How is Zeffy free?
How is Zeffy free?
Zeffy relies entirely on optional contributions from donors. At the payment confirmation step - we ask donors to leave an optional contribution to Zeffy.
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⚡ TL;DR: The short answer
Verdict: Not every tool sold as "free" costs your nonprofit nothing. Some tools truly cost nothing. Some charge no subscription but take processing on every gift. Some stop working past a contact or user cap. Some only open up after your nonprofit is verified. Every tool below is labeled so you know what you'll actually pay.
What works: Zeffy for fundraising, donor CRM, email and ticketing on one free account. Google Workspace for Nonprofits and Microsoft 365 Business Basic for productivity. Canva Nonprofits for design. QuickBooks Online through TechSoup for your books.
What doesn't: Fundraising plans with no subscription that still charge a platform fee on every gift. Email plans that stop sending once your list passes a few hundred contacts.
Best for: Nonprofits of any size that want to cut software costs without cutting capability.
Worth considering if: You pay platform fees on fundraising today. That is the one line in your tech budget that never has to exist.
Most software lists for nonprofits lump very different price models together. This one doesn't. Below are 50+ tools across nine categories, each tagged with one of four labels: ✅ actually free, ⚠️ processing applies, ⚠️ capped (no cost up to a limit), or 🎓 discount after verification. Every tool also gets a one-line verdict.
The backbone of a stack that stays free is Zeffy's free all-in-one fundraising platform. It shows up first in fundraising, donor CRM, email and events because it's one account covering all four.
This is where pricing gets the murkiest. Many platforms skip the monthly subscription but take a cut of every gift. Fees below are listed in two parts: the platform fee and the processing fee (the card fee charged on each payment).
| Platform | What you pay | Platform fee | Processing fee | Fit verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zeffy | ✅ Actually free | 0% | 0% | ✅ Pick it. Free at every size, with donations, events, donor CRM and email on one account. |
| GoFundMe (certified nonprofit fundraisers) | ⚠️ Processing applies | 0% | 2.2% + $0.30 per donation. Supporters pay a 5% fee on each recurring donation. | ⚠️ Pick it for one-off crowdfunding reach. Know that every gift carries processing, and there's no built-in CRM or ticketing. |
| Donorbox (Standard plan) | ⚠️ Processing applies, plus a platform fee | 2.95% to 3.95% per gift (3.95% on events) | Charged separately: typically 2.2% + $0.30 with Stripe's nonprofit rate, or 1.99% + $0.49 with PayPal | ❌ Skip unless you need a Donorbox-only feature. The $0/month plan still takes a platform fee on every gift. |
| Funraise (no-subscription plan) | ⚠️ Processing applies, plus a platform fee | 5% on online gifts | 2.9% + $0.60 through Funraise Payments | ⚠️ Consider it if you want a full fundraising suite and accept a platform fee on every gift. |
Zeffy is the only platform on this list with no platform fee, no processing fee and no cap on contacts. No platform fee, no transaction fee, no credit card fee. Ever. Donors are asked for an optional contribution to Zeffy at checkout. Your nonprofit receives 100% of the gift either way. 100K+ nonprofits use Zeffy and have raised $2B+ through it. You get free donation forms for one-time, recurring and pledge gifts, plus ticketing, auctions, raffles, memberships, an online store and peer-to-peer campaigns. Every payment lands on the same donor record, and every donor gets an automatic receipt.
GoFundMe works if you want crowdfunding reach for a single campaign. Certified nonprofit fundraisers pay no platform fee and one transaction fee of 2.2% + $0.30 per donation (individual and business fundraisers pay 2.9% + $0.30). Supporters pay a 5% fee on each recurring donation. Donors can also add an optional tip. Source: gofundme.com/c/pricing. GoFundMe Pro is a separate product: custom pricing with an annual subscription plus a transaction fee per donation, and no no-cost plan. See our GoFundMe comparison.
Donorbox markets a $0/month Standard plan, but it charges a platform fee of 2.95% to 3.95% per gift, and 3.95% on events. Processing is separate: typically 2.2% + $0.30 with Stripe's nonprofit rate, or 1.99% + $0.49 with PayPal. The Pro plan costs $150/month and lowers the platform fee to between 1.75% and 2%. The full Donorbox CRM is a paid add-on. Source: donorbox.org/pricing. See our Donorbox comparison.
