How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Rankite is independent; if a vendor ever pays for a featured spot, that listing is clearly labeled Partner.
Key takeaways
- Zeffy is genuinely free: no platform fees, no processing fees passed to the nonprofit, funded by optional donor tips.
- Donorbox starts free with a 2.95% platform fee, while the Pro plan at $150 a month drops it to 1.75%.
- Givebutter combines free fundraising tools with strong peer-to-peer and event features, also funded by donor tips.
- Fundraise Up wins on conversion optimization, Classy (now GoFundMe Pro) on enterprise campaigns, and Qgiv, OneCause, Donately and Snowball cover events, auctions and simple giving.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Zeffy | Nonprofits that want zero fees | Free | Yes |
 Givebutter | Free fundraising with great peer-to-peer | Free | Yes |
 Donorbox | Flexible, fast-to-launch donation forms | $0 per month (2.95% platform fee) | Yes |
 Fundraise Up | Nonprofits optimizing donation conversion | See website | No |
 Classy (GoFundMe Pro) | Enterprise nonprofit campaigns | See website | No |
 Donately | Simple, clean online giving | See website | Yes |
 Qgiv | Auctions, events and peer-to-peer | See website | No |
 OneCause | Event-driven fundraising at scale | See website | No |
 Snowball | Text-to-give and mobile fundraising | See website | No |
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We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
The best donation software for nonprofits
Starting priceFree
Free planYes
Zeffy's offer is the simplest in the category: every feature, donations, events, peer-to-peer, raffles, memberships, at zero cost to the nonprofit, with no platform fees and no processing fees passed through. The business is funded by optional contributions donors can add at checkout, which they may adjust or remove. One hundred percent of each donation reaches the organization either way.
The model depends on donor generosity at checkout, which will not suit every organization philosophically. Zeffy is also younger than the established players. But for small and mid-size nonprofits where every percentage point of fees matters, the math is unbeatable: nothing taken, ever.
What we like- No platform, transaction or processing fees
- Full feature set free
- Simple pricing story
Watch out for- Funded by optional donor tips, which some donors remove
- Younger company
Starting priceFree
Free planYes
Givebutter gives nonprofits a genuinely free fundraising platform covering donation pages, peer-to-peer campaigns, events, auctions and donor management, funded by optional donor tips at checkout. The peer-to-peer tools are a particular strength: team fundraising pages that look good and convert. The donor-facing experience is modern and mobile-first.
The free model means the company earns when donors tip, which some organizations prefer to evaluate carefully. The built-in CRM is serviceable rather than deep. But as a free platform for the full fundraising event cycle, Givebutter's combination of price and polish is hard to match.
What we like- Free core platform
- Excellent peer-to-peer and event tools
- Modern donor experience
Watch out for- Tip-based model like Zeffy
- Advanced CRM features are lighter
Starting price$0 per month (2.95% platform fee)
Free planYes
Donorbox is the fast path to online giving: embeddable donation forms live on your site in about fifteen minutes, with recurring giving, donor accounts, text-to-give and crowdfunding available. The Standard plan costs nothing per month but takes a 2.95% platform fee (3.95% for events, peer-to-peer and memberships), plus standard Stripe or PayPal processing. The Pro plan at $150 a month drops the platform fee to 1.75%.
Do the math at your volume: on $50,000 raised, Standard's platform fees alone exceed $1,400 before processing. Donors can be asked to cover fees at checkout. For organizations that want proven, flexible donation forms without an enterprise contract, Donorbox remains the popular default, but the fee structure rewards careful calculation.
What we like- Quick setup with embeddable forms
- Strong recurring giving
- Fee transparency
Watch out for- Platform fees add up at scale
- Advanced features need the $150/month Pro plan
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Fundraise Up does one thing with unusual focus: making the donation checkout convert. The forms use machine learning to suggest ask amounts, offer smart recurring upsells, support digital wallets and cryptocurrencies, and remove every unnecessary field. Organizations that switch typically report meaningful lifts in conversion rate and average gift.
The pricing is a percentage of funds raised, so costs scale directly with success. It is a donation checkout specialist, not a full event or auction platform. But if your problem is visitors who reach the donate page and leave, Fundraise Up is the most conversion-focused tool available.
What we like- Obsessive conversion optimization
- AI-driven ask amounts
- Excellent checkout UX
Watch out for- Pricing is a percentage of donations
- Less of a full event platform
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Classy, now operating as GoFundMe Pro, is the enterprise end of online fundraising. Peer-to-peer campaigns, crowdfunding, event fundraising and donation pages come with the sophistication large nonprofits need: advanced segmentation, dedicated support and integrations with the major nonprofit CRMs. The GoFundMe backing adds brand trust and resources.
Pricing is enterprise-level and quoted. Small organizations will find it heavy. But for large nonprofits running multi-channel campaigns where the fundraising platform has to integrate with a complex tech stack, GoFundMe Pro's depth justifies the investment.
What we like- Deep campaign tools
- Peer-to-peer at scale
- GoFundMe brand backing
Watch out for- Enterprise pricing
- More platform than small nonprofits need
Starting priceSee website
Free planYes
Donately keeps online giving simple: attractive donation pages, straightforward recurring options and donor management basics in a package small teams can run. The free tier covers getting started, and the paid tiers stay accessible.
Organizations needing auctions, complex peer-to-peer or enterprise integrations will outgrow it. But simplicity is a legitimate strategy: fewer features means faster launch, less training and fewer things to break. For nonprofits that just need good donation pages, Donately delivers.
