Clover VS Sum Up

Clover and SumUp help you accept card payments at events, but both charge processing fees that reduce your donations. Zeffy gives you donation forms, event ticketing, peer-to-peer fundraising, and donor management — all with zero fees so every dollar goes directly to your mission.

Zeffy is trusted by 100,000+ nonprofits

SumUp

Clover VS Sum Up

Clover VS Sum Up: What nonprofits should know before choosing.

In-Person Donation Kiosks Features

No Hardware / Card Reader Required

Smartphone Tap-to-Pay (No Hardware)

Setup & Onboarding Complexity

Device Rentals & Maintenance Costs

Simple Setup for Non‑Tech Staff

Accept Payments at Events (Bake Sales, Galas)

0% Transaction Fee

Automatic donor tracking, receipts, donor data capture

Instant Payment Processing

Pricing

N/A.

No pricing information available

2.6% + 10¢.

per gift, plus monthly fees

Processing fees

2.3%–2.6% + $0.10.

Pricing varies by plan; card-not-present transactions are higher

2.6% + 10¢.

In-person rate for SumUp card reader; online/manual and invoicing rates differ

Platform fees

$5.00/month.

plus $0.03 additional transaction fee for keyed-in transactions

$0.

No platform fees

Monthly fees

$0/month.

Starting at $0/month for Clover Payments Plan

$99/month.

Starting at $99/month for POS with Connect Lite

Value for money

3.4.

4.4.

Features

4.0/5.

Solid payment processing, but requires add-ons for nonprofit features like donor management and ticketing.

4.3/5.

Easy card payments with good reliability, but lacks nonprofit-specific tools like memberships and donor tracking.

Donations

Accept donations through card readers and POS systems at events and locations

SumUp provides card readers for in-person donations but charges 1.69% per transaction. No built-in donor management or receipt automation.

Ticketing

Basic payment processing for tickets but no event management or ticketing tools

SumUp provides basic event ticketing but lacks nonprofit features like donation add-ons or volunteer management integration.

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

No peer-to-peer fundraising tools - limited to direct payment processing

SumUp doesn't support peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns. You'd need additional tools to enable supporters to fundraise on your behalf.

Auctions

Not available - Clover focuses on in-person payment processing, not auction management

SumUp doesn't offer auction functionality. You'd need separate auction software and manual processes to track bids and payments.

Raffles

No raffle management features - can only process payments for raffle tickets

SumUp doesn't offer raffle or lottery functionality. You'd need separate raffle software and manual payment processing.

Online store

Basic e-commerce features available but designed for retail, not nonprofit needs

SumUp offers basic online store functionality but lacks nonprofit-specific features like donation options or tax-exempt handling.

Memberships

Limited membership features - mainly basic customer profiles and loyalty programs designed for retail, not recurring nonprofit memberships

SumUp doesn't offer membership management features. You'd need separate software to track member renewals and benefits.

Donor Management/CRM

Basic customer database focused on retail transactions, lacks nonprofit-specific donor tracking and relationship management tools

Basic customer profiles and transaction history. Limited donor relationship tracking compared to nonprofit-focused CRMs.

Emails & Newsletter

No built-in email marketing or newsletter capabilities - requires third-party integrations for donor communications

No built-in email marketing tools. You'd need to integrate with third-party services to send newsletters to supporters.

Payment Processing

Strong in-person payment processing with card readers and POS systems, but charges 2.3% + 10¢ per transaction with additional fees

Payment methods

Credit cards and mobile payments only

Card payments only, no bank transfers

Credit Card Payments

Supported - Accepts all major credit cards through POS terminals and mobile devices

Supported - Accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover with competitive rates

Apple Pay & Google Pay

Supported - Contactless payments including Apple Pay and Google Pay through NFC-enabled devices

Supported - Contactless payments including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay

ACH / Bank Transfers

Not supported - Clover focuses on credit card processing for in-person transactions

Not supported - SumUp focuses on card payments only

Tap to Pay App

Supported - Mobile POS app with tap-to-pay functionality on compatible devices

Supported - SumUp Solo card reader and mobile app for tap-to-pay transactions

Customer Support

4.0/5.

4.3/5.

Unlimited Support

Clover offers tiered support based on subscription level, not unlimited access

SumUp offers email and phone support but with limited hours and response times

Phone Support / Office Hours

Clover provides phone support during standard business hours for subscribers

SumUp provides phone support during standard business hours Monday through Friday

Webinars

Clover offers occasional training sessions and product updates for merchants

SumUp offers occasional product training sessions and educational webinars for merchants

Help Center

Clover maintains a help center with setup guides and troubleshooting articles

SumUp maintains a comprehensive help center with guides, FAQs, and troubleshooting resources

Clover provides live chat support during business hours for technical issues

SumUp provides live chat support during business hours for immediate assistance

Nonprofit-Focused Support Team

Support built for merchants, not nonprofits — access varies by subscription tier with business-hour availability

Support designed for merchants, not mission-driven teams — limited hours with standard business response times

Zeffy is 100% free, always.

