TidyHQ vs Beacon CRM
Last reviewed May 2026
Beacon CRM is a UK charity-focused platform — Gift Aid, case management, grantmaking. TidyHQ Pro is $890 AUD/year flat with unlimited members; Beacon's mid-tier Standard is ~$2,650 AUD/year. For an Australian charity, TidyHQ is the natural fit — Beacon's headline features (Gift Aid, UK regulator integrations) don't apply here.
Where TidyHQ wins
Flat pricing that doesn't escalate with your contact count or committee size. TidyHQ Pro is £444/year (£37/month) for unlimited members and unlimited admin seats. Beacon's equivalent Standard plan is £1,368/year — over 3× more — and caps at 10 full users; Premium is £3,504/year. Native Xero two-way sync rather than third-party connectors. Board governance built in: agendas, minutes with action items, declarations of conflict, 25 GB document storage. Apple and Google Wallet membership cards on Pro, auto-updating. Family memberships with linked records and family discounts — useful for community-rooted charities. Categorised income (donations, grants, gate, fundraisers) for trustee reporting. A free permanent tier — Beacon has a trial but no free plan.
Where Beacon CRM wins
Beacon is genuinely built for UK charity fundraising and that focus shows. Native Gift Aid claim handling — eligibility, declarations, R68 submission to HMRC — is something TidyHQ doesn't offer. Case management for charities that deliver services to beneficiaries, not just members. Grantmaking workflows for foundations that distribute funding. A SQL data warehouse with direct query access for charities doing sophisticated donor analytics. No payment processing fees charged by Beacon (you still pay Stripe). Contact bases of 100,000+ supported natively on Premium and Ultimate. If your charity's real workload is fundraising operations rather than membership administration, Beacon is the right shape of product.
Best for
Membership-based charities, professional bodies registered as charities, and community organisations that want flat pricing and a unified members/finances/governance platform. Especially Australian and NZ charities where Gift Aid is not relevant, and UK or US charities under 2,000 contacts who would otherwise pay 3-8× more for a CRM tier they've outgrown the Starter band of.
Feature comparison
Subscription (annual billing, 500 contacts)
TidyHQ
$890 AUD/year flatBeacon CRM
~$781 AUD/year (Starter)Subscription (annual billing, 5,000 contacts)
TidyHQ
$890 AUD/year flatBeacon CRM
~$2,658 AUD/year (Standard)Subscription (annual billing, 25,000 contacts)
TidyHQ
$890 AUD/year flatBeacon CRM
~$6,808 AUD/year (Premium)Admin / committee seats
TidyHQ
Unlimited on every planBeacon CRM
3 (Starter) / 10 (Standard) / 100 (Premium)Transaction fees on Beacon side
TidyHQ
1% + 20c (+ Stripe ~1.4% + 20p UK)Beacon CRM
None on Beacon side (you still pay Stripe ~1.4% + 20p)Free tier
TidyHQ
Permanent — full features, no cardBeacon CRM
✗ Trial only, then paid plan requiredAnnual contract required
TidyHQ
✗ Monthly or annual, your choiceBeacon CRM
✗ Pro-rata adjustableSetup fees
TidyHQ
✗ NoneBeacon CRM
✗ NoneOnline memberships with tiers
TidyHQ
Beacon CRM
Including sponsorships and adoptionsFamily memberships with linked records
TidyHQ
Linked players, family discountsBeacon CRM
Partial — household linkingNative Xero integration
TidyHQ
Two-way syncBeacon CRM
Via Zapier / third partyCase management for beneficiaries
TidyHQ
Beacon CRM
NativeGrantmaking workflows
TidyHQ
Beacon CRM
NativeSQL data warehouse / direct query access
TidyHQ
✗ Reports onlyBeacon CRM
Standard plan and aboveBoard governance — minutes, action items
TidyHQ
Agendas, minutes, action itemsBeacon CRM
✗ Not a focus areaDocument storage
TidyHQ
25 GBBeacon CRM
Limited per planApple Wallet + Google Wallet membership cards
TidyHQ
Pro plan, auto-updatingBeacon CRM
API access
TidyHQ
Beacon CRM
Standard plan and above*Approximate conversion: 1 AUD ≈ 0.65 USD ≈ 0.50 GBP. Actual rates may vary.
Key differences
TidyHQ is £924/year cheaper at 5,000 contacts. £3,060/year cheaper at 25,000.
Beacon's Starter at £402/year looks great until you cross 2,000 contacts or need a 4th committee user — both happen quickly. Standard jumps to £1,368/year. Premium to £3,504/year. TidyHQ Pro is £444/year flat regardless of how big your charity gets. Over five years at the Premium tier, that's a £15,300 difference — enough to fund a part-time fundraiser.
