Let’s talk about free software for your grant writing business. You can find software for grants management, grant research and prospecting, and even grant writing. But not every piece of grant software will save you time and money in your business. 

So today, I’m going to share the free and paid tools I recommend and have personally used. This isn’t your typical grant software promo article. It’s based on my firsthand experience using these tools as a successful professional grant writer and mentor to those creating freelance grant writing businesses. 

Please note that, for some of these grant software tools I am an affiliate—but that’s because I love them!

Free Software for Grants Management and More!

Grant Easy Management Software (GEMS) is our exclusive 2025 sponsor for a reason. We love GEMS, its CEO and Founder Rachel Waterman, and her team and ALL the things that they provide (as grant writers) to grant writers. Rachel has been on our podcast multiple times and we often do joint informational sessions together. 

GEMS is a software for managing grants, but it’s so much more than that. You can also use their tasks, time tracker, and organizational tool for project management.

You can start with their FREE version to see how it can help work for you!

Since GEMS has its own project management area (think ClickUp and Asana), you could sign up now to just have it help you manage tasks. If you have clients or work for a nonprofit that is applying for grants, you can jump inside their free version now, too.

I was noodling around inside GEMS recently, as we just re-launched our own grant writing agency, and I am so excited to get my team onboarded easily into the system.

Don’t have time to train your team? I am having my team just watch the video tutorials that GEMS provides!

And if you love it and want to upgrade to a paid version of their full grants management software, GEMS offers a 10% discount for GW&F folks (GWFHOLLY).

Free Software for Grant Prospecting

Today, there are so many useful and free or low cost grant research and prospecting tools available. We recommend getting started with them early in your business so you can get comfortable with how to find grants for clients. Some freelance grant writers have even used the free versions of these tools to share open grant applications on their social media and have booked clients that way.

Here are the tools we use and recommend: 

Grants.gov: This grant research and submission platform is always for free and hosts ONLY US federal grants and contracts.

Instrumentl: This grant prospecting platform only offers a 14-day free trial. They offer an excellent and user-friendly database of hundreds of thousands of grant opportunities and funder information.

If you love Instrumentl and want to invest in the software, inside our Freelance Grant Writer Academy you can join forces with other students and go in on a plan together. Additionally, you can use our discount code to save $50 Off “HOLLY50”.

Foundation Directory Online: FDO includes private and charitable foundations and funding sources: You MAY be able to get free access to FDO at your local library. 

Call or email your local library or university library and ask, “Does the library offer Foundation Directory Online under Candid for free for your members?” If they do not, ask if they can request it!

Your nonprofit clients (or if you have a nonprofit), can also request a basic tier of FDO for FREE during 2025, too. Reach out to FDO directly.

AI Grant Writing Software

Grantable is our go-to software for AI and grant writing. Plus, they have a free version to get comfortable with. You can check out the free version here.

We love the work that Grantable’s Phil Deng and his team are doing and he loves our Master Grant Application Template! Grantable and the Master Grant Template work SO well together as you build up the data that AI pulls from to write the most competitive grants that actually make sense.

When should you use Grant Writing AI software?

Here’s my belief. You need to learn how to write a grant before you start using grant writing software. That’s why folks in the Freelance Grant Writer Academy love having access to our 30-Day Master Grant Application Template series so they can build templates for their clients and then use Grantable to quickly write grant drafts.

If you are new to grant writing, first learn how to THINK about designing grants. You need the human skill first and then leverage AI to take what you already write so it saves you time.

Conclusion: Keep It Simple With Grants Software 

Yes, there are a lot more grant software tools out there. So many tools, in fact, that it can be easy to get overwhelmed. 

We recommend keeping it simple, though. Start with our curated list of tried and proven grant software tools that can help you in your business and that have FREE versions or trials. With the free versions or trials, you can test out these grant tools yourself and choose what works best for you!