Best Scholarship Management Software in 2026
Updated
In short: Scholarship Commons is ranked #1 of 25 as of 5 October 2026, ahead of SmarterSelect and SurveyMonkey. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Awardmatic at $124.58/mo.
Managing scholarship programs involves collecting applications, assessing candidates and handling awards. Compare the applicant portal and form builder with reviewer scoring and workflow automation to see how each option addresses application and evaluation work. Grant workflows and award administration matter when considering what happens after submission and review. Free-plan availability and paid-from pricing add cost considerations. Scholarship Commons, SmarterSelect and SurveyMonkey are among the named options, as are GO SGO and Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT. Consider which stages your team needs to support, and use the listed features to compare how the tools may fit those processes.
25 scholarship management software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
Scholarship Management Software, ranked on how quickly a newcomer can get going. 2 of the 25 on this page can be tried for free.
- 1 Scholarship CommonsFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 2 SmarterSelectPaid from $166.67/mo
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: yes
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 3 SurveyMonkey
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 4 GO SGO
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 5 Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 6 CommunityForce
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 7 Ellucian Advising
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 8 Foundant CommunitySuite
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 9 SmartSimple Cloud for Scholarship Management
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 10 CATALYST
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 11 Optimy
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 12 Common Grant ApplicationPaid from $175/mo
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 13 Award ForcePaid from $270.83/mo
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 14 AwardmaticPaid from $124.58/mo
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 15 ClearPath Scholarship
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 16 Kaleidoscope
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 17 RQ PlatformPaid from $208.33/mo
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 18 Submit.comPaid from €499.58/mo
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 19 Submittable
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 20 Electronic Form Solutions
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 21 OpenWater
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 22 Reviewr
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 23 Scholarship Manager
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 24 AwardSpring
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 25 BrightAccess
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | Platform | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Applicant portal | Reviewer scoring |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scholarship Commons | 6.8 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Yes | Yes |
| 2 | SmarterSelect | 6.5 | No | $166.67/mo | No | — | Yes | — |
| 3 | SurveyMonkey | 6.5 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 4 | GO SGO | 6.3 | No | — | — | — | Yes | — |
| 5 | Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT | 6.2 | No | — | — | — | Yes | — |
| 6 | CommunityForce | 6.2 | No | — | — | — | Yes | — |
| 7 | Ellucian Advising | 6.2 | No | — | — | — | Yes | — |
| 8 | Foundant CommunitySuite | 6.2 | No | — | — | — | Yes | — |
| 9 | SmartSimple Cloud for Scholarship Management | 6.2 | No | — | — | — | Yes | Yes |
| 10 | CATALYST | 6.1 | No | — | — | — | Yes | — |
| 11 | Optimy | 6.1 | No | — | No | — | Yes | — |
| 12 | Common Grant Application | 6.0 | No | $175/mo | No | 175 /mo | Yes | Yes |
| 13 | Award Force | 5.9 | No | $270.83/mo | No | — | Yes | — |
| 14 | Awardmatic | 5.9 | No | $124.58/mo | — | — | Yes | Yes |
| 15 | ClearPath Scholarship | 5.9 | No | — | No | — | Yes | Yes |
| 16 | Kaleidoscope | 5.9 | No | — | — | — | Yes | — |
| 17 | RQ Platform | 5.9 | No | $208.33/mo | No | — | Yes | — |
| 18 | Submit.com | 5.9 | No | €499.58/mo | No | — | Yes | — |
| 19 | Submittable | 5.9 | No | — | No | — | Yes | — |
| 20 | Electronic Form Solutions | 5.6 | No | — | — | — | Yes | — |
| 21 | OpenWater | 5.6 | No | — | — | — | Yes | — |
| 22 | Reviewr | 5.5 | No | — | — | — | Yes | — |
| 23 | Scholarship Manager | 5.5 | No | — | — | — | Yes | — |
| 24 | AwardSpring | 5.4 | No | — | — | — | Yes | — |
| 25 | BrightAccess | 5.0 | No | — | — | — | — | — |
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored, and a sponsored row is labelled as paid.
Questions about this list
Which scholarship management software is ranked first on The Geeks Club?
Scholarship Commons is ranked #1 of 25 with a score of 6.8. SmarterSelect is second and SurveyMonkey third.
How many of these have a free plan?
1 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Awardmatic has the lowest first paid tier we found: $124.58/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on how quickly a newcomer can get going: documentation depth, a free tier or trial, and the platforms it runs on.