Floot vs WildApricot: which is right for your association or member directory? (2026)
An honest comparison of WildApricot’s ready-made association software and building your own member site with Floot, covering pricing, directories, dues, events, email and when each one is the better choice.
Key Takeaways
- WildApricot is a product; Floot builds you one. WildApricot gives you membership, events, email and a website in one package. Floot builds a custom app from your description, so it fits your rules but you make the decisions.
- Pricing grows differently. WildApricot prices by number of contacts, from $66 a month for 100 contacts on monthly billing. Floot prices by plan (free to start, Pro $25 a month) with hosting metered by usage and no per-member charge.
- WildApricot is the faster start for a classic association. If you need dues, event registration and a members area this month and your model is standard, WildApricot’s ready-made features and 60-day free trial are hard to beat.
- Floot fits groups whose rules don’t match a template. Custom approval steps, unusual directory fields, paid listing tiers or a native phone app are where building your own pays off.
- Either way, decide your rules first. Access levels, directory privacy, renewal dates and grace periods need deciding whichever tool you use.
Quick-Start Prioritization Framework
| If you… | Choose |
|---|---|
| Run a classic association with standard dues, events and a newsletter | WildApricot |
| Have a volunteer admin who wants a finished product, not a project | WildApricot |
| Run events often and want registration ready on day one | WildApricot |
| Have rules a template doesn’t fit (approval, fields, pricing) | Floot |
| Run a directory where businesses pay for listing tiers | Floot |
| Have a large contact list but low revenue per contact | Floot |
| Want native iPhone and Android apps under your own name | Floot |
WildApricot and Floot solve the same problem from opposite ends. WildApricot is finished association software: you sign up, configure membership levels, events and a website, and run your association inside it. Floot is an AI app builder: you describe the member site you want and it builds a web app to those rules, with its own database, logins and payments. Neither is better in general. This comparison sets out what each one is, how they differ head to head, and which kinds of associations, networks and directories should choose which. WildApricot details come from its own pricing and feature pages as of November 2026.
What each one is
These are different kinds of product, which matters more than any single feature.
WildApricot
WildApricot is membership management software for associations, non-profits and clubs. Its features page covers member data in one place, online event registration and payment, a drag-and-drop website builder with customisable themes, an email system with automated confirmations and reminders, online payments with automatic invoices and receipts, and separate mobile apps for admins and members. Its membership management page adds an online member directory that can be public or members-only, automatic renewal reminders with adjustable timing, recurring payments, and membership levels that control which pages members see.
You configure it rather than build it. The vendor maintains the software, and every pricing tier has the same features.
Floot
Floot is an AI app builder. You describe an app in plain English, in Floot’s editor or from ChatGPT, Claude, Claude Code, Codex or Cursor through Floot’s MCP server, and it builds a full-stack web app: a React frontend, serverless endpoints and a per-app Postgres database. For a member site that can include sign-up and login (email, Google or Microsoft) with roles, approvals, profiles and a directory with field-level privacy, dues checkout and subscriptions through Floot Payments (paid out via Stripe), scheduled jobs such as renewal reminders, bulk email, web and phone push notifications, file storage and realtime updates.
You own the decisions. The AI builds and changes the app when you ask; nobody hands you a finished association template.
Head-to-head
Here is how they compare on the things associations and directories ask about most. WildApricot entries are from its own pricing and feature pages.
| WildApricot | Floot | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Ready-made association software | AI app builder: builds a custom web app |
| Starting price | $66/mo for 100 contacts (monthly billing); $59.40/mo prepaid 1 year | Free to start; Pro $25/mo; Power $100/mo |
| How price grows | By contact tier (100 up to 50,000 contacts) | By plan and metered hosting usage; no per-member pricing |
| Free trial or plan | 60-day free trial, no card required | Free plan (100 building actions a day, $3 one-time hosting allowance) |
| Member directory | Public or members-only; members update their own profiles | Built to your fields and visibility rules |
| Dues and renewals | Renewal policy, automatic reminders, recurring payments | Checkout and subscriptions via Floot Payments; reminders as scheduled jobs you describe |
| Payment processing (US) | Personify Payments: 2.99% + $0.30 for Visa, Mastercard, Discover; 3.5% + $0.30 Amex | Floot Payments, paid out via Stripe |
| Events | Event listings, custom registration forms, online payment | Whatever you describe, built into your app |
| Website | Drag-and-drop builder with themes | The app is the website; custom domains on paid plans |
| Built-in emailing with automated confirmations and reminders | Send and receive email, including bulk email | |
| Mobile | Separate admin and member apps | Web app plus web push; native iOS and Android apps built and submitted by Floot |
| Changing how it works | Within the product’s settings | Describe the change in plain English |
| Who maintains it | The vendor | You, by asking the AI |
The core difference: configure versus describe
With WildApricot you start from a working association system and fit your organisation into its settings: membership levels, renewal policy, event forms, page access. If your association works the way most associations work, that is a big advantage. Somebody has already decided how renewals, invoices and event registration should behave, and those decisions are tested by many organisations.
With Floot you start from a description of your organisation and get an app built to it. If your rules are unusual, that is the advantage: “applications need two existing members to vouch”, “listings show a licence number an admin has checked”, “businesses pay $40 a month for a featured listing, individuals pay $60 a year”. You don’t approximate those in someone else’s settings; you ask for them. The trade-off is that you make every decision a product would have made for you, and you test it.
