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Buzz vs ShelterManager

Posted: August 19, 2025 / Posted in: Uncategorized

Buzz vs ShelterManager

While ShelterManager is undoubtedly a powerful and highly customizable tool, its technical complexity can become a double-edged sword, especially for foster-based rescues. Meanwhile, Buzz aims to provide a simpler all-in-one product, a volunteer-friendly system that’s just as deep as you need it to be, without burying you in technical overhead.

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Buzz's ease of use and modern, intuitive design stand in stark contrast to the technical complexity of ShelterManager’s product. Buzz's design is deliberately straightforward, emphasizing quick adoption by volunteers and staff. Buzz’s personalized support and training are also typically better suited for most foster-based organizations as well.

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ShelterManager is an open-source project with a deep feature set with incredibly comprehensive functionality. Unfortunately, its deeply layered interface has a steep learning curve, and often translates into a cluttered and difficult user experience. Simply put, it can be too much horsepower for most smaller rescues with volunteer-driven teams.

Buzz vs.ShelterManager

at a glance

See how Buzz and ShelterManager’s features compare.

FEATURE Buzz to the Rescues
Design Clean, modern design. Clunky, dated interface.
Customer Service A flexible and friendly approach to customer service and support. Strict renewal and refund policies.
Training Comprehensive, live online training with a real person, supplemented with online resources and videos. No live training, only text-based manuals or ticket support.
Website Buzz has a fully-integrated website and software included together. Must pay separately for the website and the software.
Support Buzz has responsive, people-centered support that offers the hands-on guidance many rescues need. Users must often turn to forms or community boards for peer–to-peer support, as official customer support
Ease of Use Modern, intuitive software design. It’s easy to learn and use, and mobile friendly! A highly complex interface with rigid functionality, easier to make mistakes.
Learning Curve Built for quick onboarding and easy data entry, especially important for volunteers who might be short on time. ShelterManager’s extensive features can be overwhelming for smaller rescues or volunteer-based groups.
Core Audience Originally designed for use by foster-based rescues. Originally designed for shelters and animal control facilities.

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What Clients Think

It's been fantastic!

It has reduced the amount of time we spend processing applications and posting dogs, and we even eliminated a couple of volunteer "positions" so that those folks could be used for different tasks.

~ Amanda A. | Board Member

A great move for our rescue

Our adoptions and intakes have increased since using Buzz. We are able to have custom reports made within weeks rather than months(or years) and we have more access to the information we need. Most of our information can be stored in the software so we have far fewer side documents to manage. We love having easy access to our website right in the software, even for folks who know nothing about building or maintaining a website.

~ Janean L. | Foster Coordinator

It does EVERYTHING

Buzz to the Rescues is a seriously passionate team with a nonstop dedication to rescues and animals. The platform itself is so good (easy, modern, intuitive, customizable) I wish I could use it for other parts of my life!

~ Tania L. | Board Member

Operational Design

The difference is right there in the name. ShelterManager was designed for shelters and other centralized locations. Buzz to the Rescues focuses on - you guess it - rescues!

While Buzz works with organizations of all sizes, it was originally targeted to streamline the work of foster-based rescues and sanctuaries. By contrast, ShelterManager is a huge open-source project, one so wide-ranging it can be overwhelming. It has modules for everything from accounting to label printing to trap rentals for dog catchers.

ShelterManager tries to do everything (which is admirable), but in the end, Buzz's tighter focus is on delivering functionality appropriate for the day-to-day realities of running a rescue.

Buzz Keeps It Simple and Easy to Use
Buzz-Software-Integrations

Buzz's All-In-One System is Unique

Buzz is completely unique in the marketplace, in that it is the only combination website + animal rescue software. There are no information silos or data-entry duplication of efforts, and all of the data you enter can be leveraged across all of our modules, all for a flat monthly fee. Anything you change in the backend can instantly be reflected on the client-facing website.

Buzz not only eliminates your need to pay for website hosting, we allow you to focus on fundraising day-to-day operations, and not get bogged down with technical elements such as hosting, site speed and data security.

With Buzz’s, clients can choose to refresh their look using one of our existing templates, or we can replicate the exact look and functionality of your existing site. Either way, clients keep their domain and existing SEO equity, and have complete control over editing and improving their site design over time.

Buzz's All-In-One Product Simplifies Your Day-to-Day
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Complexity and the Volunteer Experience

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Volunteers are essential to rescues, and retaining good volunteers can save you a lot of headaches. The technology you use helps to define their experience, for good or for bad.

Buzz can be learned in an afternoon session with one of our experts live on the call, or through email and detailed videos. Some users report that ShelterManager can be complex and challenging to learn, especially for new staff or volunteers who may not be as tech savvy.

This open-source project also has reported user interface issues. Not only does the UI look dated, it is not as intuitive or user-friendly as other modern software solutions like Buzz.

Avoid Frustrating Your Staff With Intuitive Software from Buzz

Online Reviews and Credibility

Capterra or G2 are popular software comparison sites that can help you on your research journey. However, there are only six reviews of ShelterManager on those sites, and all of them from five years ago.

Buzz is blessed to be reviewed dozens of times by happy customers, earning an average rating of 5 stars over almost 40 reviews. It's no wonder Buzz clients are so happy - the system was built based on their needs, and over the years it was improved based on their suggestions.

Buzz has a great reputation, and it's only getting better.

