Best SmartyGrants Alternatives for Grantmakers 2026

SmartyGrants is the dominant grant management platform in Australia and New Zealand, used by more than 830 funders across the region — including government agencies, foundations, local councils, and public sector bodies. The platform has administered more than $50 billion in grants and holds ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification for information security management. It was built specifically for grantmakers — not adapted from a CRM or project management tool — and has deep roots in public sector grant programmes. Its acquittal workflow (the Australian term for final grant reporting and accountability) is particularly mature, reflecting the platform's long relationship with government funding bodies that require structured post-grant accountability processes.

Outside Australia and New Zealand, SmartyGrants has limited adoption, though some UK local authorities have used it for straightforward community grant programmes. For UK funders evaluating it, the core question is whether a platform optimised for Australian regulatory and administrative context will translate cleanly to the UK environment — and the honest answer is that it requires careful consideration. Terminology differs, compliance assumptions differ, and there is no built-in Charity Commission, Companies House, or OFSI functionality.

What does SmartyGrants do?

SmartyGrants covers the core grant management workflow with particular depth in application intake and acquittal. The platform's main capabilities include:

• Online application forms: Flexible form builder allowing funders to create structured application forms with eligibility questions, conditional logic, and document upload. Applicants access a portal to complete and submit applications.
• Eligibility checks: Built-in eligibility screening that filters applications before they reach the full assessment stage.
• Assessment panels: Panel management tools allowing multiple assessors to score and comment on applications. Panel workflows support both individual and moderated assessment processes.
• Grant agreements: Digital grant agreements that can be generated and managed through the platform following award decisions.
• Acquittal management: SmartyGrants' strongest and most distinctive feature. The acquittal workflow manages the final reporting and accountability stage of grants, allowing grantees to submit structured completion reports and funders to assess whether grant conditions have been met. This is particularly mature, reflecting the platform's public sector heritage.
• Reporting and analytics: SmartyGrants brands its analytics capability as "grants management intelligence." Dashboard reporting and data exports allow funders to analyse their grant portfolios. The analytics layer has been a focus of investment in recent years.

What SmartyGrants does not include as standard: AI-assisted assessment, automated due diligence against UK regulatory databases, AI-generated impact reports, built-in Charity Commission checks, Companies House verification, or OFSI sanctions screening.

Who built SmartyGrants and when?

SmartyGrants was founded in Australia and developed in close partnership with government grant programmes. Its growth has been driven by adoption across Australian state and local government, where consistent, auditable grant administration processes are a regulatory requirement. This public sector focus has shaped the platform's design: it prioritises structured accountability, formal process management, and the kind of documentation trails that government audit requirements demand.

The platform's maturity in the acquittal workflow is a direct product of this history. Australian government grant programmes typically require formal acquittal reports — structured accountability documents that demonstrate funds were spent as intended and outcomes were achieved. SmartyGrants has refined this workflow over many iterations in real government contexts, which is why it performs well on this specific capability.

How does SmartyGrants compare with alternatives for public sector funders?

For Australian and New Zealand public sector funders, SmartyGrants has a substantial advantage over both Foundant GLM and Plinth: it is purpose-built for their regulatory and administrative context, has a large established user community in the region, and its acquittal workflow is genuinely mature.

For UK public sector funders — local authorities, central government departments, arm's-length bodies — the comparison shifts. Plinth offers built-in UK compliance checks and AI-assisted assessment in a platform designed for the UK regulatory environment, which SmartyGrants does not provide.

What is the pricing model?

SmartyGrants uses a subscription model with pricing tied to the volume of grants managed. Pricing is denominated in Australian dollars, which creates some currency consideration for UK users. It is generally positioned as mid-market — more accessible than enterprise platforms like Fluxx or SmartSimple, but not a free or entry-level option.

Because pricing scales with grant volume, SmartyGrants can be cost-effective for organisations running a defined number of grant rounds per year, but costs increase as programmes grow. The subscription model makes annual budgeting relatively predictable once the right tier is established.

Implementation is typically 1–2 months, which is faster than most enterprise alternatives and reflects the platform's relatively opinionated structure — less configuration is required because the core workflows are well-defined. This is an advantage for organisations that want to be operational quickly without extensive setup.

What are the main limitations for UK funders?

Australian compliance context. SmartyGrants was built for the Australian regulatory environment. Terminology, workflow structures, and compliance assumptions reflect Australian practice. UK funders will encounter concepts and processes calibrated for Australian government grant requirements, which do not map directly to the UK context. The acquittal terminology itself is not standard UK usage — UK funders typically refer to monitoring reports, completion reports, or final reports.

No built-in UK compliance checks. There is no Charity Commission registration verification, no Companies House data integration, and no OFSI sanctions screening. For UK funders who need these checks as part of their due diligence process, they must be run separately and manually. This is a meaningful gap as the sector moves towards automated due diligence as a standard expectation.

Interface is functional, not modern. User feedback consistently describes the interface as serviceable but not contemporary. Compared with newer platforms designed with modern UX standards, SmartyGrants can feel dated. This is not necessarily a barrier for experienced users, but it affects onboarding time and the experience for occasional users such as external reviewers and grantees.

