Beacon
Shoreditch, London, United Kingdom
What it is
Beacon is a customer relationship management (CRM) system built for charities. It brings fundraising, memberships, events and case management into one product. Fundraising tools cover branded donation forms, grants, major gifts, legacies, recurring payments and Gift Aid. Teams can create membership and event ticketing forms and track attendance, as well as follow service enquiries and activities over time. Workflow automation and AI tools help with filtering data, drafting emails and creating database logic. Listed integrations include Mailchimp, Dotdigital, Sendgrid, Xero, JustGiving, Stripe, GoCardless, PayPal and Zapier. Beacon also offers a documented RESTful API for custom integrations and Beacon-powered features. Plans start at £37/mo, with a free trial but no free plan. All plans include in-app chat and email support. Beacon says its infrastructure and customer data are hosted in the UK and cites ISO 27001:2022 and Cyber Essentials Plus certifications. Implementation is not included in plan pricing and is handled by certified Implementation Partners.
For and against
For
- Branded donation, membership and event ticketing forms
- Tracks attendance, service enquiries and activities
- Workflow automation and AI tools are included
- All plans include in-app chat and email support
Against
- No free plan
- Implementation is not included in plan pricing
- Payment providers may charge processing fees
The verdict
Beacon combines charity-focused fundraising and operational tools with integrations and a documented API. Its starting price is £37/mo, and implementation costs are outside plan pricing.
Who it suits
Beacon suits charities that need fundraising, membership, event and case-management functions in one CRM. Its API and integrations may also suit teams connecting existing tools or building custom features.
Plans and prices
Starter
500–2,000 contacts · 3 users · 10 read-only users · 0% platform fees
Read 15 Oct 2026 · beaconcrm.org
Standard
2,500–50,000 contacts · 10 users · unlimited read-only users · 0% platform fees
Read 15 Oct 2026 · beaconcrm.org
Premium
10,000–100,000 contacts · 100 users · unlimited read-only users · unlimited custom fields
Read 15 Oct 2026 · beaconcrm.org
Ultimate
100,000+ contacts · 100+ users · unlimited read-only users · sandbox accounts
Read 15 Oct 2026 · beaconcrm.org
On the record
- API
- Beacon provides an open REST API for reading, adding and deleting account data; API access is included on Standard, Premium and Ultimate plans.guide.beaconcrm.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- API documentation
- Developer documentation is automatically generated from each customer database configuration and requires login; supplementary guides cover validation, filters, file uploads and CSV exports.guide.beaconcrm.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- API limitation
- The relationships feature is not currently available through the API, although point-to-another-record fields are supported.guide.beaconcrm.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- API limits
- The API allows up to 300 requests per minute, or 60 per minute for bulk requests.guide.beaconcrm.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Automation and AI
- Beacon offers workflow automation and AI tools for filtering data, drafting emails, and creating database logic.beaconcrm.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Backups
- The service performs daily CRM backups and retains records for 30 days.beaconcrm.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Case management
- Case management stores enquiries, ongoing service use and activities in one place.beaconcrm.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Company facts
- LinkedIn lists Beacon CRM as privately held, founded in 2017, headquartered in London, with 51–200 employees.linkedin.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Company identity
- The pricing page identifies the legal entity as Beacon Apps Ltd.beaconcrm.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Customisation
- Users can create custom fields, record types, views and dashboards, with dashboards updated in real time.beaconcrm.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Data import
- CSV import supports up to one million records in a single import.beaconcrm.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Data residency
- Beacon says its infrastructure and customer data are hosted in the UK.beaconcrm.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Documentation
- The help centre contains articles covering data management, forms, reporting, payments, Gift Aid, integrations, security, automation, account administration and developers.guide.beaconcrm.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Beacon lists Mailchimp, dotdigital and Sendgrid integrations for bulk communications.beaconcrm.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Events
- Event tools track attendance and sell tickets through branded forms with availability limits, time slots and group tickets.beaconcrm.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Exports
- Beacon says its export system can retrieve 10 million records in 20 seconds.beaconcrm.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Finance
- Finance features include Xero integration, reporting, income allocation, batch entry and payment-provider payout tracking.beaconcrm.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Founders
- Beacon says Chris and David founded the company in 2017 after working in technology startups.beaconcrm.org · read 15 Oct 2026
