Best volunteer signup app for 2026: 12 tools compared (free & paid)

What is a volunteer sign up app?

A volunteer sign up app is a tool that lets volunteers claim shifts or tasks themselves, instead of a coordinator assigning them by hand. You post what needs doing, volunteers pick slots from their phone or browser, and the app sends reminders so people show up. Six tools below are built around this: Zelos, POINT, SignUpGenius, Signup.com, PlanHero and VolunteerLocal. Zelos and POINT work as an app your team logs into and claims work from. The others work as a public slot form anyone can fill in from a link.

The best volunteer signup app is the one that matches how your volunteers actually sign up — a public link anyone can claim, or a private team space members log into. This guide compares 12 of them on what their free plans really include, whether they offer a public signup page, and how built-in communication works. Most of the free volunteer sign up platforms below cost nothing to start — the real difference is what each one asks in return, whether that’s ads, a participant cap, or a volunteer account.

For very small teams, a whiteboard or Google Form works fine. Simple solutions are sometimes the best ones. But once you’re managing a few dozen volunteers with different schedules and signup preferences, a dedicated tool saves real hours.

This guide covers apps that handle volunteer signups well, from simple signup-sheet tools to comprehensive management platforms with strong signup features. Every app on this list offers a free plan or free trial. If you’re focused on nonprofit pricing specifically, see our companion guide on free volunteer management software for nonprofits. For broader feature comparison, see the best volunteer management software.

Zelos Team Management

Volunteer teams that want self-signup with live chat alongside

Zelos lets volunteers claim shifts themselves instead of being assigned them, with no coordinator matching step in between. Admins post shifts and tasks with location, time, skills required, and any notes. Team members get push notifications on the mobile app, and whoever is available claims the work first. It’s a signup-board approach to volunteer coordination: no algorithmic matching, no per-person fees, no donor CRM module to ignore. The model assumes that the person doing the work is the best person to decide whether they can take it.

Built-in chat is core to the product, not a bolt-on. Each task has its own conversation thread, so the location, briefing, and questions stay attached to the work rather than getting lost in a group chat. Member contact information is hidden from other members by design, which keeps the workspace professional and protects volunteer privacy. Gamification is built in as well: points, badges, and leaderboards for teams that run on engagement.

• Free plan: Unlimited team members and admins, 25 concurrent active tasks, last 100 tasks in the archive, 10,000 chat messages.
• Paid plans: Pro from $99/month annual ($1,188/year flat, not per-user). Adds bulk CSV upload, dynamic member segments that update as profiles change, full task archive, and a custom team URL.
• Public signup page: No. Tasks are visible to logged-in team members only; the workspace is invite-only by design.
• Communication: Built-in team chat (per-task threads plus direct messages), admin-supervised. No customer-facing SMS.
• Best for: Volunteer teams that want people to claim their own shifts from a phone, with real-time chat baked in — particularly those running ongoing coordination (regular shifts, repeat tasks) rather than one-off public event signups.
• Watch out for: No public signup page. If you need a link you can post on social media or share with strangers, you’ll need a different tool or use Zelos alongside a separate landing page.
• Platforms: Native iOS, Android, and web. EU-built and GDPR-compliant by default.

POINT

Mobile-first volunteer management, free for verified nonprofits

POINT is a mobile-first volunteer management platform with a free Core plan for verified nonprofits. Volunteers download the POINT app, browse opportunities near them on a map or feed, and sign up directly. Coordinators post opportunities through a web dashboard, manage signups, track hours, and message volunteers in-app. The product is specifically designed for organizations that want their volunteers to discover and engage through a phone rather than a browser.

POINT verifies nonprofit status before activating the free tier. For non-verified organizations (corporations running employee volunteer programs, for example), POINT Pro is $140/month, or $99/month billed annually. The free tier is genuinely full-featured for charities, not a stripped-down trial.

• Free plan: Free Core plan for verified nonprofits. Unlimited opportunities, unlimited volunteers, hour tracking, in-app messaging.
• Paid plans: Pro at $99/month billed annually ($140 monthly).
• Public signup page: Yes, with opportunities also discoverable through the POINT app feed by volunteers in your area.
• Communication: In-app messaging between coordinators and volunteers, push notifications, automated reminders.
• Best for: US-based nonprofits that want a mobile-first volunteer experience and qualify for the free Core plan.
• Watch out for: Geo-restricted to US and Ukraine. Volunteers need to install the POINT app.
• Platforms: Native iOS and Android for volunteers, web dashboard for coordinators.

