VolunteerFlow vs VolunteerLocal

Quick overview

Two products that overlap a lot

VolunteerFlow

Volunteer management with modules for the work around it

Volunteer records, applications, events and shifts, check-in, hours, email and a volunteer app, with modules for animals, donations, inventory and training. Three plans billed monthly or yearly, with unlimited volunteers and events.

VolunteerLocal

Volunteer registration and scheduling for programs and events

VolunteerLocal serves both ongoing programs, such as food banks and animal services, and one-time events, such as races and festivals. It is sold as a yearly plan or per event, with passwordless volunteer signup, check-in, hours, email and text messaging, and unlimited volunteers and events on every plan.

Key differences in approach

Where they start from different places

How you pay

VolunteerFlow: A monthly or yearly plan that covers every event and program you run.

VolunteerLocal: A yearly plan for ongoing programs, or a one-time fee per event.

How volunteers get in

VolunteerFlow: Volunteers create an account and sign in to a web portal and a volunteer app with an emailed code or a password.

VolunteerLocal: Volunteers sign up with their name and email, with no password, and manage shifts through emailed links or the app.

Texting

VolunteerFlow: Email, text messages and app push notifications, with 10,000, 50,000 or 100,000 texts a year on Launch, Flow and Impact.

VolunteerLocal: Email and text messages, with a yearly text allowance on every plan.

Scope

VolunteerFlow: Volunteer management plus modules for animals, donations, inventory, surveys and programs.

VolunteerLocal: Volunteer registration, scheduling, check-in and communication, with CRM integrations, payments and background screens.

Side by side

Feature and pricing comparison

VolunteerFlow plans are Launch, Flow and Impact; VolunteerLocal plans are Discover, Grow and Enterprise. Where a feature is not on every plan, the row says which.

