CharityEngine Pricing Breakdown: $550/mo vs Zeffy's $0 Model

CharityEngine's Starter plan includes events; auctions and peer-to-peer start on Pro. Zeffy includes all of it from day one, free.

Zeffy is trusted by 100,000+ nonprofits

Zeffy VS CharityEngine

Zeffy VS CharityEngine: What nonprofits should know before choosing.

Pricing

Completely free. Always. But how? →

Varies.

From $550/month on Starter, per Capterra, plus card fees

Processing fees

$0 in credit card and transaction fees. Zeffy covers these. How? →

Not published.

CharityEngine processes payments in-house and publishes no rate.

Platform fees

Zeffy never takes a cut. Unlike platforms that skim 3–5%, you keep 100% of every donation.

$0.

No separate platform fees mentioned; platform features included in monthly subscription.

Monthly fees

0/month.

No subscriptions, no paywalls. Every org, big or small, gets full access for free.

$550/month.

Starting at $550/month for Starter plan; Pro and Premier plans available at custom pricing.

Other fees

We've never charged a single cent to nonprofits and we never will.

Varies.

Pro and Premier, which add auctions, peer-to-peer and a shopping cart, are custom quotes.

Pricing transparency

10/10.

No platform fees, no credit card fees, no hidden fees, no fees period!

4/10.

CharityEngine's own pricing page lists packages without prices; the $550 Starter figure is on Capterra.

Value for money

5/5.

450+ reviews on Capterra. All-in-one fundraising, zero fees, unbeatable value.

4.2/5.

Features

5/5.

No training needed. Built for busy nonprofit teams, not tech pros. Launch a campaign in under 30 minutes.

4.3/5.

Capterra rating. One platform for the CRM, forms, events, email and in-house payments.

Donations

Donations without the cut. Custom forms, tax receipts, donor tracking — all fee-free.

Donation forms with recurring giving, text-to-give and DAFPay.

Ticketing

Sell tickets, check in guests, track sales — and keep 100%. No fees. No fine print.

Event management is on the Starter plan, per Capterra.

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

Teams or individuals launch fundraising pages in minutes. Track progress, keep 100%. No fees.

Peer-to-peer fundraising starts on the Pro plan, a custom quote, per Capterra.

Auctions

Run auctions without giving up a percentage. List items, track bids, collect payments — all fee-free.

Live, silent and online auctions start on the Pro plan, per Capterra.

Raffles

Host online raffles and 50/50s. Track sales, set ticket limits, stay compliant — all without paying a cent.

No raffle tool listed by CharityEngine.

Online Store

Skip the tool sprawl. Sell merch and manage your store in one place — no fees, no add-ons.

A shopping cart for merch and products comes with the Premier plan, per Capterra.

Memberships

Automate memberships with no per-member fees. Dues go straight to your org — perfect for clubs, alumni, and supporters.

Membership tiers, renewals and benefits, per CharityEngine.

Donor management/CRM

Ditch the expensive CRM. Track donations, send thank-yous, and build donor loyalty — all fee-free.

Complete donor database with engagement scoring, wealth screening, and relationship tracking

Emails & Newsletter

Manage contacts and send newsletters from the same place you fundraise. Unlimited sends, no fees.

Email and automated workflows, SMS and direct mail.

Payment Processing

Accept donations, ticket sales, and payments — all 100% fee-free. No cuts, no hidden fees, ever.

In-house processing for cards, ACH, PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay and Google Pay. No rate published.

Payment Methods

All-in-one fundraising: donations, events, memberships, email, and donor CRM — 100% free.

Cards, ACH, PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, Google Pay and DAFPay, processed in-house. No in-person tool listed.

Credit Card Payments

Accept all major credit cards with zero processing fees. Zeffy covers the cost — you keep 100% of every donation.

Card gifts through CharityEngine's in-house processing; rate not published.

Apple Pay & Google Pay

One-tap donations and tickets with Apple Pay & Google Pay. No fees, just smooth mobile checkouts.

Apple Pay and Google Pay are supported, per CharityEngine.

