Best Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Software for UK Charities in 2026

Funders want evidence. Trustees want assurance. Beneficiaries deserve services that actually work. Yet most UK charities still cobble together spreadsheets, Word documents, and manual processes to track whether their programmes are making a difference. Dedicated monitoring and evaluation software changes that — but the landscape is crowded and confusing.

This guide compares the best M&E software available to UK charities in 2026, explains the frameworks you need to understand, and helps you choose a tool that fits your organisation's size, sector, and reporting needs.

TL;DR: The best M&E software for your charity depends on what you need most. Plinth combines case management, surveys, outcome tracking, and AI-powered impact reporting in a single platform — so your M&E data lives alongside your day-to-day work. Makerble is purpose-built for impact measurement. Upshot suits youth and sport sector organisations. Outcomes Star is a framework-specific tool best used alongside a broader CRM. Lamplight and Charitylog offer outcomes tracking within their CRM systems. For social value calculations specifically, Social Value Engine is the accredited UK option.

What you'll learn: What M&E software does, which frameworks it supports, how the main platforms compare, and what to prioritise when choosing one.

Who this is for: Charity managers, programme leads, M&E officers, and operations teams who need to track outcomes, report to funders, and improve services using data.

What Is M&E Software?

Definition: Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) software is a digital tool that helps organisations systematically collect data about their activities (monitoring), analyse whether those activities are achieving intended outcomes (evaluation), and report findings to funders, boards, and stakeholders. In the charity context, M&E software typically covers data collection, outcomes frameworks, indicator tracking, dashboards, and report generation.

Monitoring is the ongoing, routine tracking of programme activities — how many sessions were delivered, who attended, what services were provided. Evaluation is the periodic assessment of whether those activities led to meaningful change — did wellbeing improve, did people move into employment, did isolation reduce.

Good M&E software handles both. It captures data at the point of service delivery, structures it against your chosen framework, and makes it possible to analyse and report on outcomes without manual data wrangling.

According to the Charity Digital Skills Report 2025, only 36% of charities feel confident in their ability to measure and communicate impact effectively — despite 89% of funders now requiring some form of outcomes reporting.

Why Charities Need Dedicated M&E Tools

Funder requirements are increasing

The days of reporting simple output numbers — "we ran 50 workshops" — are over. Funders including the National Lottery Community Fund, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, and local authority commissioners increasingly require charities to demonstrate outcomes against defined frameworks. Esmee Fairbairn, for example, asks grant holders to report against specific outcomes and indicators aligned to their programme theory.

Without software that links activities to outcomes, meeting these requirements means weeks of manual data compilation each reporting period.

Proving impact builds sustainability

Charities that can clearly demonstrate their impact are better positioned to secure funding, attract supporters, and justify their existence to regulators. The Charity Commission's annual report for 2024-25 highlighted that growing demand on the sector — combined with a decline in donation levels to the lowest point since CAF began tracking in 2016 — means charities must do more with less, and prove they are doing so.

A Grant Thornton survey in late 2024 found that 80% of UK charities were actively exploring cost-cutting measures, including staff reductions. In this environment, the ability to evidence impact is not optional — it is existential.

Improving services requires data

M&E is not just about satisfying external stakeholders. It is about knowing what works. If your mentoring programme shows strong outcomes for one demographic but weaker results for another, you need that data to adapt your approach. Real-time outcome tracking lets programme managers make adjustments during delivery, not just after a programme ends.

Key Features to Look for in M&E Software

Theory of Change and Logic Model Support

Your M&E framework should be built into the software, not bolted on as an afterthought. Look for tools that let you define your Theory of Change — the causal pathway from inputs and activities through outputs to outcomes and impact — and then track progress against each stage.

A logic model dashboard that shows how your activities connect to your intended outcomes is fundamental. Without it, you are collecting data in a vacuum.

