This page is a researched comparison of leading grassroots and digital advocacy platforms in 2026. It is designed to help nonprofits, associations, coalitions, and public affairs teams understand real differences between tools.
Advocacy software helps organizations recruit supporters, identify their lawmakers, and take actions such as emailing or calling their representatives. Most platforms also provide basic reporting so teams can see which supporters acted and which lawmakers were contacted.
More advanced platforms support multi-step campaigns, outbound email or SMS engagement, more customization, and tools for managing advocates over time.
The advocacy software your team needs depends on the level of complexity in your program. If you only need supporters to send one templated email, nearly any tool will work. If you need personalization, year-round engagement, or integrated communication tools, you will need a more advanced platform.
A brief look at the most commonly evaluated advocacy tools and how they differ in functionality, pricing, support, and long-term viability.
| Founded | 2002 |
| Best For |
Associations with straightforward advocacy needs; teams already purchasing FiscalNote’s legislative tracking tool. |
| Pricing |
Typically multi-year contracts; pricing varies by list size |
| Key Strengths |
Stable, widely recognized platform with simple setup |
What It Is
VoterVoice is the long-standing grassroots advocacy platform owned by FiscalNote. It is widely used by associations that want a reliable system for email-your-rep actions and basic reporting.
Strengths
• Established customer base
• Easy setup
• Integrates with FiscalNote’s legislative intelligence tools
Limitations
• Reports of declining customer support
• The interface has not modernized
• Limited reporting beyond topline numbers
How It Compares to AdvocacyAI
• Pricing: Multi-year lock-ins vs more flexible, nonprofit-friendly tiers.
• Support and Updates: Fewer product updates; AdvocacyAI ships updates regularly.
• Branding: Page design is dated compared to more modern action hubs.
• Reporting: Limited growth tracking vs AdvocacyAI’s deeper engagement analytics.
| Founded | 2014 |
| Best For |
Public affairs, lobbying teams, and government relations departments |
| Pricing |
Typically $10,000+ per year; multi-year commitments |
| Key Strengths |
Comprehensive legislative tracking and stakeholder management tools |
What It Is
Quorum is a full public affairs suite combining legislative tracking, stakeholder management, and grassroots tools. It is one of the most robust platforms available.
Strengths
• Industry leader in legislative tracking
• Strong stakeholder and in-person meeting tracking
• Deep database of lawmakers and districts
Limitations
• Expensive for teams that only need grassroots functions
• Slower response to customer feature requests
• Long learning curve
How It Compares to AdvocacyAI
• User Experience: Heavier interface vs quicker adoption in AdvocacyAI.
• Support: Limited onboarding vs hands-on support in AdvocacyAI.
• Branding: Requires CSS for customization.
• Outbound Email: Basic compared to AdvocacyAI’s journeys and engagement tools.
| Founded |
2012 (rebranded to Capitol Canary and then acquired by Quorum) |
| Best For |
Agencies or teams familiar with legacy Phone2Action workflows |
| Pricing |
Same as Quorum (above) |
What It Is
The original Phone2Action platform no longer exists independently. Its features have mostly been merged into Quorum Grassroots and customers were moved over to Quorum.
How It Compares to AdvocacyAI
Phone2Action was one of the first advocacy tools, providing capabilities that previously were not available for organizations. It was incredibly popular and grew fast as digital advocacy took off. AdvocacyAI is an actively developed platform with modern UI, personalization, and automation for the next generation of digital advocacy practitioners.
| Founded |
1990 |
| Best For |
Budget-conscious teams focused on in-person advocacy and fly-in management |
| Pricing |
Starts around $3,000/year (not publicly listed) |
| Key Strengths |
Strong legislative tracking and fly-in meeting tools |
What It Is
SoftEdge provides a mix of grassroots tools, legislative tracking alerts, and meeting management for fly-ins. It supports email, fax, and phone outreach.
Strengths
• Affordable entry point
• Good for managing in-person meetings
• Legislative alerts and committee/caucus data
Limitations
• Digital advocacy features remain limited
• User-facing widgets can look outdated
• Reporting does not focus on long-term engagement
How It Compares to AdvocacyAI
• Branding: Limited customization vs flexible page design.
• Reporting: Focused on lawmaker meetings vs advocate engagement.
• Action Types: Fewer digital actions and no advanced automations.
| Founded |
2009 |
| Best For |
Organizations needing a database, CRM, and website builder in one place |
| Pricing |
Starts low but increases with advocacy capabilities and as supporter counts grow |
| Key Strengths |
Strong supporter database and donation functionality |
What It Is
NationBuilder is primarily a CRM, website builder, and fundraising system that also offers petitions, events, and basic advocacy actions via add-ons
Strengths
• Affordable for small supporter databases
• Can host your website
• Supports donations and recurring giving
Limitations
• Pricing increases rapidly
• More useful as a CRM than an advocacy engine
• Limited customization without developer help
• Only one outbound email tool with limited integrations
How It Compares to AdvocacyAI
• Customization: Rigid themes vs flexible drag-and-drop design.
• Advocacy Tools: Advocacy actions require a paid add-on.