VolunteerLocal information from volunteerlocal.com and its support center, checked September 30, 2026. “We did not find” means it is not in their public documentation, not that it cannot be done.
Capability	VolunteerFlow	VolunteerLocal
Pricing and plans
How the price is set	Three plans (Launch, Flow and Impact) at a fixed price, billed monthly or yearly, plus optional add-ons and extra admin seats.	Three plans (Discover, Grow and Enterprise), each sold two ways: a yearly subscription for ongoing programs, or a flat fee for a single event.
Published prices	$100, $300 or $600 a month, or $1,000, $3,000 or $6,000 a year.	Yearly: $600 (Discover) or $2,400 (Grow); Enterprise is quoted. Single event: $200, $800 or $3,000.
Volunteers and events	Unlimited volunteers and events on every plan.	Unlimited volunteer records, events, jobs and shifts on every plan.
Admin users	5, 15 or 50 by plan. More in packs of 5 for $15 a month on Launch and Flow.	2, 10 or 50 by plan. More can be bought; the price is not published.
Billing	Monthly, or a year paid up front at the price of 10 months.	A yearly invoice, or a one-time fee per event. We did not find a monthly option.
Add-ons	Optional monthly add-ons, for example waivers ($19), certification tracking ($19) or a file library ($12).	On Discover: branded design ($200) and group registration, applicant vetting or hours tracking ($200 a year or $100 per event each). Import and the file library are Grow and Enterprise only.
Free trial	30 days, no credit card.	14 days, no credit card.
Volunteers and registration
Volunteer records	One ongoing record per volunteer, with custom fields, notes, documents and event history, on every plan.	Completing an organization’s application adds a volunteer to a database that is reused across events. Events can also collect their own questions.
How volunteers sign in	Volunteers can sign in to the web portal and the app with a 6-digit code emailed to them, no password needed, or with a password if they prefer.	No password: volunteers use their name and email, and reach their profile through emailed links. The app signs in with an emailed code.
Application forms	Online application forms with your own questions on every plan.	Custom registration forms with required, hidden and conditional questions, and file uploads.
Reviewing applicants	Review stages, notes and ratings on Flow and Impact, or a $19 add-on.	Status and qualification values that control which events and jobs a volunteer can join, on Grow and Enterprise or as a Discover add-on.
Scheduling and events
Events and shifts	Events with shifts, spot limits and volunteer self sign-up on every plan. An event can be posted with its date to be announced, so volunteers register interest. Automatic schedule building on Flow and Impact.	Events or programs, jobs and shifts, with spot limits. Shifts can have a date and time, a date only, no date (to gather interest), or be self-reported.
Repeating schedules	Recurring events and event series on every plan.	Recurring shifts: every week, every other week, monthly, or a set weekday of the month.
Signup rules	Minimum age, required training, and minimum and maximum shifts per volunteer on every plan. Required waivers on Flow and Impact or with the $19 add-on. Required certifications block signup on Impact.	Minimum and maximum shifts per volunteer and overlap rules. Password-protected jobs, age limits and qualification rules need Grow or Enterprise, or a Discover add-on.
Waitlists	Full shifts take a waitlist, and the next volunteer is moved in when a spot opens, on every plan.	A no-date shift type can be used to gather a waitlist. We did not find an automatic waitlist in their public help.
Cancelling	Volunteers cancel in the portal or app. Admins set how close to the shift a cancel counts as late, and can block late cancels so volunteers must contact them instead. Each record keeps a cancellation history, including late cancellations.	Volunteers cancel from their profile or the app; admins can switch this off or limit how close to the shift it is allowed. A cancelled-volunteers report lists cancellations and exports to CSV.
Groups
Group signup	A group leader can reserve several spots on an event on every plan. Saved volunteer groups in People are on Flow and Impact.	Three setups: a lead volunteer adding extra people to a shift, password-protected jobs, and shift reservations held for a named group with its own link. Grow and Enterprise, or a Discover add-on.
Hours and attendance
Check-in	A kiosk check-in station and QR codes on every plan. The volunteer app can also run as a check-in station.	Five ways: self check-in on the web or app, a volunteer-scanned QR code, a QR code scanned by staff, a browser kiosk, and an admin check-in screen. Grow and Enterprise, or a Discover add-on.
Hours	Kiosk check-out records hours, staff can log hours, and volunteers can submit their own hours in the portal or app for staff approval, on every plan. Hours reports and the grant report are on Flow and Impact.	Hours and attendance tracking on Grow and Enterprise, or a Discover add-on. Volunteers can report their own hours, with optional approval.
No-shows and attendance	Each record shows attended, no-show and late-cancel counts, plus late arrivals and early departures, on every plan.	A “not checked in” view on the check-in screen, and exports and message filters by check-in status. We did not find a separate no-show report.
Communication
Email	Bulk and scheduled email on every plan.	Broadcast and one-off email with merge tags, filters and delivery statistics. Attachments on Grow and Enterprise.
Text messages	Included on every plan: 10,000, 50,000 or 100,000 texts a year on Launch, Flow and Impact. Each organization texts from its own registered number after a one-time carrier registration, and volunteers opt in before they get texts.	Included, with 10,000, 50,000 or 100,000 texts a year by plan. US and Canada numbers only, with a two-step opt-in.
Reminders and automatic messages	Automatic reminders before events by email, text or both, and push notifications to the volunteer app.	Shift reminders by email or text, several per shift if needed, plus confirmation, thank-you and other automatic messages.
Documents and requirements
Waivers	Digital waivers with e-signature, including at the kiosk, with a parent or guardian signing for a minor by emailed link and each signed waiver downloadable as a PDF. On Flow and Impact or with a $19 add-on.	Digital waivers, with minors’ waivers sent to a parent or guardian, signatures downloadable as CSV or PDF, and on-site signing at the kiosk. The app does not collect waiver signatures.
Documents	Documents on each volunteer record, with expiry alerts, on every plan. A shared file library on Flow and Impact or a $12 add-on.	File uploads on registration forms. A file library on Grow and Enterprise.
Certifications and training	Certification tracking with expiry dates on Flow and Impact or a $19 add-on. Training courses on every plan.	Qualification values that gate events and jobs, and a “Credentials / badges” feature on Enterprise. We did not find expiry tracking or training courses in their public help.
Background checks	Staff can record that a check was done. The screening itself happens outside VolunteerFlow.	Built-in background screens as an add-on (price not published), with results shown to admins.
Reporting and data
Reports	A dashboard on every plan. Standard reports, a custom report builder, scheduled reports and a grant report on Flow and Impact.	A customizable dashboard, saved reports, and custom reports built for you on request.
Export your data	A full Excel export on every plan.	CSV exports of volunteers, hours, jobs and shifts on every plan, waiver signatures as CSV or PDF, and bulk download of uploaded files.
Import existing records	Free self-serve CSV and Excel imports on every plan, including past events, rosters and hours, with a review step.	CSV import of volunteers, including shift and hours history, on Grow and Enterprise. Not available on Discover.
Integrations	On Flow and Impact: signed webhooks, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Zapier or Make through webhooks.	Pushes to Salesforce, Little Green Light, DonorPerfect and Neon CRM. Volunteer payments through Stripe or Authorize.Net as an add-on.
Portal, branding and mobile
Volunteer pages	A volunteer portal at your own yourorg.portal.volunteerflow.us address on every plan, or on your own domain on Impact.	A landing page with a permanent link and an embeddable calendar widget. A custom page URL on Grow and Enterprise.
Branding	Logo, colors and portal design on Flow and Impact, or a $19 add-on on Launch.	Their team matches your website’s header, footer and styling. Grow and Enterprise, or a $200 Discover add-on.
Mobile apps	A volunteer app for iPhone and Android. Staff manage everything in a web browser.	A volunteer app for iPhone and Android. Admin, kiosk and check-in screens run in a web browser.
Admin roles	Custom roles and permissions on Flow and Impact. Multiple locations on Impact.	Permissions by feature and by event. Job-level access on Grow; shift-level access on Enterprise; leader or captain roles on Enterprise or as a Grow add-on.
Support	Help center, in-app support requests and email.	Onboarding and unlimited support by email, phone and video on every plan.

