What is the difference between GiveRadar and ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer?

Scope and approach. ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer is a free US-focused tool that surfaces 1.9 million US tax-exempt organizations and 18 million Form 990 filings sourced directly from the IRS, with no rating or scoring layer. GiveRadar covers 7 million+ charities across 65+ countries by aggregating 50+ official government registries, adds an automatic Integrity Assessment from 0 to 100, and surfaces red flags, sanctions matches, and per-charity news. Both are free for browsing; both publish APIs. ProPublica's API has no rate limit and no key requirement; GiveRadar's API is tiered (free 100 requests per day, Pro at 99 USD per month for 10,000).

Is GiveRadar a ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer alternative?

GiveRadar is a global complement to ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. For US-only journalism that needs raw Form 990 PDF access, ProPublica is hard to beat: its API is keyless, its 18-million-filing archive is comprehensive, and the ProPublica brand carries journalism credibility. For international research, scoring, sanctions screening, or news context per charity, GiveRadar adds layers ProPublica deliberately does not. Many journalists use both: ProPublica for the underlying US 990, GiveRadar for everything that happens outside US borders.

Does ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer cover non-US charities?

No. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer is a US-only database, sourced from IRS Exempt Organizations Master File and Form 990 filings. Charities registered solely outside the United States (UK, Germany, Australia, Canada, Brazil, etc.) are not included. For non-US charity research, GiveRadar covers 65+ countries through their respective official government registries (Charity Commission for England and Wales, ACNC, CRA, BZSt, RNA, CNPJ, and 49 more).

Does ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer rate or score charities?

No. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer deliberately exposes raw filing data without scoring, ranking, or rating organizations. The tool's role is transparency: making US 990 data searchable and auditable. GiveRadar takes a different approach by computing an automatic Integrity Assessment from 0 to 100 based on registry-filed signals (registration, financial transparency, organizational transparency, third-party validation, community signals) and surfacing automated red flags. If you specifically want unscored raw data, ProPublica is the better choice.

Is the ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer API free?

Yes, fully. The ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer API is free to use, requires no API key, and has no documented rate limit. It exposes search and per-organization endpoints returning JSON. Attribution to ProPublica and the IRS BMF source is required. GiveRadar's API also has a free tier (100 requests per day with API key signup), with paid tiers for higher volume (10,000 per day at 99 USD per month, custom Enterprise pricing). For light US-only programmatic use, ProPublica is the simplest option; for high volume or international queries, GiveRadar's tiered pricing applies.

Where does ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer get its data?

From the IRS directly: the Exempt Organizations Master File (BMF), Form 990 e-files (PDF and XML formats), and Federal Audit Clearinghouse records for organizations receiving federal grants of 750,000 USD or more. ProPublica processes and indexes these public records. GiveRadar uses the same IRS sources for its US data, plus 49 equivalent regulators for the rest of the world. The two platforms therefore agree on US 990 figures by construction.

Why do journalists use ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer?

Three reasons. First, the ProPublica brand is a Pulitzer-winning investigative newsroom, so citing the Nonprofit Explorer carries journalistic weight. Second, the tool surfaces direct links to original Form 990 PDFs, which journalists need for source verification. Third, the API requires no key and no rate limit, making rapid programmatic lookup easy. GiveRadar replicates the underlying US data and adds international coverage, sanctions screening, and news context, but does not have ProPublica's editorial brand. For US-only investigations, many journalists default to ProPublica.

Can I download bulk data from ProPublica or GiveRadar?

ProPublica does not provide bulk data downloads through Nonprofit Explorer; their documentation directs users to the original IRS sources (irs.gov BMF and Form 990 XML downloads). GiveRadar offers bulk export through its Enterprise API tier, with custom data delivery for larger commercial users. For free bulk access, both platforms ultimately point to the underlying registries: IRS for the United States, the various national regulators for other countries.

Does GiveRadar replace ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer for US 990 lookups?

Not entirely. For raw US 990 access with direct PDF links and a journalism-credibility brand, ProPublica remains the standard. GiveRadar covers all 1.5 million US 501(c)s in our database, exposes the same financial signals, and adds an Integrity Assessment, red flag detection, sanctions screening, and global comparison context. If your investigation extends beyond the United States, requires a normalized cross-country schema, or you want a quick scored summary alongside the raw data, GiveRadar adds value. If your needs are strictly raw US 990 search, ProPublica is hard to beat.

