Wild Apricot vs Raklet: Membership Software Compared

Last Updated: April 2026

Wild Apricot and Raklet both serve membership organizations, but they are built on different ownership models, pricing philosophies, and product roadmap trajectories. If you are evaluating alternatives to Wild Apricot, or comparing both platforms head-to-head, this guide covers the dimensions that matter most: pricing, features, refund handling, analytics, and long-term vendor stability.

We are Raklet, so this is our page. We list ourselves favorably, but we have tried to be honest about where Wild Apricot holds genuine advantages and where the decision genuinely depends on your organization’s size and needs.

Quick Verdict

Platform Overview

Wild Apricot

Wild Apricot launched in 2006 and spent nine years as an independent platform before being acquired by Personify Corp in September 2017. In January 2026, Momentive Software (backed by TA Associates private equity) acquired Personify, placing Wild Apricot under its second PE ownership in less than a decade. The platform is one of the longest-running names in membership management and carries strong brand recognition in North American associations, clubs, and nonprofits.

Wild Apricot packages its features identically across all pricing tiers. The only variable between tiers is the contact limit. All plans include its website builder, event management, email newsletters, member portal, donations, and an admin and member mobile app.

Raklet

Raklet is an independently owned membership and community platform founded in 2013. It provides member databases, event management, email campaigns, discussion forums, payment processing (including native refund processing), custom-branded iOS and Android apps, and a REST API. Pricing is contact-based. Plans include a contact limit, and additional contact capacity is available as an add-on, so organizations can scale without upgrading their base plan tier.

Feature Comparison

AI Features

Wild Apricot has not confirmed any AI features in its product as of April 2026. Momentive Software claims its portfolio includes AI-driven solutions, but no specific Wild Apricot AI capability has been announced or shipped. There is no AI-assisted content generation, AI-suggested workflows, or AI-driven analytics visible on the platform or in its product documentation.

Raklet is developing AI-assisted content tools. If AI capabilities are a near-term requirement, verify current status with both vendors before signing a contract.

Pricing Comparison

Wild Apricot uses contact-based pricing. Contacts include not just active paying members but also alumni, lapsed members, volunteers, and prospects stored in the system. As your total contact database grows, you can be pushed into a higher pricing tier even if your active membership count stays flat.

Wild Apricot pricing (approximate, annual billing):

Prices approximate based on public pricing sources as of April 2026. Verify current figures at wildapricot.com/pricing.

Raklet’s pricing is contact-based. Each plan includes a contact limit, and additional contact capacity is available as an add-on — organizations can expand their contact base without upgrading to a higher plan tier.

Raklet pricing (contact-based, monthly billing):

Prices approximate. See Raklet pricing for current plan details.

Vendor Stability and Ownership

Company Health

Wild Apricot has been PE-owned since September 26, 2017, when Personify Corp acquired it from its original founders. In January 2026, Momentive Software (backed by TA Associates, a Boston-based private equity firm) acquired Personify, marking Wild Apricot’s second PE ownership transition. The platform now sits inside a portfolio that includes Community Brands, Cobalt, Blue Sky eLearn, and VolunteerMatters.

Scott Collison has served as President and CEO of Personify’s member management portfolio since October 2020. His role under the new Momentive parent is unconfirmed as of April 2026. The wildapricot.com “Meet the Team” page was returning a 404 error as recently as this writing.

Product update cadence has been sporadic. The most recent documented updates were a full website redesign (July 2025, primarily a visual refresh) and a new drag-and-drop email editor (February 2024). Feature requests submitted by users years ago remain unaddressed. Multiple reviewers on Capterra and G2 cite the slowdown in product development as a concern since the first PE acquisition.

Raklet is independently owned. It was backed by Techstars and Microsoft Ventures in 2016, and is not PE-owned. There is no acquisition chain, no PE firm driving margin optimization, and no risk of the product and support degradation that typically follows private equity ownership transitions.

What Wild Apricot Users Say

The following quotes come verbatim from Raklet discovery calls. These are real prospects who evaluated or used Wild Apricot before speaking with us.

“It’s failing. It’s not a very easy to use system anymore… they were purchased by a company called Personify… They don’t do any types of like upgrades, any types of like things that better the website… we’re as an organization, we’re outgrowing what they can provide. And the other thing too is, is they cap us at about 2000 members, at a price point of about roughly 240 to $250 a month.”

Ken Conly, paddling and social club: Raklet Discovery Call, February 2026

“The tools and the styling are quite dated, and it doesn’t give us the flexibility that we want… the analytics capabilities native to Wild Apricot are quite limited. Basically, you can get what’s the current number of members you have today, but if you want to investigate anything like growth or churn… you have to export the data… their payments integration is also limited, where they can only accept payments, but they can’t refund payments.”

