This post describes nine tools that campaigns and consultants use. For each one we give who it serves, in the vendor's own words where it says, what it publishes about price, and the kind of campaign it fits. We read every vendor's own website on October 21, 2026. Prices and terms change, so confirm each figure with the vendor before you budget. One of the nine is CoreCNX, which we make, and we say plainly what it does not do.
How we chose and checked
We picked tools that a campaign or consultant in Illinois could realistically buy, across the political spectrum: two tools tied to one side, one tool for candidates outside the two major parties, and six that are open to any campaign. We left out tools that only send texts or only process donations, because a CRM is the system that keeps the record of every person and every contact with them.
We quote what each vendor says about itself and repeat only the prices it publishes. Several review websites list prices for vendors that do not publish them, and we do not repeat those figures. Our guide to choosing political campaign software covers the questions to settle before you compare any tools, and our post comparing NationBuilder, NGP VAN and i360 pricing goes deeper on those three.
The nine tools at a glance
| Tool | Who it serves, as the vendor puts it | Published price |
|---|---|---|
| NGP VAN | Democratic campaigns; VoteBuilder access through each state Democratic party | Not published |
| i360 | Right-of-center organizations | Quote only |
| GoodParty.org | Nonpartisan, independent and third-party candidates only | Free; Pro $10 a month |
| NationBuilder | Nonprofits, advocacy organizations and political campaigns | From $34 a month |
| Ecanvasser | Political canvassers and field teams | By database size; see its pricing page |
| Qomon | Political organizations, nonprofits, unions and campaigns | From 45 euros a month |
| Solidarity Tech | Labor unions, nonprofits, advocacy groups and political campaigns | From $39 a month |
| Campaign Deputy | Campaigns that need fundraising and finance reporting | From $185 a month |
| CoreCNX | Campaigns, party organizations, nonprofits and businesses, of any party | From $49 a month |
From each vendor's own website, read on October 21, 2026. Starting prices cover the smallest plan, and most rise with the size of your list.
Tools limited to certain campaigns
1. NGP VAN (VoteBuilder)
NGP VAN's VoteBuilder page says it is used by "thousands of Democratic campaigns up and down the ballot," and that "VoteBuilder access is granted to candidates by each individual state Democratic party," so a campaign gets it through the party rather than by signing up directly. In Illinois, the Democratic Party of Illinois takes requests from campaigns, organizations and county parties, and its form says it is not for individuals. NGP VAN does not publish prices.
Fits: Democratic campaigns that want the party's voter file and the tools their state party supports.
2. i360
i360's home page says, "We work with right-of-center organizations." It describes more than 270 million voter profiles with more than 1,800 data points per person, along with apps and services for door knocking, phone calls and texting. All of its plans are quoted through a form, and no prices are published.
Fits: right-of-center campaigns and organizations that want a national voter and consumer file with outreach tools built around it.
3. GoodParty.org
GoodParty.org serves candidates outside the two major parties. Its about page says, "Candidates must run and serve as a nonpartisan, independent, or third-party candidate, not as a Democrat or Republican." The free plan includes campaign planning tools and training. The Pro plan is $10 a month and adds data on the registered voters in your race with voting history, the first 5,000 texts free and then 3.5 cents a text, and tools for phone banking and door knocking.
Fits: independent and nonpartisan candidates on a small budget. Many Illinois local offices, such as school, park and library boards, are elected without party labels, so check whether your race qualifies and whether your state's voter data is covered.
Tools open to any campaign
4. NationBuilder
NationBuilder describes itself as "designed for every community and organization, no matter the goals," and names nonprofits, advocacy organizations and political campaigns as its users. It combines a website builder, email and texting, donations and a people database. Its pricing page lists Starter from $34 a month and Pro from $160 a month, priced by the number of contacts, with Enterprise priced on request. Our pricing comparison found that those figures are the annual-billing rates. There is a 14-day trial.
Fits: campaigns that want their website, email and donation pages in the same system as their contacts.
5. Ecanvasser
Ecanvasser is built around door-to-door work. Its page for political campaigns says you can "cut turf and assign walk lists in seconds" and "work offline and sync later," and it lists connections to L2, NationBuilder and Mailchimp. Plans are priced by the size of your database, with no limit on users or teams. Check its pricing page for current plan prices. There is a 7-day trial, and the Enterprise plan has a 12-month minimum term.
Fits: campaigns and party organizations whose main job is the door.
6. Qomon
Qomon calls itself a "Supporter Activation Platform" and says it "powers mission-driven organizations, from political organizations to nonprofits." It offers a door-to-door app, petitions and surveys, texting and email, AI tools and a donor CRM. Prices are shown in euros, starting at 45 euros a month as displayed, and the pricing page does not mention a free trial. Its site does not say which countries its voter data covers, so ask about your state before you buy.