In more detail

How the day-to-day work compares

Volunteer records and registration

Both keep a lasting record for each volunteer. In VolunteerLocal, completing an organization’s application puts a volunteer in its database, and later events reuse it; events can also ask their own questions. VolunteerFlow keeps one record per volunteer with custom fields, documents, notes and event history. The bigger difference is sign-in: VolunteerLocal volunteers never set a password, while VolunteerFlow volunteers have an account for the portal and the app, and can sign in to either with an emailed code instead of a password.

Scheduling and groups

Both run events with shifts, spot limits and repeating schedules. VolunteerLocal offers shift types without a fixed time, per-event limits on how many shifts one person takes, and three ways to register groups, including reserved blocks of a shift with their own link. VolunteerFlow has events with a date to be announced that volunteers register interest in, minimum and maximum shifts per volunteer, automatic waitlists, late-cancel and no-show counts on each volunteer record, and group reservations on every plan.

Check-in and hours

VolunteerLocal documents five check-in methods, including QR codes scanned by staff on their own phones, and lets volunteers report their own hours for approval; hours tracking is on Grow and Enterprise or a Discover add-on. VolunteerFlow has a kiosk station, QR codes and an app-based check-in station on every plan, records hours at check-out, lets volunteers submit their own hours for approval in the portal or app, and tracks no-shows, late arrivals and early departures; hours reports are on Flow and Impact.

Communication

Both send broadcast and automatic email with reminders, and both send text messages within a yearly allowance. VolunteerLocal shows delivery statistics. VolunteerFlow also sends push notifications to its app.

Documents and requirements

VolunteerLocal has digital waivers with guardian signing for minors and on-site signing at its kiosk, and offers built-in background screens as an add-on. VolunteerFlow has digital waivers with guardian signing for minors and PDF copies, tracks documents and certifications with expiry dates, offers training courses, and can require waivers, training or certifications before signup, depending on the plan.

Reporting and integrations

VolunteerLocal has a configurable dashboard, saved reports and CSV exports, and pushes data to Salesforce, Little Green Light, DonorPerfect and Neon CRM. VolunteerFlow has a dashboard on every plan and a report builder, scheduled reports and a grant report on Flow and Impact, with webhooks, Slack and Microsoft Teams for connecting other tools.

Pricing

How each one charges

The two are priced on different terms, so there is no single like-for-like figure. Price the plan that includes the features you need, for the way you run volunteers.

VolunteerFlow: monthly or yearly plans

VolunteerFlow plan prices
Plan	Monthly	Yearly	Admin seats
Launch	$100	$1,000	5
Flow	$300	$3,000	15
Impact	$600	$6,000	50

Unlimited volunteers and events on every plan.
Plans differ by admin seats and features; some features can be added to a smaller plan.
Pay monthly, or pay for a year up front at the price of 10 months.
30-day free trial, no credit card.

See full VolunteerFlow pricing.

VolunteerLocal: yearly or per event

VolunteerLocal published list prices
Plan	Yearly	Per event	Admin seats
Discover	$600	$200	2
Grow	$2,400	$800	10
Enterprise	Quoted	$3,000	50

Unlimited volunteers, events, jobs and shifts on every plan.
Yearly texts: 10,000, 50,000 or 100,000 by plan (US and Canada).
On Discover, some features are $200 add-ons ($100 per event), and import and the file library are not available.
A yearly invoice or a per-event fee; we did not find monthly billing.
14-day free trial, no credit card.

From the VolunteerLocal pricing page (opens in a new tab). What one “event” covers and the price of extra admin seats are not published.

Switching

Moving from VolunteerLocal works through files

There is no direct connection between the two. The move is a set of files you export, check and import.

Export from VolunteerLocal

CSV exports of volunteers, hours (scheduled and checked-in), and jobs and shifts are on every plan, per their export guide (opens in a new tab).

Prepare the files

Check the columns, tidy duplicates and decide which past events and hours to bring across.

Import and review

VolunteerFlow imports volunteers, and past events with rosters and hours, from CSV or Excel, and shows every row for review before saving.