Outcomes Frameworks and Indicators

The software should support the specific outcome measures your organisation uses. Common frameworks in the UK charity sector include:

• Outcomes Star (by Triangle Consulting) — used by over 1,000 organisations globally, including 500+ charities and 170 local authorities, with an estimated six million Stars completed to date
• WEMWBS (Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale) — widely used in health and wellbeing programmes
• PHQ-9 and GAD-7 — standard measures for depression and anxiety
• Core 10 — brief psychological distress measure
• Likert scales — custom satisfaction and confidence measures
• Social Value metrics — aligned to the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012

Your software should let you configure these measures, collect them at multiple time points, and calculate change scores automatically.

Data Collection Tools

Robust data collection is the foundation of M&E. Look for built-in survey tools, registration forms, attendance tracking, and the ability to collect data from beneficiaries directly (not just staff). Mobile-friendly data entry is essential for outreach workers and community-based programmes.

Analysis and Dashboards

Raw data is useless without analysis. Your M&E tool should offer dashboards showing outcome trends, demographic breakdowns, comparison between programmes, and progress against targets. The ability to filter by time period, service, location, or beneficiary group is critical.

Research from NPC (New Philanthropy Capital) notes that charities often struggle with M&E not because they lack data, but because they lack the tools and capacity to analyse it meaningfully — describing a "perfectionist" culture around measurement that becomes "off-putting" when charities cannot achieve academic-grade evidence.

Reporting for Funders

Every funder wants reports in a slightly different format. Good M&E software lets you generate reports that match specific funder requirements — pulling the right indicators, demographics, and narrative evidence without starting from scratch each time. Automated or AI-assisted reporting can reduce what was previously a weeks-long process to hours.

Common M&E Frameworks Used by UK Charities

Understanding the main frameworks helps you choose software that supports your approach.

Theory of Change (ToC): Maps the causal pathway from activities to long-term impact. Used by most major UK funders as a planning and evaluation tool. Your software should let you define ToC stages and track progress through them.

Logic Models: A simplified version of Theory of Change showing inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes, and impact in a linear flow. Widely used by the National Lottery Community Fund and local authority commissioners.

Outcomes Star: Developed by Triangle Consulting, this is both a framework and a measurement tool. The star-shaped visual covers multiple life domains (e.g. housing, health, relationships) with a ladder of change for each. Around 1,000 organisations are licensed to use it, and Triangle offers its own Star Online software — though many charities prefer to integrate it with their existing CRM.

Social Value / SROI: The Social Return on Investment framework assigns monetary values to social outcomes using financial proxies. The Social Value Engine, the UK's only accredited SROI platform, offers a suite of over 300 peer-reviewed financial proxies for this purpose.

Big Society Capital Outcomes Matrix: A free tool covering nine outcome areas and fifteen beneficiary groups. Useful for planning which outcomes to track, though you will need separate software to actually collect and analyse the data.

Comparison of M&E Platforms for UK Charities

Plinth

Plinth is a UK-built platform that combines case management with monitoring, evaluation, and AI-powered reporting. Rather than separating your M&E data into a standalone tool, Plinth integrates outcome tracking into daily casework — so data is captured as part of service delivery, not as a separate admin task.

Key M&E capabilities include:

• Theory of Change tracking built into case management — define outcome stages, track individual and cohort progress, and view heatmaps showing where change is happening. Case Management
• Surveys for structured data collection, supporting pre/post measures, Likert scales, WEMWBS, PHQ-9, and custom questionnaires. Surveys
• Impact Reporting with Agent Pippin — an AI agent that analyses programme data and generates narrative reports, pulling together outcomes, demographics, case studies, and trend analysis automatically. Impact Reporting
• Monitoring and Reporting for funders — live dashboards tracking KPIs, activities, outcomes, demographics, and qualitative case studies in real time. Monitoring & Reporting
• AI Case Notes that capture qualitative data automatically during client interactions, feeding into your M&E dataset without additional admin. AI Case Notes

The core advantage is that all data lives in one place. There is no exporting between a CRM and a separate M&E tool, no re-entering data, and no reconciliation between systems. For charities where caseworkers or programme staff are the ones collecting M&E data, this integration is significant.