See how POINT compares with Zelos in detail.

SignUpGenius

Most widely used public-facing signup tool

SignUpGenius is the most widely used signup tool in the US, particularly for school groups, churches, sports teams, and community events. The free Basic plan gives you unlimited signups with no participant cap, embeddable forms, automated email reminders, and the option to send volunteers to a hosted SignUpGenius page. Volunteers don’t need an account to sign up; an email address is enough.

The trade-off on the free plan is advertising. SignUpGenius displays ads on free signup pages. Paid plans remove ads and add custom branding, premium templates, SMS reminders, and reporting. There are also payment-collection options for paid events, processed through Stripe with a 5% plus $0.50 transaction fee.

• Free plan: Unlimited signups and participants with ads, email reminders, embeddable forms, payment collection (5% + $0.50 per transaction via Stripe).
• Paid plans: From $8.99/month (Silver). Higher tiers add SMS reminders, custom branding, advanced reporting, and bulk tools. Enterprise pricing on request.
• Public signup page: Yes. Hosted on SignUpGenius’s domain, indexed in search, shareable by link.
• Communication: Email reminders and notifications. SMS reminders on paid plans. No built-in team chat.
• Best for: Schools, churches, community groups, and event organizers who need a public signup page that’s easy to share and don’t mind ads on the free tier.
• Watch out for: Free signup pages display ads; paid plans remove them. Built-in messaging is limited to email; if you need real-time team chat, you’ll need a separate tool.
• Platforms: Web, iOS, Android.

PlanHero

Simple signup sheets, no accounts for volunteers

PlanHero is a straightforward signup-sheet tool focused on simplicity. Volunteers don’t create accounts or download apps. They click a link, pick a slot, and submit. Coordinators see real-time updates with color-coded slot status. Multiple days, time slots, and locations can be combined in one signup form.

The free plan caps active events at 1 (out of 3 total) with a 30-day event duration limit and 1 group. Paid Essentials at $12/month removes those caps. Pro at $18/month supports up to 3 groups with separate public pages, with $10/month per additional group. Enterprise pricing is custom for organizations needing 15+ groups. PlanHero’s positioning is church and community-organization simplicity rather than feature-heavy enterprise.

• Free plan: 1 active event (out of 3 total), 30-day event duration, 1 group, email reminders.
• Paid plans: Essentials from $12/month (unlimited events). Pro from $18/month (3 groups). Enterprise custom for 15+ groups.
• Public signup page: Yes, with shareable links.
• Communication: Email reminders included on all plans; text message bundles available as an add-on.
• Best for: Churches, schools, and community groups that want signup sheets without making volunteers create accounts.
• Watch out for: Limited features beyond simple signups. Not designed for complex volunteer programs with extensive tracking or reporting needs.
• Platforms: Web.

Lome

Churches, schools, community groups running ad-free event signups

Lome is a web platform for creating public signup pages with customisable templates, automatic reminders, payment integration, and a library of built-in images. It positions itself as an alternative to SignUpGenius, Meal Train, and Evite, with the key differentiator being that it’s ad-free across all tiers, including the free plan.

The design emphasis is on visual appeal: pre-built templates, image assets, and layouts aimed at community organizations that want signup pages to look polished rather than utilitarian. Marketing focus is on churches, schools, parent groups, and similar community-driven contexts where volunteer signups are an ongoing part of programming.

• Free plan: 1 ad-free signup form, 1 community board, email reminders, multi-date forms.
• Paid plans: Tiered subscriptions with annual savings. Specific pricing isn’t published publicly; visible after creating an account.
• Public signup page: Yes, with template-driven design and built-in image assets.
• Communication: In-app messaging, automated reminders, payment integration for paid events.
• Best for: Churches, schools, parent groups, and community organizations that want polished public signup pages without ads.
• Watch out for: Pricing isn’t visible without signing up, which makes upfront comparison harder. The free plan is limited to 1 active signup form, so if you run multiple concurrent events, you’ll need to upgrade.
• Platforms: Web.

