Best donation websites for Australian charities and not-for-profits (2026)

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Picking a donation website in 2026 is less about features and more about fee math. Most "best of" roundups list ten platforms, hand-wave the costs, and leave charities to discover later that "free" still meant 2.9% + $0.30 through their payment gateway. This guide does the math out loud.

In Australia, the fee picture is different from the US or UK. The platforms your donors actually use, the fee structures on offer, and the regulatory mechanics that determine whether a donation is tax-deductible all reflect the AU market. Critically, a donation is only tax-deductible in Australia if your organisation is endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). ACNC registration on its own does not make donations tax-deductible. The canonical AU line on your donation page is: "Donations of $2 or more are tax-deductible." If your platform cannot fire that receipt correctly, you are leaving donor trust on the table. Donors can verify your DGR status on ABN Lookup. See the ATO's DGR endorsement overview and the ACNC's DGR factsheet for the full picture.

We've compared nine donation platforms on the only things that decide cost-per-dollar-raised for an AU charity: the effective fee on a $100 gift, who the platform is actually built for, what's included without an upcharge, and how long it takes to get to your first dollar. Zeffy is on the list because 100,000+ not-for-profits globally have raised over $2 billion on it with $0 in platform, transaction, or credit card fees. But every other row in the table has a real cost, and you deserve to see it before you pick.

Transparency: We have not received payment for placement from any platform listed. Zeffy is the publisher. The methodology, fees, and pros/cons below are applied identically to Zeffy and to every other tool on the list. All fees have been verified against each platform's public AU pricing page as of 2026.

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In this article:

• The 9 best donation websites at a glance

• Quick comparison: 9 best donation websites side by side

• 1. Zeffy, the only $0-fee platform on this list

• 2. Humanitix, AU-native NFP ticketing with profits to charity

• 3. TryBooking, AU-founded, AU-hosted, the school and community default

• 4. GiveNow, the AU-native donations default since 2001

• 5. Raisely, Melbourne-born fundraising, free tier or flat 4%

• 6. MyCause, 100% Australian-owned, no platform fee

• 7. Chuffed, 0% fees for social-justice and community causes

• 8. GoFundMe AU, personal-cause dominant

• 9. GalaBid, the AU silent/live auction and mobile-bidding specialist

• What to look for in a donation website

• How to choose the right donation website for your not-for-profit

• EOFY: why donation-platform choice matters most in June

• Frequently asked questions

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The 9 best donation websites at a glance

• 1. Zeffy, the only platform on this list that takes $0 from every dollar raised

• 2. Humanitix, AU-native NFP ticketing; profits go to charity; NFP rate 2.5% + $0.50 per ticket

• 3. TryBooking, AU-founded, AU-hosted, school and community default at $0.50 per ticket + 2.5%

• 4. GiveNow, AU-native donations platform since 2001; data stored in Australia; platform fee 1.5% to 3.5%

• 5. Raisely, Melbourne-born, Keela-owned; free tier (optional donor tip) or flat 4%; modern branded campaigns

• 6. MyCause, 100% Australian-owned; 0% platform fee; dual personal-cause and charity model

• 7. Chuffed, Sydney-founded; 0% platform fee; eligibility restricted to social-justice and community causes

• 8. GoFundMe AU, personal-cause crowdfunding dominant; charity product exists but most AU charities prefer AU-native platforms

• 9. GalaBid, AU silent/live auction and mobile-bidding specialist; free to start; the gala-night complement

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Quick comparison: 9 best donation websites side by side

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The full breakdown for each platform follows. If you want the short version: Zeffy is the only row where the platform fee and the processing fee are both $0. You can see how Zeffy works for Australian charities before reading further.

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1. Zeffy, the only $0-fee platform on this list

Zeffy is the only platform on this list where charities and not-for-profits keep 100% of donations. No platform fees, no transaction fees, no credit card fees. 100,000+ not-for-profits globally have raised over $2 billion on Zeffy. The full feature set is included; there is no paid Pro tier above it.

Zeffy is a Canadian platform serving registered charities and not-for-profits in Australia, as well as the US, Canada, and UK. AU users have found that Canadian and Australian systems share close cultural and legal parallels, and that Zeffy's approach to charitable receipting maps well to AU charity needs. Zeffy handles tax-deductible receipt generation automatically for DGR-endorsed AU charities, which removes end-of-year receipting administration for your team. Donors receive their receipt at the point of donation, with your charity name, ABN, and DGR statement included.

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Pros

• 100% free: no platform, transaction, or credit card fees

• Donation forms and pages, event ticketing, peer-to-peer, auctions, memberships, and an e-commerce store all included

• Automatic tax-deductible receipts for DGR-endorsed Australian charities (charity name, ABN, and DGR statement included)

• Built-in donor management with import, segmentation, and notes

• Apple Pay, Google Pay, and regular giving supported

• Available to registered charities and not-for-profits in Australia (and the US, Canada, and UK)

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Cons

• No personal-cause or individual crowdfunding campaigns (Zeffy serves registered organisations, not individuals)

• Raffles and lotteries are not supported in Australia

• No paid Pro tier, native mobile donor app, or AI fundraising assistant

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Pricing

100% free for registered charities and not-for-profits. Your organisation never pays a platform, transaction, or credit card fee. Ever.

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2. Humanitix, AU-native NFP ticketing with profits to charity

Humanitix is the most direct comparison to Zeffy's free-ticketing story in Australia. Founded in Sydney in 2016 and registered as a Public Benevolent Institution (PBI) with the ACNC, Humanitix runs 100% of its profits to charity education programs. It operates in Australia, New Zealand, the US, and the UK, and is backed by Google.org and the Atlassian Foundation. For AU NFPs running ticketed events, galas, or fundraising dinners, Humanitix is the established AU-native option.

