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Vertical Raise vs Zeffy: Fees, Features and Payouts Compared
Vertical Raise is a coached fundraising service that withholds a per-contract fee from donations, at a rate it does not publish. Zeffy is free, with team pages, tickets and a donor CRM in one account.
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Zeffy VS Vertical Raise
Pricing
Zeffy:
$
0.
Vertical Raise: 
N/A.
A service fee set per fundraiser by contract and withheld from donations. The rate is not published.
Processing fees
Vertical Raise:
N/A.
Not published. When donors cover fees or add a tip, Vertical Raise keeps that money.
Service fee
Zeffy:
$
0.
Zeffy never takes a cut. You keep 100% of every donation.
Vertical Raise:
N/A.
A percentage of net donations, agreed in your contract. The rate is not published.
Monthly fees
Zeffy:
$
0/month.
No subscriptions, no paywalls. Every org, big or small, gets full access for free.
Vertical Raise:
N/A.
Not publicly mentioned.
Other fees
Zeffy:
$
0.
We've never charged a single cent to nonprofits and we never will.
Vertical Raise:
If a fundraiser raises less than $150, Vertical Raise may keep all of it.
What it means
Zeffy:
Zeffy has no service fee to negotiate and no rate to keep secret. Every gift to your team reaches its account in full.
Vertical Raise:
Vertical Raise withholds a percentage fee agreed in your contract. The rate is not published. Fees and tips donors add also go to Vertical Raise.
Team & school campaigns
Zeffy:
Team pages, goals and leaderboards for every group, all year, at no cost.
Vertical Raise:
Coach-led campaigns with an end date, run with a local Vertical Raise rep.
Participant pages
Zeffy: 
Each player or student gets a page with their own goal, story and photo.
Vertical Raise:
A page per participant, with a parent share feature for younger students.
Inviting supporters
Zeffy:
Participants share their page link by email, text or social media.
Vertical Raise:
An invite wizard for email, text and social, and an importer for 20+ email address books.
Team progress
Zeffy:
A leaderboard of fundraisers and teams that you can embed on your website.
Vertical Raise:
A group summary page with shares, supporters and total raised.
Fundraising coach
Zeffy:
No coach. Help comes by chat or email, and a call when you ask.
Vertical Raise:
A personal fundraising director, and reps on site.
Product fundraisers
Zeffy:
No popcorn or discount-card programs. Your own merch sells in a free online store.
Vertical Raise:
Popcorn, a digital discount card and a spirit wear shop.
Employer matching
Zeffy:
No employer match lookup.
Vertical Raise:
Donors look up their employer's matching rules.
Business sponsors
Zeffy:
No sponsor module. A local business can give through any donation form.
Vertical Raise:
Local businesses donate to get their logo on the fundraiser pages.
Cash & checks
Zeffy:
Log cash and checks on a participant's page so their total stays right.
Vertical Raise:
Mail-a-check, and photo upload of checks by participants.
Getting the money
Zeffy:
Paid to your bank every Monday or monthly, with no payout fee.
Vertical Raise:
A check mailed within two days of the end, or a nightly direct deposit.
What it means
Zeffy:
Zeffy gives each player a page and a leaderboard for free, without a coach or a product program: your team runs the drive itself.
Vertical Raise:
Vertical Raise brings a coach, product fundraisers and sponsor logos. Its service fee, withheld from donations, pays for that work.
All-in-one fundraising
Zeffy:
Donations, events and a donor list that keep going after the campaign ends.
Vertical Raise:
Built around the campaign. Most year-round tools are not publicly mentioned.
Recurring donations
Zeffy:
Monthly, quarterly or yearly giving on any donation form.
Vertical Raise:
Not publicly mentioned.
Ticketing
Zeffy:
Tickets, group tables and QR check-in, with no per-ticket fee.
Vertical Raise: 
Through BigTeams, a partner. Its tools, ticketing included, come free to athletic departments fundraising with Vertical Raise.
Raffles
Zeffy:
Where your state allows raffles: numbered e-tickets and bundles.
Vertical Raise:
Not publicly mentioned.
Sweepstakes
Zeffy:
A drawing with a free way to enter, open in every US state.
Vertical Raise:
Not publicly mentioned.
Auctions
Zeffy:
Silent auctions on a timer, with auto-bid.
Vertical Raise:
Not publicly mentioned.
Memberships
Zeffy:
Member tiers with automatic renewals and digital cards.
Vertical Raise:
Not publicly mentioned.
Donor CRM
Zeffy:
Every gift, ticket and order lands on the supporter's record, free.
Vertical Raise:
Not publicly mentioned. The dashboard tracks emails sent, shares and dollars raised.
Newsletters
Zeffy:
Email saved lists of supporters and see who opened and gave.
Vertical Raise:
Not publicly mentioned.
Tax receipts
Zeffy:
Sent automatically with each gift.
Vertical Raise:
Not publicly mentioned.
What it means
Zeffy:
When the campaign closes, Zeffy keeps running: monthly gifts, tickets, drawings and a donor list your team owns.
Vertical Raise:
Vertical Raise runs the campaign window. Recurring gifts, memberships and a donor CRM are not on its site; ticketing comes through a partner.
Sources
Zeffy:
Donations · Ticketing · Raffles · Sweepstakes · Memberships · Donor CRM
Vertical Raise:
Payment Methods
Zeffy:
Cards, wallets, bank transfer and Tap to Pay, with no fee on any of them.
