GiveRadar vs WikiCharities: an honest comparison
GiveRadar and WikiCharities approach nonprofit transparency from opposite ends. WikiCharities asks organizations to disclose about themselves through a staff-reviewed questionnaire and awards a seal. GiveRadar scores what organizations have already disclosed to governments, free, for any of 7.9 million+ nonprofits.
Primary sources
All WikiCharities figures are from its own published materials, last reviewed July 2026; volatile figures carry their date where stated, and the 2.1 million figure is WikiCharities' own count dated May 2023. GiveRadar figures are live counts from this platform.
This page is written and maintained by GiveRadar. We make no claim to neutrality: we built GiveRadar and we believe in it, and we have tried to represent WikiCharities fairly. WikiCharities offers something GiveRadar does not, a staff-reviewed self-reported profile and seal, and we recommend it for that purpose. The two approach transparency from opposite directions and combine well. If you spot an inaccuracy, email info@giveradar.com and we will correct it.
Matt Timmermans
Founder of GiveRadar
GiveRadar
WikiCharitiesWhat are GiveRadar and WikiCharities each for?
They approach transparency from opposite directions: one collects what a charity says about itself, the other scores what a charity filed with governments. Name which you need and the choice is clear.
Screen from official records
"Is this charity registered, transparent, and well-governed, per official data?"
This needs an independent score from government filings, free and covering every registered charity whether or not it signed up. GiveRadar answers it across 100+ countries, and no charity can buy the score.
Answered by GiveRadar
Read a validated self-portrait
"How does this US or Canada nonprofit describe its philosophy, finances, and impact?"
This needs a staff-reviewed, self-reported profile and a displayable seal, detail no registry holds. WikiCharities is built for exactly that in the US and Canada, and GiveRadar does not collect questionnaires or issue seals.
Answered by WikiCharitiesWho each one is
GiveRadar
GiveRadar is a free charity intelligence platform covering 7.9 million+ nonprofits across 100+ countries, built from 50+ official government registries and tax authorities, plus vetted directories where no registry data exists.
Every charity gets a 0-100 integrity assessment that measures how much it discloses: registration, financial transparency, governance, contact availability, and data recency. It does not measure impact, and it cannot be bought.
Red flags mark high executive pay, stale filings, and bare-minimum disclosure; GiveRadar Analysis adds peer context, watchlists send change alerts, and a REST API and MCP server both have free tiers. Every data point shows where it came from.
WikiCharities
WikiCharities is a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Bountiful, Utah, founded by Dr. Angie Holzer. It began in 2011 as Given Tree; the platform went live in January 2021, and Given Tree formally became WikiCharities in April 2021.
It lists roughly 2.1 million US and Canadian nonprofits (its own figure, dated May 2023) with free claimable profiles. Its core product is a paid transparency Validation Seal: nonprofits answer 60 to 70 questions across four sections, staff review the answers, and the seal is awarded as a yes or no, with no numeric score.
Validation costs $99 per year for small nonprofits and $199 for large ones, with a 7-day free trial and a $1 per year track through partner programs (as of July 2026). WikiCharities also co-publishes the peer-reviewed Journal of Nonprofit Innovation with BYU.
WikiCharities validates self-reports, GiveRadar scores official records
GiveRadar and WikiCharities approach nonprofit transparency from opposite ends. WikiCharities asks organizations to disclose about themselves through a staff-reviewed questionnaire, which surfaces detail no registry holds, like philosophy and self-described impact; GiveRadar scores what organizations have already disclosed to governments, which covers every registered charity whether or not it ever signs up.
If you want a nonprofit's own validated self-portrait and it is in the US or Canada, WikiCharities has something GiveRadar does not. If you want an independent, registry-sourced disclosure score for any of 7.9 million+ nonprofits in 100+ countries, at no cost, that is GiveRadar. Neither one measures impact, and neither claims to.
How does the WikiCharities Validation Seal differ from GiveRadar's score?
Both signal transparency, but they are built from opposite data. The seal reflects what a charity reports about itself and is reviewed by staff; the integrity assessment reflects what official records already show, scored 0-100.
GiveRadar: registry-sourced score
example shown
The integrity assessment is computed from official government registries and tax authorities across registration, financial transparency, governance, contact availability, and data recency. It is free on every charity, cannot be bought, and covers organizations that never claimed a profile anywhere.
WikiCharities: self-reported seal
A nonprofit answers 60 to 70 questions across four sections (contact, philosophy and approach, financial health, impact); WikiCharities staff review the answers and award a binary seal, with no numeric score. It costs $99 to $199 per year (as of July 2026), reflects what the charity says about itself, and is available for US and Canada nonprofits.
Neither measures impact. The seal tells you what a charity says about itself under review; the integrity assessment tells you what its government filings disclose. Reading both together is stronger than either alone.