Your whole committee gets access, not just three trustees
Beacon's Starter caps at 3 full users. Most charity committees have a chair, secretary, treasurer, fundraising lead, safeguarding lead, and a handful of trustees — easily 6 to 10 people who genuinely need access. Standard jumps to 10 full users at £1,368/year. TidyHQ Pro has unlimited admin seats on every plan, including the free tier.
Board governance built in, not bolted on
Agendas, minutes with action items, declarations of conflict, and 25 GB of document storage for trustee minutes, charity commission filings, and governance records. Beacon has workflows and roles but isn't built around the committee's job. If your AGM is in three weeks, TidyHQ has the tools; Beacon has the contacts data.
Xero sync without going through a third party
TidyHQ syncs natively to Xero — invoices, payments, accounts coding, two-way. Beacon connects to accounting via Zapier or third-party services. For a charity treasurer reconciling at month-end, native sync removes a category of errors and a recurring cost.
What Beacon CRM does well
Beacon is genuinely built for UK charity fundraising and that focus shows. Native Gift Aid claim handling — eligibility, declarations, R68 submission to HMRC — is something TidyHQ doesn't offer. Case management for charities that deliver services to beneficiaries, not just members. Grantmaking workflows for foundations that distribute funding. A SQL data warehouse with direct query access for charities doing sophisticated donor analytics. No payment processing fees charged by Beacon (you still pay Stripe). Contact bases of 100,000+ supported natively on Premium and Ultimate. If your charity's real workload is fundraising operations rather than membership administration, Beacon is the right shape of product.
We think honest comparisons build more trust than pretending competitors don’t exist. Try both and see which one your committee actually uses.
Is TidyHQ right for you?
TidyHQ is the better choice if…
- You're under 2,000 contacts and need more than 3 committee seats (Beacon's Starter caps you out)
- You're between 2,000 and 50,000 contacts and don't want to pay 3× more for a tier you don't need
- You need native Xero integration, not a third-party connector
- Board governance — minutes, action items, AGM records — is part of the workload
- You're an Australian or New Zealand charity where Gift Aid doesn't apply
- You want Apple Wallet / Google Wallet membership cards on supporters' phones
- You want a permanent free tier for a small charity, not just a trial
Beacon CRM might be better if…
- •Your charity delivers casework to beneficiaries and needs case management as a first-class object
- •You're a grantmaking foundation — Beacon has dedicated grantmaking workflows
- •You have 100,000+ contacts and need a CRM built for that scale
- •Your fundraising team needs SQL data warehouse access for sophisticated donor analytics
- •You're already deep on Beacon and the migration cost outweighs the pricing differential
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about using Beacon CRM vs TidyHQ for membership organisations.
It depends on your size. At 500 contacts and 3 users, Beacon Starter is £402/year vs TidyHQ £444/year — Beacon is £42/year cheaper but caps at 3 committee seats. At 5,000 contacts, Beacon Standard is £1,368/year vs TidyHQ £444/year — TidyHQ saves you £924/year. At 25,000 contacts, Beacon Premium is £3,504/year vs TidyHQ £444/year — TidyHQ saves you £3,060/year. Over five years at the Premium tier, that's a £15,300 difference.
No. Gift Aid claims, eligibility tracking, declarations, and R68 submission to HMRC are not built into TidyHQ. If Gift Aid is core to how your UK charity raises money, Beacon CRM is built for that and it's the right choice. Many UK charities run Beacon for the Gift Aid and fundraising side and a separate tool for governance and memberships — TidyHQ can fill that second role at £444/year flat.
Yes, if Gift Aid isn't your core workflow. TidyHQ Pro is £444/year flat with unlimited members, unlimited committee seats, native Xero, governance tools, and a permanent free tier for charities under 20 contacts. Beacon's Starter at £402/year is close on price but limits you to 3 full users and 2,000 contacts. If your charity has more than 3 trustees who need access — almost every committee does — TidyHQ is the better starting point.
Beacon doesn't charge a fee on payments collected through Beacon forms — you still pay Stripe (around 1.4% + 20p in the UK). TidyHQ charges 1% + 20c plus Stripe. On £10,000 of annual donations, that's about £120 to TidyHQ vs £0 to Beacon. For charities with high payment volumes, factor this into the comparison alongside the subscription differential.
Beacon is strongest among UK charities running serious fundraising operations — animal rescues, NHS charities, museums, hospices, large community charities, and grantmaking foundations. They're London-based, UK-support-team, and their feature set (Gift Aid, case management, grantmaking, SQL warehouse) is aimed at that buyer. If you're an Australian or US charity, most of what Beacon does well (UK tax claims, HMRC integrations) doesn't apply.
Sources
Claims in this comparison are based on publicly available information. Verify current pricing and features directly with each provider.
- 1Beacon CRM official site— Product overview, target customers, feature list
- 2Beacon CRM pricing page— Starter / Standard / Premium / Ultimate tier pricing in GBP
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