Are ProPublica and GiveRadar both nonprofits?

ProPublica Inc. is a US 501(c)(3) public charity itself; the Nonprofit Explorer is a public-interest journalism tool the organization runs. GiveRadar is a private, founder-led venture currently operating without external investors, sustained by Pro and Enterprise API revenue. Both platforms are free for individual donors and researchers; the funding models differ, but the public-good orientation is shared.

Comparison

GiveRadar vs ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer: an honest comparison

Two free nonprofit data tools, compared head-to-head. ProPublica exposes raw US Form 990 data without scoring; GiveRadar normalizes data from 65+ countries and adds an Integrity Assessment. We are honest about where ProPublica is the better choice.

Skip to verdict See full comparison table

GiveRadar in one paragraph

A free global charity intelligence platform launched in 2026. Aggregates 7 million+ charities across 65+ countries from 50+ official government registries, adds a 0-to-100 Integrity Assessment, automated red flags, sanctions screening, and per-charity news through GDELT. Free public web interface, free REST API tier (100 requests per day), Pro at 99 USD per month for 10,000 daily requests.

ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer in one paragraph

A free US nonprofit search tool run by ProPublica, the Pulitzer-winning investigative news organization. Surfaces 1.9 million US tax-exempt organizations and 18 million Form 990 filings sourced directly from IRS Exempt Organizations BMF, Form 990 e-files (PDF and XML), and Federal Audit Clearinghouse records. No scoring or rating; raw data exposure for transparency. Free public website plus a no-key, no-rate-limit JSON API.

The 30-second verdict

Use ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer if your investigation is US-only, you need direct links to original Form 990 PDFs, you want unlimited free programmatic access without an API key, or your work depends on the journalism credibility of the ProPublica brand. Use GiveRadar if your work crosses borders, you need an automatic score and red flag detection, or you want news monitoring and sanctions screening attached to each charity. Many journalists keep both bookmarked.

Who they are

A bit of context on each tool before the side-by-side detail.

ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer

ProPublica is an independent, nonprofit investigative newsroom (itself a 501(c)(3) public charity) that has won six Pulitzer Prizes since launching in 2008. Nonprofit Explorer is one of ProPublica's data-journalism projects, providing public access to the IRS records that document the US tax-exempt sector.

The tool ingests four IRS-derived feeds: the Exempt Organizations Business Master File (BMF), processed Form 990 PDFs, machine-readable Form 990 XML filings (where electronically filed), and Federal Audit Clearinghouse records for organizations receiving 750,000 USD or more in federal grants. Each organization page surfaces revenue, expenses, executive compensation, and direct links to the original 990 documents.

A public REST API at projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/api returns JSON for any of the indexed organizations. There is no API key requirement and no published rate limit; ProPublica asks only for attribution. The tool was built by Andrea Suozzo, Alec Glassford, Ash Ngu, Brandon Roberts, and others on the ProPublica data team.

GiveRadar

GiveRadar launched in 2026 as a free global charity intelligence platform. Where ProPublica focuses on US 990 transparency, GiveRadar normalizes data from 50+ national registries: the same IRS sources that ProPublica uses, plus the Charity Commission for England and Wales, ACNC for Australia, CRA for Canada, RNA for France, BZSt for Germany, CNPJ for Brazil, NTS Hojin Bango for Japan, and 41 other regulators.

Beyond raw data, GiveRadar computes an Integrity Assessment from 0 to 100 across five components (registration, financial transparency, organizational transparency, third-party validation, community signals) and surfaces automated red flags for each charity: high executive pay, low program spending, missing filings, sanctions matches. Per-charity news context is added through GDELT integration.

