Comparison

TripStub vs Blackbaud Altru

Altru is a nonprofit CRM + ticketing + membership + development platform built for medium-to-large museums. It does many things; TripStub does ticketing + membership exceptionally well. Often the right answer is both — Altru for donor CRM, TripStub for ticketing.

Short version

Altru is fundamentally a CRM with ticketing attached. TripStub is a booking platform that handles memberships + donation upsell well but isn't a donor management system. Small-to-mid museums often pay Altru's full price for the ticketing module they need and can get on TripStub for free — keeping Altru (or a lighter CRM) for the donor database.

Blackbaud Altru's strengths
  • Full donor / fundraising CRM (Blackbaud ecosystem)
  • Deep museum-industry knowledge
  • Mature membership + loyalty features
  • Strong reporting across fundraising + ticketing
Where TripStub is different
  • No platform fee — TripStub is $0
  • Self-serve signup — no sales cycle
  • Modern developer API + OpenAPI spec
  • Self-service configuration — no Blackbaud consultant required
  • Own-domain storefront included, operator-branded
Feature by feature

What each gives you

Side-by-side capabilities. We flag where we're different (brand tint) and where the other side has the edge — honestly.

Capability
TripStub
Blackbaud Altru

Platform cost

Different approach

$0

Significant annual contract

Ticketing + timed entry

Comparable

Native, shipping

Included

Annual memberships

They do it differently

Rolling out this quarter

Mature, shipping

Donor / fundraising CRM

They do it differently

Not our scope — donation upsell only

Full Raiser's Edge / Blackbaud integration

Events + programs

Comparable

Native — products with schedules, tickets, add-ons

Native

School group invoicing

They do it differently

Rolling out

Included

Setup time

Different approach

60 seconds self-serve

Multi-month implementation with consultant

Modern UX / admin UI

Different approach

2026-era interface

Enterprise legacy UI

Developer API

Comparable

Public REST + OpenAPI, free plan

Available

Your cost

The math, side by side.

Here's the honest math for a small operator running 100 bookings / month at $80 avg.

TripStub

You

Monthly

$0 / mo

Per booking

$0

Est. annual

$0

  • Every capability
  • Unlimited everything
  • Full API access
  • Email support

Typical SaaS

Monthly

$99 – $499 / mo

Per booking

0 – 2%

Est. annual

~$2,400 – $8,000

  • Core features
  • Limited integrations
  • Custom channels (paid add-on)
  • Advanced reporting (top tier)

OTA commission model

Monthly

$0 / mo

Per booking

15 – 30%

Est. annual

~$14,400 – $28,800

  • Marketplace traffic
  • You own the customer? No.
  • You set the price? Not really.

Your savings, calculated

Plug in your numbers. The math is transparent — no pop-up, no email gate.

Bookings per month

50
500
1.5k

Average booking value

$50
$150
$350

Annual revenue

$122,400

120 × $85 × 12

22% OTA commission

$26,928

+ $3,588 SaaS

TripStub annual cost

=$0

Every capability included

Estimated annual savings on TripStub

$30,516

25% of revenue kept

Assumptions: 22% is the midpoint of typical OTA commissions (15–30%); $299/mo is the median for SaaS booking platforms in this category. Your actuals will vary. TripStub itself remains $0 regardless.

Curious how it feels after Blackbaud Altru?

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