Signup.com

Closed groups: PTAs, sports teams, alumni networks

Signup.com creates private signup pages designed for closed groups where you don’t want public discovery. Anyone with the link can sign up, but pages aren’t indexed by search engines. The free tier supports unlimited participants and unlimited signups, which makes it genuinely workable for a small or mid-sized group without paying.

The catch on the free plan: you can’t cap how many people sign up per slot. So if you want exactly five people to bring snacks, the free plan won’t enforce that. Paid plans add slot limits, waitlists, easy shift swapping, SMS reminders, check-in tracking, and hour reporting. The premium tier is positioned for nonprofits and larger groups that need reporting.

• Free plan: Unlimited participants and signups, email reminders, no slot caps per task.
• Paid plans: Starter $99.99/year, Plus $249.99/year, Max $499.99/year. Organization plans from $599.99/year add organizer upgrades.
• Public signup page: Private only. Pages aren’t indexed by search; you share by link.
• Communication: Email reminders on all tiers; SMS reminders on paid plans. No built-in team chat.
• Best for: School PTAs, sports teams, alumni networks, neighborhood groups, and similar closed communities that already know their members.
• Watch out for: No slot caps on the free plan is a real limitation if you need controlled signups. The private-only model also rules it out for public recruitment.
• Platforms: Web, iOS, Android.

See how SignUp.com compares with Zelos in detail.

VolunteerLocal

Event-focused signups with custom branding, no accounts required

VolunteerLocal is purpose-built for event volunteer recruitment, particularly large recurring events like races, festivals, conferences, and community drives. The standout feature: volunteers don’t create accounts to sign up. No usernames, no passwords, no app downloads. They click a link, pick a shift, enter contact info, and they’re done. Custom branding makes the signup page look like part of your own website rather than a generic SaaS form.

The tool covers recurring shift builders, flexible shift types, kiosk check-in for walk-up volunteers, group registration, and credentials printing. Paid plans start at $600/year for the Discover plan (2 admins, unlimited volunteers) for ongoing programs, or $200/event for one-time events. Add-ons available on Discover include custom design, group registration tools, applicant vetting, and hours tracking.

• Free plan: None. You can trial without a card, but there’s no permanent free tier.
• Paid plans: From $600/year (Discover, 2 admins, unlimited volunteers). Per-event pricing from $200/event for one-off use.
• Public signup page: Yes, with custom branding and your own URL.
• Communication: Email and SMS reminders, message templates, automated follow-ups, status notifications.
• Best for: Large recurring events (races, festivals, conferences) where requiring volunteer accounts would create friction and custom branding matters.
• Watch out for: No free plan beyond trial; the $600/year floor is higher than alternatives for organizations running fewer than 5 events per year.
• Platforms: Web, iOS, Android.

See how VolunteerLocal compares with Zelos in detail.

iVolunteer

Event coordinators who prefer email workflows

iVolunteer is a web-based tool for volunteer scheduling and event planning, with a distinctive email-driven workflow: coordinators can publish new shifts through email, and volunteers can interact with the system by email reply as well as through the web interface. For coordinators who already live in email, this reduces the platform-switching tax.

The product is light on features compared to others on this list. There’s no built-in chat, and the only mobile app is a Premium sign-in tool for checking participants in rather than a volunteer app. But for straightforward event volunteer signups, it covers the basics. The permanent free plan handles small events; paid plans unlock higher participant caps and the Premium sign-in app.

• Free plan: Permanent. Up to 15 participants, 1 administrator, 1 home page, 250 emails, reports in HTML and PDF. Runs as a 30-day subscription you renew manually, with no limit on renewals.
• Paid plans: Standard from under $12/month (up to 250 participants, 5 administrators). Premium from $26/month (up to 10,000 participants, unlimited administrators). Final price calculated at checkout from subscription length and volunteer maximum.
• Public signup page: Yes, hosted on iVolunteer’s domain.
• Communication: Email-driven workflow for both coordinators and volunteers. No built-in team chat or SMS.
• Best for: Event coordinators running one-off or recurring events who already manage everything through email and want a signup hub that integrates with that workflow.
• Watch out for: The free plan caps at 15 participants and one administrator, and needs renewing every 30 days. Participant limits are soft — signups continue past the cap, with some admin features disabled until you upgrade.
• Platforms: Web only.