Funraise is a full fundraising suite. Its no-subscription plan includes donation forms and pages, recurring giving, events and ticketing, and a donor CRM. That plan charges a 5% platform fee on online gifts, plus 2.9% + $0.60 processing through Funraise Payments. It's open only to organizations raising under $1 million a year. Peer-to-peer, auctions and email campaigns are on premium plans, which are priced by quote. Source: funraise.org/pricing. See Zeffy vs Funraise.
"Super easy to use. Clean design. Great interface. Easy to understand. Offers all the features we need and is comparable to paid services. Zeffy is truly awesome." Mark R., Capterra
For a nonprofit like yours: fundraising is the one category where you never need a paid plan. Every percent a platform takes comes straight out of your donors' gifts.
A CRM (customer relationship management tool) is where you keep each donor's contact details and giving history. Most no-cost CRMs are sales tools you have to bend to fit donors. The best free option for fundraising is the one that fills itself.
| Tool | What you pay | What you get | Fit verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zeffy donor CRM | ✅ Actually free | Unlimited contacts. Gift timeline, lifetime giving, households, saved lists that update themselves, notes and reminders, email from the same screen. | ✅ Pick it. Every donation, ticket and membership lands on the donor's record automatically. |
| Zoho CRM | ⚠️ Capped | A general sales CRM with a no-cost tier. You adapt sales fields to donor work. | ⚠️ Pick it only if you need a sales-style pipeline. Know the no-cost tier limits users. |
| Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud | 🎓 Discount after verification | Donated licenses through the Power of Us program after an eligibility review. Enterprise CRM for programs and case management. | ❌ Skip unless you run complex programs and have a dedicated admin. Its donation tools (Elevate) were retired in February 2025. |
Zeffy's free donor CRM builds itself. Every donation, ticket, membership, shop order and peer-to-peer gift creates or updates a contact. You can filter by giving history, campaign, amount or date, then save that filter as a list that stays current. Zeffy suggests likely duplicates so you can merge them. You can import past donors from a spreadsheet or pull contacts from Mailchimp. The AI Data Assistant answers plain-language questions about your data with charts you can export.
For a side-by-side look, see our list of free CRMs for nonprofits and our donor management software guide.
For a nonprofit like yours: if you fundraise on Zeffy, your donor CRM is already built and already free. Add a second CRM only for program or case work.
| Tool | What you pay | No-cost plan ceiling | Fit verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zeffy newsletter + donor email | ✅ Actually free | No contact cap | ✅ Pick it. Email donors by giving history, with open, click and donation stats. |
| Mailchimp | ⚠️ Capped | 250 contacts, 500 sends a month, 250 sends a day | ⚠️ Pick it for a small marketing list. Know the ceiling at 250 contacts. |
| Brevo | ⚠️ Capped | No-cost plan with a monthly send limit | ⚠️ Pick it if you also want transactional email or SMS. Check the current limit on its pricing page first. |
| Constant Contact | 🎓 Discount after verification | Paid, with a nonprofit discount | ❌ Skip unless you need its event tools tied to email. |
Zeffy's free newsletter + donor email sends newsletters and donor emails to any saved list, with no contact cap. Because the list comes from your donor CRM, you can email "everyone who gave last year but not this year" without exporting anything.
Mailchimp's no-cost plan allows up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, with a daily limit of 250. Once you pass 250 contacts, sending is held until you upgrade or shrink your list. That plan has no automation flows and keeps Mailchimp branding. Verified nonprofits get 15% off paid Marketing plans. Request it before you buy, because Mailchimp gives no retroactive discounts. Source: mailchimp.com/help/about-mailchimp-pricing-plans.
Brevo adds transactional email and SMS to marketing email. Its no-cost plan has a monthly send limit. Constant Contact is paid, with a nonprofit discount.
For a nonprofit like yours: a donor list grows past 250 contacts fast. Pick an email tool that won't stop sending the month your campaign works.
| Tool | What you pay | Fees | Fit verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zeffy ticketing | ✅ Actually free | 0% platform, 0% processing | ✅ Pick it. Ticket types, registration, check-in and scanning on the same account as your donations. |
| Zeffy Tap to Pay | ✅ Actually free | No reader to buy, no monthly fee, no per-transaction cost | ✅ Pick it for door sales, raffles and merch at your event. |
| Eventbrite | ⚠️ Processing applies | No-charge events: no fees. Paid tickets: 3.7% + $1.79 service fee per ticket, plus 2.9% processing per order. | ⚠️ Pick it when event discovery matters more than margin. |
| Humanitix | ⚠️ Processing applies | Booking fee per paid ticket; profits fund education programs | ⚠️ Pick it if mission alignment is part of your vendor criteria. Check the current booking fee. |
| Ticket Tailor | ⚠️ Processing applies | Per-ticket booking fee, with a charity discount | ⚠️ Pick it for white-label ticketing. Check the current fee for your ticket price. |
Zeffy's free event ticketing covers ticket types, registration questions, attendee lists and check-in, with no platform or processing fee. At the door, the free Tap to Pay app turns an iPhone or Android phone into a card reader. Every buyer lands in your donor CRM next to their online gifts.