GiveRadar vs WikiCharities: the full comparison table
These tools approach transparency differently; the table lines them up across the dimensions where each is meaningful. WikiCharities figures last reviewed July 2026.
| Dimension | GiveRadar | WikiCharities |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | 7.9 million+ nonprofits | ~2.1 million nonprofit profiles (their figure, dated May 2023) |
| Geography | 100+ countries | United States and Canada |
| What the score means | Integrity assessment, 0-100: measures public disclosure, never impact, cannot be bought | Validation Seal: binary, awarded after staff review a 60 to 70 question self-reported profile; no numeric score |
| Price | Free for everyone; charities cannot pay for placement or scores | Free claimable profile; Validation Seal $99/year small, $199/year large, 7-day trial, $1/year via partner programs (as of July 2026) |
| Data source | 50+ official government registries and tax authorities; provenance shown per data point | Profiles listed free; validated content is self-reported by the nonprofit and reviewed by WikiCharities staff |
| API | REST API and MCP server, both with free tiers | No documented public API (as of July 2026) |
| Monitoring | Watchlists with change alerts on filings, scores, and red flags | Validated nonprofits can log project updates; no donor-side change alerts documented (as of July 2026) |
Scroll the table sideways on a phone to see every column.
When should you use WikiCharities vs GiveRadar?
One shows a charity's own validated account, the other an independent registry-sourced record. For serious vetting, read both.
Use GiveRadar when
- The charity is outside the US and Canada: GiveRadar covers 100+ countries from official registries.
- You want a score the charity did not write itself: the integrity assessment is computed from filings, and no one can buy it.
- You want the charities that never signed up anywhere: registry sourcing means every registered organization appears.
- You need programmatic access, or watchlists and change alerts to keep checking a charity over time.
Use WikiCharities when
- You want a US or Canadian nonprofit's own account of its philosophy, approach, and impact, reviewed by staff.
- You run a small nonprofit and want an affordable third-party seal: $99 per year, or $1 per year via partner programs (as of July 2026).
- You are interested in sector research: WikiCharities co-publishes the peer-reviewed Journal of Nonprofit Innovation with BYU.
- The organization is validated there and you want features like collaborative projects and direct donation links.
Use both when
You are vetting a US or Canadian nonprofit seriously. Check its registry-sourced disclosure record, financials, officers, and red flags on GiveRadar, then read its validated self-description on WikiCharities. The registry tells you what it filed; the questionnaire tells you what it says about itself. Gaps between the two are exactly what due diligence is for.
Is GiveRadar a good WikiCharities alternative?
GiveRadar is a WikiCharities alternative for one specific job: independent, registry-sourced charity screening. If you searched a nonprofit on WikiCharities and want a disclosure score built from official government data instead of a self-reported questionnaire, or the organization is outside the US and Canada, GiveRadar covers 7.9 million+ nonprofits in 100+ countries, free, and charities cannot pay for placement or scores.
But be honest about what you need. GiveRadar is not the right alternative if you want a nonprofit's staff-reviewed self-portrait: we do not collect questionnaires about philosophy, approach, or self-described impact, and we do not issue seals a charity can display. If you are a nonprofit seeking an affordable validation badge, WikiCharities sells exactly that and GiveRadar deliberately does not: our integrity assessment cannot be applied for, paid for, or influenced by the charity. And neither platform measures impact; for that question, no database replaces reading the charity's own reporting and evaluations.
GiveRadar and WikiCharities: common questions
Is GiveRadar a WikiCharities alternative?
For independent charity screening, yes. GiveRadar covers 7.9 million+ nonprofits in 100+ countries with a 0-100 integrity assessment computed from official government registry data, free for everyone. It is not an alternative for what WikiCharities uniquely does: a staff-reviewed, self-reported validation profile and a displayable seal, which GiveRadar deliberately does not offer because our score cannot be applied for or paid for.
Is WikiCharities or GiveRadar better?
They answer different questions, so neither is simply better. WikiCharities is better if you want a US or Canadian nonprofit's own validated answers about its philosophy, finances, and impact. GiveRadar is better if you want an independent disclosure score from official registry data, coverage beyond North America, an API, or monitoring with change alerts. The honest steer: for screening a charity you do not know, start with GiveRadar; for reading how a US or Canadian nonprofit describes itself, add WikiCharities.
Does the WikiCharities Validation Seal cost money?
Yes. As of July 2026, WikiCharities charges $99 per year for small nonprofits and $199 per year for large ones, with a 7-day free trial, and offers a $1 per year track when a nonprofit's association or supporting foundation partners with WikiCharities. Listing a basic profile is free. GiveRadar has no paid seal at all: the integrity assessment is computed from public registry data for every charity, and no organization can pay to receive, raise, or display it differently.
Does WikiCharities have an API?
No public API is documented on WikiCharities' site as of July 2026. GiveRadar offers a REST API and an MCP server, both with free tiers, covering 7.9 million+ nonprofits with integrity assessments, financials, officer records where disclosed, and red flags.
Other US nonprofit data tools compared
Check any charity's disclosure record, free
Search 7.9M+ nonprofits in 100+ countries. Then read a charity's own validated profile too, where it has one.