Free volunteer management software for charities in 2026

Looking for free volunteer management software for your charity? Several vendors give verified charities 100% off their paid features, a few have universal free plans you can use without proving charity status, and others discount their paid plans through programmes like TechSoup. The catch: these offers are rarely visible from the pricing page, and several of the best-known “free for nonprofits” deals are US-only.

This guide names the free and discounted programmes that are publicly known in 2026, with UK-usable tools first. Prices checked August 2026 and shown in the currency each vendor publishes. POINT, Timecounts, Sumac, Civic Champs, Golden, and VolunteerMark stay on the list so you can skip them on purpose rather than lose an afternoon on a 501(c)(3) paywall.

Free and discounted volunteer management software

Zelos

Shift signup, task dispatch, and live chats with admin-supervised messaging. No public recruitment pages.

• Free: Standard plan for everyone — unlimited members and admins, 25 concurrent active tasks, last 100 archived, 10,000 chat messages
• Pro: £79/month billed annually (£99/month billed monthly), flat, not per user
• Charity: additional 40% off annual pricing on Pro and Enterprise for registered charities
• Available: Globally

VolunteerMatch

Public opportunity board with matching across a large US-centred organisation list.

• Standard: paid memberships and credit packs for premium features
• Charity: VolunteerMatch is US-leaning. UK readers should list opportunities on Doit Life (the current home of Do-it.org) or Reach Volunteering for skills-based roles, not treat VolunteerMatch as the default
• Available: US-centred

POINT

Public volunteer app with a US nonprofit dashboard for events, hours, document storage, and Checkr background checks.

• Standard: Pro billed in USD
• Charity: 100% off Core plan for verified US 501(c)(3) organisations
• Available: US and Ukraine only — not a UK option

See POINT vs Zelos, compared in detail.

Timecounts

Volunteer hub builder with shift signup, hours tracking, and customisable onboarding workflows.

• Standard: paid Pro, published in USD
• Charity: 100% off Community plan for US 501(c)(3) or Canadian registered charities
• Available: US and Canada — not a UK option

Salesforce Power of Us

Enterprise CRM with volunteer scheduling and hour tracking via Salesforce’s charity CRM tools (Agentforce, in the US product name) or the Volunteers for Salesforce open-source package.

• Standard: paid Enterprise Edition, pricing on request
• Charity: Power of Us programme for eligible registered charities
• Available: Globally, for organisations that qualify

Sumac

Charity case management software with optional Volunteers extension for scheduling, hours tracking, and skills management.

• Standard: paid, on request
• Charity: 100% off via TechSoup Canada (Silver renewable annually; Gold one-time) for charities with operating budgets under CAD$2M
• Available: Canada

Charity Republic

A Canadian volunteer management platform built with input from over 60 volunteer coordinators, covering shift signup, volunteer profiles with skills, training and certifications, hour tracking and reporting. Paid plans are tiered by volunteer count, with setup and training included and no charge for archived volunteers.

The free access isn’t a published tier. Their pricing page states that grassroots non-profits and charities may qualify for free use of the software, arranged by contacting them directly. Worth an email if you’re small and unfunded, though you won’t know the answer until you ask. Ontario-centred partnerships; not a UK default.

• Free access: Grassroots charities may qualify, on application. No published free tier.
• Paid plans: From a published monthly rate in the vendor’s currency; the company is Canadian.
• Availability: Canadian company, Ontario-centred partnerships; no stated geographic restriction.
• Verification: By contact rather than an automated charity check.

See Charity Republic vs Zelos, compared in detail.

Civic Champs

Volunteer scheduling, hours tracking, digital waivers, kiosk check-in, geofenced check-ins, and micro-donations from volunteers.

• Standard: paid, for US organisations
• Charity: size-based discounts via a TechSoup partnership (US). Check current terms on TechSoup; do not assume a UK listing
• Available: US

Golden

AI-powered volunteer management with fundraising tools that convert volunteers to donors, location-based volunteer recommendations, and CRM integrations (Salesforce, Blackbaud, Microsoft Dynamics).

• Standard: paid Professional and Enterprise, on request
• Charity: discounted Community, Professional, and Enterprise plans via TechSoup partnership (US)
• Available: US

VolunteerMark

Free plan with no credit card and no charity verification, covering a small volunteer list, one administrator, the volunteer mobile app, import and export, and volunteer service certificates.

