The SmartSimple alternative for grantmakers who can't afford bottlenecks
Submittable is easier for everyone to use through every phase of the grant lifecycle, so your work flows like it should.
SmartSimple is overly complex
SmartSimple is an incredibly complex platform with a steep learning curve. Figuring out how to use it is a full-time job.
The complexity shows up for customers at every stage of the grant lifecycle:
- Grantmaking teams find the platform difficult to learn: “The learning curve can be steep and challenging.”1
- The steep learning curve makes it impossible to launch quickly. Teams should plan 4-8 months for implementation: “I was building for like five, six months.” 2
- SmartSimple’s endless options pitch teams into analysis paralysis: “We struggled to learn it all and all of the various uses of the system.” 3
Submittable is the powerful GMS everyone can use
With Submittable, you can move at your pace with all the answers you need at every step.
Get programs up and running quickly
Submittable’s drag-and-drop form builder makes it easy to build complex workflows—no coding required.
- Launch programs in weeks, not months.
- Give everyone on your team the access they need.
- Make changes to your program easily, even after it goes live.
Effortless budget tracking and post-award monitoring
Keep your budget and your partnerships on track with real-time budget dashboards and easy post-award monitoring.
- Stay on top of your budget from launch to closeout with funds tracking and distribution.
- Capture data and turn it into a compelling case with impact reporting.
- Set up automatic reminders for progress reports and other post-award monitoring.
Ironclad security is baked in
Submittable’s fraud prevention tools validate applicants’ identities without creating more work.
- Match documents to authoritative sources with identity verification.
- Use knowledge-based authentication to verify applicant identities.
- Automatic logs and easy-to-export data keep you audit-ready.
SmartSimple vs. Submittable: Capabilities
| Submittable | SmartSimple | |
|---|---|---|
| Drag and drop form builder | ✔ | |
| Real-time collaboration for applicants | ✔ | ✔ |
| Collect fees and payments | ✔ | ✔ |
| Eligibility screening | ✔ | ✔ |
| File uploads | ✔ | ✔ |
| Responsive forms with branching | ✔ | ✔ |
| Branded landing page | ✔ | ✔ |
| Charity check tool powered by Candid | ✔ | ✔ |
| Collection of third party references | ✔ | ✔ |
| Send additional forms | ✔ | ✔ |
| Draft submission reminders | ✔ | |
| Filters | ✔ | ✔ |
| Side-by-side review | ✔ | ✔ |
| Overall Capterra rating | 4.8/ 5 | 4.3/ 5 |
| Number of Capterra reviews | 398 | 31 |
SmartSimple's complexity limits your options
You spend so much time and effort learning to use SmartSimple that you feel stuck with it. And the only way to move forward is to pay for extra support.
Customers report:
- Limiting their hiring because they have to find SmartSimple experts who can code, rather than looking for the best person for the job: “You have to hire the SmartSimple internal experts.” 4
- Needing a full-time employee just to manage SmartSimple: “It required full-time staff to manage the product.” 5
- Getting hit with surprise costs because they needed more support than they expected: “It is challenging to build without support.” 6
SmartSimple is so difficult that one consultancy built a big part of its business on helping grantmakers figure out how to use it.7
Submittable is the flexible SmartSimple alternative
Here are a few more SmartSimple alternatives
Your teams should explore all your software options. Our competitor page walks you through similar grant management products.
Make sure that whatever partner you choose has experience running a program like yours.
Check out: