Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Give Forward VS tryinstance

Compare Give Forward VS tryinstance and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Give Forward logo Give Forward

Chicago based startup changing the way the world views giving, one hug, one smile, and one donation...

tryinstance logo tryinstance

Launch your own branded community app on your domain. Replace Discord with a white-label platform featuring memberships, Stripe payments, roles, content, and full ownership for your business.
  • Give Forward Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-02-27
  • tryinstance Create your instance
    Create your instance //
    2026-08-11
  • tryinstance Monetize your instance
    Monetize your instance //
    2026-08-11
  • tryinstance Automatically build your instance
    Automatically build your instance //
    2026-08-11
  • tryinstance Automate your business with custom bots
    Automate your business with custom bots //
    2026-08-11
  • tryinstance Automate content in your instance with webhooks
    Automate content in your instance with webhooks //
    2026-08-11

Instance is a branded community platform for businesses and creators that runs on their own domain. It combines memberships, Stripe payments, paid roles, chat, voice, storefronts, push notifications, email, moderation, and automation. Visitors can explore public areas before registering, purchase access in one tap, and receive the correct permissions immediately. An assistant and Bot API can manage members, products, channels, permissions, and community workflows. Instance is designed for operators who want direct control over their customer relationships instead of running their business inside a third-party social platform.

Give Forward features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Give Forward has a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for people to create and manage fundraising campaigns.
  • Personalized Campaigns
    Users can personalize their fundraising campaigns with images, videos, and personal stories to engage potential donors.
  • Support for Medical Causes
    Give Forward heavily focuses on medical fundraising, making it a preferred platform for individuals needing support for medical expenses.
  • Customer Support
    The platform offers robust customer support, including access to fundraising coaches who can provide personalized guidance.
  • Wide Reach
    Campaigns on Give Forward can be easily shared on social media platforms, increasing the potential to reach a broader audience.

Possible disadvantages of Give Forward

  • Fees
    Give Forward charges a platform fee and payment processing fees, which can reduce the amount of funds received by the campaign organizer.
  • Limited to U.S. Users
    The platform primarily serves users in the United States, which could be a limitation for international fundraisers.
  • Competition
    There is significant competition from other well-established crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe and Kickstarter, which might make it harder to attract donors.
  • No Anonymous Donations
    Donors cannot make anonymous contributions, which might deter those who prefer to keep their donations private.
  • Payout Delays
    Users have reported delays in receiving funds from their campaigns, which can be critical in time-sensitive situations, especially for medical needs.

tryinstance features and specs

  • Branded Community App
    Runs on the operator's custom domain with their branding and an installable PWA.
  • Native Payments and Access
    Stripe purchases can grant the correct paid role and permissions immediately.
  • Public Community Preview
    Visitors can explore public areas before creating an account or purchasing access.
  • Storefronts and Memberships
    Sell recurring memberships, one-time access, paid roles, and products inside community channels.
  • Real-Time Community
    Includes chat, replies, mentions, reactions, media, presence, and voice rooms.
  • Direct Member Reach
    Send in-app announcements, branded push notifications, and email to members.
  • AI and Bot Automation
    The assistant and Bot API can manage members, channels, products, permissions, and moderation.
  • Roles and Permissions
    Control access to servers, channels, storefronts, media, voice, and administrative actions.
  • Developer API and Webhooks
    Extend Instance through REST APIs, real-time bot events, webhooks, and RSS integrations.
  • Moderation Tools
    Supports kicks, bans, mutes, country restrictions, device controls, and automated moderation.

Analysis of Give Forward

Overall verdict

  • Give Forward was generally considered a positive option for those needing to raise funds for emergency or personal causes, especially in the realm of medical and healthcare-related expenses. Reviewers appreciated its user-friendly interface and the ability to directly aid individuals facing financial adversity. However, it is essential to note that Give Forward was acquired by YouCaring in 2017, which was then later acquired by GoFundMe. As a standalone platform, Give Forward no longer operates.

Why this product is good

  • Give Forward, known as giveforward.com, was a crowdfunding platform designed to help individuals raise money for personal causes, primarily healthcare expenses. It connected people who needed financial assistance with those willing to donate, providing support during challenging times. It offered an easy-to-use platform that facilitated the fundraising process with tools to share campaigns and receive donations.

Recommended for

    Individuals looking to raise funds for personal emergencies, particularly those related to healthcare or medical expenses, may have found Give Forward useful. However, they are encouraged to explore current platforms like GoFundMe that serve similar purposes.

Give Forward videos

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tryinstance videos

Building your instance

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Give Forward and tryinstance)
Fundraising And Donation Management
Community Platform
0 0%
100% 100
Finance
100 100%
0% 0
Marketing Automation
0 0%
100% 100

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing Give Forward and tryinstance.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

tryinstance's answer:

Instance is built for serious operators whose revenue, retention, or customer experience depends on community. That includes creators, educators, membership businesses, agencies, professional networks, SaaS companies, paid groups, clubs, and organizations selling access, expertise, content, software, or services. It is especially valuable for teams that want a branded product on their own domain, direct access to members, native payments and permissions, and the ability to automate operations without surrendering the customer relationship to a third-party platform.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

tryinstance's answer:

Instance is built as a secure multi-tenant cloud platform using modern progressive web app technology, real-time messaging and voice infrastructure, Stripe Connect, role-based access control, push notification and email delivery systems, REST APIs, webhooks, bot events, and AI-assisted operations. These technologies are integrated around one identity, payment, and permissions model so changes in commerce or membership state are reflected across the product immediately.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

tryinstance's answer:

Choose Instance when the community is the business, not just a conversation layer. Operators get their own domain, brand, member accounts, Stripe relationship, permissions, storefronts, push subscriptions, email reach, and automation. Prospects can inspect public areas before registering, buy access inside the experience, and enter with the correct role immediately. In measured cold-traffic tests, this lower-friction path has converted two to three times better than the alternatives it replaced. Instance also unifies commerce, communication, access, moderation, and AI operations, eliminating the fragmented stack and platform dependence common to marketplace, course, and chat products.

What makes your product unique?

tryinstance's answer:

Instance gives a business its own branded community app on its own domain, with the entire member relationship under one operating system. Public community previews, one-tap purchasing, Stripe-connected access, roles, storefronts, chat, voice, push notifications, email, moderation, analytics, webhooks, bots, and AI operations all share the same identity and permission model. A payment can grant access immediately, an announcement can reach the app, phone, and inbox, and automation can manage the community through the same controls used by the product. Instance is not another page inside a marketplace. It is the infrastructure for owning and operating the business directly.

Who are some of the biggest customers of your product?

tryinstance's answer:

Instance works with a growing group of community operators and internet businesses. Many run private or paid communities, so customer names and operating metrics are not disclosed publicly.

What's the story behind your product?

tryinstance's answer:

Instance began with a simple conclusion: an internet business should not have to rent its customers from the platform that hosts its community. Existing products split identity, payments, access, messaging, notifications, moderation, and automation across disconnected services, while the operator remains dependent on someone else's account system and rules. Instance was built from the ownership model outward. The result is a complete branded application where discovery, purchase, access, engagement, retention, and automation operate as one system controlled by the business.

User comments

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Give Forward and tryinstance, you can also consider the following products

Charitable - A WordPress donation plugin that gives you full control over your fundraising experience.

Whop - Communities and software to help you earn online

Give - A WordPress plugin for easily collecting donations

Skool - Community Platform for Creators

GiveForms - Your Go-to Digital Fundraising Platform

Circle.so - Bring together your discussions, memberships, and content. Integrate a thriving community wherever your audience is, all under your own brand.