What we like- Clean donation pages
- Free tier available
- Easy recurring setup
Watch out for- Fewer advanced campaign features
- Smaller ecosystem
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Qgiv covers the fundraising event lifecycle: auctions with mobile bidding, peer-to-peer campaigns, donation pages, text fundraising and event registration. The auction tools are a particular strength, handling the complexity of silent auctions, live auctions and paddle raises. Support gets consistently good marks.
Pricing is quoted rather than published. The interface is functional rather than flashy. But for organizations whose fundraising centers on galas, golf tournaments and auctions, Qgiv's event depth beats the generalist donation tools.
What we like- Strong auction and event tools
- Text fundraising
- Good support reputation
Watch out for- Quote-based pricing
- Interface less modern than Givebutter
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
OneCause is built for organizations whose fundraising is events: galas, auctions, golf outings, charity runs. The platform handles ticketing, tables, sponsorships, mobile bidding and day-of logistics with the polish that high-dollar events demand. The event-day support is a genuine differentiator.
This is enterprise-priced software for event-centric fundraising. Online-only organizations should look elsewhere. But if your development calendar revolves around three galas a year, OneCause is designed for exactly that reality.
What we like- Purpose-built for fundraising events
- Strong auction tech
- Enterprise event support
Watch out for- Enterprise pricing
- Overkill for online-only fundraising
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Snowball focuses on mobile-first giving, with text-to-give as the headline feature. Donors text a keyword, get a link and complete the gift on their phone in under a minute. For events, churches and organizations with an engaged mobile audience, the friction reduction is real.
The feature set is narrower than the full platforms: no auctions, limited peer-to-peer. Pricing conversations are straightforward. As a complement to a main donation platform or as the primary tool for mobile-heavy fundraising, Snowball's focused simplicity works.
What we like- Strong text-to-give
- Mobile-first donor experience
- Simple pricing conversations
Watch out for- Narrower feature set
- Less of a full platform
How we chose
We focused on donation and fundraising tools built for nonprofits, verified as actively offered in 2026. We checked vendor pricing pages and documentation, prioritizing fee transparency since fees are the decisive factor in this category. Donor CRMs are covered in our companion guide to donor software; this list is about collecting the money. Where pricing could not be confirmed on vendor materials, we used See website.
Reading the fee fine print
Donation software pricing has three layers, and vendors advertise them differently. The platform fee is what the software company takes: 0% (Zeffy, Givebutter) to around 2.95% (Donorbox Standard) or more. The processing fee goes to Stripe or PayPal: typically 2.2% plus $0.30 for nonprofits. Some tools add per-feature fees for events or peer-to-peer.
Model your real numbers. Take last year's online revenue, apply each candidate's full fee stack, and compare the annual totals. A free platform with a 2.95% fee costs more than a $150/month plan with a 1.75% fee once you pass roughly $125,000 in annual online giving. The cheapest sticker price is rarely the cheapest at scale.
Conversion is the other half
Fees get the attention, but conversion rate decides how much there is to take fees from. A checkout that converts 10% better is worth more than a percentage point of fees for most organizations. Test the donor experience yourself on mobile: count the fields, try Apple Pay, watch what happens when you abandon and return.
Fundraise Up's whole business is this optimization, and the tools with the best checkout UX, Givebutter, Donorbox, Zeffy, all invest heavily here. Whatever platform you choose, enable digital wallets, minimize required fields and make recurring the easy choice. Those three changes beat any platform switch.
Frequently asked questions
What is donation software for nonprofits?
It is software for collecting donations online and running fundraising campaigns: donation pages and forms, peer-to-peer fundraising, event ticketing, auctions, text-to-give and recurring gift management. It handles the donor-facing side of fundraising, while donor CRMs handle the database side.
How much does donation software cost?
It ranges from genuinely free (Zeffy, Givebutter's core platform) to free-with-fees (Donorbox Standard at 2.95% platform fee) to percentage-of-revenue models and enterprise quotes. Always calculate the all-in cost: platform fee plus processing fee at your actual donation volume.
What is the difference between a platform fee and a processing fee?
The platform fee goes to the fundraising software company. The processing fee goes to the payment processor (Stripe, PayPal) that moves the money. Both come out of the donation. Some platforms let donors cover fees at checkout, which shifts the cost without eliminating it.
Is Zeffy really free?
Yes, for the nonprofit. Zeffy charges no platform fees and no processing fees to the organization; it is funded by optional donor contributions at checkout that donors can adjust or remove. The nonprofit receives 100% of each donation either way.
Should we use the same tool for donations and our donor database?
Many organizations do, since several tools on this list include basic donor management. But dedicated donor CRMs go deeper on segmentation, moves management and reporting. A common setup is a donation platform for collection integrated with a donor CRM for cultivation. Check the integration before committing.
How do we choose between these tools?
Start with your fundraising mix: online-only, events, peer-to-peer, auctions or some combination. Then model the fees at your volume. Then test the donor experience on a phone. The right tool is the one that fits your campaigns, costs the least at your scale and converts the best.
Sources we checked (9)
- https://donorbox.org/nonprofit-blog/fundraising-platforms
- https://www.zeffy.com
- https://givebutter.com
- https://fundraiseup.com
- https://pro.gofundme.com
- https://www.donately.com
- https://www.qgiv.com
- https://www.onecause.com
- https://snowballfundraising.com
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has spent more than a decade helping SaaS and e-commerce brands grow through search. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.