The free public REST API serves 100 requests per day per key; Pro at 99 USD per month delivers 10,000 daily requests; Enterprise pricing is custom. Methodology and OpenAPI 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	ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer
Geographic coverage	65+ countries; truly global	United States only
Organizations covered	7 million+ (1.5M US plus 7M+ international)	~1.9 million US tax-exempt organizations
Filings indexed	Multi-year filings per charity, from official registries; Form 990 XML for US	~18 million Form 990 filings since 2011, plus PDF documents
Direct PDF links to 990	No (we expose parsed XML, not raw PDFs)	Yes (every filing links to its IRS PDF)
Federal Audit Clearinghouse	Not currently indexed	Yes, for organizations receiving 750K USD or more in federal grants
Scoring	Integrity Assessment 0-100 across five components, fully automated	None by design (raw exposure only)
Red flag detection	Yes (high exec pay, low program spend, missing filings, sanctions match)	No (raw data; users interpret themselves)
Sanctions screening	Yes (every charity screened against Open Sanctions)	No
News context	Yes (GDELT integration per charity)	No (ProPublica's investigative articles exist separately)
Public API	REST. Free 100 req/day with key; Pro 10,000 req/day at 99 USD/month; OpenAPI spec public	REST JSON. No API key, no documented rate limit, attribution required
Bulk download	Available on Enterprise plan	Not via Nonprofit Explorer; ProPublica points users to IRS bulk sources
Native government identifiers	EIN, UK Charity Number, ABN, BN-RR, RSIN, RNA W-number, CNPJ, and 40+ more preserved	EIN only
Editorial brand	Independent platform; new (founded 2026)	ProPublica: six Pulitzer Prizes; widely cited in nonprofit journalism
Pricing for donors and journalists	Free	Free

When to use which

Both tools are excellent for what they do. The right choice depends on the question you are trying to answer.

Use ProPublica when

• Your investigation is US-only and you need original Form 990 PDFs for source verification
• You want unlimited free API access without registering for an API key
• You need Federal Audit Clearinghouse records for organizations receiving large federal grants
• Citing the ProPublica brand carries weight for your audience (academic, journalism, court filings)
• You explicitly do not want a score; you want raw data and your own interpretation
• Historical filing depth matters (18 million filings going back to 2011)

Use GiveRadar when

• Your investigation crosses borders or focuses on charities outside the United States
• You want an automatic Integrity Assessment as a starting point
• Sanctions screening or news context per charity matters to your due diligence
• You need a normalized cross-country schema for comparative analysis
• Automated red flag detection (exec pay, program spending, missing filings) saves you triage time
• You want native government identifiers for international charities (ABN, BN-RR, CNPJ, etc.)

Use both when

You are doing serious investigative work on a US-active charity. ProPublica gives you the raw 990 PDFs and the credibility to cite them; GiveRadar gives you a quick scored summary, sanctions screening, news context, and the option to follow international ties. The two tools agree on the underlying IRS figures by construction, so cross-checking is a fast confidence check.

What we have in common

Despite different scopes and approaches, both platforms share core principles.

Free for users

Donors, researchers, and journalists can access full charity data on either platform without paying.

Public sources only

Both platforms build on official IRS records (and, for GiveRadar, equivalent regulators worldwide), with no proprietary data lock-in.

Public API

Both platforms expose their data programmatically, enabling third-party tools, research scripts, and integrations.

Public-good missions

ProPublica is itself a 501(c)(3); GiveRadar is a private venture committed to keeping core access free. Both prioritize transparency over monetization.

Honest about the limits

Where each platform falls short.

Where ProPublica is weaker

• US-only; non-US charities are completely outside scope
• No scoring, no red flags, no sanctions screening, no news monitoring; users must do all interpretation themselves
• Limited classification beyond IRS NTEE codes; no cause tagging or topic discovery
• No charity-claim or verified-edit workflow for nonprofits to update their own records
• The tool is a journalism project rather than a maintained product, so feature development is intermittent

Where GiveRadar is weaker

• Newer than ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer and lacks ProPublica's editorial brand
• The free API tier (100 requests per day) is more restrictive than ProPublica's keyless unlimited access
• We do not surface direct PDF links to original Form 990 documents
• Federal Audit Clearinghouse data is not currently indexed
• For raw US-only research, ProPublica's lack of scoring is a feature, not a bug; GiveRadar's automatic Integrity Assessment may add unwanted complexity

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 Data sources 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 ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer fairly and to call out areas where ProPublica is the better choice. ProPublica's investigative journalism is one of the most valuable accountability resources in US nonprofit data, and we are happy to recommend it for any US-only investigation. If you spot an inaccuracy, email [email protected] and we will correct it.