Buzz Has Better Reviews Online
New-features

Limited Customization Flexibility

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ShelterManager has customization options, but they are often rigid and difficult for shelters to tailor to their specific needs. This can be a significant drawback for organizations with unique operational requirements. For example, users have noted that generating custom reports can be challenging at times, and that available templates do not always meet all their reporting needs.

And because ShelterManager has so many internal modules and capabilities, they have trouble with integrations to tools that are commonly used by shelters, such as Accounting systems or specialized veterinary software. This can result in data silos and operational inefficiencies.

With Buzz, you get extensive customization options that meet you where you are, and not the other way around.

Buzz is Tailored to Fit You

Onboarding & Personalized Support

Setting up your organization and onboarding can take as little as a few days with Buzz. What's more, a real person will help you get you up and running at a pace you choose. We'll help you migrate data, walk you through any questions, and train you as many times as you need.

With ShelterManager, you get a How-To booklet (online) and some videos. The post-purchase support is text-based chat only, slow at times, and not always appropriate for immediate assistance on critical issues.

Buzz’s support goes beyond onboarding, training and support! We have an entire team to help with donation campaigns, event marketing, page creation, and more. Buzz makes it easier to bring in income, which further offsets the costs of Buzz.

Superior Onboarding Speed and Comprehensive Support
Buzz-Software-Integrations

POPULAR INTEGRATIONS

In addition to our all-in-one website + animal rescue software platform,
you can connect your essential business tools to Buzz to the Rescues and make it your rescue control center.

Pets

Buzz to the Rescues - Petfinder
Buzz to the Rescues - Adopt-a-Pet
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PAYMENTS

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EMAIL

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buzz-constant-contact
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SOCIAL

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buzz-instagram

ANALYTICS

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Boost Adoptions, Donations and Community with Buzz

Loved By Over
Users

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In 11 Countries
On 5 Continents

Customer Stories

How to Switch to Buzz from Sheltermanager

Whether you’re joining Buzz from another animal rescue system or upgrading from emails and spreadsheets, all it takes is a few simple clicks to get started onboarding. Our typical onboarding workflow is included below. We say “typical” because Buzz will always adjust onboarding to fit a new client’s needs.

Website

Use one of our many templates or use your own design.

Your Rescue Coach will create the shell of your site, add your logo, colors and fonts. We will teach you how to edit the site (HINT: Its super easy). You will have access to the site throughout the onboarding process.

We have an entire library of 30 pages chock full of content that is available to you. Use what you like and delete what you don't.

website

Applications

The Buzz Team will completely customize your Adoption, Foster and Volunteer Applications.

This step is simple and should not take long. All we need to complete this task is for you to share your current Adoption, Foster and Volunteer applications.  

 When onboarding, we’ll provide a spreadsheet like the one below. You’ll share the fields you want applicants to fill out, and voila - you’re done! Simply follow the instructions you find at the top of each sheet and check the box on the last sheet to let us know when you’re done.  

 Need any help? Refer to one of our helpful onboarding videos for further instruction, or email us for direct assistance.

Click to See How the Customization Process Works
AppCustomization

Data

We will import your Animals, Adopters, Fosters, & Volunteers.

Transferring your existing data into Buzz is a breeze. Just like with your Applications, once we receive your Data in our spreadsheets, our team will import it and upload it to your new site so you can hit the ground running.
 

To help you do so, we have created step-by-step instructions that are easy to follow. As long as we know which software you are migrating from, we can provide the documents and assistance you need to get started. 

 The Buzz Team will also review all spreadsheets prior to launch to ensure the data has been entered correctly. 

Click See How We Upload Your Data
 Click here to see sample spreadsheets,
data

Training

Now that we're getting close launch, let's make sure your team is trained!

We offer two types of training sessions:

  • Train the Trainer:
    This is used by organizations that have more than 20 people.
    We recommend that directors or team leaders in each area of your organization learn their roles and responsibilities in Buzz so they can effectively train other team members.
  • All Team Training:
    This is used by organizations that have fewer than 20 people.
    We suggest that all members of your organization attend and learn their workflows in the software.

Each training session will be recorded and provided to the Director for members who cannot attend the training session. Each session runs for approximately 45 minutes.

Buzz-Training

Launch

We cannot make your site live without you!

In order to activate your new website, we need to point your domain to the new site files on the Buzz server. This is a simple process that the Buzz Team will do for you. 

Needed Access

Buzz requires the following to complete the process: 

 Name and link to your domain hosting company
(IE: GoDaddy, Network Solutions, HostGator) 

 Technical Access to that account 

 Access to the person in your organization on the day of launch in case there are security codes that we need. 

 Please Note: Our Team is only authorized to point domains from the domain hosting companies listed above. If you use a different company to host your domain, we can still handle it fairly easily, but you may need to get the hosting company’s helpdesk involved as well. 

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WHat Is Happening Behind The Scenes

Step One: Pointing the NameServers

You or the Buzz team will update the NameServers in your Domain Hosting account (GoDaddy, Blue Host, Network Solutions, etc.).

Time: Typically 2-24 hours (NOTE: This period is called Domain or DNS Propagation and refers to the amount of time needed for DNS changes to update across the web. Updating the nameservers of a domain usually takes 0 to 24 hours to take effect, but they are known to take as long as 48 hours to go into full effect.)

Step 2: Securing the site

Once the NameServers have propagated, the Buzz Team will add the SSL certificate to your domains. From the time of propagation until the SSL certificates are installed the site may show a red warning sign to site visitors showing the site is not safe. This will change as soon as the SSL certificate has been installed.

Time: This typically takes approximately 30 minutes.

SHELTERMANAGERFAQ

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