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Cheddar Up vs Zeffy: Fees, Plans and What's Included
Cheddar Up's free plan charges 3.95% + $0.95 per card transaction and puts tax receipts, extra managers and integrations on its Team plan at $35/month. Zeffy has one free plan with everything in it.
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Cheddar Up
Zeffy VS Cheddar Up
Cheddar Up
Pricing
Zeffy:
$
0.
Cheddar Up:
3.95% + $0.95.
Free and paid plans available. Everything below compares the free plan.
Processing fees
Cheddar Up: 
3.95% + $0.95.
Per card transaction on the free plan. Paid plans drop to 3.59% + $0.59. eCheck is available at 1.59% (minimum $1) on Pro and a flat $0.95 on Team and Partner. Who pays the fee is configurable, and payers cover it by default.
Platform fees
Zeffy:
$
0.
Zeffy never takes a cut. You keep 100% of every donation.
Cheddar Up:
$0.
No separate platform fee.
Monthly fees
Zeffy:
$
0/month.
No subscriptions, no paywalls. Every org gets full access for free.
Cheddar Up:
From $0.
Free Forever at $0. Pro is $15/month billed annually or $20 monthly. Team is $35 or $48. Partner is custom-priced.
Other fees
Zeffy:
$
0.
We've never charged a single cent to nonprofits and we never will.
Cheddar Up:
1.95%.
Instant bank withdrawal costs 1.95% (minimum $1). Standard withdrawals are free.
Value for money
Zeffy:
5/5.
From 461 Capterra ratings.
Cheddar Up:
4.9/5.
From 74 Capterra ratings.
Features
Zeffy:
One free plan with every feature in it: donations, ticketing, auctions, raffles, memberships, donor CRM and newsletters.
Cheddar Up:
A free plan and three paid tiers. Tax receipts, extra managers, integrations and the branded group website sit on the Team plan at $35/month.
Donations
Zeffy: 
Donation forms with one-time and recurring giving, custom fields and donor tracking. All fee-free.
Cheddar Up:
Donation pages with one-time and recurring giving, preset amounts, tiered levels and goal markers.
Tax-deductible receipts
Zeffy:
Automatic tax receipts on every donation. Included.
Cheddar Up:
Requires the Team plan at $35/month. Not on Free or Pro.
Peer-to-peer fundraising
Zeffy:
Teams or individuals launch fundraising pages in minutes. Track progress, keep 100%.
Cheddar Up:
Available on every plan, free included.
Ticketing and events
Zeffy:
Sell tickets, check in guests, track sales. Keep 100%.
Cheddar Up:
Unlimited events on free. QR code ticketing and mobile ticket scanning require Team at $35/month.
In-person payments
Zeffy:
Tap to Pay on iPhone or Android. Takes all credit cards plus Apple Pay and Google Pay, no terminal. Free.
Cheddar Up:
Tap on Mobile on every plan, no hardware needed. An optional Bluetooth card reader adds swipe and chip for cards that can't tap. Card fees apply.
Organization page
Zeffy:
Free on every account. One shareable link with your logo, banner and mission that showcases every campaign, event and shop you choose to feature, with a newsletter sign-up built in.
Cheddar Up:
The branded group website requires Team at $35/month. Adds a hero banner, About Us, Team and sponsor sections.
Page and form limits
Zeffy:
Unlimited forms, unlimited items, no caps.
Cheddar Up:
Unlimited collection pages and unlimited payments, but each page holds only 5 items and 1 form on free.
Team access
Zeffy:
Add unlimited team members.
Cheddar Up:
Account owner only on Free and Pro. Multiple managers and permissions require Team at $35/month.
Integrations
Zeffy:
1,000+ tools free: Zapier, viaSocket, QuickBooks, WordPress and a free public API.
Cheddar Up:
Mailchimp, Salesforce, HubSpot, QuickBooks, Xero and Google Sheets run through Zapier, and the API key needed for them is Team-only at $35/month.
Donor management
Zeffy:
Donor profiles with full giving history and segmentation, built in.
Cheddar Up:
Payment and submission tracking plus an address book. Donor profiles and giving history are not listed among Cheddar Up's published features.