Eventbrite charges a service fee of 3.7% + $1.79 per paid ticket, plus 2.9% processing per order. Events with no ticket price carry no fees. Source: eventbrite.com/organizer/pricing.
"Zeffy provides an ideal platform for event registrations for my non-profit organizations. Setting up events and managing registrations is quick and easy. The fee structure which ensures our non-profit receives 100% of the proceeds from registrations and donations is terrific." Cynthia L., Capterra
For a nonprofit like yours: on a $20 gala or 5K ticket, a flat per-ticket fee is the leak. Free ticketing means the full ticket price goes to your cause.
| Tool | What you pay | What you get | Fit verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks Online (via TechSoup) | 🎓 Discount after verification | Plus, 1 year, 5 users: $80 admin fee. Advanced, 1 year, 25 users: $170 admin fee. | ✅ Pick it if your bookkeeper already uses QuickBooks. |
| Wave | ⚠️ Capped | No-cost plan for invoicing and basic books; extras are paid | ⚠️ Pick it for simple books. Know that add-ons cost extra. |
| Zoho Books | ⚠️ Capped | No-cost plan with usage limits | ⚠️ Pick it for one-person bookkeeping. Check the plan limits first. |
| Aplos | ⚠️ Capped (trial only) | Built for nonprofits, with fund accounting and Form 990 support | ❌ Skip unless you need fund accounting now. It's paid after the trial. |
QuickBooks Online is the standard if you work with a bookkeeper. Through TechSoup, verified nonprofits pay an $80 admin fee for a 1-year, 5-user Plus subscription, or $170 for a 1-year, 25-user Advanced subscription (techsoup.org/intuit). Then connect Zeffy to QuickBooks: payouts sync pre-sorted by campaign and fund. Reconciling becomes matching the deposit.
Wave and Zoho Books both have no-cost plans for simple books, with paid extras. Aplos is purpose-built for nonprofits but paid after its trial.
For a nonprofit like yours: QuickBooks through TechSoup plus the free Zeffy sync is the cheapest way to get clean books without hand-entering every gift.
| Tool | What you pay | What you get | Fit verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Workspace for Nonprofits | 🎓 Discount after verification | No-cost Workspace, plus discounts on Business Standard, Business Plus and Enterprise | ✅ Pick it if you're eligible. Email, Drive, Docs and Meet at no cost. |
| Microsoft 365 for nonprofits | 🎓 Discount after verification | Business Basic is a grant, at no cost for up to 300 users. Business Standard $3.50 and Business Premium $5.50 per user per month, paid yearly. | ✅ Pick it if your team lives in Word, Excel and Outlook. |
| Slack | 🎓 Discount after verification | No-cost Pro plan for workspaces of 250 or fewer members; 85% off Pro above that; 85% off Business+ at any size | ✅ Pick it for staff and volunteer chat if you qualify. |
| Zoom | ⚠️ Capped | No-cost plan with meeting limits | ⚠️ Pick it for quick calls. Know the plan limits. |
| Discord | ✅ Free to use | Topic channels for volunteer groups and youth programs | ✅ Pick it for community chat. |
| Trello | ⚠️ Capped | Kanban boards (cards you drag from "to do" to "done") | ⚠️ Pick it for visual task lists. Know the no-cost plan limits boards. |
| Asana | ⚠️ Capped | Tasks and projects for small teams | ⚠️ Pick it for cross-team tasks. Know the no-cost plan limits users. |
| Monday.com | 🎓 Discount after verification | Nonprofit program on paid plans | ❌ Skip unless you run complex grant pipelines. |
| Notion | ⚠️ Capped | Docs, wiki and light project tracking in one place | ⚠️ Pick it for an internal wiki. |
| ClickUp | ⚠️ Capped | No-cost plan with feature caps | ⚠️ Pick it if you want many features and don't mind a learning curve. |
| Basecamp | 🎓 Discount after verification | Paid, with a nonprofit discount | ❌ Skip unless you prefer one simple space per project. |
| Zapier | ⚠️ Capped | No-cost plan with a monthly task limit | ⚠️ Pick it to connect tools. Zeffy is listed in its App Directory. |
| Make | ⚠️ Capped | No-cost plan with multi-step automations | ⚠️ Pick it if you're comfortable building workflows. |
| IFTTT | ⚠️ Capped | No-cost plan for basic automations | ⚠️ Pick it for simple social posting. |
Google for Nonprofits gives eligible organizations no-cost Google Workspace for Nonprofits, plus discounts on paid editions. Eligibility: a registered charitable organization, verified by Goodstack. Government entities, hospitals and healthcare organizations, and schools and universities are not eligible, though their philanthropic arms are (google.com/nonprofits).