• Integrations: Limited; AdvocacyAI offers more direct integrations.
| Founded |
2020 (acquired by Omnicom PR Group in 2023) |
| Best For |
Digital-forward agencies |
| Pricing |
Starts at ~$9,000/year |
| Key Strengths |
Clean modern action pages and agency-friendly workflows |
What It Is
Speak4 specializes in sleek, agency-driven advocacy campaigns with a focus on design quality and quick deployment.
Strengths
• Modern-looking pages
• Good for agencies running high-volume campaigns
• AI-assisted “message smoothing”
Limitations
• No outbound email or SMS to your list
• Pricing starts higher than many competitors
• Integrations mainly through Zapier
How It Compares to AdvocacyAI
• Communication Tools: AdvocacyAI supports outbound communication; Speak4 does not.
• Pricing: Speak4’s pricing is higher with more gating.
• Personalization: Both platforms support deeper message customization.
| Founded |
2015 |
| Best For |
Nonprofits with simple digital action needs and existing CRM workflows |
| Pricing |
$349–$619/month for top tiers |
| Key Strengths |
Wide range of integrations |
What It Is
New/Mode offers email, call, fax, SMS, and LTE tools with a strong integration library.
Strengths
• Affordable
• Integrates with major CRMs
• Fast setup for basic campaigns
Limitations
• Users experienced disruptions during migration to the current V2 platform
• Basic reporting
• Limited scalability for complex campaigns
How It Compares to AdvocacyAI
• Integrations: Many options, but personalization and automations are limited.
• AI: Template-based system vs AI-driven workflows in AdvocacyAI.
• Action Types: LTE tool is strong, but has fewer advanced digital actions.
|
|
AdvocacyAI |
VoterVoice |
Quorum |
SoftEdge |
NationBuilder |
Speak4 |
NewMode |
|
Pricing |
Mid-point, Flexible by list size and organization type |
Multi-year contracts, high-end |
High-end |
Competitive |
Variable with gated add-ons |
Starts ~$9k |
Starts ~$349/mo for 3+ users |
|
Outbound Email or SMS |
Advanced Email Capabilities and Text Partnerships |
Basic Email and Text Add-ons |
Basic Email |
No |
Yes |
No |
Basic Email |
|
Personalization |
Full AI personalization |
1 template |
No |
No |
No |
Partial |
No |
|
Action Types |
Advanced |
Standard |
Standard |
Standard + fly-in |
Basic Petition |
Standard |
Standard + LTE |
|
Reporting |
AI insights and advanced analytics |
Basic |
Strong GR metrics |
Meeting-focused |
Basic |
Basic |
Basic |
|
Automations |
Yes |
Limited |
Limited |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Limited |
|
User-Friendliness |
Modern |
Older UI |
Complex |
Older UI |
Mixed |
Modern |
Modern |
|
Ideal For |
Associations, digital-first nonprofits, agencies |
Associations |
GR teams |
Fly-ins, GR |
Small nonprofits |
Agencies |
Small–mid nonprofits |
There’s no universal “best” tool. It depends on what you need your advocacy program to accomplish.
AdvocacyAI is best for digital-first organizations that want to persuade lawmakers more effectively, personalize supporter outreach, and grow an engaged list long-term — not just run template email campaigns.
If your goal is simply to check the box of “having an advocacy action,” lower-cost tools with basic email-your-lawmaker features may be enough.
Lobbying is direct communication with lawmakers by staff, consultants, or lobbyists. Grassroots advocacy mobilizes supporters to contact lawmakers themselves.
From a software perspective, lobbying-focused platforms often prioritize bill tracking, stakeholder management, and meeting documentation.
Grassroots platforms prioritize supporter actions, email-your-rep tools, and communication workflows.
Some platforms, like Quorum and VoterVoice, combine both. Others specialize in one area and integrate with other tools.
A petition is a simple sign-up form where users add their names to show support for an issue. Organizations may send petition totals to lawmakers or use them for awareness or list-building.
An advocacy platform supports direct lawmaker contact — email, calls, social posts, letters, tweets, etc. — and tracks who takes action, how often, and with what impact. Petitions show support; advocacy platforms mobilize it.
According to AdvocacyAI co-founder Tom Spencer, “AI should remove the repetitive work so advocacy teams can focus on strategy, storytelling, and building real relationships with supporters.”
Organizations use AI to:
Most platforms stop at AI-assisted copy. Newer tools, including AdvocacyAI, use AI to power automation, personalization, and engagement analytics.
Advocacy teams often struggle to connect their online work to real-world legislative outcomes. Many organizations run strong in-person lobbying efforts, but their digital programs don’t meaningfully reinforce that work.
They also face three recurring challenges:
Successful teams build ongoing engagement rather than campaign-specific outreach. Year-round engagement usually includes surveys, story collection, targeted emails, small volunteer opportunities, and community-building events.
For a full set of strategies, see our guide: “How to Engage Supporters When Lawmakers Are on Recess.”
Each platform in this list solves a slightly different problem. Some focus on legislative tracking, some on in-person lobbying, some on design, and others on basic send-a-message campaigns. If your team needs personalization, year-round engagement tools, and stronger reporting, you may prefer a more modern advocacy platform.