What is the main difference between GiveRadar and Candid?

Coverage and approach. Candid (formerly GuideStar + Foundation Center) is the dominant US-focused nonprofit information platform, with about 1.9 million US 501(c) organizations and a curated profile system where nonprofits self-report data to earn Bronze through Platinum transparency seals. GiveRadar is a global aggregator with 7 million+ charities across 65+ countries, sourced exclusively from official government registries (IRS, UK Charity Commission, ACNC, CRA, and dozens more) and exposed through a free public REST API. Candid is deeper on US foundation grants and self-reported program data; GiveRadar is broader internationally and offers programmatic access at a lower price point.

Is GiveRadar a Candid (GuideStar) alternative?

GiveRadar is a complement to Candid for many use cases and a substitute for others. If you need cross-border charity research, programmatic API access, or coverage outside the United States, GiveRadar is the better choice. If you need US-only foundation grant searches, decades-deep curated nonprofit profiles, or are working inside an established US grantmaking workflow that depends on Candid's transparency seals, Candid remains the dominant tool. Many users use both: Candid for US grant funding research and GiveRadar for international due diligence and journalism.

Does Candid cover charities outside the United States?

Candid's primary database focuses on US 501(c) organizations and US-based foundations. International coverage exists in some grant funding datasets and partner integrations, but the platform's main 1.9 million-organization database is US-centric. For a charity registered in the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Canada, Brazil, or another non-US jurisdiction, GiveRadar's official-registry-sourced data is generally the more complete option.

How is GiveRadar's data different from Candid's?

Candid combines IRS Form 990 data with self-reported information that nonprofits submit through their Candid profile in exchange for transparency seals. This adds narrative depth (mission stories, program descriptions, demographics) but means some fields are organization-supplied rather than independently verified. GiveRadar uses only official government registry data as primary source: IRS Exempt Organizations Master File and Form 990 e-filings for the United States, the Charity Commission for England and Wales, ACNC for Australia, CRA for Canada, and equivalent regulators in 65+ countries. Charity-claimed profile edits exist on GiveRadar but are clearly labeled and never overwrite registry data.

What does Candid cost compared to GiveRadar?

Candid offers free nonprofit profile lookups on candid.org and guidestar.org. Premium features and bulk data products start at 3,500 USD per dataset for Candid's standard offerings (open grant opportunities, Candid nonprofits dataset, or custom datasets), with custom enterprise pricing above that. Academic researchers can request a free limited introductory dataset. GiveRadar offers a free tier of 100 API requests per day, a Pro tier at 99 USD per month for 10,000 requests per day, and custom Enterprise pricing for unlimited use. The web interface is free for all users with no signup wall.

What are Candid Seals of Transparency, and does GiveRadar have an equivalent?

Candid awards Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Seals of Transparency to US nonprofits based on how much information they self-report on their Candid profile. Bronze covers basic mission and contact data; Silver adds brand and donation details; Gold requires financial and leadership disclosure; Platinum requires measurable impact metrics and is held by approximately 0.1 percent of US charities. GiveRadar uses a different model: rather than seals earned via self-reporting, every charity receives an Integrity Assessment score from 0 to 100 calculated automatically from registry-filed data across five components (registration, financial transparency, organizational transparency, third-party validation, and community signals). The two systems answer related but different questions: Candid seals reward voluntary disclosure; GiveRadar's Integrity Assessment evaluates what is disclosed officially.

Which is better for journalists doing nonprofit due diligence?

It depends on the geographic scope of the story. For a US-only investigation, both Candid and GiveRadar give you Form 990 data and officer information. Candid adds curated profile narratives that can surface program-level details. For a story involving international charities, sanctions screening, or cross-border donor flows, GiveRadar is generally more useful because it covers 65+ countries through official registries, integrates Open Sanctions screening, and exposes a free API for bulk research.

Can I use GiveRadar for foundation grant research like Candid's Foundation Directory?

Not directly. Candid inherited the Foundation Center's Foundation Directory product and remains the leading source for searching open US foundation grants and historical grantmaking. GiveRadar focuses on the recipient side: identifying, researching, and verifying the nonprofits themselves. For grant-funding research, Candid is the right tool. For evaluating charities once a foundation has shortlisted them, GiveRadar adds international coverage, a free API, and registry-sourced verification.

Is GiveRadar's data free for academic and journalistic use?

Yes. The web interface is fully free with no paywall or registration required for browsing. The public REST API has a free tier of 100 requests per day available with API key signup, and academic researchers, journalists, and verified nonprofit evaluators can request expanded free access by contacting info@giveradar.com. GiveRadar's methodology documentation and data schemas are published openly under CC-BY 4.0.

Is GuideStar still a separate website?