Microsoft 365 Business Basic is a grant, at no cost for up to 300 users. Business Standard costs $3.50 and Business Premium $5.50 per user per month, paid yearly (Microsoft nonprofit plans and pricing).
Slack for Nonprofits upgrades workspaces of 250 or fewer members to Pro at no cost. Above that size, Pro is 85% off, and Business+ is 85% off at any size. Eligibility is reviewed with TechSoup. Schools and student groups are not eligible (Slack Help Center).
Automation tools save hours of copy-paste. Zeffy connects to Zapier, viaSocket and a free public API, so a new donation can add a donor to a list, post to Slack or fill a Google Sheet. See all Zeffy integrations.
For a nonprofit like yours: claim Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 first. Then add one task tool your team will actually open every day.
| Tool | What you pay | What you get | Fit verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canva Nonprofits | 🎓 Discount after verification | All Canva Pro features plus team collaboration, at no cost for up to 50 users | ✅ Pick it. The biggest no-cost design upgrade most nonprofits can claim. |
| Adobe Express | ⚠️ Capped | No-cost plan for quick graphics | ⚠️ Pick it if you prefer Adobe's templates. |
| Adobe Creative Cloud (via TechSoup) | 🎓 Discount after verification | Discounted access through TechSoup | ❌ Skip unless you have a designer on staff. |
| Unsplash | ✅ Free to use | Royalty-free stock photos, no application | ✅ Pick it. |
| Pexels | ✅ Free to use | Royalty-free photos and videos, no application | ✅ Pick it. |
| Lumen5 | ⚠️ Capped | Turns posts into short videos; watermark on no-cost videos | ⚠️ Pick it for quick social video. |
| Google Ad Grants | 🎓 Discount after verification | Up to $10,000 a month in search ads on Google.com | ✅ Pick it if you qualify for Google for Nonprofits. |
| YouTube Nonprofit Program | 🎓 Discount after verification | Part of Google for Nonprofits | ✅ Pick it if video is part of your storytelling. |
Canva Nonprofits gives registered nonprofits, NGOs and social impact organizations all Canva Pro features plus team collaboration, at no cost for up to 50 users (canva.com/nonprofits). Google Ad Grants offers up to $10,000 a month in search ads on Google.com to eligible nonprofits (google.com/grants).
For a nonprofit like yours: Canva Nonprofits plus Google Ad Grants is a no-cost design studio and a no-cost ad budget. Apply for both the week you're verified.
| Tool | What you pay | What you get | Fit verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zeffy WordPress plugin | ✅ Actually free | Adds your Zeffy donate button to a WordPress site | ✅ Pick it if your site runs on WordPress. |
| Wix | ⚠️ Capped | No-cost site on a Wix subdomain, with Wix branding | ⚠️ Pick it for drag-and-drop ease. Know you'll pay for your own domain. |
| Weebly | ⚠️ Capped | No-cost subdomain site with limited features | ⚠️ Pick it for a simple brochure site. |
| Webflow | ⚠️ Capped | No-cost staging site for building | ❌ Skip unless someone on your team designs sites. |
| WordPress.com | ⚠️ Capped | No-cost plan with WordPress branding | ⚠️ Pick it if you want room to grow. |
| Squarespace | 🎓 Discount after verification | Paid, with a nonprofit discount | ⚠️ Pick it for polished templates. |
| Google Maps Platform credits | 🎓 Discount after verification | Credits through Google for Nonprofits | ✅ Pick it if your site maps locations or programs. |
Each of these builders collects gifts through an embed. The simple setup: build your site on one of them, then embed a free Zeffy donation form or use the WordPress plugin.
