Compared honestly
An Election Runner alternative built for secret ballots
Election Runner is simple and genuinely cheap at small sizes — at 100 voters we cost exactly the same $19. The differences show up in what's on the ballot and what happens to it afterward: Election Runner offers two question types, prices above 300 voters through an on-site calculator, and sells a paid add-on that reveals each voter's raw ballot.
Fast Elections publishes every price up front, includes approval voting and formal motions, and stores ballots in a shape where linking a vote to a voter is impossible — for us too.
What it costs
The same election, two bills
| Roster size | Election Runner | Fast Elections |
|---|---|---|
| 25 voters | $19 (up to 100 voters) Their free tier ends at 20 voters. | Free |
| 100 voters | $19 A genuine tie — at 100 voters both products cost $19. | $19 flat |
| 300 voters | $36 | $19 flat |
| 1,000 voters | Not published Quoted by an on-page calculator; past 1,000 voters, capacity sells in $18 blocks of 200. | $49 flat |
Election Runner prices and feature details checked on electionrunner.com in August 2026; prices above 300 voters aren't published (an on-page calculator quotes them), and their pricing can change. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.
Feature by feature
How the products differ
| Fast Elections | Election Runner | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | One flat charge per election, published for every size up to 5,000 voters. Free up to 25. | Per election: free to 20 voters, $19 to 100, $36 to 300, then an on-site calculator; school subscriptions at $398/yr (K-12) and $2,499/yr (higher ed). |
| Voting methods | Plurality, pick-N, ranked choice (IRV), approval, and dedicated yes/no/abstain motions — write-ins and abstentions included. | Two question types: multiple choice and ranked choice (IRV). Write-ins supported; no approval voting or dedicated motion format. |
| Ballot secrecy | Ballots are stored with no reference to the voter — hashed one-time links, hour-rounded timestamps. There is no mode, paid or otherwise, that reveals a voter's ballot. | Anonymous by default: admins see only who voted. A paid add-on service can provide each voter's raw ballot if bylaws require it (voters must be told beforehand). |
| Receipt verification | Every voter gets a receipt code and can find it in the published results to confirm their ballot counted. | Voters get a unique Voter ID and Key to cast; no published receipt-in-results verification. |
| Weighted voting | Included on every tier. | Included as a free settings toggle. |
| Languages | Ballots and voter emails in 10 languages; manual translation free, AI translation $5. | No multi-language ballot feature documented. |
| Voter self-registration | Optional public sign-up page with QR posters; approvals automatic or reviewed. | Voter lists are imported by the admin via Excel/CSV. |
| Administrators | Up to 10 per organization, included free. | No multi-admin support documented. |
| Scale ceiling | 5,000 voters per election. | Larger elections supported — capacity extends in paid blocks; school plans reach 15,000 students. |
| Support | Email and contact form, answered by the person who built it. | Fast responses — they advertise an 8-minute average during business hours. |
Where Election Runner is the better fit
- Your school wants a flat annual subscription — $398/yr covers unlimited K-12 elections up to 5,000 students.
- Your election is bigger than 5,000 voters.
- Your bylaws genuinely require per-voter ballot records — they offer it as a disclosed add-on; we deliberately can't.
- You want the fastest possible support replies — their advertised 8-minute average is real service.
- You only need a simple multiple-choice ballot and nothing else.
Where Fast Elections is the better fit
- You need approval voting or formal yes/no/abstain motions — Election Runner ballots offer two question types.
- You want a published price at every size: 1,000 voters is $49 here and calculator-quoted there.
- Your voters speak more than one language — ballots and emails run in 10 here.
- You want voters to self-register through a link or QR poster instead of building the roster by hand.
- You want secrecy that's structural: no add-on exists that could reveal a ballot, at any price.
- Several officers run the election together — 10 admin seats are included.
Questions
Switching questions, answered
- Is Fast Elections a good Election Runner alternative?
If your organization votes on motions, wants approval or ranked-choice options beyond IRV, needs multiple languages, or wants voter self-registration — yes, and the price is the same or lower at every published size.
If you're a school that wants one annual subscription for unlimited elections, or you need more than 5,000 voters, Election Runner is the better fit.
- How does the pricing compare?
At 100 voters both cost $19. At 300 voters Election Runner is $36 and Fast Elections is $19. Above 300, Election Runner's price comes from an on-site calculator rather than a public list; past 1,000 voters capacity sells in $18 blocks of 200. Our list is public the whole way: $49 to 1,000 voters and $99 to 5,000.
- What's the difference in ballot secrecy?
Election Runner is anonymous by default — administrators see who voted, not how. But they sell an add-on service that produces each voter's raw ballot when bylaws require it, which means the link between voter and ballot exists in their system.
Fast Elections stores ballots with no reference to the voter at all: one-time links are kept only as hashes and timestamps are rounded to the hour. There is no report, paid or otherwise, that could reveal a ballot — not to you, and not to us.
- Does Fast Elections support approval voting and motions?
Yes. Alongside plurality and pick-N, you can run approval voting, ranked choice with visible instant-runoff rounds, and dedicated yes/no/abstain motions. Election Runner ballots support multiple choice and ranked choice.
- Can I move my voter list over from Election Runner?
Yes. Both products work from spreadsheet rosters — export your voters to CSV or Excel and import the same file here, including groups and vote weights if you use them.
Try the full ballot experience for free
Build your election on the free tier and send yourself a test ballot. You only pay at launch, and only if your roster is over 25 voters.