and application route.
Official source
Mailchimp nonprofit discount
Official Mailchimp article for the 15% marketing-plan discount and non-retroactive application rule.
Official source
GitLab for Nonprofits
Official GitLab page for the annual Ultimate licence, seat cap, verification, renewal, and support limitation.
Official source
TechSoup
Nonprofit technology validation and marketplace route; UK availability and administration fees vary by offer.
Official source
Charity Digital
UK charity technology marketplace, training, and sector guidance route.
Official source
monday.com for nonprofits
Official source for free nonprofit seats, discounted additional seats, eligibility and use cases.
Official source
Box.org
Official source for the free Starter licences and discounted plans for eligible nonprofits.
Official source
Adobe for Nonprofits
Official source for Adobe Express, Acrobat Pro and Creative Cloud nonprofit routes.
Official source
Buffer nonprofit discount
Official source for the 50% paid-plan discount and application route.
Official source
Balsamiq for Nonprofits
Official source for the Starter and Teams discount and case-by-case review.
Official source
Datawrapper pricing
Official pricing FAQ for the nonprofit Custom-plan discount and Free plan.
Official source
Help Scout for Good
Official source for the standing nonprofit discount and application-dependent support.
Official source
Zoho for Nonprofits
Official source for the nonprofit credit, application evidence and exclusions.
Official source
Miro for nonprofit organisations
Official source for the nonprofit discount and application route.
Official source
Canva for Nonprofits
Official application route; confirm approved account terms before relying on plan limits.
Related tools
Interactive tool
Nonprofit software savings calculator for UK charities
Estimate the annual value of reviewing charity software costs across email, design, CRM, project tools, cloud, security, AI, documents, and marketplace routes. The calculator does not promise savings or eligibility; it helps prioritise what to verify.
Interactive tool
Nonprofit software eligibility checker for UK charities
Check whether a charity has the evidence, ownership, and workflow clarity needed before applying for nonprofit software benefits. The checker does not decide eligibility; it builds a practical application checklist and links to source-checked provider pages.
Interactive tool
Nonprofit benefit finder for UK charities
Answer a few procurement questions to build a practical shortlist from the verified benefit library. The tool does not invent eligibility; it points each recommendation back to source-checked provider pages.
Interactive tool
Charity cloud hosting cost calculator
Estimate a practical annual cloud hosting and operations budget before applying for AWS, Azure, Cloudflare, GitHub, GitLab, mapping, or monitoring routes. The calculator separates recurring cloud run rate from one-off migration work, internal admin hours, budget-alert controls, backups, environments, traffic, storage, and supplier support.
Interactive tool
Charity cybersecurity budget calculator
Estimate a practical annual cybersecurity budget before buying tools or applying for nonprofit security benefits. The calculator separates software or service spend from internal staff time, incident readiness, backups, DNS and website protection, identity controls, logging, training, and supplier access review.
Common questions
FAQ
What free software is available for UK charities?
Confirmed no-cost routes include Google Workspace for Nonprofits and the Microsoft 365 Business Basic grant. Other published offers include annual Azure credits, free Power Apps seats, GitLab nonprofit licences, and provider free tiers. Eligibility, user type, seat caps, support, renewal, and marketplace fees still vary by programme.
FAQ
Is Microsoft 365 or Office 365 free for UK charities?
Microsoft's current Business Basic nonprofit grant is free for up to 300 eligible users. It includes web and mobile Office apps, custom email, Teams, and 1 TB storage per user. Desktop apps and stronger security require paid Standard or Premium plans, and legacy Office 365 E1 grant users should check their migration date.
FAQ
Can a UK charity receive Microsoft Azure credits?
Microsoft's official nonprofit page currently describes USD 2,000 in donated Azure services credits per year for eligible nonprofits. Treat the credit as a controlled annual budget, not unlimited hosting: assign an owner, set cost alerts, confirm renewal, and budget support and migration work separately.
FAQ
Which Google Workspace plan is free for charities?
Google Workspace for Nonprofits is listed at USD 0 per user per month and includes custom email, meetings, shared storage, and administration controls. Google also publishes discounted Business Standard, Business Plus, and Enterprise routes. Confirm the user cap, storage, retention, and security features before choosing the no-cost plan.
FAQ
How should a charity compare nonprofit software discounts?
Compare the operating problem first, then total cost, eligible users, security, data location, integrations, support, renewal, migration, and exit requirements. A smaller discount on software the team can govern is usually more valuable than a large headline offer that creates unsupported systems or duplicate data.
FAQ
Are nonprofit software discounts applied automatically?
Usually not. Most programmes require an application, charity validation, a marketplace account, contact with sales or support, or activation inside a nonprofit portal. Keep registration evidence, plan terms, application dates, billing ownership, renewal reminders, and the official source used for the decision.
FAQ
Should a charity apply directly or through TechSoup or Charity Digital?
Use the route named by the provider. Some offers are activated directly, some use Goodstack or TechSoup for validation, and some UK products are distributed through Charity Digital. Compare the final provider price, marketplace administration fee, renewal ownership, support route, and whether an existing account can receive the offer.
FAQ
Does free charity software include CRM, accounting, or Gift Aid filing?
Free or discounted productivity software does not automatically provide charity fund accounting, restricted-fund reporting, donor records, Gift Aid claims, or Making Tax Digital workflows. Treat CRM and accounting as separate procurements and test exports, reconciliation, permissions, support, and statutory reporting before migration.
FAQ
What software should a small UK charity set up first?
Start with one managed email and identity platform, multi-factor authentication, shared file ownership, password management, accounting, backups, and a simple supporter or service-record system. Add design, marketing, automation, cloud, or webinar tools only after a named workflow, owner, budget, and success measure exist.
FAQ
What is the best charity software in the UK?
There is no single best charity software suite. A small charity usually needs managed email and identity, secure files, accounting, supporter or service records, backups and password management first. Compare products against users, data sensitivity, Gift Aid, restricted funds, integrations, support, renewal and exit requirements.
FAQ
Is there free Gift Aid software for UK charities?
Some accounting, fundraising or donor tools include Gift Aid features, but a free licence does not prove that the workflow meets HMRC requirements. Check declaration wording, donor identity, eligible gifts, cancellation records, claim exports, refunds and reconciliation before choosing software on price.
FAQ
Which charity software discounts are genuinely free?
The no-cost Google Workspace nonprofit plan and Microsoft 365 Business Basic grant are clear core examples. Other entries may provide limited free seats, annual credits, free tiers or application-dependent awards. The comparison table labels percentage discounts and quote-only routes separately rather than calling them free.
FAQ
Can a charity use free CRM software?
A general CRM free tier may work for a very small contact list, but charities still need consent, access controls, donor history, Gift Aid fields, campaign attribution, service-data safeguards, exports and a named owner. Test those requirements before importing real supporter or beneficiary records.
Decision notes
- Choose a benefit when it removes a real monthly cost, enables a measurable outcome, or reduces operational risk.
- Do not adopt a tool just because a discount exists; unsupported rollout creates hidden staff cost.
- These guide pages are indexable because they add source checking, comparison, implementation context, and update status.