Fits: organizations, including international ones, that want a field app and organizing tools in one product.
7. Solidarity Tech
Solidarity Tech says it is "Trusted by Labor & Grassroots Organizers" and serves labor unions, nonprofits, advocacy groups and political campaigns. It offers peer-to-peer texting, phone banking, a field app, events and donations. Its base prices, for up to 1,000 contacts, are $39 a month for Essentials with 5 team members, $79 for Standard with 25 and $199 for Professional with no limit, and texts are priced separately per message.
Fits: membership organizations and campaigns that text and call their members often.
8. Campaign Deputy
Campaign Deputy combines a fundraising CRM with campaign finance reporting. Its reporting page says it generates federal reports such as quarterlies and 48-hour notices, and for Illinois it describes exporting donor entities "reducing manual data entry time for IDIS reporting," the State Board of Elections' filing system. Plans start at $185 a month for Starter, with Grow at $225 and Raise at $300.
Fits: campaigns where raising money and filing finance reports are the main jobs.
9. CoreCNX
CoreCNX is the CRM in the CNX Suite, and it is open to campaigns of any party, party organizations, nonprofits and businesses. It keeps one record per person, with a timeline of every contact. When the products are connected, door results from Beacon, text activity from CampaignCNX+ and website chatbot leads from Alma are added to that timeline, along with email opens and clicks. It also includes pipeline stages your organization names, tags, tasks, email campaigns, and import and export by CSV or Excel file, with each row matched to an existing person by phone number or email address. Prices are $49, $99, $199 or $499 a month, priced by the number of contacts with users included in each plan, and the Enterprise plan can hold separate client sub-accounts at $49 a month each. There is a 14-day trial.
What CoreCNX does not do: it does not include a voter file, so you import the list you get from your party, your election authority or a data vendor. It does not make phone calls, process donations, or prepare federal or state finance reports. Texting and door-to-door canvassing are separate products in the suite, CampaignCNX+ and Beacon.
Fits: campaigns, party organizations and consultants of any party who already have a list and want every door, text and sign-up on one record that lasts from one election to the next.
How to choose
Settle these questions before you book a demo:
- Which party, if any? If you are a Democrat, ask your state party about VoteBuilder before anything else. If you run without a party label, check GoodParty.org's eligibility. Everyone else can use any of the open tools.
- Do you need voter data included? In Illinois, election authorities furnish voter registration data to registered political committees for "bona fide political purposes," and it may not be used for commercial solicitation or other business purposes (10 ILCS 5/4-8). If your committee already gets the list from its county clerk or party, you may not need to pay for data a second time.
- Who will run it? Count the people who need to sign in, and compare tools that charge per user with tools that charge by list size.
- Do you need finance reporting? If yes, you need a tool built for it, or you file directly through your state's system. Many CRMs do not prepare finance reports, and CoreCNX does not.
- What happens after the election? Ask whether you can export every contact and its history, what it costs to keep the account between elections, and make sure the account belongs to the committee or the party, not to one volunteer.
- Are you running several campaigns? Consultants and county parties should ask how each client or township is kept separate. Our post on running a county party's data in one CRM shows one way to set that up.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best CRM for a political campaign?
It depends on your party, your budget and whether you need voter data included. Democratic campaigns can request NGP VAN's VoteBuilder through their state party, i360 says it works with right-of-center organizations, and candidates outside the two major parties can use GoodParty.org. Campaigns of any party can choose among NationBuilder, Ecanvasser, Qomon, Solidarity Tech, Campaign Deputy and CoreCNX.
Can any campaign use NGP VAN?
No. VoteBuilder access is granted to candidates by each state Democratic party, so it is generally available to Democratic campaigns and organizations that their state party approves.
How much does a political campaign CRM cost?
Published starting prices on October 21, 2026 ranged from free on GoodParty.org's basic plan to $185 a month for Campaign Deputy's Starter plan, and NGP VAN and i360 quote prices individually. Most tools charge more as your list grows, so price each one for your own number of contacts and users.
Does a local campaign need a CRM?
A small race can run on a spreadsheet, but a CRM helps once several volunteers are knocking doors, sending texts and taking sign-ups at the same time. The benefit is one record per person, so nobody calls a supporter twice or loses a promise of a yard sign.
Does CoreCNX include voter data?
No. You import the list you already have as a CSV or Excel file, and CoreCNX keeps fields such as precinct and party on each person's record.
Try it with your own list
The most useful test of any CRM is your own list. Start a 14-day CoreCNX trial, import the list you trust most, and see whether one record per person fits the way your campaign works. Our page for political campaigns explains how CoreCNX works with Beacon and CampaignCNX+.