For a nonprofit like yours: your website doesn't need to process payments. Pick the builder your volunteers can edit, and let your fundraising tool handle the money.
| Tool | What you pay | What you get | Fit verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| POINT | ⚠️ Capped | Volunteer profiles, event signups, hour tracking and a mobile app | ⚠️ Pick it for regular volunteer programs. |
| SignUpGenius | ⚠️ Capped | Signup sheets, email reminders and shift slots | ⚠️ Pick it for one-off events. Reporting and branding are paid. |
| Track It Forward | ⚠️ Capped | Hour logging and milestone tracking | ⚠️ Pick it when funders ask for volunteer-hour reports. |
For a nonprofit like yours: start with SignUpGenius for event shifts. Move to POINT or Track It Forward once you need to report volunteer hours.
Three sample stacks, all built on free or discounted tools. Notice what stays the same in all three.
Just getting started:
Growing:
Established:
For a nonprofit like yours: the constant is fundraising and your donor CRM on Zeffy. It stays free at every size, so it's the one line your budget never has to grow.
Most software roundups skip grant funding entirely. Zeffy's free Grant Finder (no account required) is a searchable grant database anyone can use. It's a free, open-access tool, so you can look for funding before you ever sign up for anything.
For software, TechSoup is the most common verification hub. Verified nonprofits get donated or discounted software for an admin fee.
Several vendors run their own programs instead: Google for Nonprofits (verified by Goodstack), Microsoft 365 for nonprofits, Canva Nonprofits, Slack for Nonprofits (reviewed with TechSoup) and Salesforce Power of Us. Mailchimp's 15% discount on paid plans must be requested before you buy.
For a nonprofit like yours: get verified once, then claim every program in one afternoon. Start with Google, Microsoft and Canva.
A few categories genuinely cap out on no-cost plans:
Fundraising isn't on this list. Zeffy stays free at every scale.
For a nonprofit like yours: pay only where a no-cost plan truly blocks the work, and never for the right to collect donations.
Zeffy. It charges no platform fee and no processing fee, with no cap on contacts. Donors can add an optional contribution to Zeffy at checkout, and your nonprofit receives 100% of every gift either way. Donor CRM, email and ticketing come with the same free account.
GoFundMe charges no platform fee, but certified nonprofit fundraisers pay a transaction fee of 2.2% + $0.30 per donation. Individual and business fundraisers pay 2.9% + $0.30. Supporters pay a 5% fee on each recurring donation, and donors are offered an optional tip.
Donorbox's Standard plan has no monthly fee, but it charges a platform fee of 2.95% to 3.95% per gift (3.95% on events). Processing is charged separately, typically 2.2% + $0.30 with Stripe's nonprofit rate or 1.99% + $0.49 with PayPal.
Apply through Google for Nonprofits. Your organization must be a registered charitable organization, verified by Goodstack. Government entities, hospitals and healthcare organizations, and schools and universities are not eligible, but their philanthropic arms are.
Microsoft 365 Business Basic is a grant, at no cost for up to 300 users. Business Standard costs $3.50 and Business Premium $5.50 per user per month, paid yearly, at nonprofit pricing.
Yes, for eligible organizations. Canva Nonprofits gives registered nonprofits, NGOs and social impact organizations all Canva Pro features plus team collaboration, at no cost for up to 50 users.
Workspaces with 250 or fewer members get a Pro upgrade at no cost. Larger workspaces get 85% off Pro, and Business+ is 85% off at any size. Schools and student groups are not eligible.
TechSoup verifies your nonprofit status and gives you donated or discounted software for an admin fee. For example, a 1-year, 5-user QuickBooks Online Plus subscription costs an $80 admin fee. Verification averages about 2 business days and can take up to 10.
If you fundraise on Zeffy, its built-in newsletter and donor email are free with no contact cap. Mailchimp's no-cost plan allows 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, with a daily limit of 250. Once you pass 250 contacts, Mailchimp holds sending until you upgrade or shrink your list.
Zeffy includes a free AI Data Assistant. Ask questions about your donor and payment data in plain words and get answers and charts you can export. Zeffy also has a connector for ChatGPT and Claude, so you can ask about your Zeffy data from inside either assistant.
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Compare the best free and simple event registration platforms built for small nonprofit teams — see fees, features, and the only zero-fee option side by side.
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