StarChapter Pricing

StarChapter set everything up The training they provided was comprehensive The support is excellent. I had a few questions and received a response back within hours or even minutes. Once you get the hang of how it works, it is easy to make changes The price is incredible! We are a very small non-profit with a limited budget. Our users love the software. The admins really like the back end and the information it provides. Our members love the website and how easy it is to renew membership, sign up for classes and events.

Reporting is a little weak: I can find everything I need but it isn't as easy as I think it could be. (That said it could be that I haven't figured everything out yet.) I can get a list of new members, members that have renewed, and members that have not renewed BUT it does not produce a very attractive output. This would definitely not stop me from recommending this software.

StarChapter offers good functionality and management for an affordable price. It puts our website and association management into the cloud, where it belongs, and doesn't require a high degree of tech savvy to manage the site or our day-to-day activity.

The lack of a financial interface is PAINFUL, and it has resulted in higher than usual external accounting expense to make sense of what we do.

Thank you for your feedback, we appreciate it as it helps us improve our offerings.

The features I like best about StarChapter are: ease of administration, swiftness of launch, good value for your money. It's great for smaller associations.

Reporting is what I like least about StarChapter. Historical information isn't easy to access.

Thank you for your feedback, we really appreciate it as it helps us improve our product. We are sorry to hear that you're experiencing difficulty with the reports. If you could please enter a support ticket, our team will get in touch with you to get more information.

We needed an online membership database that was easy to update and accessible for multiple users. We also needed a way to integrate our website content and registration events. StarChapter made all of that easy and affordable.

I do not like how all of the membership must have an email. Some of our members change emails frequently because of their job titles or retire and lose access to previous emails. That has made some of our communication and connections difficult.

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience, we really appreciate your feedback.

The majority of the software makes it very easy to manage our chapter's website, from meetings and payments to board transitions and communication. StarChapter provides ample live and pre-recorded instructional videos, as well as an extensive "knowledge base" of articles. When I can't find what I need, or when there is a problem, I can submit a support ticket. I always get a response in under 24 hours, usually less than 12.

If you want to create complicated web pages (more complex than the template pages that are provided), you need to know a bit more about website design. It's not as user friendly for those who aren't tech savvy. Also, sometimes the editing/formatting features can be a bit frustrating, like using tables and things for page design.

This software is affordable and great for nonprofits that are just starting out. It provides everything you need to get started, including a website, dues structure, member letters and member CRM.

This software lacks a lot of functions that nonprofits really need. There doesn't appear to be a platform for managing CEUs, there is no membership card template, customizing emails with member data appears to have limited functionality, extracting membership data for dashboards is near impossible - you can only customize the data so much and the reports and charts built in are limited. Member categories...

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It provides all features/tasks in one software. Reports providing attendance, profits etc.

It's not user-friendly or intuitive as promoted. There's numerous steps to completing a task, revisions of different kinds are not in the same screens where things were created, all pages look the same no matter what category is being used (no color coding, no differentiation for easier learning), and a serious lack of graphics.

Thank you for your review. I'm sorry to hear you had such a frustrating experience, but I really appreciate you bringing this issue to our attention. Please let us know when you are available for a call to further discuss your feedback.

All in one service, except for financials- quickbooks has been rumored to be added but that was over a year ago and it’s still not working.

Email design and reporting, selecting who you are sending them to is not as good as constant contact.

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience, we appreciate your feedback.

We went with StarChapter because it integrates website, membership management and email into one system. StarChapter is based on WordPress, which makes for easier learning for users already familiar with WordPress. Event management is a plus. There's an extensive knowledgebase for help and StarChapter support department is very responsive.

1. The system is so feature rich that there is a substantial learning curve to master the full capabilities. 2. Although webpage editing is based on WordPress' block editor, the content editing and navigation editing is a bit clunky. Fortunately, there is a source code (HTML) option, but StarChapter inserts additional tags based on its CSS. 3. The elimination of 3rd party payment processors in favor of its proprietary (and extra cost) StarPay system means we have to use payment links to the processor instead of keeping everything within StarChapter.

Thank you for your feedback, we appreciate it as it helps us improve our offerings.

For an affordable price, your association can host their website and manage it easily. It has all of the features needed where you don't have to have 1000 platforms and systems to manage and keep track of logins for.

The biggest complaint I hear is that the meeting registration has one to two too many pages to click through vs. being a one page sign up. That would be a great feature to enhance.

Thank you for your feedback, we appreciate it as it helps us improve our offerings.

First, StarChapter has a solid value proposition for a small organization -- competitive with Wild Apricot and similar "value" options. However, biggest selling point is its customer support. Unlike Wild Apricot, StarChapter doesn't outsource set up and has an in-house design team that walks you through the process. (start up cost 1/3rd of what I was quoted to set up a Wild Apricot site!). They were very accommodating and worked hard to create a web layout that replicated our branding image, and were able to integrate some external features. The final product exceeded expectations at launch, and was handled seamlessly.

The steep, steep learning curve and the absence of an on-call service line. Although the set up was excellent, I was not ready to manage the system on my own when we launched. As a result, I really struggled to complete basic tasks, and made lots of errors that resulted in member frustration or confusion. I was able to send in support tickets and get responses - usually within 24 hours, but the damage was often done by the time I got an answer. I think a comprehensive user manual - whether on-line or downloadable, would be really helpful. The knowledge base is very segmented and it's not easy to get step by step instructions when you need them.

Thank you for your feedback, we really appreciate it as it helps us improve our product.