Newsletters and email
Zeffy:
Free newsletters and donor emails built in.
Cheddar Up:
Message Center sends one-time messages, invites and reminders to saved contact lists. Built for collection updates rather than donor marketing.
Auctions
Zeffy:
Run auctions without giving up a percentage. List items, track bids, collect payments.
Cheddar Up:
Not listed among Cheddar Up's published features.
Raffles
Zeffy:
Host online raffles and 50/50s. Track sales, set ticket limits.
Cheddar Up:
Not listed among Cheddar Up's published features.
Memberships
Zeffy:
Sell and manage memberships, with membership cards.
Cheddar Up:
Not listed among Cheddar Up's published features.
Payment Methods
Zeffy:
Cards, wallets, bank transfer, cash and in-person, all with $0 in fees.
Cheddar Up:
Cards, wallets, cash and in-person on the free plan. eCheck starts on Pro.
Credit and debit cards
Zeffy:
Accepted, with $0 in fees. Zeffy covers them.
Cheddar Up:
3.95% + $0.95 per transaction. Who pays the fee is configurable, and payers cover it by default, so the organization collects the full amount.
Digital wallets
Zeffy:
Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Cheddar Up:
Apple Pay and Google Pay, charged at the card rate.
ACH / eCheck
Zeffy:
Accepted, fee-free. Donors pay by direct bank transfer, ACH in the US and PAD in Canada, for amounts up to $20,000.
Cheddar Up:
Not available on the free plan. Pro adds eCheck at 1.59% (minimum $1); Team and Partner at a flat $0.95.
Cash and check
Zeffy:
Record and track offline gifts.
Cheddar Up:
Free to record and track on every plan.
In-person
Zeffy:
Tap to Pay on iPhone or Android. All cards plus Apple Pay and Google Pay. No terminal, no fees.
Cheddar Up:
Tap on Mobile on every plan, no hardware required. Optional Bluetooth reader for swipe and chip. Card fees apply.
Payouts
Zeffy:
Free direct deposit to your bank account. Weekly by default, every Monday, or switch to monthly. Next-day payouts available for eligible organizations. No fee on any option.
Cheddar Up:
Standard bank transfers free. Instant transfer costs 1.95% (minimum $1).
Support
Zeffy:
4.9/5.
Customer service, from 461 Capterra ratings. Chat, email and calls, free on every account.
Cheddar Up:
4.9/5.
Customer service, from 68 Capterra ratings. Priority support 7 days a week on every plan.
Support channels
Zeffy:
Email support with a response in 1 to 6 business hours, chat, and calls on request. Plus a free AI assistant.
Cheddar Up:
Priority support 7 days a week, on every plan.
Chat support
Zeffy:
Chat support, with a person available when needed.
Cheddar Up:
Available on every plan, free included.
Training and onboarding
Zeffy:
Webinars and office hours.
Cheddar Up:
Live learning sessions on every plan. VIP onboarding and a dedicated account manager are Partner-only.
Self-serve help
Zeffy:
Help center with 500+ articles, plus documentation.
Cheddar Up:
Knowledge center and video library on every plan.
Community
Zeffy:
Zeffy Community, where nonprofits share tips, templates and best practices.
Cheddar Up:
A monitored private Facebook group.
Zeffy is 100% free, always.
Free means free, not a starter tier
🧾
Tax receipts are a paid feature
Cheddar Up's free and Pro plans can't send tax-deductible receipts. That needs the Team plan at $35/month. On Zeffy, automatic tax receipts come standard, on every donation, free.
👥
An address book isn't a donor database
Cheddar Up tracks payments and stores contacts, and its Message Center sends collection updates and reminders. What it doesn't publish is donor profiles, giving history or segmentation. Zeffy gives you a real donor CRM and free newsletters, so you can build relationships instead of just collecting.
✅
One plan, everything in it
Zeffy has a single free plan and every feature is in it: donations, ticketing, auctions, raffles, memberships, donor CRM, newsletters, Tap to Pay. Cheddar Up's free plan is the first of four. Tax receipts, integrations, extra admins and the group website all sit on paid tiers above it.