Makerble

Makerble is a purpose-built impact measurement platform used by charities, social enterprises, and funders across the UK. It offers real-time impact dashboards, a built-in CRM, survey tools, and a financial value calculator for Social Return on Investment — all without needing a third-party subscription.

Makerble's strengths include geographic impact mapping (heatmaps and location pins), flexible data collection tools, and the ability to manage collective impact programmes across multiple partner organisations. Pricing starts with a free tier; paid plans begin at approximately £4.95 per app per user per month, with onboarding packages from £500.

Makerble is a strong choice for organisations whose primary need is impact measurement and reporting, particularly those involved in place-based or collective impact work. However, it is less suited as a day-to-day case management or service delivery tool.

Upshot

Originally developed inside the Football Foundation in 2012, Upshot became an independent social enterprise (Upshot Systems CIC) in 2021. It is now used by over 1,400 organisations across nearly 60 local authorities.

Upshot is particularly strong in the youth, sport, and community activity sectors. Features include attendance registers, demographic tracking, survey tools for soft skills assessment, participant timelines, and funder reporting templates. It is well suited for organisations running youth clubs, holiday programmes, mentoring schemes, or outreach work who need to report against local authority or Lottery Fund requirements.

Upshot's growth reflects the broader trend of sector-specific M&E tools: organisations increasingly want software that understands their particular reporting frameworks rather than generic project management tools.

Outcomes Star Online

Outcomes Star is a widely recognised outcomes framework, and Triangle Consulting — the employee-owned social enterprise behind it — offers its own digital platform, Star Online. With over 1,000 organisations licensed to use the Star and an estimated six million Stars completed, it has significant sector penetration.

Star Online is the definitive tool if your organisation uses the Outcomes Star framework. However, it is specifically designed for that framework and does not function as a general-purpose M&E platform. Triangle is currently piloting API integrations so Star Online can sit alongside other CRM and case management systems, which would address the common complaint of data living in two places.

If you use Outcomes Star but need broader M&E functionality, consider a platform like Plinth or Lamplight that supports Star measures natively alongside other frameworks.

Lamplight

Lamplight is a well-established UK charity CRM that includes outcomes tracking as part of its core system. It supports a range of validated measures including WEMWBS, Outcomes Star, Core 10, PHQ-9, and GAD-7, alongside custom outcome measures.

Reporting features include built-in graphics for comparing starting and ending outcome scores, scatter plots, and easy Excel exports. Lamplight's strength is its configurability — administrators can adjust fields, reports, and terminology without paying the supplier, which keeps ongoing costs down.

Lamplight is a solid option for small to mid-sized charities that need both a CRM and outcomes tracking in one system, though it lacks the AI-powered reporting and Theory of Change features found in newer platforms.

Social Value Engine

The Social Value Engine (SVE) is the UK's only accredited platform for calculating Social Return on Investment, developed jointly by Rose Regeneration and East Riding of Yorkshire Council. It uses a suite of over 300 peer-reviewed financial proxies to assign monetary values to social outcomes.

SVE is a specialist tool. It does not handle day-to-day data collection or case management — it calculates the financial value of outcomes you have already measured. This makes it a complementary tool rather than a standalone M&E solution. It is particularly useful for organisations responding to the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 or preparing social value statements for commissioners.

Charitylog

Charitylog is one of the longest-running UK charity CRM systems, offering outcomes tracking, reporting, and case management with unlimited user licences on its standard plan. It stores all data in the UK and includes an in-house helpdesk.

Its M&E features are functional but basic compared to dedicated impact platforms. Charitylog is best suited for advice services and community organisations that need a reliable CRM with straightforward outcomes reporting, rather than advanced evaluation capabilities.

How to Choose the Right M&E Software

Start with your framework

Before evaluating software, clarify what M&E framework your organisation uses (or your funders require). If you are mandated to use Outcomes Star, you need a platform that supports it. If your funders require Theory of Change reporting, you need logic model functionality. If you need SROI figures for commissioning bids, Social Value Engine may be essential.