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How is Zeffy free?

Why Zeffy over Clover and SumUp?

Why choose Zeffy over Clover and SumUp if you're a nonprofit

💸

No transaction fees on every donation

Clover and SumUp charge 2.3-2.6% plus fees on every gift. Zeffy charges zero fees, so donors have the option to leave a voluntary contribution instead.

🎯

Built for fundraising, not retail sales

Clover and SumUp focus on retail transactions with basic payment processing. Zeffy offers complete fundraising tools like auctions, raffles, and donor management.

🤝

Real support when you need it most

Clover and SumUp provide business-hours support for technical issues. Zeffy offers unlimited support with real people who understand nonprofit fundraising.

Frequently asked questions

How much will I save on fees compared to Clover and SumUp?

With Zeffy, you keep 100% of every donation. Clover charges 2.3% + 10¢ plus monthly contracts, while SumUp takes 2.6% + 10¢ per gift. On a $1,000 fundraising event, you'd save $23-26 in fees alone.

Do I need separate software for donor management with these tools?

Yes, both Clover and SumUp focus on retail transactions and lack donor tracking features. Zeffy includes complete donor management, automated receipts, and relationship tools built specifically for nonprofits.

Why choose Zeffy over Clover or SumUp for in-person donations?

Zeffy charges zero fees on donations, while Clover takes 2.3% + 10¢ and SumUp charges 2.6% + 10¢ per gift. Plus, you avoid monthly software contracts that eat into your budget.

Can I track donors and send receipts automatically with these tools?

Zeffy includes built-in donor management and automated tax receipts at no cost. Clover and SumUp focus on retail transactions and lack nonprofit-specific donor tracking features.

What if I need more than just in-person donations?

Zeffy offers auctions, raffles, memberships, peer-to-peer fundraising, and online stores all fee-free. Clover and SumUp only handle basic payment processing without these fundraising tools.

Looking for a better option?

Zeffy was built for nonprofits like yours

focus on what matters

Built for small teams with big missions.

Zeffy is the fundraising platform that cuts out the fees, clears up your tech mess, and puts your cause first — so your team, even if you're a small team wearing many hats or a one-person show, can focus on what really matters.

Start your nonprofit

ZERO-FEE

Keep 100% of every dollar.

No platform fees. No processing fees. No catch. We know it sounds too good to be true, but it's not. Every penny goes straight to your mission, while competitors take 2-3% off every donation.

Start your nonprofit

ALL-IN-ONE PLatform

Ditch the tech mess.

Stop bouncing between MailChimp, Eventbrite, and all those spreadsheets. Now you can handle donations, ticket sales, memberships, raffles, and all your donor info in one spot.

Start your nonprofit

plug-and-play

Get going, fast.

Built for teams like yours — whether you're volunteer-led or have limited staff. Set up donation forms, sell tickets, and launch campaigns without needing a tech wizard. It's super easy, and you'll be up and running in minutes.

Start your nonprofit

mobile-first

Fundraise from every device, anywhere.

From QR codes on flyers to Tap-to-Pay on a phone, Zeffy makes it easy to accept donations on the go. Mobile-optimized and offline-ready, so no donor slips through the cracks.

Start your nonprofit

No turnover

Never lose a donor to volunteer transition.

Centralize supporter relationships, automate thank-you messages, and preserve institutional knowledge when board members rotate out.

Start your nonprofit

100% free forever.

100,000+ nonprofits trust Zeffy — and keep their fees at $0.

For 7+ years, Zeffy has supported nonprofits with free, user-friendly fundraising tools.

As a startup nonprofit with only two members, and no funding (yet) we’d need something with low (or no) fees. Zeffy was a dream come true.

Masey, Loose Ends.

Read the full story

“We were incurring a ton of fees for our past fundraising platform and Zeffy has helped us receive so much more of our donations.”

Zeffy has been invaluable in helping me track our donors, sales, events, and revenue in one spot. The coolest thing about Zeffy is it really is free!

Everything about Zeffy suits us starting with (of course, NO fees) but also the ease of use and customer experience as well as their client support!!

Zeffy is very easy to use and ensures that every dollar quickly gets into our account.. A huge help to our work!

Zeffy is very simple, allows for a lot of customization and seamlessly integrates into our website. The fact that all of this is free is still wild to me.

We couldn't believe there was a free payment platform for our Girl Scout group. Zeffy took ZERO fees from us, which is huge when you run on very small amounts of money.

We were ready to sell tickets in less than 30 minutes. The reporting capabilities were better than some other paid-for sites.

Since using Zeffy, our conversion rate of donations has skyrocketed. It's an easy platform to use. Plus customer support has always been responsive and helpful!