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
- Text-to-give pricing has two parts: the platform cost (often $0 to $19 per month) and the per-donation transaction fee (usually 2.9% + $0.30).
- Tithe.ly, Givelify, Givebutter and Zeffy all let you start with no monthly fee, which is ideal for small nonprofits testing text giving.
- Givebutter and Zeffy fund their free tiers through optional donor tips; understand who pays before you choose.
- Pushpay and OneCause target larger organizations with deeper engagement tools, at custom pricing.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Tithe.ly | churches that want giving, text-to-give and church management together | Free ($0/month giving; 2.9% + $0.30 per gift) | Yes |
 Givebutter | nonprofits that want modern fundraising without a monthly bill | Free (with donor tips; 3% platform fee without) | Yes |
 Pushpay | large churches investing in a full engagement platform | See website | No |
 Givelify | churches and nonprofits that want the simplest possible giving app | Free ($0/month; 2.9% + $0.30 per donation) | Yes |
 Donately | small nonprofits that want every feature from day one | Free ($0/month with 4% platform fee) | Yes |
 Qgiv | nonprofits running events alongside text fundraising | Free ($0/month Starter; 3.95% + $0.30 per transaction) | Yes |
 OneCause | large nonprofits running complex fundraising events | See website | No |
 Zeffy | nonprofits that want to keep 100% of every donation | Free (no platform or processing fees) | Yes |
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The best text to give platforms for nonprofits
#1
Tithe.ly
Best for: churches that want giving, text-to-give and church management together
Visit get.tithe.ly
Starting priceFree ($0/month giving; 2.9% + $0.30 per gift)
Free planYes
Tithe.ly built its name with churches, and its pricing reflects how churches actually adopt software: start free, add pieces as you grow. The Giving plan costs $0 per month with transaction fees of 2.9% + $0.30 per card gift (1% + $0.30 for ACH bank transfers). Text-to-give is a $19 per month add-on, or included in the $119 per month All Access bundle alongside church management, websites and apps.
The donor-covered fees feature matters more than it sounds. When donors opt to cover the transaction fee, the church keeps the full gift, which changes the effective cost dramatically. The free tier covers giving only; member databases and engagement tools sit on paid plans. For a church that wants one vendor from first gift to full management, Tithe.ly's ladder is the most natural climb.
What we like- Free giving plan with no monthly fee
- Text giving is a $19/month add-on
- Donor-covered fees option
Watch out for- Text giving costs extra outside All Access
- The full platform climbs to $119/month
#2
Givebutter
Best for: nonprofits that want modern fundraising without a monthly bill
Visit givebutter.com
Starting priceFree (with donor tips; 3% platform fee without)
Free planYes
Givebutter's pitch is simple: the platform is free, funded by optional tips donors add at checkout. With tips enabled, you pay no platform fee and, under the Givebutter Guarantee, no processing fees either. Turn tips off and a flat 3% platform fee applies plus standard processing of 2.9% + $0.30. Givebutter Plus, from $29 per month, adds marketing automation and advanced reporting.
What sets Givebutter apart from pure text-to-give tools is breadth. Donation forms, peer-to-peer pages, ticketed events, auctions and a donor CRM come in the same free account, and text-to-donate works across campaigns. The tip model is the thing to evaluate honestly: most donors do tip, but you are asking your supporters to fund your software. For small and mid-size nonprofits, it is the strongest free option available.
What we like- Genuinely free core platform
- Donation forms, events, auctions and CRM included
- Text-to-donate built in
Watch out for- Free model depends on donor tips
- Turning tips off triggers a 3% platform fee plus processing
#3
Pushpay
Best for: large churches investing in a full engagement platform
Visit pushpay.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Pushpay is the enterprise answer for churches. Beyond text-to-give and online giving, the platform covers church apps, management, donor development and engagement analytics, aimed at churches where giving is one part of a larger discipleship strategy. Pricing is custom and quoted by sales, with multi-year contracts common for discounted rates.
This is not a tool for a 100-member church watching every dollar. The value appears at scale, where engagement data across thousands of members justifies the investment. Smaller churches consistently report that Tithe.ly or Givelify deliver the giving essentials at a fraction of the cost. Choose Pushpay when you need the engagement suite, not just the giving button.