See how ivolunteer.com compares with Zelos in detail.

Mobilize

Political campaigns, advocacy groups, and movement organising

Mobilize (now Bonterra Mobilize) is the standard signup tool for political campaigns, labor unions, and advocacy organizations. Used by 3,000+ campaigns and nonprofits including Human Rights Campaign, NEA, SEIU, NARAL, and 20 Democratic Presidential campaigns. The platform handles in-person events, phone banks, canvasses, virtual trainings, town halls, and petition signatures. The differentiator is the built-in network: volunteers can discover events through mobilize.us, and Mobilize prompts supporters to invite friends, with peer-to-peer recruitment built in.

The free starter account covers 5 team members, 5 events, up to 50 signups per event (or 500 petition signatures), which is enough for testing or for very small grassroots campaigns. Paid plans scale by organization size: small from $200/month, mid-sized from $500/month, large from $2,000/month. Integrations are deep on the political-tech side: NGP VAN, EveryAction, ActBlue, ActionKit, Phone2Action.

• Free plan: Starter account: 5 team members, 5 events, up to 50 signups per event (or 500 petition signatures).
• Paid plans: From $200/month for small organizations. $500/month for mid-sized. From $2,000/month for large campaigns.
• Public signup page: Yes, with custom branding. Events also appear in the mobilize.us feed for discovery.
• Communication: Automated email and SMS, post-event surveys, peer-to-peer invitations, reminder sequences.
• Best for: Political campaigns, advocacy groups, labor unions, and movement-driven nonprofits running events at scale.
• Watch out for: Pricing scales quickly past the free tier. Best fit for organizations whose work is mission-driven and event-heavy; less suited for one-off community signups.
• Platforms: Web, iOS, Android.

Track It Forward

Schools, museums, and grassroots orgs tracking hours alongside signups

Track It Forward leads with volunteer hour tracking but includes solid event signup features. Volunteers RSVP to events, check in via kiosk or mobile, log hours through the app or web, and progress toward service-hour milestones. Coordinators can verify hours with photos, GPS, signatures, or email confirmation. Particularly common in K-12 schools managing student service-hour requirements, museums, libraries, and grant-funded nonprofits with hour-reporting compliance needs.

The free plan is genuinely usable for grassroots organizations with under 25 volunteers, covering basic signup and hour tracking. Paid tiers add capacity and features. School integrations with SIS, LMS, and SSO are available on custom group plans.

• Free plan: Grassroots organizations with under 25 volunteers. Basic tracking, signup, and reporting.
• Paid plans: Basic from $12/month. Standard from $24/month. Advanced from $36/month. Custom plans for school SIS, LMS, and SSO integrations.
• Public signup page: Yes, with event calendar and embeddable RSVP forms.
• Communication: Mass email and text, automated event reminders, custom notifications.
• Best for: Schools tracking student service hours, museums, libraries, and nonprofits with grant-reporting hour-tracking requirements.
• Watch out for: Hour tracking is the primary feature. If you don’t need it, simpler signup-only tools may fit better. The free plan caps at 25 volunteers, so growing programs will need to upgrade.
• Platforms: Web, iOS, Android, kiosk mode.

Better Impact

Established nonprofits that have outgrown a simple signup tool

Better Impact is a full volunteer management platform rather than a signup-only tool. It includes scheduling, hour tracking, impact reporting, custom forms, qualifications and references tracking, equipment management, and integrations with donor management CRMs. Volunteers can claim open shifts that match their availability and skills, which technically makes it a signup tool, just one wrapped in a much bigger system.

Pricing scales by the number of volunteers in your database rather than per coordinator or admin. Better Impact doesn’t publish pricing; every plan ends in a demo booking and quotes come from a sales advisor. The free trial is 30 days with full access. For organizations still in the “do we need software?” phase, Better Impact is probably too much. For nonprofits with a working program that’s hitting the ceiling of simpler tools, the depth pays off.