A practical test
Write down the ten rules that define your membership: who can join, how they’re approved, what they pay and when, what the directory shows, what happens when they lapse. Then go through WildApricot’s settings during the free trial. If eight or more fit cleanly, WildApricot is likely the better choice. If you are planning workarounds for half of them, building your own deserves a serious look.
Pricing in practice
The two pricing models reward different organisations.
WildApricot’s contact tiers
WildApricot’s pricing page lists tiers of 100, 250, 500, 2,000, 5,000, 15,000 and 50,000 contacts and publishes the price for the 100-contact tier: $66 a month on monthly billing, $59.40 a month prepaid for a year and $56.10 a month prepaid for two years. Over a year, that is $792 on monthly billing or $712.80 prepaid, by our arithmetic. It says every tier has the same features and the only additional fees are your payment provider’s. For larger tiers, get the figure from WildApricot for your contact count.
Floot’s plans
Floot’s Free plan is $0 with 100 building actions a day and a $3 one-time hosting allowance. Pro is $25 a month with 1,000 actions a day, $10 of hosting included each month, 5,000 AI credits and custom domains with one free domain. Power is $100 a month with 5,000 actions a day and $25 of hosting included. Hosting beyond the included amount is metered by usage. There is no per-member charge for your app’s users, so a directory with 5,000 listed businesses isn’t priced differently from one with 50 because of the count itself. Payment processing for dues is separate.
Who comes out ahead
A small association with fewer than 100 contacts and standard needs gets a lot of finished software for $792 a year from WildApricot. An organisation with thousands of contacts and modest dues per contact, such as a free-to-list local directory with paid upgrades, is the case where per-contact pricing and a usage-priced app diverge most. Get WildApricot’s quote for your size and compare it with what you expect to spend on Floot hosting.
When to choose WildApricot
WildApricot is the better choice more often than a builder’s website would usually admit.
- Your association is classic: individual members, annual dues, events, a newsletter and a members area.
- The person running it is a volunteer who wants a finished product, not a project.
- Events are central and you want registration, payment and confirmations working on day one.
- You want the vendor to handle software updates and decide how renewals and invoices behave.
- Your contact list is small enough that the published entry price applies.
- You want admin and member mobile apps without deciding anything about them.
When to choose Floot
Floot is the better fit when the shape of your organisation is the problem.
- Your approval, eligibility or renewal rules don’t match standard settings.
- The directory is the product: businesses pay for listing tiers or featured placement.
- You need directory fields or privacy rules specific to your profession.
- Your contact list is large relative to what you earn per contact.
- You want native iPhone and Android apps published under your organisation’s name, built and submitted by Floot.
- You want to download your own database at any time and own the app’s code on a paid plan.
- Someone on the committee is comfortable describing what they want and testing it.
Switching between them
Most associations considering either tool already have a member list somewhere: a spreadsheet, an old system or another platform.
Moving into Floot
Export your member list as CSV, upload it and ask the AI to import it, mapping columns to fields and setting each member’s expiry date. Ask for an invitation email so existing members log in and check their profile rather than reapplying. Test renewals with a few friendly members before switching over.
Running both for a while
Some groups keep WildApricot for dues and events and build a separate public business directory or member tool with Floot. That works, but you then keep two member lists in step. Decide which system is the source of truth for who is a current member.
Common mistakes
These are the mistakes we see when associations make this decision.
- Comparing only monthly prices, without modelling contact growth or hosting usage.
- Choosing to build because it’s flexible, without anyone who will make and test the decisions.
- Choosing a ready-made tool, then spending a year working around rules it doesn’t support.
- Skipping the free trial or free plan and deciding from feature lists.
- Migrating without cleaning duplicates and lapsed records first.
- Not deciding directory privacy and grace-period rules before setting up either tool.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Floot a WildApricot alternative?
It can be, but it works differently. WildApricot is ready-made association software you configure. Floot is an AI app builder that builds a custom member site, with directory, dues and reminders, from your description. Choose WildApricot for a standard association and Floot when your rules don’t fit a template.
How much does WildApricot cost?
Its pricing page lists $66 a month for 100 contacts on monthly billing, $59.40 a month prepaid for a year and $56.10 prepaid for two years. Tiers go up to 50,000 contacts; prices for larger tiers aren’t published on the page. There is a 60-day free trial.
How much does Floot cost for a member site?
Floot is free to start. Pro is $25 a month with $10 of hosting included and custom domains; Power is $100 a month. Hosting beyond the included amount is metered, and there is no per-member pricing. Payment processing for dues is separate.
Does WildApricot have a member directory?
Yes. Its membership management page says the directory can be public (showing businesses) or members-only, with searchable profiles members update themselves.
Which is easier for a volunteer to run?
Usually WildApricot, because the workflows are already decided and the vendor maintains the software. Floot is easy to change by asking in plain English, but someone has to make the decisions and test them.
Can Floot import my WildApricot or spreadsheet member list?
Yes. Export the list as CSV, upload it to Floot and ask the AI to import it, mapping your columns to the app’s fields. You can connect Floot from the Claude connector directory, the ChatGPT app directory or the Cursor Marketplace.
Sources
- WildApricot, Pricing, 2026 https://www.wildapricot.com/pricing
- WildApricot, Features, 2026 https://www.wildapricot.com/features
- WildApricot, Membership management software, 2026 https://www.wildapricot.com/features/membership-management-software
- WildApricot, Personify Payments, 2026 https://www.wildapricot.com/personify-payments
- Floot, Pricing, 2026 https://floot.com/en/pricing