Joyce Noah-Vanhoucke, nonprofit with 800 active members: Raklet Discovery Call, July 2025

“It supposedly will allow us to set up a free trial membership that will automatically roll over to a paid membership. Lots of good information and details on how to do it, except it doesn’t work… I think it’s expensive. It is not being updated. There are requests that have been made by dozens of users that are years old, that have not even been addressed… since it was sold, it’s a money machine.”

Prospect evaluating Wild Apricot replacement: Raklet Discovery Call, May 2025

“So right now we’re on Wild Apricot… we’ve been using it for about four years, and we’ve just outgrown it. Yeah, it’s very old, old software, and they don’t seem to be updating things, and it’s not very dynamic. So the directory is not very useful for members.”

Stephen Warner, Florida-based association: Raklet Discovery Call, March 2026

Third-party review patterns align with these themes. On Capterra (4.4/5, 555 reviews) and G2 (3.8/5, 43 reviews), the most common criticisms are support quality decline post-acquisition, contact-based pricing pushing organizations into higher tiers, and the inability to process payment refunds natively.

Migration and Switching

Switching from Wild Apricot to any platform requires exporting your member data (CSV), cleaning and mapping fields to the new system’s format, and re-importing. Wild Apricot supports data export, but users report that historical event attendance records and payment history do not transfer cleanly to third-party systems.

Wild Apricot’s contact-based pricing means your bill is determined by your total database size, not just active members. Organizations that archive contacts for communication or historical tracking purposes should account for this when projecting costs. When you migrate away, you are starting from zero on the new platform’s contact count, which can result in a lower tier and lower cost immediately.

Wild Apricot offers a 60-day free trial, which is enough time to run a parallel test with a subset of your member data before committing. If you are exploring a broader set of options, our best Wild Apricot alternatives guide compares seven platforms across pricing, ownership, and feature depth.

Wild Apricot does not support refund processing natively. Any refund for event registrations, membership fees, or donations must be processed manually through your payment processor (Stripe or PayPal), and the corresponding record in Wild Apricot must be updated manually as well. Organizations with frequent refund needs should factor this operational overhead into their decision.

If you are also comparing MemberClicks or Glue Up, our MemberClicks alternatives and Glue Up alternatives guides cover those head-to-head comparisons in detail.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Wild Apricot better than Raklet?

It depends on your organization’s priorities. Wild Apricot has a longer track record and strong brand recognition in North American associations and clubs. It is a better fit for small organizations (under 500 contacts) that want a fully hosted website and membership system with minimal configuration. Raklet is the better choice for organizations that need native refund processing, custom-branded mobile apps, flexible contact-based pricing with add-on packs, or trend reporting (growth, churn, event attendance) without exporting to a spreadsheet.

How much does Wild Apricot cost compared to Raklet?

Wild Apricot starts at approximately $59/month (annual billing) for up to 100 total contacts. Pricing is based on total contacts, not just active members, which means alumni, lapsed members, and prospects count toward your tier limit. Raklet offers a free plan, with paid plans starting at $49/month. Pricing is contact-based, and additional contacts are available as an add-on. See Raklet pricing for current plan details.

Can Wild Apricot process payment refunds?

No. Wild Apricot does not support native refund processing. Membership fees, event registrations, and donation payments collected through Wild Apricot cannot be refunded from within the platform. Each refund requires a manual step in your external payment processor (Stripe or PayPal) and a separate manual record update inside Wild Apricot. Raklet supports native refund processing from within the platform.

Is Wild Apricot still being actively developed?

Wild Apricot has had two documented product updates in the 27 months prior to this writing: a new email editor (February 2024) and a website redesign (July 2025). Feature requests submitted years ago by users remain unaddressed, according to multiple reviews on Capterra and G2. Momentive Software (Wild Apricot’s parent as of January 2026) has not announced a specific Wild Apricot product roadmap as of April 2026.

Who owns Wild Apricot now?

Wild Apricot is owned by Momentive Software, backed by TA Associates (private equity). Momentive acquired Personify Corp in January 2026. Personify had acquired Wild Apricot in September 2017 from its original founders. Wild Apricot has been PE-owned continuously since September 2017: now under its second private equity parent.

Our Recommendation

Wild Apricot is a credible choice for small associations and clubs that prioritize a hosted, all-in-one platform with minimal setup and strong name recognition in the association space. If your organization has fewer than 500 contacts and values a proven platform over recent product investment, Wild Apricot is worth evaluating alongside Raklet.

Raklet is the better fit for organizations that need refund processing, custom-branded mobile apps, flexible contact-based pricing, or trend reporting without manual data exports. It is also a more stable long-term choice for organizations concerned about PE-driven product and support decisions. Start a free Raklet account to import a test group of members and run an event registration end-to-end before committing.

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