Donately VS Raise Donors

Donately and RaiseDonors both offer donation forms and fundraising tools, but they charge fees that reduce what reaches your mission. Zeffy provides the same donation capabilities — beautiful forms, donor management, and campaign tracking — with zero fees so you keep 100% of every donation.

Zeffy is trusted by 100,000+ nonprofits

RaiseDonors

Donately VS Raise Donors

Donately VS Raise Donors: What nonprofits should know before choosing.

Donations Platforms Features

Simple Online Donation Forms

One-Time Giving Option

Recurring/Monthly Donations

Suggested Levels & Custom Donation Amounts

Custom Forms Builder

Donate button / Donation Link

Mobile‑Friendly Donation Experience

Embeddable donation forms

Apple Pay / Google Pay / Digital Wallets

Secure Payment Processing

Pricing

4%.

platform fee plus card fees per gift

N/A.

No pricing information available

Processing fees

2.2% + $0.30.

per transaction (nonprofit rate); ACH/Direct Bank Transfer (Stripe): 0.8%, capped at $5

2.9% + $0.30.

per transaction; Amex: 3.5% + $0.30; ACH (USA only): 1% + $0.50; recurring transactions via Legacy Stripe: additional 0.50%

Platform fees

4%.

Standard plan (pay-as-you-go); Lower Fees Plan: 2% (with $99/month subscription); No Fees Plan: 0% (with $5,000 one-time prepayment, covers up to $1M raised)

1.5%.

per transaction for Legacy RaiseDonors Standard; Legacy RaiseDonors Pro: custom rate per customer; Virtuous Payments users: no platform/app fees

Monthly fees

$0/month.

Free Plan; Lower Fees Plan: $99/month (or $999/year); No Fees Plan: One-time $5,000 payment (no monthly fee)

$99/month.

Starting price per user

Value for money

4.4.

0.0.

Features

4.0/5.

Solid donation forms, but setup takes time and features feel scattered across multiple tools.

N/A.

Basic donor tracking works, but you'll spend hours connecting separate systems and managing manual processes.

Donations

Donately offers donation forms and recurring giving tools, but charges processing fees on every transaction that eat into your fundraising budget.

RaiseDonors offers donation forms and recurring giving, but charges processing fees on every transaction that eat into your fundraising budget.

Ticketing

Donately doesn't provide event ticketing features - you'll need to use a separate platform and manage multiple systems for your fundraising events.

RaiseDonors doesn't offer event ticketing. You'd need separate ticketing software and manual work to connect ticket sales with donor data.

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

Donately offers peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns, but with limited customization options and additional fees that reduce your campaign earnings.

RaiseDonors offers peer-to-peer fundraising tools, but with limited customization options and processing fees that reduce your campaign earnings.

Auctions

Donately doesn't support auction functionality - you'll need separate auction software to run silent or live auctions for your organization.

RaiseDonors doesn't support auction functionality. You'd need separate auction software and manual processes to follow up with bidders.

Raffles

Donately lacks built-in raffle functionality, so you'll have to find and pay for another tool to run your fundraising raffles and games.

RaiseDonors doesn't support raffle functionality. You'd need third-party raffle tools and manual processes to track participants and winners.

Online store

Donately doesn't include online store capabilities - selling merchandise or products requires integrating with third-party e-commerce solutions.

RaiseDonors doesn't include e-commerce capabilities. You'd need separate store software and manual work to connect sales with donor records.

Memberships

Donately offers basic recurring donation setup but lacks dedicated membership management tools for tracking member benefits, renewal dates, or member-specific communications.

RaiseDonors offers basic recurring donation setup but lacks dedicated membership management features like member portals, tiered benefits tracking, or automated renewal communications that nonprofits need for comprehensive membership programs.

Donor Management/CRM

Donately includes donor tracking and basic reporting features, but advanced CRM functionality like donor segmentation and detailed analytics require higher-tier paid plans.

RaiseDonors includes donor tracking and basic reporting features, allowing you to view donation history and generate standard reports, though it may lack some advanced CRM features like detailed donor journey mapping.

