The Best Alternative to Wizehive

If you’re looking for an alternative to Wizehive, or are a current user exploring other solutions, here are the top reasons to consider Submittable.

Submittable and Wizehive are both robust application management solutions. Organizations use them to manage grants, emergency relief funding, scholarships, awards programs, and more. 

Both have rich feature sets that span the full lifecycle of grant and award programs. This includes online form creation, in-app communication, side-by-side review, and impact reporting.

But there are important differences between the platforms. If you’re comparing Submittable vs. Wizehive, here’s everything you need to know.  

Features at a glance

	Submittable	Wizehive
Form builder
Real-time collaboration for applicants	✔	X
Accepts flexible fees and payments	✔	X
Automated eligibility screening	✔	X
Embed a spreadsheet in a form	✔	X
Set a restricted date range in form builder	✔	X
Automated notification when third party reference is submitted	✔	X
Rich text instructions throughout forms	✔	X
Number of file types accepted	69	12
Responsive forms	✔	✔
Online form builder with many question types	✔	✔
Branded landing page	✔	✔
Charity check tool powered by Candid (formerly Guidestar)	✔	✔
Collection of third party references	✔	✔
Send additional forms	✔	✔
Review and workflow
Reuse review forms in multiple review stages	✔	X
Send attachments via bulk email	✔	X
Search and filter	✔	✔
In-app communication	✔	✔
Bulk personalized messaging	✔	✔
Automated emails	✔	✔
Side-by-side review	✔	✔
Choose to conceal applicant information/responses from reviewers	✔	✔
Draft submission reminders	✔	✔
Multiple stages of review	✔	✔
Reporting and more
Dashboards	✔	✔
Custom reports	✔	✔
Data imports and exports	✔	✔
Thousands of integrations	✔	✔
Track funds	✔	✔
Disburse funds	✔	X
Accessibility and security
Date of most recent VPAT	May 2020	July 2019
VPAT conformance 100% Supports or Partially supports	✔	X
SSO	✔	✔
Permission levels	✔	✔
SOC 2 Type 2 compliant	✔	✔
HIPAA compliant	✔	✔

The top reasons to choose Submittable

These key differentiators may help you determine if Submittable is the better choice for your organization. 

1. Submittable can launch your program much faster

Submittable is an ideal solution to launch a new program fast.  

In fact, the average time to launch the first program on the Submittable platform is two weeks. Contrast that with Wizehive, whose website states that “Most clients are up and running in six weeks” (emphasis added). 

This quick time to launch has been a crucial factor for many Submittable customers. With the onset of COVID-19, for example, large grantmakers seeking to distribute billions in funds have relied upon Submittable to get emergency relief to individuals and businesses.  

The State of Montana, for example, was able to launch a program to distribute 1.25 billion in CARES act dollars very quickly:

“I’ve worked with different application softwares over the years for both grant management and for other purposes in the office. Submittable provides quick turnaround when you can edit your own forms—and it doesn’t require a lot of training to learn how to do that.”

Angie Nelson, Senior Budget Analyst, State of Montana

If getting your program launched efficiently with an easy-to-use platform is important to you, Submittable is the obvious choice. 

Submittable was awarded the Fastest Implementation award for grant management software in Spring 2020 by G2.

2. Submittable is more intuitive

Submittable was designed with ease of use in mind—for administrators, reviewers, and applicants. 

Customers appreciate the simple, drag-and-drop form builder and the intuitive tools that make it easy to accomplish complex processes. 

“Form creation was easy to figure out. I was a little filled with dread the first time, but as soon as I started working in the form builder, it was just really intuitive. Same with the response templates—it’s simple to find everything I need. As only a semi-technical person, that’s empowering.”

Mariah McPherson, Executive Director, New Belgium Family Foundation

Wizehive, on the other hand, often requires confusing steps and plugins to accomplish basic tasks. 

For example, a user must set up a “Process” in the “Program Manager” before setting up a review workflow, which in turn requires setting up a plugin to set up a “Review Portal.” Additionally, the Portal, for its part, must first be “authorized” before use. 

“[Wizehive] feels over complicated at times and could be more intuitive.”

Customer review on software review site G2

“The [Wizehive] user interface was really cumbersome.” 

Customer review on software review site Capterra

The result of these usability challenges can be a frustrating experience. 

“[Wizehive] is the least intuitive interface of a system I have EVER used. It is extremely frustrating. You think you remember how to change a setting or edit a direction somewhere, and you realize it could be in one of a ton of different places.”

Customer review on software site Capterra

Customers rate Submittable more highly for ease of use across the major software review sites.

3. Submittable is more customizable out-of-the-box

Submittable is a highly customizable solution. It’s also an all-in-one, out-of-the-box product. 

Wizehive relies on “plugins” to customize accounts and accomplish core tasks. On Wizehive, users have to set up a plugin for features including but not limited to:

• Auto emails 
• Bulk emails
• Charity check
• Third-party references
• Assignments management
• Submitter and reviewer “portals”, or points of access

All of these capabilities are preloaded in Submittable, and can be easily customized according to your organization’s needs.

“[Submittable] is intuitive to use and offers a great deal of flexibility and customization. From an operations perspective, we love the time it saves us!”  

Debi Graci, Sr. Program/Project Manager, Dell Technologies Education Services

4. Submittable can track and disburse awards

Grantmakers using both Submittable and Wizehive track funds awarded to applicants using the platform. 

