SmarterSelect vs Instrumentl

GRANTSEEKER

Volgistics

OpenWater

Blackbaud Award Management

ProposalCentral

WebGrants

Compare SmarterSelect and Instrumentl based on features, pricing, verified reviews, integrations & more on GetApp. Find out which software is best for your business in 2025.

Web-based software management system for recruiting, tracking and coordinating volunteers serving organizations of all types and sizes

OpenWater is a Washington, D.C. based Inc. 5000 company that works with associations through our Application and Review Cloud platform for awards, abstracts, grants, scholarships, and any other competitive review processes.

Blackbaud Award Management (formerly AcademicWorks) is a web-based scholarship management & donor reporting solution which assists schools, colleges and universities with applicant tracking & communication. Key features include forms management, student portal, financial aid management & reporting.

Award More.
Work Less.

SmarterSelect is an online application management solution for scholarship, award, and grant providers to collect, analyze and evaluate online applications. We help organizations to award more and to work less.

Activity Tracking

Alerts/Notifications

Applicant Portal

Applicant Tracking

Application Management

Audit Management

Commenting/Notes

Communication Management

Compliance Management

Customizable Fields

Customizable Forms

Customizable Questions

Customizable Reports

Customizable Templates

Data Import/Export

Deadline Management

Document Review

Electronic Payments

Electronic Submission

Email Reminders

For Grantmakers

For Nonprofits

For Schools

Forms Management

Grant Application Management

Grant Award Tracking

Grant Management

Interview Management

Member Database

Multi-Currency

Preview Functionality

Progress Tracking

Ratings/Reviews

Recommendations

Reminders

Reporting & Statistics

Reviewer Management

Role-Based Permissions

Scoring

Search/Filter

Single Sign On

SSL Security

Status Tracking

Third-Party Integrations

Web Forms

White Label

SmarterSelect

Web-based

Fundraising & Program Specialist

Our evaluators are also happy with product's ability to be so user friendly. Their customer service is phenomenal, fast, friendly and useful.

Program Director

We really like to use smarter select, its very easy to maneuver  for all stakeholders involved in our process. There is always room for growth but overall we are able to accomplish what we need.

Marketing Assistant

What I like most about Smarter Select is its ease of use. As someone with minimal experience using this type of programming, I found it pretty user friendly.

scholarship director

I've used this for 5 years and the experience has been excellent. Unlike other programs, the price is terrific for the quality of the program and ease of use.

Program Coordinator

Now I am very comfortable resolving issues through e-mail because SmarterSelect's customer service is that good. I highly recommend both the product and the people behind it.

Development Manager

We've been using Smarter Select for probably 10 years and have been super happy with it. The team is always adding new features that make managing our scholarship program easier.

Executive Director

I liked the free trial to set up unique programs with the help of customer support. All free set up work was saved and usable after purchasing the product.

First, I have to say the service of SmarterSelect is wonderful. From day one they have responded quickly, solved our issue or educated us on how to do something.

Volunteer Relations Coordinator 

Overall we love using this software. It has made it so easy for us to send out surveys and applications to our nurses.

My only slight criticism would be that the evaluator questions can only be placed mid-application, not in their own separate form.

Whenever I have an issue with the platform, or unsure about the limitations of a feature I find it difficult to contact customer service or a specialist.

Vice President

I dislike having to receive an email in order to get a report. It's just one more step especially when we are running over 80 reports.

Finally, we are able to choose the level of program we need based on the price that works best for our size organization.

Trustee

I like that I was able to set up our application myself.

The application will go online within a week and it has been a positive experience in setting it up.

President

Strongly encourage integration with Salesforce.

Data Manager

It's fairly straight forward and integrates with Salesforce. The user interface is pretty.

Coordinator of Volunteer Services

Sometimes it's difficult to navigate and could use more sorting options.

SmarterSelect screenshot: Create any type of program, award, scholarship, etc. and define application deadlines

SmarterSelect screenshot: Link to the application from any website and start accepting online applications immediately

SmarterSelect screenshot: Select the desired dates and times for application deadlines

SmarterSelect screenshot: Specify the unique contact for each specific program

SmarterSelect screenshot: Create program application forms easily

SmarterSelect screenshot: Change the flow of questions depending on the applicant's answers

SmarterSelect screenshot: Pre-qualify candidates with SmarterSelect's initial screening tools

SmarterSelect screenshot: Enable applicants to provide referee contact information

SmarterSelect screenshot: Automatically calculate totals, scores, and formulas

Freelancers

Large Enterprises

Mid Size Business

Non Profit

Public Administrations

Small Business

Grantseeker is a grants management system which helps nonprofits find funding opportunities and organize all grants and applications in a single location. With Grantseeker you can: find new funders, manage your grant, payment, deadlines and impact, share documents, set notifications, and more.