Vertical Raise:
Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and checks. Who pays processing is not published.
Cards
Zeffy:
No processing fee on any card.
Vertical Raise:
Accepted. If the donor covers the fees, Vertical Raise keeps that amount.
Apple Pay & Google Pay
Zeffy:
Accepted on donation forms, tickets and the store.
Vertical Raise:
Accepted.
Checks
Zeffy:
Record checks you receive by hand. Checks through a form above $1,000.
Vertical Raise:
Mailed checks, and checks uploaded from a participant's phone.
ACH / bank transfer
Zeffy:
Free in the US.
Vertical Raise:
Not publicly mentioned.
In person
Zeffy:
Tap to Pay on a phone, with no reader.
Vertical Raise:
QR codes for door-to-door product sales.
Donor-advised funds
Zeffy:
US gifts of $1,000 or more, with no fees.
Vertical Raise:
Not publicly mentioned.
What it means
Zeffy:
On Zeffy, cards, wallets and bank transfers cost your team nothing, and each payout carries no fee.
Vertical Raise:
Vertical Raise takes cards, wallets and checks. Processing paid by the donor goes to Vertical Raise; who pays it otherwise is not published.
Sources
Zeffy:
Vertical Raise:
Support
Zeffy:
Chat, email and calls on request, free for every team.
Vertical Raise:
A fundraising coach for each campaign, plus email and a phone number.
Help center
Zeffy:
500+ articles.
Vertical Raise:
Not publicly mentioned.
Chat
Zeffy:
An AI assistant first, then a person when needed.
Vertical Raise:
Not publicly mentioned.
Email
Zeffy:
Answered within 2 to 6 business hours.
Vertical Raise:
support@verticalraise.com and a contact form.
Phone
Zeffy:
No phone line. A call is set up on request.
Vertical Raise:
888-853-0355.
Campaign coach
Zeffy:
No coach.
Vertical Raise:
A local rep works with your group.
What it means
Zeffy:
Zeffy support is free at any size, by chat or email, with a call when you need one. You set up and run campaigns yourself.
Vertical Raise:
Vertical Raise pairs each group with a coach and reps on site. Email and a phone number are listed for support.
Zeffy is 100% free, always.
Keep the whole gift, all season long
💵
Every dollar reaches the team
Vertical Raise withholds a service fee from each donation, at a rate it does not publish. Zeffy charges your team nothing, so the full gift reaches its account.
📅
After the campaign ends
A Vertical Raise drive has an end date. Zeffy keeps your team's pages, donation forms, tickets and supporter list open all year, at no cost.
🧢
When you want a coach
Vertical Raise sends a fundraising coach and runs popcorn, discount card and spirit wear programs. Zeffy has none of these. Your team leads its own drive, for free.
What is the difference between Vertical Raise and Zeffy?
For a school team, Zeffy is one free account with a donor CRM built in. It gives your team participant pages, donation forms, tickets, raffles or sweepstakes and a store, and every gift reaches you in full. Vertical Raise is a coached fundraising service for school teams and groups. A local rep sets up a campaign with an end date, and Vertical Raise withholds a service fee from the donations. The rate is set in your contract and is not published.
How much does Vertical Raise keep?
Vertical Raise does not publish its fee. Its terms and conditions say:
- The service fee depends on the type of fundraiser and the services provided, and is agreed in your contract before the fundraiser starts.
- It is withheld from the donations, calculated on the net donation amount.
- The fee schedule is confidential: "Under no circumstances shall the User/Client disclose, publish, or otherwise communicate the Vertical Raise fee schedule to any third party."
- When donors cover transaction fees or leave a tip at checkout, Vertical Raise keeps all of it.
- If a fundraiser raises less than $150, Vertical Raise may keep everything collected.
On Zeffy, there is no service fee: your team receives every dollar donated. See how Zeffy is free. Source: Vertical Raise terms and conditions, October 2026.
Who pays the card fees on a Vertical Raise fundraiser?
Donors can choose to cover transaction fees at checkout, and that money goes to Vertical Raise, not to your team. Vertical Raise does not publish who pays card processing when the donor does not cover it. On Zeffy, card processing costs your team nothing on any gift.
What happens if a Vertical Raise fundraiser raises less than $150?
Vertical Raise's terms let it keep 100% of the funds collected, to cover the cost of setting up and launching the fundraiser. On Zeffy, a small drive works like a large one: whatever your team raises is paid to its bank account.
How does a Vertical Raise fundraiser work?
A fundraising director from Vertical Raise sets up the campaign with your group. Participants invite supporters by email, text and social media, and a dashboard tracks emails sent, shares and dollars raised. Groups can add popcorn sales, a digital discount card or a spirit wear shop. When the campaign ends, Vertical Raise mails a check within two days or deposits funds nightly, after withholding its service fee.
What does Vertical Raise offer that Zeffy doesn't?
A fundraising coach and reps on site, product fundraisers (popcorn, a digital discount card, spirit wear), an employer match lookup for donors, and sponsor logos for local businesses. Through its BigTeams partnership, athletic departments also get team management and scheduling. Zeffy has no coach, product program, employer match lookup or sponsor module today.
Is Zeffy really free?
Yes, for school teams and groups too. Zeffy has no service fee, no contract and no card fee. Supporters may add an optional contribution to Zeffy when they give, and it never reduces your team's gift. 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.
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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
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