But only Submittable has built-in award distribution capabilities. Through Submittable’s partnerships with trusted global and domestic financial institutions, foundations, governments, and other funders can get funding to awardees quickly, and securely—in as little as 48 hours.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVBUzCJd-ag

5. Submittable provides a better applicant experience

Modern philanthropists are laser-focused on applicant experience, rightly so. After all, the easier, clearer, and faster it is for grantees to use your grant management solution—from the initial application to in-app communication to progress reports, and everything in between—the more time they can focus on doing their important work. 

There are a number of areas where the Submittable applicant experience outshines that of Wizehive: 

• Submittable offers real-time applicant collaboration

Sometimes, it can be helpful for a group of submitters to collaborate on an application. This could be a student and teacher for a scholarship, or a team of remote grant writers working for the same nonprofit. 

Submittable makes real-time collaboration easy with its collaborative submissions tool. Applicants can see each other’s real-time presence and work, just like in Google docs. Organizations can correspond with all collaborators, keeping everyone in the loop.

Wizehive does not offer applicant collaboration.

• Submittable supports rich text instructions

Clear, precise instructions help applicants put their best foot forward. They also help ensure an accessible experience for applicants of differing abilities. 

Submittable allows you to incorporate rich text instructions, not only in your program guidelines, but for each individual question on your form. The easy-to-use, WYSIWYG (“what you see is what you get”) rich-text editor makes it easy for you to adjust formatting or include hyperlinks.

Wizehive does not support rich text instructions throughout their application forms.

• Submittable streamlines the applicant experience

Applicants on Submittable can begin filling out a form almost immediately. All they need to enter to create a profile and begin is their name, email, and a password. This approach helps eliminate any barrier to beginning an application.

Applicants on the Wizehive platform, by contrast, must first create a “profile” before they can move forward to filling out an application. 

• Submittable accepts more file types

One principle of reducing burden on applicants is not requiring them to recreate all of their materials according to a narrowly defined format. When it comes to file types, applicants use different programs, applications, and hardware which may impact the makeup of their application materials. 

Submittable allows for 69 different types of files, including 10 types of video files which will all stream within the platform. While as an administrator, you can still choose which ones you’ll accept, you’re empowered to be as accommodating toward applicants as possible. 

Wizehive only accepts 12 different file types—and that includes two types of video files that will not stream within the reviewer portal.  

In a recent survey of grant applicants, 95% said they would recommend Submittable to funders. 

6. Submittable automates eligibility screening

In Submittable, eligibility quizzes automatically screen applicants for flexible criteria, including their IRS nonprofit status. 

Eligible applicants are immediately forwarded to your main application; others will receive a custom message that you specify. No more wasting your time—or applicants’ time—on unqualified applications.

In Wizehive, an eligibility screening requires a manual vetting from a reviewer. The reviewer can then choose to send the applicant, if eligible, the next part of the form, or to mark them as ineligible. 

7. Submittable can display submissions in an attractive online Gallery

Submittable offers a visually engaging Gallery tool that will automatically upload photos, videos, and other submission data into an online Gallery. 

Perfect for internal or external audiences, visitors to the gallery can browse among submissions and optionally vote. It’s an ideal venue to spread awareness of your program, host voting on an awards program, or to share testimonials in your community.

Gallery can also be leveraged to democratize your grantmaking process, such as by: 

• Engaging your community in learning about or voting on proposals
• Collecting testimonials from grantees to spread the word about their important work

Wizehive does not have a comparable Gallery feature. 

8. Submittable can collect fees and payments from applicants 

Certainly, some programs don’t require fees or payments from applicants. 

But for contest and admissions programs, for example, Submittable allows you to accept fees and payments. That means you can handle events with registration fees, collect membership dues, sell merchandise, and more. 

Plus, many customers unexpectedly find uses for Submittable’s payment features. For instance, some grantmakers end up using Submittable to sell tickets to fundraisers. Nonprofits use it to accept donations. 

9. Submittable can collect budget information in an embedded spreadsheet

Submittable customers use the Table form field to embed CSV or Excel files so applicants can enter budget data into a preformatted spreadsheet. Tables within forms can even perform many mathematical functions. This feature helps Submittable users gather precisely the information they need, in their preferred format.

Wizehive does not allow for the embedding of a spreadsheet in an application form. 

10. Submittable is a better value

One third of Submittable customers end up finding an unexpected new way to use the platform, making their dollars stretch further. 

For example, a grantmaker may use Submittable to accept volunteer applications and event registrations. A corporation running their CSR program on Submittable may leverage the platform for internal processes such as expense reports and IT requests. The possibilities are endless.

At Submittable, this expansion is included—and highly encouraged! We want our customers to get as much value as possible out of our platform, and take pride in being a flexible solution that can solve many of our customers’ problems. Run as many programs—and types of programs—as you’d like, all included in the price.

Wizehive, on the other hand, limits your pricing options based on the number of programs you’ll run. For organizations that know exactly what program they want to run, and aren’t concerned with seeking more value in the future, this pricing model can work well. But many Submittable customers appreciate that over time, their investment in Submittable brings greater and greater returns. 

It’s easy to switch—and bring your data with you

Considering switching, but concerned about interrupting your program—or worse, losing access to historical data that helps you see your program holistically? 

Submittable offers Data Import Services. Import historical applications, and even create accounts for awardees that empower you to use in-app communication and send Additional Forms to gather progress reports.

Learn more about Submittable

We’d love to learn more about your program and see if Submittable could be a good fit. Schedule a demo with our team today.

Methodology

This analysis was compiled from publicly-available information including Wizehive’s website, Knowledge Base, webinars, and other resources, as well as independent software review sites, customer testimonials, and customer surveys conducted by Submittable.