What we like- Deep church engagement beyond giving
- Strong mobile app
- Proven at large-church scale
Watch out for- Custom pricing with reported 2 to 3 year contracts
- Costs scale with church size
#4
Givelify
Best for: churches and nonprofits that want the simplest possible giving app
Visit givelify.com
Starting priceFree ($0/month; 2.9% + $0.30 per donation)
Free planYes
Givelify does one thing and does it well: let someone give from a phone in under a minute. There are no monthly fees, no signup fees and no contracts. You pay only the transaction fee of 2.9% + $0.30 per donation (3.5% + $0.30 for American Express). Donors find your organization in the app, tap an amount, and the money lands the next business day.
The simplicity is also the limit. Givelify is a giving app, not a fundraising platform. There is no donor CRM, no event ticketing, no email tools, and no ACH bank transfer option, which makes large gifts pricier than on platforms with 1% ACH rates. For a small church or nonprofit that just needs to accept gifts easily, it is the lowest-friction option here.
What we like- No signup, monthly or maintenance fees ever
- Donors give in three taps
- Next-day deposits
Watch out for- Giving only, no CRM or event tools
- No ACH option, so large gifts cost more in fees
#5
Donately
Best for: small nonprofits that want every feature from day one
Visit donately.com
Starting priceFree ($0/month with 4% platform fee)
Free planYes
Donately's unusual promise is that every plan gets the full platform: donation forms, recurring giving, peer-to-peer campaigns, integrations and reporting, with no feature gates. The pricing is a fee ladder instead. The free plan costs $0 per month with a 4% platform fee per donation, the $99 per month plan drops it to 2%, and a $5,000 one-time payment removes platform fees on up to $1 million raised. Payment processing through Stripe or PayPal adds on top.
That structure suits organizations that want to test everything before committing money. The 4% free-plan fee is steep if donation volume is high, so do the math at your expected volume: the $99 plan pays for itself quickly once monthly donations pass a few thousand dollars. For feature-completeness on a free tier, nothing else here matches it.
What we like- All features on every plan, including free
- Transparent fee ladder
- $99/month plan drops the fee to 2%
Watch out for- 4% platform fee on the free plan is high
- Processing fees add on top
#6
Qgiv
Best for: nonprofits running events alongside text fundraising
Visit qgiv.com
Starting priceFree ($0/month Starter; 3.95% + $0.30 per transaction)
Free planYes
Qgiv, now Bloomerang Fundraising, is built for organizations whose fundraising centers on events. The Starter package costs $0 per month with transaction fees of 3.95% + $0.30, and paid packages add peer-to-peer fundraising, auctions and text fundraising with outbound messaging at $159 per month. Unlimited users and no long-term contracts are standard.
The transaction fee is the highest among the free-start options here, which adds up at volume. What you get for it is a mature event fundraising toolkit: auctions, event registration, text campaigns with live thermometers, and solid reporting. If galas and auctions drive your revenue, Qgiv's event depth justifies the fees. If you mainly need simple text-to-give, cheaper options exist.
What we like- Strong event and auction tools
- Text fundraising with outbound messaging
- Unlimited users
Watch out for- Transaction fees are higher than most rivals
- Text fundraising package costs $159/month
#7
OneCause
Best for: large nonprofits running complex fundraising events
Visit onecause.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
OneCause targets the top end of nonprofit fundraising: large galas, charity auctions and multi-channel campaigns run by professional development teams. The platform covers online giving, event management, auctions with mobile bidding, peer-to-peer and text fundraising in one enterprise package. Pricing is quote-based and reflects that positioning.
Small nonprofits should look elsewhere; this is built for organizations with dedicated fundraising staff and five- and six-figure events. For those organizations, OneCause's event execution tools and support are the reason it wins renewals. Evaluate it against Qgiv if events are your main channel, and expect a sales-led buying process.
What we like- Comprehensive event fundraising suite
- Strong auction and mobile bidding
- Proven at large galas
Watch out for- Quote-based enterprise pricing
- More than small nonprofits need
#8
Zeffy
Best for: nonprofits that want to keep 100% of every donation
Visit zeffy.com
Starting priceFree (no platform or processing fees)
Free planYes
Zeffy takes the free model further than anyone: no platform fees and no processing fees, with costs covered by optional donor tips. The nonprofit keeps 100% of every donation. The platform includes donation forms, event ticketing, auctions, memberships, a CRM and email tools, which makes it a genuine all-in-one at zero cost.
The obvious question is sustainability, and the answer is the same as Givebutter's: donor tips fund the operation, and most donors add them. Zeffy is newer and its integration ecosystem is smaller than the established players, but for small nonprofits the math is compelling. If keeping every dollar matters more than having every integration, start here.