This is great for organizations and non profit that need something simple to get them going. We use this to manage members, as well as host our e-commerce type transactions for events.

It is a bit clunky and not as intuitive when wanting to do more advanced level organizational management. For example, if a member has not renewed their membership there is a grace period and then the member gets moved to a different list. If that member wants to renew- they have to create a whole new login which adds to confusion when the user expects to just to be able to login and renew their membership....

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Thank you for your feedback, we really appreciate it as it helps us improve our product.

This checks all the boxes for us. We needed a platform that let us send comms to our members, manage our membership list (including sending invoices for renewals and new members), manage event registrations, post news articles, allow our members (and non-members for a fee) to post job openings, and more...and this fit the bill! It was affordable, easy to use, the initial set-up was simple (StarChapter is a HUGE help and does a great deal of the work), and we've found their support team to be very responsive and helpful. We're very happy with our switch, and now all our data is managed in one place - which was the ultimate problem we set out to solve with our previous website.

There are a few little nuances we've discovered, such as not being able to use multi-byte characters (emojis, etc) in subject lines of comms and not being able to export ALL comm data (must be exported individually). I think the biggest thing that could stand to be improved is the comm data - you can get open rate, but that's pretty much it. You can't see what links are clicked on the most, or other data that other email-specific platforms offer. That said, it wasn't a deal-breaker for us.

The ease of use that allows us to have a members only section on our website; the quick and straightforward set up and designs for each page on our site; the ability to adapt pages to include accessibility options for folks using screen readers or are hearing impaired.

The communication tool - we've been using Constant Contact for several years and we've found the flexibility both in e-list management and design that CC provides will keep us using that service over StarChapters.

The staff was very helpful migrating our old website to StarChapter. We use them for events, event registrations and membership in addition to our general website. The customer service usually responds with help in a day or two.

There are some things we wish it would do. It would be nice to have a schedule manager for our events. It would also be helpful if there was an easier way to include free membership in our registration for an event. The newsletter is adequate by not fantastic and I wish there was a way to email beyond our members/non members list occasionally. Some basic functionality, like sub-sub menu items would be helpful.

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience, we appreciate your feedback.

I like the ease of use and connectedness of all of the software segments. The product also gives a lot of functions for the price which makes it an easy sell to our clients from a value standpoint.

Some items are clunky and not as nimble as they could be. I also feel like starchapter has stopped developing enhancements or improvements outside of the website templates that they sell for a fee. I would like to see more robust reporting or the ability to build ad hoc reports, enhanced functionality on the events with regards to promo codes/discounts, adjusting registrant information/substitutions, and more robust functionality with the eblasting system.

Thank you for your feedback, we really appreciate it as it helps us improve our product. We are sorry to hear that you're experiencing difficulty with the reports and some of the functionality. If you could please enter a support ticket, our team will get in touch with you to get more information.

I like the newsletter feature the most. I can create digital newsletters by template.

The cons for the software are that it doesn't fit with how our association works. The software is more designed for "chapters" of associations as opposed to a single association. We have COMPANIES as members (we are a 506(c)(6) trade association), and staff of those member companies are also considered members. So the billing/invoicing feature doesn't work for us, nor does the online registration...

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This brings all of the other services we us into one application and saves us money

I think the startup cost is still a little high for small non profits but it is worth it.

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience, we appreciate your feedback.

StarChapter combines a lot of separate programs we previously used into one easy to access program. It manages email forwarders, displays sponsors logos on our website, and automatically updates based off of when the sponsor has paid through. StarChapter also allows us to setup email templates that are automatically sent to new or lapsed members which eliminates the need for our membership chair to constantly have to remember to check our rosters and compare them month to month.

The administration side of the website turned out to be a little more challenging than we originally expected. Some of the functions and website design aren't as intuitive as we would have liked and has required additional training for the less tech savvy members on our board.

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience, we appreciate your feedback.

The email communicating system.

The mismatch of options on the front end, individual profile end, and admin end of the site. The inability to set standard views for daily use (defaults for individual members) The complicated way the profile editor is displayed. The inability to have custom drop downs made (similar to the State drop-down) for large comprehensive lists - these need to be on both the front end - application and member profile editor as well as the admin member manager area.

Ease of learning how to do stuff for someone who isn't a technology nerd. Sometimes that means my current intern has to look at the video and then show me, but once the lightbulb goes on, I can do 'most anything.

Some of their training videos have left me wondering what I just watched. That's when I reach out to a digital native / millennial to help me "get it." Or, I submit a job ticket.

I've used StarChapter for more than 10 years. The platform is very user-friendly and customer service is top notch. The knowledge base is thorough and easy to navigate.

When membership dues are variable based on size, the platform isn't intuitive. Flat dues work great!

Wow thank you for being a long time StarChapter user and for taking the time to share your experience, we really appreciate your feedback.

You cannot beat the cost- we choose it because it is inexpensive and if you are trying to save money StarChapter will help you with that.

It is very difficult to use. Everything requires multiple non-intuitive steps. It is almost impossible to get the site to look the way you want. It is supposed to be WYSIWYG- but is not. The leading is always off and you never get what you expect when making changes. I have had professional developers and designers try to help make the site look the way I want, but even they have thrown up their hands in disgust.

Thank you for posting a review, we would like the opportunity to investigate your feedback further. If you could please enter a support ticket, we'll work with you to resolve any issues as quickly as possible.

Love the ease of ease and the professional facing website and features. Star Chapter customer service is wonderful to work with.

I honestly do not have any. Wonderful software for the price. Has paid for itself in removing the tedious administrative tasks as well as the human error mistakes.