CBF CRM Comparison — Keela vs LiveImpact vs CiviCRM vs Twenty

CiviCRM evaluated and abandoned — too complex to self-host

Twenty CRM recommended — modern UI, Docker-first, full REST API

Dev instance live at crm-dev.cloudbase.foundation

Tech capacity: director builds with Claude Code

Updated May 2026: CiviCRM Standalone was originally recommended and attempted. After extended difficulty with self-hosting (complex PHP/MySQL stack, poor standalone mode maturity, UI issues), it is proposed to be replaced with Twenty CRM — an open source, Docker-first CRM with a modern React UI, custom objects, and a full GraphQL/REST API. A dev instance has been tested on DigitalOcean to validate the approach. This document has been updated to include Twenty in the comparison.

Feature comparison

KeelaNot recommended

LiveImpactNot recommended

CiviCRMEvaluated & abandoned

Twenty CRM★ Recommended

Software cost

$79–$319/mo
Contact-based tiers.

~$350/mo
Flat rate, unlimited users.

$0
Open source. No licensing fees.

$0 forever
Open source. No licensing, no tiers, no per-user fees. Ever.

Hosting cost

Included (SaaS)

~$154/yr (VPS)

~$144/yr
$12/mo dev + $24/mo prod DigitalOcean droplets.

Donor management

✓ Strong. Profiles, Smart Ask AI, receipts.

✓ Strong. 360° donor view, AI analytics.

✓ Native. Unlimited contacts, contribution pages, recurring gifts.

✓ Flexible. Custom Donor object with full field control — giving history, communication preference, donor type segmentation. Email threads attached to records via Gmail integration.

Grant management

✗ None.

✓ Strong. Deadlines, deliverables, funder reporting.

✓ Native (CiviGrant). Full traceability chain.

Custom object. No native grant module — but a Grant object with custom fields (funder, amount, deadline, deliverables, status) can be built in settings. Sufficient for CBF's current grant volume.

Project intake

Basic. Donation forms only.

✓ Strong. Automated intake workflows.

✓ Native. FormBuilder writes to CiviGrant records.

✓ Via API. CBF-site contact form POSTs directly to Twenty's REST API creating Project Submission records. Kanban view tracks intake pipeline: New → Under Review → Approved/Declined.

Website integration

✗ No API. Zapier only.

✗ No API. Closed platform.

✓ APIv4. Full REST API.

✓ Native REST + GraphQL. CBF-site pulls live project data from Twenty API (Phase 2). Donation records created automatically via Stripe webhook → Cloudflare Worker → Twenty API (Phase 3). No Zapier.

Reporting & views

Good for fundraising. Limited custom queries.

✓ Strong. AI natural-language queries.

✓ Strong. 40+ templates, custom dashlets.

✓ Flexible. Saved views per object — table, list, or Kanban. Filter, sort, group by any field. Board view vs. director view configurable without code. No legacy UI baggage.

UI quality

✓ Modern, clean. Low learning curve.

✓ Modern. Role-based dashboards.

Dated core UI. Mitigated by River theme.

✓ Modern React UI. Feels like Notion — intuitive, fast, keyboard-shortcut driven. Cmd+K command palette. No legacy PHP UI. Strong contrast with CiviCRM.

Self-hosting complexity

N/A (SaaS)

High. PHP stack, MySQL, Apache/nginx, CMS layer required. Standalone mode still maturing.

Low. Three commands: download compose file, configure .env, docker compose up -d. nginx reverse proxy for SSL. No PHP, no CMS, no manual dependency management.

Vendor lock-in

Medium. Proprietary SaaS.

None. Open source, self-hosted.

None. Open source (MIT). CBF owns the code, the data, and the PostgreSQL database. Full data export anytime. 25,000+ GitHub stars, active development.

Donation processing

Built-in donation forms

CiviContribute pages

Separate layer. Twenty stores donation records. Processing handled by Stripe (Phase 3) — custom donation form on CBF-site, webhook → Twenty. GiveLively used in the interim with monthly CSV import.

Platform summaries

Keela

From ~$1,000+/yr · SaaS

Best-in-class donor management UI

Smart Ask AI, quick onboarding

No grant management module

No API — cannot build custom integrations

Costs scale with contact database

LiveImpact

From ~$4,200/yr · SaaS

Best all-in-one: donor + grant + case

Unlimited users, flat-rate pricing

No API — extensibility blocked

Highest ongoing cost of all options

Smaller community, newer platform

CiviCRM Standalone

From ~$154/yr · Self-hosted

$0 software cost, native CiviGrant

Full APIv4, 20+ years of community

Evaluated and abandoned — self-hosting too complex

Standalone mode still maturing in 2026

Dated UI required significant mitigation work

Twenty CRM

From ~$144/yr · Self-hosted

$0 software cost — fully open source

Docker-first — running in minutes, not weeks

Modern React UI — Notion-like, intuitive

Full REST + GraphQL API for website integration

Custom objects — data model fits CBF exactly

No native donation processing (handled by Stripe Phase 3)

No native grant module (custom object sufficient for now)

🪂

Recommendation: Twenty CRM

CiviCRM was the original recommendation but proved too complex to self-host reliably in 2026 — the standalone mode is still maturing, the PHP stack requires significant manual configuration, and the UI issues created real friction. Twenty CRM is the recommended replacement: it's open source, Docker-first (running in minutes with three commands), has a modern React UI that non-technical staff can use without training, and exposes a full REST and GraphQL API that CBF-site can query directly — no middleware, no Zapier. The custom object system means the data model fits CBF's exact workflows rather than forcing CBF into a generic nonprofit template. Donation processing is handled separately via Stripe (Phase 3), which is cleaner architecturally and gives full control over the donor experience on the CBF website.

Current status & next steps

✓

Dev instance deployed Twenty CRM running at crm-dev.cloudbase.foundation on a $12/mo DigitalOcean droplet. Docker Compose, nginx reverse proxy, Let's Encrypt SSL.

✓

CBF data model defined Four custom objects scoped: Donor, Donation, Project, Project Submission — with fields, relations, and views documented.

Configure workspace in Twenty UI Build the CBF data model in Settings → Data Model. Create saved views. Import GiveLively donor/donation history via CSV. Generate API key.

Provision production droplet $24/mo DigitalOcean droplet. Repeat dev setup for crm.cloudbase.foundation. Mirror dev data model. Enable backups.

Phase 2 — CBF-site API integration CBF-site pulls live project data from Twenty REST API. Contact form POSTs project submissions to Twenty. Replaces static projects.json.

Phase 3 — Stripe donation integration Native donation form on CBF-site. Stripe webhook → Cloudflare Worker → Twenty API. Real-time donor record creation. GiveLively deprecated.

CRM Platform Comparison

Keela

LiveImpact

CiviCRM Standalone

Twenty CRM

Recommendation: Twenty CRM