Not sure if Aprio or BoardEffect is the better board portal software choice for managing your financial services, nonprofit or healthcare board? The right board portal helps streamline board communication and decision-making, enhancing how your board operates.
If you’re evaluating Aprio and BoardEffect – how do these two leading solutions stand up against each other in meeting these needs? Here are some key differences to consider when evaluating these two board portals.
Read on or skip ahead to these sections:
Best-fit customers: Aprio vs BoardEffect
BoardEffect and Aprio are designed for different organizational needs:
BoardEffect is ideal for nonprofit organizations, community healthcare organizations and mission-driven companies. It’s a better fit for organizations with simpler governance structures that need basic functionality and are comfortable with self-directed implementation.
Aprio is ideal for organizations of all sizes who seek to operate with good governance, including credit unions, banks, healthcare organizations, educational institutions, public companies, and government entities. It’s best suited for board of directors that handle sensitive data, value hands-on support and training, prefer predictable pricing, and need room to grow their board management capabilities over time.
Aprio vs Board Effect: key benefits comparison
Both Aprio and BoardEffect deliver board portals that enable boards to organize meetings, secure board packet distribution efficiently, engage directors and keep them up to date. However, there are some standout differences to consider.
|
Benefits |
Aprio | BoardEffect |
| Easy-to-use interface and navigation
Aprio’s user-friendly and straightforward navigation system reduces board member confusion and annoyance. Customer reviews of Aprio’s board portal indicate how easy it is for board members to log in and get started. Customer reviews of BoardEffect indicate while the Board Effect login and interface work well for administrators, board members can find it challenging, especially for less tech-savvy users. |
Yes | Limited |
| Seamless onboarding
From day one, Aprio helps every customer set up their board meeting software. You’ll work directly with experienced board portal administrators to help make setup a breeze. Some customer reviews note that BoardEffect’s implementation process could be improved as it is more self-directed. |
Yes | No |
| Industry-leading security
Aprio offers robust encryption for complete security to keep board and company information secure, with certifications from independent, third-party security auditors – and includes advanced security features such as remote wiping and remote locking. BoardEffect also offers excellent security for its users. |
Yes | Yes |
| Secure login process
Both Aprio and BoardEffect provide secure login options, including single sign-on and multi-factor authentication. While the Board Effect login includes these security features, some users have reported occasional access issues that can impact their experience. |
Yes | Yes |
| Agenda management
While both BoardEffect and Aprio offer agenda building tools to speed up board package creation, customer reviews indicate BoardEffect agendas can be difficult to use, edit and customize. |
Yes | Yes |
| Meeting minutes management
Aprio helps you record and distribute meeting minutes faster with our Minute builder tool. Start with your agenda and add new sections as needed. Track motions and action items and assign a co-author. Export your minutes as a PDF and add them as a quick link to the next meeting agenda. BoardEffect has handy tools but not a minutes builder. |
Yes | No |
| Granular user management & permission levels
While BoardEffect allows you to create and disassemble ad hoc groups whenever you need them, Aprio offers advanced user permission with customized access to board portal features to provide layers of advanced security. For example, administrators can grant auditors and legal counsel temporary access. |
Yes | No |
| 24/7 expert support
While both BoardEffect and Aprio offer 24/7 technical support, Aprio offers responsive expert service from experienced board administrators who deeply understand the needs of boards. Customer reviews of Aprio indicate our customer service team is responsive, helpful and patient, and go the extra mile to assist and resolve any questions. |
Yes | No |
Software features to streamline board meetings: Aprio vs BoardEffect
Both Aprio and BoardEffect offer multi-board management systems, letting organizations run multiple boards and committees through dedicated workspaces, and securely distribute board materials with controls to manage who can access specific information.
Whether you manage one or more boards, Aprio and BoardEffect offer similar board meeting management features like:
- One central library to store board materials and board documents
- Easy file sharing features
- Digital board meeting package creation and distribution
- Surveys and polls to improve board engagement and decision making
- Secure messaging
- Online voting tools
- Directory of board members and committees or other sub-groups
- Task management tools to help board members stay on top of action items
However, Aprio offers more comprehensive board meeting features and board management tools than BoardEffect.
For example, Aprio offers:
- Meeting minute builder
- Expense reporting
- Remote meeting integrations, including Zoom, Teams, Google Meeting or whatever video conferencing tool your board is familiar with
- Customizable surveys and polls
Aprio also offers more sophisticated document management, with its granular access controls, allowing boards to restrict document access and disable download capabilities for specific users. Aprio also features meeting analytics such as attendance tracking and comprehensive activity tracking including detailed logs of user access, interactions and voting records.