GuideStar is now part of Candid. The two organizations merged in February 2019, and guidestar.org continues to operate as a distinct site under the Candid umbrella; many longtime users still call the platform "GuideStar" interchangeably with Candid. Both candid.org and guidestar.org now point to the same underlying database and the same self-reported profile and Seals of Transparency program. So when researchers say "GuideStar" today, they typically mean what is functionally the Candid platform. Everything in this comparison applies whether you arrived from candid.org or guidestar.org.

Is GiveRadar a GuideStar alternative?

Yes for many use cases, especially international research and programmatic API access. GuideStar (now operated by Candid since the 2019 merger with Foundation Center) is the established US-focused nonprofit profile platform with about 1.9 million US 501(c) organizations, a curated profile system, and Bronze-through-Platinum Seals of Transparency. GiveRadar is a global alternative covering 7 million+ charities across 65+ countries with registry-sourced data and a free public REST API. For US-only research with deep self-reported profile depth and transparency seals, GuideStar remains the conventional choice. For cross-border research, programmatic access, sanctions screening, news context per charity, or budget-constrained research that cannot justify Candid's bulk data product entry price of 3,500 USD, GiveRadar is a credible alternative.

What is the GuideStar 990 Finder, and is there a global equivalent?

GuideStar's 990 Finder is the legacy Form 990 lookup tool, now operated as part of Candid, that surfaces US Form 990 filings for nonprofit financial transparency research. It covers US 501(c) organizations only. GiveRadar provides equivalent functionality for the United States (sourced from the same IRS Exempt Organizations Master File and Form 990 e-files) plus equivalent regulatory filings for 65+ other countries: UK Annual Returns from the Charity Commission, ACNC Annual Information Statements for Australia, T3010 Charity Returns for Canada, and the equivalent for every country we cover. For US-only 990 lookup, GuideStar 990 Finder, ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, and GiveRadar all work. For non-US filings, GiveRadar covers what GuideStar does not.

Why does GiveRadar exist if Candid already covers nonprofits?

Two reasons. First, Candid is US-centric and the international donor and research market is poorly served by existing tools; GiveRadar normalizes data from 50+ national registries into one comparable schema. Second, public charity data should be accessible programmatically and at low cost; GiveRadar's free API tier and 99 USD per month Pro tier make integration affordable for smaller foundations, journalists, and researchers who cannot justify Candid's bulk dataset entry price.

Comparison

GiveRadar vs Candid (GuideStar): an honest comparison

Two of the most-used nonprofit data platforms on the internet, compared head-to-head on coverage, sources, API access, pricing, and recommended use cases. Written by GiveRadar with neutral framing of where Candid is the better choice.

Skip to verdict See full comparison table

GiveRadar in one paragraph

A free global charity intelligence platform. Aggregates 7 million+ charities and nonprofits from 50+ official government registries across 65+ countries into one normalized schema. Free public web interface, free API tier (100 requests per day), Pro tier at 99 USD per month. Best for international research, programmatic access, and registry-sourced verification.

Candid in one paragraph

The dominant US nonprofit information platform, formed in 2019 from the merger of GuideStar and Foundation Center. Covers about 1.9 million US 501(c) organizations with curated profiles, transparency seals (Bronze through Platinum), and the Foundation Directory grant funding database. Free profile lookups; bulk data products start at 3,500 USD. Best for US-only research and foundation grant search.

The 30-second verdict

Use Candid if your work is US-only, depends on foundation grant search, or requires curated nonprofit narratives written by the organizations themselves. Use GiveRadar if your work crosses borders, needs programmatic access on a small budget, or you want every record verified against an official government registry. Many serious users keep both bookmarked.

Who they are

A bit of context on each organization before we get into the side-by-side detail.

Candid

Candid was formed in February 2019 through the merger of two long-standing nonprofit infrastructure organizations: GuideStar, founded in 1994 and known for its US nonprofit profile database, and the Foundation Center, founded in 1956 and known for its index of US foundation grants.

The combined organization operates the candid.org and guidestar.org websites, the Foundation Directory grant search tool, the 990 Finder Form 990 lookup, and the Demographics by Candid program for nonprofit DEI reporting. Candid data powers more than 200 third-party platforms including donor-advised funds, corporate giving programs, and grantmaking software.

Candid is itself a US 501(c)(3) public charity and holds a 2026 Platinum Seal of Transparency on its own profile. The organization's data combines IRS Form 990 filings with self-reported organizational information that nonprofits submit through their Candid profile.

GiveRadar

GiveRadar launched in 2026 as a free global charity intelligence platform. Rather than building a curated profile database, GiveRadar aggregates the existing public registries that already exist in every country with a meaningful nonprofit sector: the IRS in the United States, the Charity Commissions in the UK, the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, the Canada Revenue Agency, France's RNA, Germany's BZSt, Brazil's Receita Federal, and 65+ more.

Each country's registry data is normalized into a unified schema covering legal name, registration number, address, financials, executive officers, and classification. Every charity receives an Integrity Assessment score from 0 to 100 calculated from the registry-filed signals, plus automated red flag detection for high executive pay, low program spending, missing filings, and sanctions matches.