Emails & Newsletter

Donately provides basic donor communication tools but requires integration with third-party email platforms for advanced newsletter features and automated donor follow-ups.

RaiseDonors provides basic email capabilities for donor communication but lacks advanced segmentation, automated drip campaigns, and newsletter design tools that help nonprofits build stronger relationships with supporters.

Payment Processing

Donately charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction plus monthly platform fees starting at $39/month, making it expensive for smaller nonprofits with limited budgets.

Payment methods

Credit cards, ACH, and digital wallets covered

Credit cards only, no modern payment options

Credit Card Payments

Yes - Accepts all major credit cards through secure payment processing

Supported - Accepts major credit cards with processing fees charged to your nonprofit

Apple Pay & Google Pay

Yes - Built-in Apple Pay and PayPal options to reduce donation friction

Not supported - Limited to traditional credit card entry methods

ACH / Bank Transfers

Yes - Supports ACH bank transfers for recurring and one-time donations

Not supported - RaiseDonors focuses on credit card processing only

Tap to Pay App

No - Does not offer a dedicated tap-to-pay mobile app for in-person donations

Not supported - No mobile tap-to-pay functionality available

Customer Support

4.0/5.

N/A.

Unlimited Support

Donately limits support availability based on subscription tier and business hours only

RaiseDonors limits support based on plan tier and response times

Phone Support / Office Hours

Donately offers phone support during standard business hours for higher-tier plans

RaiseDonors offers phone support during business hours for premium plans

Webinars

Donately provides occasional training webinars and educational sessions for platform users

RaiseDonors offers periodic training webinars for fundraising best practices

Help Center

Donately maintains a knowledge base with articles, guides, and FAQs for self-service support

RaiseDonors maintains a help center with articles and setup guides

Donately offers email support during business hours with response times varying by plan level

RaiseDonors provides email support for technical issues and account questions

Nonprofit-Focused Support Team

Support access varies by plan tier with business-hour phone help for premium users only

Plan-gated support with phone access limited to premium subscribers during business hours

Zeffy is 100% free, always.

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How is Zeffy free?

Why Zeffy over Donately and RaiseDonors?

Why choose Zeffy over Donately and RaiseDonors if you're a nonprofit

🎟️

Keep 100% of your raffle proceeds

Donately and RaiseDonors take fees from every ticket sold. Zeffy charges zero fees, so your 50/50 draw or basket raffle actually raises money for your mission.

🧩

Run complete fundraising campaigns without juggling multiple platforms

Donately and RaiseDonors force you to patch together separate tools for auctions, raffles, and ticketing. Zeffy gives you everything in one place.

💬

Get unlimited support when you need it most

Donately and RaiseDonors limit support to business hours and paid tiers. Zeffy offers unlimited email and chat support to every organization at no cost.

Frequently asked questions

Why should I choose Zeffy over Donately for my nonprofit's donations?

Zeffy charges zero fees on donations, while Donately takes 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction plus monthly fees starting at $39. With Zeffy, 100% of every donation goes directly to your cause, not to platform fees.

How does Zeffy's support compare to RaiseDonors?

Zeffy provides unlimited email support to all users, while RaiseDonors limits phone support to premium subscribers during business hours only. You get real help when you need it, regardless of your plan.

Can Zeffy handle more than just donations like Donately and RaiseDonors?

Yes! Zeffy offers donations, event ticketing, raffles, auctions, memberships, and online stores all in one platform. Donately and RaiseDonors require separate tools for these features, creating more work and costs.

What makes Zeffy different from other donation platforms like Donately and RaiseDonors?

Zeffy charges zero fees on donations, while Donately takes 4% plus card fees and RaiseDonors charges $99/month plus 4.4% per gift. Donors can leave a voluntary contribution to support Zeffy, keeping 100% of donations for your cause.

How much money will my nonprofit save by switching from Donately or RaiseDonors to Zeffy?

A nonprofit raising $10,000 monthly would save $4,800+ annually with Zeffy versus Donately's fees, and over $6,000 compared to RaiseDonors. Those savings go directly to your programs and mission impact.

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!