The limits are tight and worth reading before you commit: one administrator, a small number of events a month, and almost no timed work shifts on the free tier. Paid plans start in USD.

• Free access: Permanent, no verification required — US only.
• Paid plans: Published in USD.
• Catch: One admin, and timed work shifts are not on the free tier.
• Available: US

See VolunteerMark vs Zelos, compared in detail.

TeamKinetic

UK volunteer management platform with opportunity listing, DBS checks on paid tiers, and a dedicated volunteer centre edition. Their Community edition is genuinely free, permanent, with unlimited volunteers and no charity verification.

Community is built for a small number of opportunities and volunteers. Instant chat and extra admin accounts start at Essentials.

• Free access: Community edition, permanent, unlimited volunteers, no verification.
• Paid plans: Essentials £29/month, Growth £79/month. Enterprise pricing on request. Never per volunteer.
• Catch: Community is a starter package; extra admins and instant chat are on Essentials.
• Available: UK

See TeamKinetic vs Zelos, compared in detail.

Rosterfy

Workforce management platform for major events and multi-site programmes with skills-based search and shift swapping.

• Standard: pricing after a demo
• Charity: discount based on your data after a demo call
• Available: Globally

Volunteero

UK-built volunteer management with a mobile app, mission claiming, reference collection, and DBS-friendly workflows. Pricing is a tailored quote, not a published per-user rate.

• Standard: quote
• Charity: discount based on your data after a demo call
• Available: UK-built; used across the UK, Europe, and the US

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free volunteer management software for charities?

There’s no single best option, since it depends on what you need to run. UK charities should start with tools they can actually open: Zelos (universal free Standard plan, no verification), TeamKinetic (free Community edition), and Volunteero (UK-built, quote). US 501(c)(3) organisations can use POINT and Timecounts, both free for verified charities — those plans are not open from the UK. Canadian charities can use Timecounts or Sumac via TechSoup Canada.

How do I qualify for charity pricing on volunteer management software?

Most vendors require proof of charity status: Charity Commission registration in England and Wales, OSCR in Scotland, or CCNI in Northern Ireland. US vendors typically want a 501(c)(3) IRS determination letter; Canadian vendors want a CRA registration. Some vendors verify automatically through a directory; others ask for documentation through their own application. Verification typically takes a few days to a few weeks.

What is TechSoup and how does it work for volunteer management?

TechSoup is a charity technology marketplace that verifies charity status once, then unlocks discounts across partner products. For volunteer management, several US partners (including Civic Champs and Golden) sit on TechSoup. Canadian charities can also access Sumac through TechSoup Canada. Many of those volunteer-management partner deals are US-only; check eligibility before you apply. Base TechSoup membership is free for verified charities.

Can a UK charity get free volunteer management software?

Yes. Zelos’s free Standard plan works anywhere without verification. TeamKinetic’s Community edition is a UK-native free plan. VolunteerMatch is US-leaning; use Doit Life or Reach Volunteering to list opportunities publicly. Salesforce Power of Us serves eligible registered charities globally. Region-restricted options include POINT (US and Ukraine) and Timecounts (US and Canada). Volunteero is UK-built and prices after a demo.

What’s the difference between a free plan and a 100% charity discount?

A free plan is available to anyone with no verification. Zelos’s Standard plan is an example. A 100% charity discount means the paid product is free, but only for verified charities. POINT’s Core plan, Timecounts’ Community plan, and Sumac via TechSoup Canada are examples — and the first two will not accept a UK charity. End result is similar; eligibility differs.

What if my preferred vendor doesn’t publish a charity discount?

Ask sales directly. Many vendors will consider a discount if you request it with proof of charity status. Better Impact, VolunteerHub, Volgistics, and SignUpGenius don’t publish dedicated programmes but may negotiate on enterprise contracts. The worst outcome is they say no and you pay the standard rate.

Zelos volunteer management provides shift signup, task dispatch, and live chats. The Standard plan is free for everyone, and registered charities get an additional 40% off annual pricing on Pro and Enterprise. For Zelos pricing details, see our pricing page. For a broader market overview, see the best volunteer management software.