Limited AI capability. SmartyGrants has not developed AI-assisted assessment, automated risk scoring, or AI-generated impact reports. For funders exploring how AI can reduce assessment overhead and improve due diligence, the platform's current capabilities are modest.

Currency and support time zones. For UK organisations, pricing in Australian dollars and support based in Australian time zones can create practical friction, particularly for urgent technical issues.

Is SmartyGrants used in the UK?

Some UK local authorities have adopted SmartyGrants for community grant programmes, principally because it offers straightforward, structured application management and a credible public sector reference list. Where the grant programme is relatively straightforward — a single application form, panel assessment, and basic reporting — SmartyGrants can serve the need adequately.

Where UK funders have more complex requirements — Charity Commission verification as part of applicant eligibility checking, OFSI sanctions screening, AI-assisted application assessment, or detailed impact reporting — the platform's limitations become more significant. The grant management for public sector funders context in the UK increasingly requires built-in compliance automation that SmartyGrants does not provide.

For UK local authorities and public sector bodies that are evaluating grant management software, it is worth specifically assessing which compliance checks need to be automated within the platform versus handled through separate processes, and whether the Australian-calibrated workflows will need adaptation for UK contexts.

Where SmartyGrants performs best

SmartyGrants is at its strongest in the specific context it was designed for: Australian and New Zealand government grant programmes with formal acquittal requirements, structured assessment panels, and audit-grade process documentation. In that context, it is a mature, proven platform with a large user community and deep institutional knowledge built up over many grant cycles.

For foundations and funders in that geography, SmartyGrants is a credible first-choice option. The platform's public sector credibility — demonstrated by its adoption across state and local government — provides confidence for organisations where accountability and process standards are paramount.

For funders outside that context, the recommendation changes significantly. UK funders wanting a platform purpose-built for their regulatory environment, with AI-assisted assessment and built-in UK compliance checks, are better served by evaluating alternatives. Plinth covers the UK public sector and foundation market with Charity Commission, Companies House, and OFSI checks built in, and offers AI features in production rather than as roadmap aspirations.

Frequently asked questions

What is SmartyGrants used for?

SmartyGrants is a grant management platform used primarily by Australian and New Zealand grantmakers — government agencies, councils, foundations, and public bodies — to manage the full grant lifecycle: online applications, eligibility checking, panel assessment, grant agreements, and acquittal (final accountability) reporting. It is particularly mature in its acquittal workflow.

Is SmartyGrants available in the UK?

Yes, it can be accessed and used by UK organisations, and some UK local authorities use it. However, the platform is optimised for Australian compliance and reporting contexts. UK funders will find some terminology and workflows assume an Australian regulatory environment, and there are no built-in Charity Commission, Companies House, or OFSI compliance checks.

What is an acquittal in grant management?

An acquittal is the Australian term for the final accountability report that grantees submit at the end of a grant period, demonstrating how funds were spent and what outcomes were achieved. The concept is equivalent to what UK funders typically call a final report, completion report, or monitoring report. SmartyGrants' acquittal workflow is one of its strongest features.

How does SmartyGrants pricing work?

SmartyGrants uses a subscription model with pricing tied to the volume of grants managed, denominated in Australian dollars. It is generally considered mid-market. Funders should request a quote based on their anticipated annual grant volume to understand the cost for their specific programme size.

What are the best SmartyGrants alternatives for UK funders?

For UK public sector funders and foundations: Plinth is purpose-built for the UK context with Charity Commission, Companies House, and OFSI checks built in, AI-assisted assessment in production, and a free tier. Foundant GLM is a widely respected mid-market option globally. For larger or more complex UK programmes: Fluxx and SmartSimple offer enterprise depth. For fast deployment: Submittable is operational within weeks.

Does SmartyGrants have AI features?

SmartyGrants' current AI capabilities are limited. The platform has invested in its analytics and reporting ("grants management intelligence") but does not offer AI-assisted application assessment, automated due diligence risk scoring, or AI-generated impact reports. For funders where those capabilities are priorities, other platforms are more developed.

How long does it take to implement SmartyGrants?

Typical implementation is 1–2 months, which is relatively fast by enterprise grant management standards. The platform's opinionated structure means less custom configuration is needed than with more flexible platforms like SmartSimple or Fluxx. UK funders should allow additional time for adjusting workflows and terminology to the UK context.

Recommended next pages

• Grant Management Systems Compared — A side-by-side review of 16 grant management platforms including SmartyGrants, Foundant GLM, Fluxx, and Plinth.

• Grant Management for Public Sector Funders — What local authorities, central government, and public bodies need from a grant management platform.

• How to Automate Due Diligence in Grantmaking — Why built-in compliance automation matters and how to evaluate it when choosing a platform.

• What Is a Grant Agreement? — The role of digital grant agreements in modern grant management and what good process looks like.

• AI for Funders: The Future of Grantmaking — How AI is changing application assessment, monitoring, and impact reporting for grant-makers.

Last updated: February 2026