Protecting your board data: Aprio vs BoardEffect security features
While both platforms prioritize security and compliance management, including maintaining several key security certifications such as ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type 2 and HIPAA compliance, Aprio provides more comprehensive data protection features.
For encryption, Aprio uses AES 256-bit standards for all data (both in transit and at rest) and SHA-256 for enhanced password protection. Its granular access controls include customized user permissions, temporary access capabilities for auditors and legal counsel, and multi-factor authentication with single sign-on options. Additional security measures include hosting in tier 4 data centers and Microsoft Azure servers, daily backups, 24/7 security monitoring, and remote data wiping capabilities for lost devices.
While BoardEffect offers basic security features like ad hoc group management and access controls, specific details about their encryption methods and compliance standards are not publicly available.
Board management software pricing comparison: Aprio vs. Board Effect
Both Aprio and BoardEffect platforms use subscription-based pricing, but costs can vary widely depending on your needs. Request detailed quotes that outline all potential fees, including those for additional administrators, committees, reports, training and data storage.
BoardEffect pricing
BoardEffect uses a tiered annual subscription model based on user groups rather than individual licenses. Some features like Minutes and Messenger are an add-on cost. Since its acquisition by Diligent, BoardEffect’s pricing has increased, with some customers reporting they discontinued service due to costs outweighing the benefits.
Aprio pricing
At Aprio, we believe in providing transparent, all-inclusive pricing without hidden fees or unexpected cost hikes.
Our pricing model is designed to be straightforward and scalable:
- All-inclusive subscription: Starts at 20 user licenses and includes unlimited administrators, committees, ongoing training and customer support.
- Comprehensive features for all: Access all premium tools and features without hidden fees or add-ons. This includes a library for current and past board materials, minutes builder, agenda builder, calendars, document annotations, audit reports, decision tracking, desktop and remote access, attendance reports, board member directory, and much more – with access to both desktop and mobile applications.
- Scalable solution: Hide features you don’t currently need and easily activate them later as your board’s needs evolve, at no extra cost.
Onboarding and support: how Aprio and BoardEffect compare in customer experience
Not all board portals offer the same caliber of responsive service. Because a board portal is used by some of the most influential and time-starved people in your organization, it is paramount that product support is highly professional and useful.
BoardEffect offers 24/7 technical support, a self-serve online knowledge base and webinars to keep users up to date on the platform. Customer reviews indicate that since BoardEffect’s acquisition, users have experienced longer response times and less personalized customer support.
What’s different about Aprio’s service? We offer expert service unmatched in our industry. When you call us, you’ll talk with a former board administrator who knows firsthand the stresses and urgencies of boards—24/7, 365 days a year.
Unlike other board portals such as BoardEffect, with Aprio you won’t deal with hard-to-reach call centers or have to search for your answer in an online knowledge base. We’re committed to being first in service with our customers and continuing our track record of excellence in customer support and training, achieving a 95% customer loyalty rate.
Aprio vs. Board Effect: See the difference
For boards seeking a cost-effective, intuitive and secure board portal with comprehensive board management and collaboration tools (including a meeting minute builder and expense reporting), along with responsive expert customer support and highly-supported onboarding – consider Aprio.
Board members appreciate how easy it is to log in and use Aprio from day one. We help many boards like yours lighten the work of getting ready for meetings by combining intuitive technology with expert support.
“My experience using Aprio has been great. The platform is very easy to use, training is easily obtained and customer support is quick when requiring help. The platform has a lot to offer, you can use whatever features suit your board best. The implementation process was flawless, and the onboarding of new Directors to using the software is simple.” – G2 Review
Making the switch in a few weeks is possible! Curious about switching board portal providers? Here’s what you can expect with Aprio.
We’re happy to help assess your needs and the fit with Aprio. Take the first step – talk to our team about your needs.
See how Aprio compares to other board portals:
- Board portal comparison – Aprio vs. Diligent
- Board portal comparison – Aprio vs. Onboard
- Board Portal Comparison – Aprio vs. Govenda
Disclaimer: The information presented in this blog is current as of November 5, 2024, and is accurate to the best of our knowledge. Our insights are derived from publicly available sources, such as product review websites and social media websites, as well as direct conversations with customers. This information is intended to provide a general software comparison and may not reflect the most recent updates or changes in the products mentioned.