Waiver signatures and uploaded files are not imported in bulk; keep the CSV or PDF copies VolunteerLocal lets you download. VolunteerFlow does not offer a done-for-you migration service. See how switching to VolunteerFlow works.

What each one also offers

Other things each one offers

VolunteerLocal also offers

Pricing for a single event, without a yearly plan.
Volunteer signup with no password.
Built-in background screens (add-on).
Collecting application fees or deposits (add-on).
Pushes to Salesforce, Little Green Light, DonorPerfect and Neon CRM.
Onboarding and phone and video support on every plan.

VolunteerFlow also includes

Animal records. Animal profiles, medical records and adoptions on Impact, or an add-on on request.
Donations. Donation tracking and campaigns on Flow and Impact, or an add-on.
Inventory. Supplies and equipment tracking on Impact, or an add-on on request.
Training courses and expiry dates. Training courses on every plan, and certification tracking with expiry dates and alerts.
Ongoing assignments. Volunteers can hold a regular slot, such as every Tuesday morning, on every plan.
Surveys and programs. Surveys and program or department tracking on Flow and Impact, or as add-ons.
Multiple locations. Separate locations with their own staff access on Impact.

Running an animal rescue or shelter? See VolunteerFlow for animal rescues, or browse all VolunteerFlow features.

Deciding

Questions to answer before you choose

Are most of your volunteers tied to one event, or do they come back to an ongoing program?
How many events do you run a year, and would per-event or monthly pricing suit that?
Should volunteers sign up without a password, or have an account they log in to?
How many texts a year will you send to volunteers?
Do you register groups, and do they need their own reserved spots and link?
Do you need to track document or certification expiry dates?
Do you need records beyond volunteers, such as animals, donations or inventory?
Which systems does volunteer data need to reach, such as a CRM?
How much past volunteer history do you need to bring with you?

Take the free nonprofit tech stack audit

Also comparing other systems? Read VolunteerFlow vs Volgistics or see all comparisons.

FAQ

Common questions

What is the difference between VolunteerFlow and VolunteerLocal?

Both handle volunteer signup, shifts, check-in, hours, email and reporting, and both serve ongoing programs as well as events. VolunteerLocal can be bought per event or per year, lets volunteers sign up without a password and includes text messaging. VolunteerFlow is billed monthly or yearly, gives volunteers an account for the portal and app that they sign in to with an emailed code or a password, and adds modules such as animal records, donations and inventory.

Can VolunteerFlow run one-time events as well as ongoing programs?

Yes. Events, shifts, self sign-up, kiosk check-in and email are on every plan, and you can pay month to month. There is no per-event price, so a single event is covered by a monthly plan.

Can I move from VolunteerLocal to VolunteerFlow?

VolunteerLocal exports volunteers, hours, jobs and shifts as CSV files on every plan. VolunteerFlow imports volunteer lists and past events with rosters and hours from CSV or Excel for free, with a review step before anything is saved. Waiver signatures and uploaded files are not imported in bulk, and VolunteerFlow does not offer a done-for-you migration.

Can I bring past volunteer hours into VolunteerFlow?

Yes. The historical import brings in past events with who attended and their hours, on every plan.

Does VolunteerFlow send text messages?

Yes. Text messages are included on every plan, with 10,000, 50,000 or 100,000 texts a year on Launch, Flow and Impact. Each organization texts from its own registered number after a one-time carrier registration, and volunteers opt in before they get texts. VolunteerLocal also includes a yearly text allowance on every plan.

Does VolunteerFlow support group registration?

Yes. On every plan a group leader can reserve several spots on an event. Saved volunteer groups in the People area are on the Flow and Impact plans.

Does VolunteerFlow work for animal rescues and shelters?

Yes. Alongside volunteer management, the Impact plan includes animal profiles, medical records and adoptions, and the module is available as an add-on on request.

How does pricing compare?

They are priced differently, so compare with your own numbers. VolunteerFlow is $100, $300 or $600 a month (or 10 months’ price for a year). VolunteerLocal is $600 or $2,400 a year with Enterprise quoted, or $200, $800 or $3,000 per event. The plans include different features, so check that what you need is in the plan you price.

Can I try VolunteerFlow before buying?

Yes. The free trial lasts 30 days and does not need a credit card. You can also book a demo.

Sources and notes

VolunteerLocal information on this page comes from these pages on volunteerlocal.com, its support center and its app store listings, checked on September 30, 2026. If something here is out of date, tell us at support@volunteerflow.us and we will correct it.

VolunteerLocal is the product of Volunteer Local, L.L.C., and its name is used here only to identify it. VolunteerFlow is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Volunteer Local, L.L.C.