• Free plan: 30-day free trial with full access. No permanent free plan.
• Paid plans: Not published. Foundation (up to 500 volunteers, 3 admins), Growth (up to 2,000, 10 admins) and Impact (unlimited) are quoted after a demo, priced on accepted and inactive volunteer profiles.
• Public signup page: Yes, with custom branding and form options.
• Communication: Built-in messaging between coordinators and volunteers, with notification controls. Custom forms and surveys for collecting volunteer information.
• Best for: Established nonprofits with 100+ active volunteers, complex scheduling needs, qualifications tracking requirements, or donor management integrations.
• Watch out for: Significant learning curve. Onboarding and configuration take real time. For small or simple operations, this is overkill.
• Platforms: Web, iOS, Android.

See how Better Impact compares with Zelos in detail.

Vome

Full volunteer lifecycle, priced per coordinator

Vome is an end-to-end volunteer management platform covering recruitment forms, guided onboarding sequences, scheduling, hour tracking and reporting. Onboarding is the standout: forms, fillable PDFs, e-signatures, training modules and background checks chained into one sequence with auto-expiring credentials. Volunteers get a genuine mobile app, and admins get chat with auto-generated chatrooms for every shift.

The pricing model is unusual for this category. Volunteers are unlimited on every plan; you pay per activated admin seat. That’s predictable if you know your coordinator count, and expensive if work is spread across many people. The free Recruit plan covers recruitment and onboarding but not shift scheduling, which starts at Pro.

• Free plan: A free Recruit tier exists but covers recruitment forms and onboarding only. No shift management, no database export. Not a scheduling plan.
• Paid plans: Pro $35 per admin seat/month; Enterprise $55 with a 3-seat minimum; Ultimate $65 with a 5-seat minimum. Billed annually (USD), unlimited volunteers throughout.
• Public signup page: Yes, a custom-branded recruitment page with shareable opportunity links.
• No account to sign up: Partly. Admins can manage offline profiles for volunteers who never claim an account, though claiming unlocks reservations, check-in and chat.
• Built-in messaging: Private chats, custom group chats and auto-generated shift chatrooms, plus bulk email from your own domain. Group chats and shift chatrooms start at Pro.
• Best for: Programs that screen volunteers — hospitals, healthcare, youth services — with a small, known number of coordinators.
• Watch out for: Per-seat pricing means cost scales with coordinators rather than volunteers, and the Enterprise and Ultimate tiers carry 3- and 5-seat minimums. Scheduling isn’t included in the free tier.
• Platforms: Web, iOS, Android. Bilingual English and French.

See how Vome compares with Zelos in detail.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the easiest way to let volunteers pick their own shifts?

Post the shifts in a signup app and let volunteers claim the ones they want — no coordinator matching step in between. Zelos does this on its free plan: you post a shift with time, location and capacity, your team gets a push notification, and whoever is available claims it first. There’s no algorithmic assignment and no per-person fee.

For a one-off community event where you need people outside your existing team to sign up, a public link is faster. SignUpGenius, Signup.com and PlanHero all let someone claim a slot with just an email address and no account. The trade-off is that a public form gives you signups but no way to talk to the people who claimed them. If you’re coordinating the same group repeatedly, an app your team logs into is less work over time.

Are there apps where volunteers claim shifts instead of being assigned?

Yes. Zelos, SignUpGenius, Signup.com, PlanHero, VolunteerLocal and Lome all work this way: you post the open shifts, volunteers pick the ones they want, and nobody is assigned by a coordinator or an algorithm.

Zelos is built around claiming as the default. Tasks go to the whole team or to a targeted group by skill, location or role, and the first available person takes them, with a chat thread attached to each task. Better Impact and Vome also support open-shift claiming, but inside a larger platform with screening, qualifications and hour tracking.

If you want to approve people before they’re confirmed, Zelos has an approval mode as well: volunteers apply for a shift and you pick from the queue. That’s the middle ground between manual assignment and first-come-first-served.

What is the best free volunteer signup app?

It depends on what you need. For mobile-first teams with built-in chat, Zelos offers a universal free plan with no participant limits. Verified US nonprofits can use POINT for free, also mobile-first. For public signup pages anyone can find through search, SignUpGenius is the most established option, though the free plan shows ads. For private signups in closed groups, Signup.com works well on the free tier.

What are the best free volunteer sign up platforms?

The strongest genuinely-free platforms are Zelos (unlimited members and built-in chat, no per-person fees), SignUpGenius (unlimited signups, though the free plan shows ads), SignUp.com (unlimited participants, but no per-slot caps), and POINT (a full free plan for verified US nonprofits). Track It Forward is free for grassroots groups under 25 volunteers. Which fits depends on whether you need a public signup link, a participant cap, or built-in messaging.