ACH / Bank Transfers

Accept bank transfers with zero fees. Full donation amounts go straight to your mission.

ACH processed in-house, without a third-party gateway.

Tap to Pay App

Anyone on your team can take payments from their phone. No card reader, no fees, no friction.

No tap-to-pay app listed for CharityEngine.

Support

5/5.

Chat with a real person available when needed, email answered in 1 to 6 business hours, and calls on request. Free on every account.

4.1/5.

Capterra rating. Capterra lists email, phone, chat and 24/7 live support for CharityEngine.

Help Center

Searchable help docs, video tutorials, and step-by-step guides — all free, all the time.

Comprehensive free help center with guides, tutorials, and FAQs.

Email Support

Email us anytime. Most questions answered within hours — not days.

Email and help-desk support, per Capterra.

Phone Support

We offer calls. Reach out by email or chat first so we can understand what you need.

Capterra lists phone and 24/7 live support.

Onboarding

Get set up in under 30 minutes. No training required — but we're here if you need us.

Onboarding support is included on the Starter plan, per Capterra.

Community

Join thousands of nonprofits sharing tips, templates, and best practices.

No user community is listed by CharityEngine.

Zeffy is 100% free, always.

Calculate savings

How is Zeffy free?

Why Zeffy over CharityEngine?

Keep more of what you raise, without the monthly bill

💰

Keep more of what you raise, without the monthly bill

CharityEngine's Starter plan is listed at $550 a month, and every gift goes through its payment processing. Zeffy gives you the same tools with zero fees and zero monthly costs.

👥

Built for small teams, not enterprise budgets

CharityEngine puts auctions and peer-to-peer on its custom-quote Pro plan. Zeffy includes everything from day one, so you can fundraise your way.

⚡

Get started in minutes, not months

Zeffy lets you launch your first campaign today, with free support from nonprofit fundraising experts.

Questions nonprofits ask when choosing between Zeffy and CharityEngine

How much does CharityEngine cost?

CharityEngine's own pricing page lists packages without prices. Capterra lists the Starter plan at $550 a month, covering the CRM, donation forms, built-in payments, email automation and event management; Pro and Premier are custom quotes. Payment processing is in-house, and no rate is published. Zeffy has no subscription and no fees.

How much does Zeffy cost compared to CharityEngine?

Zeffy is completely free, with zero monthly costs and zero transaction fees, so you keep 100% of what you raise. CharityEngine starts at $550 a month on Starter, per Capterra, before payment processing.

Can I use Zeffy without paying monthly fees?

Yes. Zeffy gives you donor management, online forms, payment processing, and fundraising tools with no monthly subscription. Donors have the option to leave a voluntary contribution to support the platform.

Does Zeffy include donor management tools like CharityEngine?

Zeffy includes a complete donor database with contact management, donation tracking, automated receipts, and engagement tools. You get everything you need to build relationships without the enterprise price tag.

Which fundraising tools does CharityEngine charge more for?

Auctions and peer-to-peer start on CharityEngine's Pro plan and a shopping cart on Premier, both custom quotes, per Capterra. Zeffy includes donation forms, event ticketing, raffles, auctions, peer-to-peer campaigns, memberships and an online store at no cost.

Is CharityEngine good for small nonprofits?

Most of its Capterra reviewers are small organizations, and reviewers say the interface takes some onboarding. At $550 a month for Starter, many small teams find Zeffy's free, all-in-one platform the more budget-friendly choice.

What kind of support does Zeffy offer compared to CharityEngine?

Zeffy's support is free on every account: a real person on chat, email answered in 1 to 6 business hours, and calls on request. Capterra lists email, phone, chat and 24/7 live support for CharityEngine.

Does CharityEngine charge processing fees on donations?

CharityEngine processes cards, ACH, PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay and Google Pay in-house and does not publish its rates. Zeffy has zero processing fees, so every dollar goes to your mission.

Can I run auctions and sell event tickets with Zeffy?

Yes. Zeffy includes auctions, raffles, event ticketing, and peer-to-peer campaigns at no extra cost.

Still undecided?

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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.

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“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!