A volunteer database your members keep current
Zelos gives every member a profile they update themselves, with unlimited custom fields you can group and target on, free for any size of team.
Volunteer records, scheduling, hour tracking, and reporting
Fits charities where a coordinator curates the volunteer record.
Open shifts, task dispatch, notice board, and team chat
Fits teams where members keep their own profiles current.
No credit card · Unlimited members on every plan · Set up in under 5 minutes
How signup works in each app
Shifts against a curated record
Coordinators build volunteer records carrying skills, availability, training and certifications, add notes and attachments, then post shifts for volunteers to sign up to.
A private team space with shift signup and chats
Members join your workspace once, fill in their own profile, then browse and claim what fits their skills and schedule, with a chat channel attached to every task.
What Charity Republic is better at
If your workflow depends on the things below, Charity Republic is the right pick.
Setup and training included
Free setup and training come with every plan, alongside one-to-one demos and weekly webinars. Zelos is self-serve by design, so it's faster if you'd rather get going alone, and no help at all if you'd rather be walked through it.
Student service hours through Hour Republic
Their sister product tracks community service learning, co-op education, practicums and Specialist High Skills Majors across school districts. For a school board coordinating student placement hours, that pairing is genuinely hard to match and Zelos doesn't attempt it.
Notes and attachments on every record
Coordinators can attach files to a volunteer's record and write private notes that other coordinators can see. If your programme runs on a written history of each volunteer, that's a real capability Zelos doesn't have.
Prebuilt reports for the board
Reports across hours, certifications, skills, languages and education ship ready to run. Zelos gives you the same data and more through custom fields, but you export it and shape the report yourself.
If these bullet points are non-negotiable, you're a Charity Republic customer.
What Zelos is sharper at
If you'd rather the roster maintained itself, Zelos is a better fit.
A database your members keep current
Zelos members fill in and update their own profiles, with unlimited custom fields the admin defines: certifications, languages, qualifications, anything you need. You can group and target tasks on any of them, so people only see work they're eligible for, and the records stay current without a coordinator chasing updates.
Free for anyone, no application
The Zelos free plan covers unlimited members and unlimited admins, needs no credit card and no charity status. Charity Republic has no published free tier: paid plans start at $25 a month, and grassroots organisations can request free use by contacting them.
The price never moves with the roster
Zelos Pro is a flat $99 a month whether you coordinate 50 people or 5,000, and the free plan doesn't count heads at all. Charity Republic steps up at 250 volunteers and again at 1,000, so growth changes what you pay twice.
Chat attached to the work
Zelos gives each task its own chat channel, plus group chats and direct messages with push notifications, on every plan. Charity Republic keeps a message history between coordinator and volunteer: a record of contact rather than a channel the crew talks in.
If you're drawn to this kind of simplicity, you should spin up a free project in Zelos right away.
who gets the free plan
Charity Republic offers free use to grassroots charities on application. The Zelos free plan needs no application and no charity status.
What each one actually gives your team
Both cover volunteer records and signup, so the question is what you pay and how the data is maintained.
| What you're checking | Zelos | Zelos Pro | CR 250* | CR 1,000+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | $99/mo | $25/mo | $75/mo |
| Free plan | Yes, for anyone | N/A | On application | On application |
| Custom profile fields | Unlimited | Unlimited | Fixed set plus notes | Fixed set plus notes |
| Members update profiles | Yes | Yes | Coordinator-curated | Coordinator-curated |
| Task-level team chat | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Mobile apps | iOS and Android | iOS and Android | Web and mobile | Web and mobile |
* Charity Republic pricing from charityrepublic.com, August 2026: under 250 volunteers $25/month or $300/year; over 250 $50/month or $600/year; over 1,000 $75/month or $900/year. Setup and training are included, archived volunteers aren't charged, and grassroots non-profits may qualify for free use on request. Currency isn't stated on their pricing page.
Nonprofits and education teams get additional discounts on Zelos Pro and Enterprise.
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Teams that pick Zelos over Charity Republic
Volunteer-led nonprofits with growing rosters
Charity Republic's price steps up at 250 volunteers and again at 1,000, so a roster that grows changes your bill twice. Zelos doesn't count heads on any plan: unlimited members free, and $99/month flat above that.
Learn more →Grassroots and mutual aid groups
Free use is available from Charity Republic, but by application. Zelos is free immediately, for unlimited people, with no charity status to prove and nothing to approve.
Learn more →Event staffing and festival crews
Event crews mix volunteers with paid staff and contractors, and turn over between events. Zelos treats everyone as a member who claims work, with profiles they fill in themselves rather than records someone has to build.
Learn more →Contractor pools and gig dispatch
Contractors are paid for the work and keep their own availability current. Post the job, let the right people claim it, and coordinate in the task chat rather than in a volunteer file.
Learn more →Brand ambassadors and street teams
Ambassador programmes are marketing rather than charitable work, and need self-signup, targeting and chat rather than a curated volunteer record. Zelos includes only what they'll use.
Learn more →Sports clubs and leagues
Match-day volunteers, kit runs and canteen shifts across a season, usually run by a parent committee. Parents keep their own availability up to date, and every section lead is an admin at no extra cost.
Learn more →From teams who picked Zelos
What teams who picked Zelos say
"It helped us a lot reducing the planning overhead. It is way more motivating for staff to pick their task than just getting assigned!"
Manuel W.
Coordinator, Events Services
Full review → "We were looking for a system to handle our concert staff. Zelos is really easy to access both for the administrator and the users!"
Niels Peter H.
Board member, Music
Full review → "The overall experience has been great, the customer service is amazing and I can't wait for all the new changes coming up in the app!"
Celia D.
Coordinator, Motion Pictures and Film
Full review →Free for teams of any size
No credit card, no trial expiration.
Pro starts at $99/month, never per person.
Nonprofit and education discounts on Pro and Enterprise.
Frequently asked questions
Does Charity Republic have a free plan?
How much does Charity Republic cost?
Isn't Charity Republic cheaper than Zelos?
Can Zelos store certifications, languages and qualifications?
Can I get my volunteer data out?
Does Zelos track volunteer hours?
Can my volunteers chat in Zelos?
Do I need to be a registered charity to use Zelos?
Does Zelos work for student service hours?
What's the catch with the Zelos free plan?
Can I use both Zelos and Charity Republic?
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