What is the best volunteer signup app with no account for volunteers?

If you want a link strangers can use without signing up, SignUpGenius, SignUp.com, PlanHero, Lome, and VolunteerLocal all let volunteers claim a slot with just an email. Zelos, POINT, and Better Impact require a profile, which is what unlocks messaging, history, and hour tracking, but adds a step at the start.

What is the best volunteer signup app with built-in chat?

Only three tools here have real team chat rather than email-only reminders: Zelos (per-task threads plus direct messages, admin-supervised), POINT (in-app coordinator messaging), and Better Impact (coordinator-to-volunteer messaging inside a larger platform). If keeping coordination off WhatsApp matters, the list narrows to those.

What is the best volunteer signup platform with a mobile app?

If you specifically want a phone app, not just a mobile-friendly website, the list is shorter than it first looks. Zelos and POINT are mobile-first, with native iOS and Android apps built for volunteers to browse and claim work from their phones. SignUpGenius, Track It Forward, Mobilize, and VolunteerLocal also offer apps alongside their web tools. SignUp.com’s core experience, PlanHero, Lome, and iVolunteer are web-based: they work on a phone browser, but there’s no dedicated app to install.

Is there a free volunteer sign up app with a mobile app for volunteers?

Yes. Zelos offers a free plan with native iOS and Android apps and no per-person fees. POINT is free for verified US nonprofits and is also mobile-first. SignUpGenius has a free plan (with ads) and offers mobile apps too. If a dedicated phone app matters to your volunteers, those three are the strongest free starting points.

Are there volunteer sign up websites that don’t require an app download?

Yes. Several tools here are web-based sign up sites volunteers can use straight from a browser: no app, and often no account. SignUpGenius, Signup.com, Lome, PlanHero, and VolunteerLocal all let volunteers click a link, pick a slot, and submit. Apps like Zelos and POINT instead use native mobile apps, which add profiles, messaging, and push notifications but require a download. If frictionless public signup matters more than ongoing coordination, a web-based sign up site is usually the better fit.

What’s the difference between a volunteer signup app and volunteer scheduling software?

A signup app lets volunteers claim available shifts themselves. Scheduling software lets a coordinator assign shifts based on availability they’ve collected. Signup is self-service; scheduling is coordinator-driven. Some tools support both. If you’re choosing one, base the decision on whether your volunteers should be able to pick their own work. Zelos, SignUpGenius and Signup.com are signup-first: nothing is assigned unless you assign it. Better Impact and Vome lean scheduling-first, with claiming available inside a larger management platform.

Are there free volunteer signup apps with no participant limits?

Yes. Zelos’s free plan supports unlimited team members and admins. SignUpGenius’s free Basic plan supports unlimited signups (with ads on the signup page). Signup.com’s free tier supports unlimited participants but won’t let you cap how many people sign up per slot. POINT offers unlimited volunteers and opportunities to verified US nonprofits at no cost.

Do volunteers need to create an account to sign up?

Depends on the tool. SignUpGenius, Signup.com, Lome, PlanHero, and VolunteerLocal let volunteers sign up without creating an account (an email address is enough). Zelos, POINT, Track It Forward, and Better Impact require a profile, which enables messaging, hour tracking, and gamification but adds a step at the start.

Does my organization need a public signup page?

Not always. Public pages help with recruitment from outside your existing network: anyone can find and sign up. Private pages work better for closed groups where you already know everyone (sports teams, school groups, internal staff). If you’re not actively recruiting strangers, a private signup tool like Signup.com or invite-only Zelos may be all you need.

Will a volunteer signup app work for a small charity with under 50 volunteers?

Yes, and you probably don’t need anything more complex. Free plans from Zelos, SignUpGenius, or Signup.com handle a 50-volunteer team without requiring an upgrade. Verified US nonprofits qualify for POINT’s free Core plan. Track It Forward’s free plan covers grassroots organizations with under 25 volunteers. Most small charities never need to pay for signup software at this scale.

Zelos handles volunteer signups with admin-supervised messaging, member profiles, work history, and gamification. The standard plan is free for everyone with no per-user pricing. For pricing details, see our pricing page.