Last updated: May 2026
What Is Aplos?
Aplos is the accounting and donor management platform built for nonprofits and churches. Founded in 2009, Aplos serves over 40,000 organizations with fund accounting, donation tracking, grant reporting, online giving, and Form 990 preparation. The product was designed by people who worked in nonprofits, which shows in how its workflows match how nonprofit teams actually think about money.
The pitch is purpose-built for nonprofits. QuickBooks and Xero work for general accounting but treat funds as memo fields rather than true accounting dimensions. Nonprofits need fund accounting where every dollar ties to a specific fund (Operating, Building, Missions, Restricted Grants), with reports that automatically separate restricted from unrestricted assets and show how each fund is performing.
Try Aplos FreeHow Aplos Works
Set up your chart of accounts with funds, programs, and revenue/expense categories. Connect bank accounts and payment processors. Transactions flow in automatically and post to the appropriate fund based on categorization rules you configure.
Donor management runs alongside accounting. Each donor record tracks giving history, contact info, communication preferences, and engagement notes. When a donation comes in (online giving page, mailed check, in-person event), Aplos records both the bank deposit and the donor credit so reports stay accurate.
Form 990 reporting compiles automatically from your accounting data. Nonprofits filing the annual IRS Form 990 (or 990-EZ, 990-N) traditionally spend weeks reconciling QuickBooks data to 990 categories. Aplos's chart of accounts maps directly to 990 lines, reducing year-end work dramatically.
Online giving handles recurring donations, one-time gifts, event registrations, and donation pages embedded on your website. Customizable forms match your branding. Tax receipts generate automatically.
Grant tracking ties restricted grant revenue to specific programs and tracks spending against grant budgets. Reports show grant compliance status throughout the grant period rather than only at year-end.
Aplos Pricing in 2026
Lite: $49/month annually. Basic fund accounting, online giving, donor management.
Core: $99/month annually. Adds advanced donor CRM, recurring giving, event registration.
Advanced: $159/month annually. Adds custom reporting, multi-user permissions, payroll.
Enterprise: Custom pricing for larger nonprofits with multi-entity needs.
Compared to QuickBooks Nonprofit Edition (around $80/month) plus a separate donor CRM (Bloomerang at $99+, DonorPerfect at $99+), Aplos at $99-$159 covers both functions in one platform.
See Aplos PlansWhere Aplos Wins
- Fund accounting native: not bolted onto for-profit software.
- Form 990 automation: chart of accounts maps to 990 lines.
- Donor management bundled: no separate CRM needed.
- Online giving integrated: donations flow to accounting automatically.
- Affordable for small nonprofits: cheaper than enterprise nonprofit ERP.
Where It Falls Short
- Limited general accounting depth: less powerful than QuickBooks for complex businesses.
- UI is functional, not modern: works well but visually older than newer competitors.
- Integration ecosystem is smaller: fewer third-party connectors than QuickBooks.
- Multi-entity handling on Enterprise only: multi-location church networks need top tier.
Aplos vs QuickBooks Nonprofit vs Sage Intacct vs Realm
QuickBooks Nonprofit is general accounting with class tracking. Cheaper but less fund-native.
Sage Intacct is the enterprise nonprofit option with deep multi-entity support. More expensive.
Realm targets churches specifically with strong ministry-focused features.
Aplos covers churches plus general nonprofits; pick Realm if church-only.
Who Should Use Aplos
Small to mid-size nonprofits: fund accounting plus donor management.
Churches and faith-based organizations: built for this use case.
Nonprofits filing Form 990 themselves: 990 automation saves weeks of year-end work.
Skip it if: you are a very large enterprise nonprofit (use Sage Intacct), or your org is small enough for QuickBooks plus a donor CRM.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Aplos handle payroll?
Yes on Advanced tier.
Are donation receipts automated?
Yes. Year-end statements and individual receipts generated automatically.
Can it track restricted grants?
Yes. Grant tracking ties revenue to programs with budget vs actual reporting.
Is online giving included?
Yes on all tiers.
Does it integrate with church management systems?
Yes for major systems including Planning Center.