Operating since 2001, WebGrants provides a comprehensive full lifecycle grant management system for federal, state, local and nonprofit grant making and monitoring activities.

ProposalCentral is a cloud-based software designed to help research and funding institutions automate the entire grants management lifecycle, from application processing to fund allocation. Supervisors can configure approval workflows and gain visibility into the potential outcomes of applicants.

Instrumentl is the only complete grant solution that empowers grant-seeking organizations to discover best-fit grants, craft winning proposals faster with AI, and manage their entire grant lifecycle—all in one place

Activity Dashboard

Administrative Reporting

Categorization/Grouping

Collaboration Tools

Contact Management

Document Management

Due Date Tracking

Financial Reporting

For Grantseekers

Grant Discovery

Monitoring

Payment Tracking

Workflow Management

Instrumentl

Director of Development

The software has had many improvements since I started using, they are amazing and much appreciated. The support team is AmaZing-- always ready to help and quickly responsive.

Grant Development Associate

They are always making improvements and customer support is great. The automatic refreshing alerts me to new opportunities for our projects, so I never miss a good funding opportunity.

Manager of Grants and Capacity Building

This company has the BEST customer service, is VERY user friendly, and offers MANY features to help with grants management.

Grants Consultant

Easily the most important benefit of Instrumentl is its ability to marry the task of prospect research with the task of grants planning/management.

My experience has been excellent -- from the quality of the product to the accessibility and responsiveness of Instrumentl's customer service team to the free educational webinars.

Founder

I love the "Funder Summary" tabs the most because they summarize lengthy 990 forms into easy to read highlights to find great matches for our clients.

Project Manager

The ease of reviewing digitized 990s makes this product well worth the investment. The time we save with Instrumentl has already offset our investment in the subscription.

Development Associate 

The calendar feature is also excellent and very useful. Researching potential funders is easy.

Foundation Relations

I also like the ease of the platform and the extensive information it has on each grant funder.

Manager of Corporate and Foundation Relations

Great customer service, great functionality, worth every penny.

Strategic Operations Manager, Grant Coordinator

I appreciate the intuitive design and the time-saving aspects that help streamline all things grant-related.

Instrumentl is easy to use and helps keep track of deadlines. I cannot recommend Instrumentl enough.

The integration of the data bases of grant funding sources to allow for more effective pursuit of highly targeted opportunities.

Personally, I find it very difficult to navigate to all the potential features I might use.

Grant Writer

Space is limited if you are serving a lot of different clients.

Grants Manager

Cheaper options can be difficult to navigate. Instrumentl is expensive, but you get what you pay for.

Being able to have my three grant writers coordinate their grant writing and integrate into one place.

Grant Manager

I wish I could hide the applications that I ended up abandoning.

Instrumentl screenshot: A project is like a "workspace" with two components: a saved search & your saved grants. Projects typically map to ongoing program areas at an organization. Each week, you'll get an email with new matching opportunities for your projects.

Instrumentl screenshot: Tell us about your organization or program area and see active funding opportunities that match. Each week, you'll get an email with new matching opportunities. Now with Instrumentl, the opportunities come to you!

Instrumentl screenshot: Stay on track by visualizing important deadlines in one calendar. The calendar displays all task deadlines, funder deadlines, submission goals, and future cycles so teams never miss grant deadlines and deliverables. Available on Standard or above.

Instrumentl screenshot: Instrumentl's intelligent deadline system magically stays up-to-date. Automatically get weekly emails with all your upcoming deadlines. Receive e-mail notifications when funders update the priority or deadline of any opportunity you have saved.

Instrumentl screenshot: Strategically evaluate a new funder to save time while prospecting. See how open a funder is to new grantees, geographical giving, grant sizes, and giving by category.

SmarterSelect vs Instrumentl Comparison (2025)

SmarterSelect

Instrumentl

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives