Completely free. Always. But how? →
Handbid vs Zeffy: Pricing, Fees and Auction Tools Compared
Handbid is a gala auction platform with a license priced by quote and card processing on every payment. Zeffy is free, with silent auctions, tickets, raffles, sweepstakes and a donor CRM in one account.
Zeffy is trusted by 100,000+ nonprofits
Sign up to Zeffy for free - 100% free forever.
Zeffy VS Handbid
Pricing
Zeffy:
$
0.
Handbid: 
N/A.
A license priced by quote, plus 3.5% + $0.30 per card payment.
On a $100 donation
Zeffy:
$
100.
Your nonprofit keeps all $100.
Handbid:
$96.20.
kept by card, unless the donor covers the fee.
Processing fees
Handbid:
3.5%.
per card, plus $0.30 (Amex 3.95% + $0.30). ACH 1.5%.
Platform fees
Zeffy:
$
0.
Zeffy never takes a cut. You keep 100% of every donation.
Handbid:
$0.
No percentage of funds raised, no per-ticket fee.
License
Zeffy:
$
0/month.
No subscriptions, no paywalls. Every org, big or small, gets full access for free.
Handbid:
N/A.
Priced by quote, by term (typically a year). Renews automatically.
Other fees
Zeffy:
$
0.
We've never charged a single cent to nonprofits and we never will.
Handbid:
$100 settlement fee if Handbid processes instead of your own Stripe account. Onsite staff is quoted.
What it means
Zeffy:
Zeffy asks for no license, no card fee and no settlement fee, so each bid, ticket and gift reaches your bank account in full.
Handbid:
Handbid takes no cut of what you raise. It sells a license by quote, and card processing applies to each payment unless the guest covers it.
Auctions & events
Zeffy:
Timed silent auctions, raffles, sweepstakes, tickets and check-in, at no cost. No live auctioneer mode.
Handbid:
Built for event night: live and silent auctions, paddle raise, native apps and one checkout.
Silent & online auctions
Zeffy: 
Silent auctions on a timer, online or in the room, with photos, categories and sales tax per item.
Handbid:
Silent, live, hybrid, sealed and timed auctions.
Live auction & paddle raise
Zeffy:
No live auctioneer mode or paddle raise. Winners of a live lot can pay by donation form or Tap to Pay.
Handbid:
Live auctions and paddle raises on the same bidder account.
Bidding without an app
Zeffy:
Guests scan a QR code and bid in their phone's browser. No account to create.
Handbid:
Guests can bid from a mobile browser.
Native bidding app
Zeffy:
No bidding app to download.
Handbid:
Native iOS and Android apps.
Max bid & anti-sniping
Zeffy:
Auto-bid up to a ceiling. A bid in the last 3 minutes extends that item.
Handbid:
Max bids and anti-sniping extended bidding.
Buy It Now
Zeffy:
Not offered. Fixed-price items sell through a store form.
Handbid:
A Buy Now price on any item.
Outbid alerts
Zeffy:
Outbid alerts and closing reminders by email. Texts are rolling out in the US.
Handbid:
Outbid and winning alerts by push notification or text.
Raffles
Zeffy:
Where your state allows raffles: numbered tickets emailed to each buyer, with bundles. Your nonprofit stays responsible for its raffle rules.
Handbid:
Not offered: its help center cites state raffle laws. Drawing tickets can be sold as for-sale items.
Sweepstakes
Zeffy:
A drawing with a free way to enter, in every US state. Zeffy writes the official rules from your campaign.
Handbid:
Sweepstakes are not publicly mentioned.
Tickets & check-in
Zeffy:
Ticket types, group tickets for tables, and QR check-in in the app. No per-ticket fee.
Handbid:
Ticketing, guest lists and QR check-in. No per-ticket fee.
Text-to-give
Zeffy:
No text-to-give keyword.
Handbid:
Guests text a keyword to give, up to 7,500 texts a year.
What it means
Zeffy:
Zeffy covers the silent auction, a raffle or a sweepstakes, and the door for free, and each bidder joins your donor CRM. A live auctioneer night needs another tool.
Handbid:
Handbid is built for the gala room: live lots, paddle raise, native apps and one checkout. It does not run raffles.
Sources
Zeffy:
Auctions · Raffles · Sweepstakes · Ticketing
Handbid:
Features · Facts for AI · Raffles · Alerts · Text-to-give
All-in-one fundraising
Zeffy:
4.8/5.
Ease of use on Capterra. Year-round fundraising and the donor CRM in one free account.
Handbid:
4.6/5.
Ease of use on Capterra. Giving around the event; donor records go to a separate CRM.
Donations
Zeffy:
One-time and monthly gifts, pledges and fund choice, with automatic tax receipts.
Handbid:
Donations, appeal items and recurring gifts.
Peer-to-peer
Zeffy:
Personal and team pages with leaderboards, open all year.
Handbid:
Peer-to-peer pages with teams and leaderboards.
Memberships
Zeffy:
Membership tiers, automatic renewals and digital cards.
Handbid:
Memberships are not publicly mentioned.
Online store
Zeffy:
Merch with sizes, stock counts and pick-up or shipping.
Handbid:
For-sale items at events. A standalone store is not publicly mentioned.
Donor CRM
Zeffy:
Built in and free: every bid, ticket and gift lands on the donor's record.
Handbid:
A contact list across events, synced to Salesforce NPSP, Bloomerang, DonorPerfect, Kindful or Salsa Engage.
Newsletters
Zeffy:
Email any saved list, with opens, clicks and gifts tracked.
Handbid:
Push and text broadcasts. Email newsletters are not publicly mentioned.
What it means
Zeffy:
Zeffy keeps the auction and the rest of your year in one account: donations, memberships, a store, newsletters and the CRM, all free.
Handbid:
Handbid covers giving around the event, peer-to-peer and recurring gifts included. Donor history lives in a separate CRM you keep in sync.
Sources
Zeffy:
Donations · Peer-to-peer · Memberships · Store · Donor CRM · Emails · Capterra
Handbid:
Peer-to-peer · Recurring donations · Contacts · Integrations · Capterra
Payment Methods
Zeffy:
Every way to pay at the gala and online, with no fee on any of them.
Handbid:
Cards, wallets, ACH and DAFs through Stripe, at Handbid's own processing rates.
Cards
Zeffy:
No processing fee. Winners' cards are charged automatically at close.
Handbid:
3.5% + $0.30 (Amex 3.95% + $0.30), paid in-app or online when the auction closes.
Apple Pay & Google Pay
Zeffy:
On forms and tickets; rolling out on auctions.
Handbid:
Apple Pay, Google Pay and Link checkout.
ACH / bank transfer
Zeffy:
Free in the US on forms and tickets. Not on auctions.
Handbid:
ACH at 1.5%, no per-transaction fee.
Donor-advised funds
Zeffy:
US gifts of $1,000 or more, with no fees.
Handbid:
DAF gifts through Chariot.
In person
Zeffy:
Tap to Pay on iPhone or Android, no reader. Cash logged in the same app.
Handbid:
Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android, Stripe readers, and cash or check at point of sale.
Payouts
Zeffy:
To your bank every Monday or monthly, with no payout fee.
Handbid:
On your own Stripe schedule. If Handbid processes: 2 to 3 weeks after settlement, plus $100.
What it means
Zeffy:
Zeffy charges no processing fee on a bid, a ticket or a gift, and pays out to your bank on a set schedule at no cost.
Handbid:
Handbid accepts the main ways to pay, at 3.5% + $0.30 per card unless the guest covers it. Payout speed depends on whose Stripe account you use.
Support
Zeffy:
4.9/5.
Customer service on Capterra. Chat, email and calls on request, free for every nonprofit.
Handbid:
4.7/5.
Customer service on Capterra. Weekday chat and email, and a hotline on event day.
Help center
Zeffy:
500+ help articles and guides.
Handbid:
Knowledge base, and a monthly Handbid 101 session on Zoom.
Chat
Zeffy:
Starts with an AI assistant, which hands over to a person when needed.
Handbid:
Live chat, 8 am to 5 pm Mountain Time, Monday to Friday.
Email
Zeffy:
Answered within 2 to 6 business hours.
Handbid:
service@handbid.com, answered within 24 hours.
Phone
Zeffy:
No phone line. A call is set up on request by email or chat.
Handbid:
A live person on the phone during your event, in every license. No everyday phone line published.
Onsite staff
Zeffy:
No onsite staff.
Handbid: 
Staff in the room, as a line item in the quote.
What it means
Zeffy:
Zeffy support costs nothing at any size: chat, email within 2 to 6 business hours, and a call when you ask for one.
Handbid:
Handbid backs event night with a phone hotline and offers onsite staff for a fee. Everyday help is chat and email on weekdays.
Zeffy is 100% free, always.
One free account for auction night and every month after
🗓️
One night, or the whole year
Handbid runs the gala night. Zeffy runs your silent auction too, for free, then keeps going with donations, memberships, a store and newsletters, on the same donor records.
🧾
Nothing to quote or renew
Handbid's license is priced by quote and renews automatically. Zeffy has no license, no card fee and no settlement fee, so what you raise reaches your account in full.
🎤
When the room needs an auctioneer
Handbid runs live auctions, paddle raises and native bidding apps, with onsite staff on request. Zeffy has none of these today. For a silent auction, a raffle and a ticketed night, Zeffy does the job at no cost.
What is the difference between Handbid and Zeffy?
Zeffy is a free, all-in-one fundraising platform with a donor CRM built in. It runs silent auctions, raffles and ticketed events next to donations, peer-to-peer, memberships and a store, and charges your nonprofit neither a platform fee nor a processing fee. Handbid is an event and auction platform for galas: ticketing, live and silent auctions, paddle raises, check-in and payments, with native bidding apps. It sells a license by quote, typically for a year, and charges card processing on each payment. Donor records go to a separate CRM.
How much does Handbid cost?
Handbid does not publish a license price. It quotes after a short conversation:
- License: priced by quote, by term (typically a year), and it covers the events in that term. It renews automatically unless you give written notice before the renewal date.
- No percentage of funds raised and no per-ticket fee.
- Card processing, through Stripe: 3.5% + $0.30 for Visa, Mastercard and Discover, 3.95% + $0.30 for Amex, 1.5% for ACH. Your nonprofit pays it unless the guest covers the fee at checkout.
- A $100 settlement fee if Handbid processes payments instead of your own Stripe account.
- Onsite staff, if you want it: a line in the quote.
On a $100 card donation, your nonprofit keeps $96.20 when the guest does not cover the fee. Zeffy needs no license and takes no fee on bids, tickets or gifts, so the same $100 reaches you in full: see how Zeffy is free. Source: handbid.com, October 2026.
Can Zeffy handle mobile bidding for a gala silent auction?
Yes, for the silent auction. Each guest opens the auction from a QR code in their phone's browser and bids without downloading anything. Auto-bid, anti-sniping in the closing minutes, sales tax per item, and outbid alerts and closing reminders by email are built in, and winning cards are charged at close. Your tickets, raffle and check-in sit in the same free account. Zeffy has no live auctioneer mode, paddle raise or Buy It Now: a winning bidder on a live lot can settle up with a donation form or Tap to Pay. See Zeffy auctions.
Can I run a raffle with Handbid?
Not as a built-in raffle. Handbid's help center says state raffle laws are too complex to manage on its do-it-yourself platform. It suggests selling drawing tickets as for-sale items, after you check your state's rules and consult an attorney.
On Zeffy, raffles are free where your state allows them. Zeffy also offers sweepstakes in every US state: a drawing with a free way to enter, and official rules written from your campaign details. Your nonprofit stays responsible for its state's rules. See sweepstakes vs raffles.
What does Handbid offer that Zeffy doesn't?
Handbid runs live auctions and paddle raises on the same bidder account as the silent auction, with native iOS and Android bidding apps, Buy Now prices and sealed bids. It also offers text-to-give with a keyword, a live person on the phone during your event, and onsite staff priced in the quote. Zeffy does not offer a live auctioneer mode, a paddle raise, Buy It Now, a bidding app or text-to-give today.
Does Handbid support peer-to-peer fundraising and donations outside the auction?
Yes. Handbid offers peer-to-peer pages with teams and leaderboards, crowdfunding, donations with recurring gifts, and text-to-give. Recurring gifts need your own Stripe account connected. Memberships, a standalone store and email newsletters are not publicly mentioned, and Handbid does not offer raffles. On Zeffy, peer-to-peer, recurring gifts, memberships, a store, raffles and sweepstakes are all free, in the account that runs your auction.
Do we need a separate donor CRM with Handbid?
Usually, yes. Handbid keeps a contact list of everyone who registered, bid, donated or bought across your events. It syncs contacts and transactions to Salesforce NPSP, Bloomerang, DonorPerfect, Kindful or Salsa Engage, or exports them by CSV. A full donor CRM inside Handbid is not publicly mentioned, so donor history usually lives in a second tool you pay for and keep in sync.
Zeffy's donor CRM is built in and free. Every bid, ticket, gift and membership shows up on that donor's profile, next to notes, reminders and saved lists you can email. New subscribers get an automatic welcome series. Ask the AI Data Assistant about your donors in plain words, and it answers with figures and charts.
Is Zeffy really free?
Yes. Zeffy charges your nonprofit nothing: no license to sign, no platform fee and no card fee, at the auction or anywhere else. At checkout, donors can choose to give Zeffy a contribution on top, and your gift is never reduced by it. See how Zeffy is free.
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.
.webp)
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.”
%20(1).webp){kind=avatar}
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!
%20(1).webp)
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!!
.webp){kind=avatar}
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!
.webp)
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.
%20(1).webp)
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!
.webp)
Stevie C
We Are HER
SUCCESS STORIES
Zero-fee fundraising in action — nonprofit stories worth sharing.
.webp)
Ready to get started for free?
Sign up for free
