WordPress vs. NationBuilder: Which CMS is Right for You?
WordPress is a content management system (CMS) and NationBuilder is a customer relationship management (CRM) system that has a built-in CMS. If you’re looking at a WP/NB comparison, you’re probably also looking to add CiviCRM to WP for organisations to meet your CRM needs.
I don’t want to get into the recent weeds of WordPress world (loads of other, better coverage out in the webs already), but in case folks are shopping around for alternatives, I do want to explore this topic since they are the two platforms I work with the most. So let’s buckle up: it’s going to be a long one.
What is WordPress (and CiviCRM)?
WordPress (the software by .org, not the hosted stuff on Automattic’s .com) is a free and open-source CMS that started 21 years ago as a blogging engine. It has an enormous ecosystem of plugins and themes, expanding its functionality to be able to do just about anything you can imagine. One such plugin is CiviCRM, a powerful CRM specifically designed for non-profits, advocacy and membership-based organisations.
WordPress has an enormous ecosystem of plugins and themes, expanding its functionality to be able to do just about anything you can imagine.
CiviCRM has loads of useful extensions and integrations (yes, the plugin has its own extensions), great documentation, and there is a sizeable community of developers who are ready to help you at any step along the way. It is also open-source and free/libre, which matters for me philosophically because I’m a bit of a FOSS-girlie. (Civi also works with Drupal and Joomla, in case that’s interesting for you.)
And help you will need. Civi has a lot of features and its learning curve is famously steep. It needs a lot of tweaking and setting up to get running — the out-of-the-box experience is lacklustre at best (client-facing forms are meh), and frustrating at worst (reports can be convoluted and often require additional extensions).
WordPress core has a much better on-boarding experience, but you will still need to tweak it for the non-profit use-case. It’s a CMS so it’s blog- and content-first, and the freedom to do anything under the sun could be overwhelming for a new user to optimise the front-end for a political campaign or charity drive.
That said, once you set it up, WP+CiviCRM can handle most of the needs of a typical non-profit organisation: event registration and donor management are two places where it shines. WP and Civi both being highly customisable means it will almost certainly be able to handle whatever you want to throw at it — provided you put in the time and effort to get it just right.
Choosing this combo also has the advantage that you could swap out either of the pieces at a later time. For example, you can migrate from CiviCRM to Salesforce or Blackbaud, and keep your WordPress setup, or you can move from WordPress to Drupal and keep CiviCRM, without needing to retrain for that part of the technology stack.
Lastly, rounding out this powerful combo is the enormous community and reach of WordPress. You will find dedicated hosting and support at literally any price point, from $0 self-hosts (if you can externalise your hardware costs) to bespoke, enterprise level hosts where you pay thousands of dollars a month for professionals to optimise your databases, load balance your servers, or keep your suite of plugins and themes secure and up-to-date. What’s more is that you will be able to hire developers on every continent who will have WordPress experience; there is no shortage of freelancers with 5-10 years experience who can do the vast majority of everyday WordPress development. (* cries in WordPress development *)

Pros:
- No expensive licenses or locked functionality
- Great community support and extensive documentation
- Highly customisable
- Free/libre and open-source
Cons:
- Setting up can be time-consuming and wind up costing you more up front
What is NationBuilder?
NationBuilder seeks to be an all-in-one tool campaign tool that really is CRM-first, CMS-second. This jack-of-all-trades SaaS has it all: a robust CRM (called the “people database” in NB parlance), event management, surveys, petitions, volunteer signups, voter id, and a CMS that’s optimised for building community. Also on the back-end are communications tools for email newsletters and text campaigns (called “blasts”).
NationBuilder has it all: a robust CRM (called the “people database” in NB parlance), event management, surveys, petitions, volunteer signups, voter id, and a CMS that’s optimised for building community.
Its big focus is on helping you engaging your community. You can design pathways that slowly lead prospective supporters onwards to become stronger supporters, by tailoring engagement to their interests and past behaviour. If you’re familiar with the organising model, you’ll feel right at home. As an added bonus, the NationBuilder user community is full of experienced organisers from all political stripes and background.
Your neighbourhood grassroots campaign can truly get up and running in 10 minutes flat. Meanwhile, Large national organisations with regional chapters will also get value out of the extensive control over its people database. You can get a free stock theme or pay for premium one in the marketplace, such as our very own Elektra. The email blast design interface is OK, assuming you have migrated to the v2 themes, and communications comes with basic A/B testing and basic analytics — more than good enough to get you started. Campaigns and non-profits who prioritise organising and engagement over customisations will find NationBuilder more than satisfactory.
There are a lot of things to love about NationBuilder. However, the CMS is not it. Modifying themes is not hard, but it’s quirky and full of limitations. If you’re coming from a WordPress background, NationBuilder’s choices will bewilder you. Worse yet, a lot of it is undocumented, or in some cases, the official documentation might actually be wrong. The only way to find out is by trial and error.
In terms of the front end, you can see there aren’t many themes to choose from. There are also not a lot of extensions. Pretty nearly all the integrations I’ve done are bespoke. Developers tend to come from places with high labour costs, so you’ll want to factor that into your plan.
Finally, let’s talk pricing. There is no free tier; the cheapest tier starts at $35USD/mo, which gives you 1 site, 500 contacts, no custom fields, and no API access. Pricing goes up based on your volume of contacts and features you need.

Pros:
- All the tools you need for a campaign in one platform
- Can quickly get set up and running
- Specifically designed for politics and advocacy
Cons:
- Few themes and plugins to choose from
- Customisations are not straightforward
When to choose WordPress + CiviCRM?
The WordPress + CiviCRM combo is ideal for organisations that want control over their website design and the flexibility of open-source software. It’s best for non-profits, membership organisations, and advocacy groups that need powerful CRM features and customisation options. This combo is also great for organisations that already use WordPress or have in-house WP experience, and want to add CRM functionality, without switching platforms or drastically increasing ongoing costs. If you subscribe to the “one thing well” philosophy (both in unix and zen), this option is for you.
When to choose NationBuilder?
NationBuilder is ideal for political campaigns, advocacy groups, and organisations that prioritise supporter engagement and grassroots organising. It’s fantastic for folks that need an all-in-one solution and can trade website flexibility for ease-of-use. It has consistently reduced the barrier to entry for many people running for office for the first time. It’s a powerful tool that is worth the time to learn if you want to expand your reach and deeply engage your audience. Shameless plug: build your community with Elektra, a beautiful theme that adds a few handy features that many of my clients consistently ask about — see Elektra’s case study for more.
What about WordPress + NationBuilder?
This interesting combo gets the best of both worlds — WordPress with its infinitely customisable CMS and NationBuilder with its powerful CRM make a formidable pair. However, there are drawbacks. Integrating the two is not straightforward — there are some plugins and third-party forms available, some of which cost extra and/or have limited features. You may need to commission a bespoke integration for your specific use case. You will also need to train your staff and volunteers on two platforms. This could lead to massive confusion, especially since there’s overlap of functionalities between WordPress and NationBuilder. Overall, this is only a viable option for orgs willing to invest in the training and processes to make it work. I’ve done this before — see my case study on the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition site!
Conclusion
Both WordPress and NationBuilder are powerful options and I use both for my clients (and myself!) extensively. Every platform has its quirks and no piece of software is perfect for every situation — you will have to base this decision on the organisation goals, technical expertise of your organisation, as well as budget. If you’re not sure, you can also book a free consult with us to chat about your specific needs!

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