The platform is free for browsing and offers a free public REST API at 100 requests per day, scaling to a Pro tier at 99 USD per month and custom Enterprise pricing. Methodology, data schemas, and API specification are published openly under CC-BY 4.0.

Side-by-side comparison

Every comparison below is sourced from each platform's own published documentation. Last reviewed June 2026.

Dimension	GiveRadar	Candid (GuideStar)
Geographic coverage	65+ countries; truly global	United States only (primary database)
Number of organizations	7 million+ charities and nonprofits	~1.9 million US 501(c) organizations
Primary data source	50+ official government registries (IRS, Charity Commissions, ACNC, CRA, BZSt, etc.)	IRS Form 990 + self-reported nonprofit profiles
Identifiers preserved	EIN, UK Charity Number, ABN, BN-RR, RSIN, RNA W-number, CNPJ, Hojin Bango, and 40+ more native government IDs	EIN plus Candid's own internal Org ID
Free web interface	Yes, no signup required	Yes, free profile lookups
Public API	Yes, free tier at 100 req/day; Pro at 10,000 req/day for 99 USD/month; OpenAPI spec published	Yes, separate developer portal; pricing typically negotiated
Bulk data product entry price	Free (API), 99 USD/month for Pro	From 3,500 USD per dataset
Transparency seals or scores	Integrity Assessment 0-100, calculated automatically from registry signals	Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum self-reported seals (Platinum held by ~0.1% of US charities)
Foundation grant search	No	Yes (Foundation Directory, the legacy Foundation Center product)
Sanctions screening	Yes (every charity screened against Open Sanctions)	Not a primary feature
News and reputation signals	Yes (GDELT-based news monitoring per charity)	Limited; Candid does not surface news
DEI / demographics	Limited (officer data from registries)	Yes (Demographics by Candid program)
Founded	2026	2019 (Foundation Center 1956, GuideStar 1994)
Methodology published	Yes, openly under CC-BY 4.0	Partial (seal criteria documented; data sourcing documented)
Ecosystem integrations	Newer; growing	200+ partner platforms (DAFs, CSR tools, grantmaking software)

When to use which

Both platforms are legitimate and well-built. The right choice depends on what question you are trying to answer.

Use Candid when

• Your research is exclusively US 501(c) organizations
• You need to search open foundation grant opportunities (Foundation Directory)
• You want self-reported program narratives, theory of change, and DEI breakdowns
• Your grantmaking workflow already integrates with Candid (a foundation CRM, DAF platform, etc.)
• You require Candid Seals of Transparency as an eligibility filter
• You have institutional budget for the 3,500 USD+ data products

Use GiveRadar when

• Your research crosses borders or focuses on charities outside the United States
• You need programmatic API access at low or zero cost
• You want every record traceable to an official government registry
• You are running journalistic due diligence with sanctions and news context
• You are an academic researcher, journalist, or small foundation without enterprise data budget
• You want a unified schema across countries for comparative analysis

Use both when

You are doing serious nonprofit research and want both perspectives. Candid will tell you what a nonprofit chose to disclose to potential funders; GiveRadar will tell you what is filed in its country's official registry. Where the two agree, you have high confidence. Where they disagree, you have a question worth asking.

What we have in common

Despite the differences, both platforms share the same core philosophy: nonprofit data should be public and easy to access.

Public source data

Both build on official Form 990 and registry filings rather than gating basic transparency behind paywalls.

Free for individual donors

An ordinary donor can research any organization without cost on either platform.

Charity claim and edit

Verified nonprofits can claim and update their own profile on both platforms, adding narrative depth.

Corrections process

Both platforms accept and review correction requests rather than treating data as immutable.

Honest about the limits

Where each platform falls short. Reasonable observers might disagree with our framing here, but we believe an honest comparison includes what each tool cannot do.

Where Candid is weaker

• Limited international coverage; the main database is US-centric
• Bulk data products start at 3,500 USD, pricing out smaller researchers
• Transparency seals reward voluntary disclosure rather than independent verification
• No native sanctions screening or news monitoring per charity
• Self-reported profile data adds depth but reduces independence of the record

Where GiveRadar is weaker

• Newer and less established than Candid; smaller ecosystem of third-party integrations
• No grant funding database; cannot search open foundation opportunities
• Less curated narrative content than Candid profile pages offer
• No dedicated DEI or demographics product
• US data depth depends on what nonprofits file with the IRS, with no Candid-style profile enrichment layer

See the data for yourself

Search any of 7 million+ charities across 65+ countries, or pull the same records via our free API. No signup needed for browsing.

Search charities Where data comes from API plans

Primary sources

All figures sourced from each platform's own published documentation. 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. We have tried to represent Candid fairly and to call out areas where Candid is the better choice. If you spot an inaccuracy, email [email protected] and we will correct it.