Introduction

In this comparative article, I evaluate three relevant solutions for automation in the Social Sector in Brazil: CORRE.SOCIAL, Bússola Social, and turn.io. The goal is to help NGO managers, program coordinators, and technical teams understand which platforms deliver practical automation—from WhatsApp service flows to AI-powered impact dashboards—and what trade-offs to consider when deciding "how to automate the NGO" or choosing "an automation platform for an NGO." The evaluation is based on operational, security, and cost criteria, with concrete examples and recommendations per use case. In Brazil, there are about 815,676 NGOs, which makes the choice of scalable and secure tools especially relevant for the sector. (conexaomelhoridade.com)

Evaluation Methodology

To compare the options, I used the following criteria: automation features, ease of implementation and usability, channels and integrations (special attention to WhatsApp), monitoring and impact reports, LGPD compliance, and support/training model. The information was extracted from the official platform pages, public product materials, and sector articles (see citations throughout the text). The comparison prioritizes objective evidence (announced features, use cases, and implementation timelines) and addresses known limitations of each alternative.

Comparison Criteria

Automation Features

• CORRE.SOCIAL: offers no-code flow creation (drag-and-drop), multi-channel automation (WhatsApp, email, web—remembering that WhatsApp reaches about 148 million users in Brazil), and AI modules for predictive analysis and real-time impact dashboards—designed to transform data into auditable reports. These features allow for the automation of beneficiary registrations, initial screening, and relationship journeys. (corre.social). (worldpopulationreview.com)

• Bússola Social: focuses on project management and monitoring/evaluation (M&E) with customized forms, automatic report generation, and tools for project and call selection; indicated when the priority is to consolidate management and accountability processes. Bússola highlights quick delivery of the "digitalized NGO in up to 15 days" with support and training. (bussolasocial.com.br)

• turn.io: positions itself as a chat and journey platform on WhatsApp, with the creation of chatbots, playbooks, and conversational reports; ideal for services that depend on high conversational scale (health, education, social care) and native integration with the WhatsApp ecosystem, which records hundreds of millions of interactions between users and business accounts globally (estimates of ~175 million daily interactions between users and business accounts). (turn.io) (wapikit.com)

Side-by-Side Comparison (Features)

• No-code automation: CORRE.SOCIAL (flows and AI), turn.io (journeys), Bússola (forms and reports). (corre.social)
• AI for impact analysis: CORRE.SOCIAL highlights integrated AI for prediction; Bússola prioritizes metrics and impact narrative; turn.io focuses on conversational assistants. (corre.social)

Ease of Implementation and Usability

• CORRE.SOCIAL: promises a no-code interface and consulting services to map processes and deploy automations, reducing technical barriers for small teams. (corre.social)
• Bússola Social: offers guided implementation and training in short cycles (delivery with training in up to 8 meetings), useful for NGOs that need process adaptation and advice. (bussolasocial.com.br)
• turn.io: more oriented towards WhatsApp integrations and acceleration/training programs to build high-impact conversations; the learning curve may be lower for those already working with WhatsApp communications. (turn.io)

Multi-channel and Integration (WhatsApp, web, email)

• If the primary channel is WhatsApp at a large scale (e.g., beneficiary monitoring, membership campaigns), platforms with API and a focus on journeys (turn.io and CORRE.SOCIAL) tend to offer ready-made blocks to automate conversations and metrics; in Brazil, WhatsApp has massive penetration, with about 148 million users, which justifies prioritizing native integrations. (turn.io) (worldpopulationreview.com)
• For fundraising, forms, and accountability, Bússola integrates better with M&E flows and project selection. (lp.bussolasocial.com.br)

Important Note on Messaging Costs (WhatsApp)

• Since 2024/2025, the WhatsApp Business billing model has undergone significant changes: the sector has been migrating from "per conversation" billing to models per message/template in 2025 (with relevant dates between November 2024 and July 2025), which impacts the operational cost of template-based automations. NGOs planning mass broadcasts or administrative messages should include these variables in the budget; remember that WhatsApp's business tools are already used by hundreds of millions of companies worldwide (over 200 million business accounts according to Meta announcements), which influences supply and demand for messaging. (wapikit.com) (news.bloomberglaw.com)

Monitoring, M&E and Impact Reports

• CORRE.SOCIAL: real-time dashboard and auditable reports for funders; good for organizations that need to transform spreadsheets into actionable indicators. (corre.social)
• Bússola Social: strong in automatic reports, evaluation matrices, and generating impact narratives—suitable for reporting to social investors and preparing documents for call for proposals. (lp.bussolasocial.com.br)
• turn.io: provides conversational metrics and journey performance; less focused on traditional impact evaluation frameworks, but excellent for measuring engagement and service scale. (turn.io)

Data Compliance and Security (LGPD)

• For any automation project that handles beneficiary and donor data, the LGPD requires flow mapping, legal bases (consent, legitimate interest, fulfillment of legal obligation), a data protection officer, and internal policies. Platforms must support anonymization/pseudonymization and provide contracts and access controls. Organizations must design automations with these rules from the start to avoid legal and reputational risks. (filantropia.ong)

Support, Training and Community

• Bússola and CORRE.SOCIAL offer consulting/advice for implementation; turn.io complements with acceleration programs and a community of use cases (e.g., global health), which can speed up the construction of replicable journeys. The availability of support and training is a decisive criterion when the internal team is small. (bussolasocial.com.br)

Summary of Key Differences