What we like- Zero fees of any kind
- Donation forms, events, auctions and CRM included
- No contracts
Watch out for- Funded by donor tips, like Givebutter
- Smaller ecosystem than the biggest platforms
How we chose
We focused on platforms that offer text-to-give or text-to-donate as a real feature in 2026, verified each product's existence and nonprofit fit, and pulled pricing from the vendors' own pricing and help pages. Transaction fees are stated as published; where vendors price by quote, we say so. We favored tools with free starting tiers since most nonprofits evaluate on tight budgets, and we ignored vendor awards and user-count claims.
How text-to-give pricing actually works
Every text-to-give platform charges in up to three layers, and confusing them is how nonprofits overpay. Layer one is the platform cost: a monthly subscription, a cut of each donation, or nothing at all. Layer two is payment processing, usually 2.9% + $0.30 per card transaction, which goes to the processor regardless of platform. Layer three is the text messaging itself, sometimes bundled, sometimes a separate add-on like Tithe.ly's $19 per month.
The practical comparison is effective cost per $100 donated. A platform with no monthly fee and 2.9% + $0.30 takes $3.20 per $100 gift. A platform with a $159 monthly text package plus lower fees wins only once volume covers the subscription. Donor-covered fees and tips shift who pays but do not eliminate the cost; someone always pays the processor. Run your expected monthly donation count and average gift through each platform's structure before deciding.
Text-to-give vs. full fundraising platforms
Text-to-give started as a standalone feature: donors text a keyword to a number and get a donation link. Today the line has blurred. Tools like Givelify still do just giving, while Givebutter, Zeffy and Qgiv wrap text giving inside full fundraising platforms with events, auctions, CRM and email.
The right choice depends on your fundraising mix. If text giving supports live events, a platform with event tools and live thermometers (Qgiv, Givebutter) multiplies its value. If you are a church adding a giving channel, Tithe.ly or Givelify slot in without replacing anything. And if you already run a donor CRM elsewhere, a simple giving tool avoids paying for a second database. Do not buy a fundraising suite for the text feature alone; buy it when you will use the rest.
Frequently asked questions
How does text-to-give work?
Donors text a keyword (like GIVE) to your organization's dedicated number and receive a link to a secure donation form. First-time donors enter payment details once; repeat gifts can be completed by text alone. The nonprofit pays transaction fees on each gift, and sometimes a monthly fee for the text number.
How much does text-to-give cost?
Most platforms charge 2.9% + $0.30 per card donation in processing fees. Platform costs range from $0 per month (Givelify, Givebutter with tips, Zeffy, Donately's free tier) to add-ons like Tithe.ly's $19 per month text giving or Qgiv's $159 per month text fundraising package. Enterprise platforms price by quote.
What is the cheapest text-to-give platform?
Zeffy and Givebutter (with donor tips enabled) cost the nonprofit nothing, with donors optionally covering fees. Givelify charges no monthly fee, just 2.9% + $0.30 per donation. The cheapest option at your volume depends on donation count and average gift size, so compare effective cost per $100 donated.
Do donors need an app to text-to-give?
No. Donors only need a phone that can send text messages. They text your keyword to your number, tap the link they receive, and complete the gift in a mobile browser. Some platforms also offer donor apps, but they are optional.
Can text-to-give handle recurring donations?
Yes, all the platforms here support recurring gifts. Donors typically set up the recurring schedule through the initial donation link, and can manage or cancel it through links in their receipts. Recurring text giving is one of the highest-retention channels in nonprofit fundraising.
Is text-to-give safe and PCI compliant?
Reputable platforms are PCI compliant and never store full card numbers on your systems. Donors enter payment details on secure processor-hosted pages. When evaluating, confirm PCI compliance, check how donor data is stored, and review the platform's refund and dispute handling.
Sources we checked (9)
- https://help.tithe.ly/hc/en-us/articles/7442621160087-Tithely-Transaction-Fees-and-Subscription-Pricing
- https://help.tithe.ly/hc/en-us/articles/21528598014743-Text-to-Give-Fees
- https://givebutter.com/blog/givebutter-guarantee
- https://help.givebutter.com/en/articles/1726586-what-is-givebutter-and-how-does-it-work
- https://pushpay.com/blog/church-giving-platforms-church-plants/
- https://www.givelify.com/blog/how-to-attract-more-supporters-fundraising-app-features/
- https://www.capterra.com/p/154495/Donately/
- https://www.qgiv.com/blog/text-to-give-platforms/
- https://zeffy.com/compare/zeffy-vs-givelify
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.