Is Zeffy really free for nonprofits?
Yes. No monthly fees, no platform fees and no transaction fees. Donors have the option to leave a voluntary contribution at checkout, which is what keeps Zeffy free for organizations.
What is Cheddar Up and how does it work?
Cheddar Up is a platform for collecting money online. You set up a page, share the link, and people pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or eCheck, with Tap on Mobile for payments taken in person. Its free plan gives you unlimited collection pages and unlimited payments, with 5 items and 1 form on each page, and card fees of 3.95% + $0.95 apply. Tax-deductible receipts, multiple managers, integrations and a branded group website sit on the Team plan at $35/month. Zeffy covers the same ground with one free plan, every feature included and no transaction fees.
What does Cheddar Up's free plan charge per transaction?
3.95% + $0.95 per card transaction on the Free Forever plan, and 3.59% + $0.59 on Pro, Team and Partner. Who covers that fee is configurable, and payers cover it by default. Zeffy charges no transaction fees at all.
Is Cheddar Up free?
Cheddar Up has a Free Forever plan at $0/month, alongside Pro at $15/month, Team at $35/month and a custom-priced Partner plan, all billed annually. Card fees of 3.95% + $0.95 apply on the free plan, and who covers them is configurable.
Is there a free alternative to Cheddar Up?
Zeffy is free for nonprofits with no transaction fees and no paid tier, so tax receipts, extra managers, integrations and an organization page are included rather than sold as an upgrade.
Can I send tax-deductible receipts on Cheddar Up's free plan?
No. Tax-deductible receipts are on Cheddar Up's Team plan at $35/month. Zeffy sends automatic tax receipts on every donation, free.
Does Cheddar Up support recurring giving and peer-to-peer fundraising?
Yes, both are available on every Cheddar Up plan, free included. Zeffy includes both as well, with no fees on either.
Can donors pay by bank transfer on Cheddar Up?
eCheck is not on the free plan. Pro adds it at 1.59% (minimum $1), and Team and Partner at a flat $0.95. Zeffy accepts ACH bank transfers with no fee.
How many items can I list on a free Cheddar Up page?
Cheddar Up's free plan gives you unlimited collection pages and unlimited payments, with 5 items and 1 form per page. Zeffy has no caps on forms or items.
Who can manage the account on each platform?
On Cheddar Up, Free and Pro are account-owner only; multiple managers with permissions start on Team at $35/month. Zeffy lets you add unlimited team members for free.
Is Cheddar Up legit and safe to use?
Yes. Cheddar Up is a real company and a working payments platform used by schools, clubs, teams and nonprofits. It publishes a labelled pricing page, accepts cards and digital wallets on every plan and eCheck from its Pro plan up, and includes priority support seven days a week and live chat on every plan, the free one included. The question worth asking is not whether it is legitimate but what it costs you: its free plan charges 3.95% + $0.95 per card transaction, and who covers that fee is configurable. Zeffy charges nonprofits nothing.
How does Zeffy make money if nonprofits pay nothing?
Donors can choose to add a voluntary contribution when they give. That optional tip covers the payment processing Zeffy absorbs, so nonprofits never pay to collect.
Still undecided?
Keep comparing — and see why nonprofits choose Zeffy
100,000+ nonprofits trust Zeffy — and keep their fees at $0.
For 7+ years, Zeffy has supported nonprofits with free, user-friendly fundraising tools.
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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.”
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Amy R
Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago
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!
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Debra B
Glory to Glory Women's Mentoring Ministry
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!!
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Carmen M
DIVINA World Foundation
Zeffy is very easy to use and ensures that every dollar quickly gets into our account.. A huge help to our work!
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Nathan C
Jiwa International
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.
Ryan S
Jesters Theatre: Youth Unlimited
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.
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Jennifer H
GSCB Troop 144
We were ready to sell tickets in less than 30 minutes. The reporting capabilities were better than some other paid-for sites.
Mark B
Theta Mu Lambda Charitable Foundation
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!
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Stevie C
We Are HER
SUCCESS STORIES
Zero-fee fundraising in action — nonprofit stories worth sharing.
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