Consider where data is created

The biggest barrier to good M&E is not analysis — it is data collection. If your frontline staff are the ones collecting outcome data, the M&E tool needs to be part of their daily workflow, not a separate system they log into once a month. Platforms that integrate M&E with case management (like Plinth or Lamplight) tend to have better data completeness than standalone M&E tools.

The NCVO Road Ahead 2025 report noted that 56% of VCSE organisations describe themselves as "stable" but concerned about future pressures, while 31% are "vulnerable" or "struggling" — reinforcing the need for tools that minimise admin burden rather than adding to it.

Evaluate reporting capabilities

Ask each vendor to show you a sample funder report generated from the system. If the report requires significant manual editing or assembly, the tool is not saving you as much time as it claims. AI-assisted reporting — where the system generates narrative text from your data — is a genuine differentiator in 2026.

Check integration options

If you already have a CRM, donor database, or referral system, your M&E tool needs to work alongside it. Check for API access, CSV import/export, and native integrations with tools you already use. Avoid creating another data silo.

Budget realistically

M&E software pricing varies enormously. Some platforms offer free tiers (Makerble), others charge per user per month, and enterprise options (Salesforce with impact modules) can exceed £50,000 annually. Factor in onboarding costs, training time, and the ongoing staff time needed to maintain the system — not just the licence fee.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between monitoring and evaluation?

Monitoring is the routine, ongoing collection of data about programme activities — attendance, outputs, service delivery. Evaluation is the periodic assessment of whether those activities achieved their intended outcomes. M&E software handles both: it captures monitoring data continuously and supports evaluation through outcome measurement and analysis tools.

Can we use spreadsheets instead of M&E software?

You can, and many small charities do. But spreadsheets become unsustainable as programmes grow. They are prone to version control issues, cannot generate real-time dashboards, make it difficult to link individual-level data to aggregate outcomes, and require significant manual effort for funder reports. If you have more than one programme or more than a handful of staff collecting data, dedicated software will save time and improve data quality.

How much does M&E software cost for a small charity?

Costs range from free (Makerble's basic tier) to several hundred pounds per month. Most platforms aimed at UK charities price between £100 and £500 per month for small organisations. Some, like Lamplight and Charitylog, offer inclusive pricing with unlimited users. Always factor in onboarding and training costs, which can add £500-£2,000 or more.

Do we need a separate M&E tool if our CRM already tracks outcomes?

It depends on how sophisticated your M&E needs are. If your CRM (e.g. Charitylog, Lamplight, or Plinth) already supports the outcome measures you use and generates the reports your funders need, a separate tool may be unnecessary. If you need advanced features like social value calculation, collective impact dashboards, or framework-specific tools like Outcomes Star, a complementary specialist tool may be worthwhile.

What M&E frameworks do UK funders expect?

This varies by funder. The National Lottery Community Fund typically asks for Logic Model-based reporting. Many trusts and foundations require a Theory of Change. Local authority commissioners often expect outcomes aligned to Public Health or Social Value frameworks. Some funders specify Outcomes Star for particular programme types. Always check your funder's requirements before choosing your framework and software.

Can AI help with monitoring and evaluation?

Yes. AI is increasingly used to automate the most time-consuming parts of M&E: generating narrative reports from quantitative data, identifying outcome trends, summarising qualitative feedback from case notes, and flagging programmes that are underperforming against targets. Plinth's AI agent, Pippin, is one example of this — it can generate funder-ready impact reports directly from programme data without manual assembly.

Recommended Next Pages

• Impact Reporting — How Plinth's AI generates impact reports from programme data
• Surveys — Pre/post outcome measures, WEMWBS, PHQ-9, Likert scales, and custom questionnaires
• Case Management — Theory of Change tracking, outcome stages, and heatmaps
• Monitoring & Reporting — Live KPI dashboards and funder reporting
• AI Case Notes — Automatic qualitative data capture during client interactions
• Complete Guide to Case Management Software for Charities — Broader comparison of charity CRM and case management tools
• AI-Powered CRM for Charities — How AI is transforming charity software in 2026

Last updated: February 2026 Need better impact measurement? Book a demo or contact our team.