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Pros

• AU-native with a strong charity-of-record story: 100% of profits go to charity partners

• PBI-registered with ACNC; backed by Google.org and Atlassian Foundation

• Accessible and inclusive ticketing features built in

• NFP/Schools rate available for registered charities

• Free tickets are free

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Cons

• NFP rate is 2.5% + $0.50 per paid ticket; there is no $0-fee path

• On a 200-ticket event at $50 per ticket, fees at the NFP rate are approximately $250 in booking fees alone

• Standard rate (4% + $0.99 per ticket) applies unless you qualify for the NFP/Schools rate

• Strong in ticketing; less so as a consolidated donations + donor-management platform

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Pricing

Standard rate: 4% + $0.99 per paid ticket. NFP/Schools rate: 2.5% + $0.50 per paid ticket. Free tickets are free. Verify current rates at humanitix.com/au/pricing before your event.

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3. TryBooking, AU-founded, AU-hosted, the school and community default

TryBooking was founded in Australia in 2010 and is one of the most widely used event-ticketing platforms in the country for schools, theatres, and community events. Its core appeal: AU-founded, AU-hosted, with data stored in Australia and a privacy-first message (no marketing of other events to your audience, PCI compliant). For a school running a Year 12 formal, a community theatre, or a small regional event, TryBooking is often the default option without any deliberation.

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Pros

• AU-founded and AU-hosted; data stored in Australia

• $0.50 per paid ticket (or $0.15 for tickets $5 and under); free events are free

• No lock-in contract; simple per-event setup

• Safer Technologies for Schools certified; deep school-market penetration

• 1% surcharge for international cards charged to the buyer, not the organiser

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Cons

• 2.5% processing fee applies on top of the per-ticket fee (charged to the organiser by default, but can be passed to the buyer)

• No "profits to charity" story; more utilitarian design than Humanitix

• Less depth than Humanitix on accessibility and impact-storytelling features

• Not a full ongoing-donations platform

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Pricing

$0.50 per paid ticket (or $0.15 for tickets priced $5 and under). 2.5% processing fee. Free for all free events. Verify at trybooking.com/pricing before your event.

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4. GiveNow, the AU-native donations default since 2001

GiveNow has been Australia's go-to online charity donations platform since 2001. It is 100% Australian-owned, operated by Our Community Foundation (an NFP itself), and stores all data in Australia. Over $230 million has been raised through GiveNow by more than 6,000 AU charities. If your donors ask whether your fundraising platform is Australian, GiveNow is the cleanest answer.

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Pros

• 100% Australian-owned; data stored in Australia

• Simple donation-page setup without needing to configure Stripe yourself

• Platform fee 1.5%, 3.5% depending on plan; low transaction fee with no fixed per-donation fee

• Around 90% of donors opt to cover the platform fee at checkout

• Recognised local brand with a 20-year track record in the AU sector

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Cons

• Visual design and user experience feel older than newer platforms like Raisely

• Lower customisation ceiling than Raisely or Funraisin for branded campaigns

• Less depth on P2P, event ticketing, and donor management than a consolidated platform

• Platform fee still applies; not a $0-fee option

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Pricing

Platform fee 1.5%, 3.5% depending on plan; low transaction fees. Verify current rates at givenow.com.au.

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5. Raisely, Melbourne-born fundraising, free tier or flat 4%

Raisely was built in Melbourne in 2016 specifically for charities. It has a strong design language, a drag-and-drop campaign-website builder, and a product that reads as modern and AU-native. In 2023 Raisely was acquired by Keela, a Canadian NFP CRM, and is now part of the Velora cloud. For AU charities that want a branded fundraising website without developer resources, Raisely on the free tier is still a practical option.

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Pros

• Free tier: no platform fee (platform funded by optional donor tip, which donors can decline)

• Modern, well-designed campaign websites with drag-and-drop builder

• P2P fundraising module for walk, ride, and sleepout campaigns

• AU-based support team, consistently called out in AU charity reviews

• Integrates with Keela CRM for more advanced donor management

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Cons

• Since the 2023 Keela acquisition, the product roadmap has slowed and some features are being pushed behind Pro-tier and CRM upsells

• Flat 4% fee option plus Stripe AU processing fees (~1.7% + A$0.30) stacks costs on higher volumes

• The free tier depends on donors choosing to leave an optional tip; if donors opt out, the charity pays nothing but the platform is not truly fee-free in the same way as Zeffy

• Pro plan (approximately A$89.50 per month on annual billing) adds advanced email and automation features

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Pricing

Two options: (1) free tier supported by an optional donor tip at checkout (donor can opt out); (2) flat 4% transaction fee with no donor tip. Plus Stripe AU processing fees (~1.7% + A$0.30 per donation). Verify at raisely.com/pricing.

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6. MyCause, 100% Australian-owned, no platform fee

MyCause has been Australia's crowdfunding and online fundraising platform since 2009. It is 100% Australian-owned and serves both registered charities and individuals raising money for personal causes (medical, memorial, community). There is no platform fee; donors pay approximately 2.5% + GST in credit-card processing, and are prompted to leave an optional tip.

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Pros

• 100% Australian-owned since 2009; no platform fee

• Supports registered charities AND individuals (dual model)

• Recognised local brand with a long track record

• Simple setup for one-off campaigns

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Cons

• The dual personal-cause and charity model means the brand is more associated with individual emergencies than with dedicated charity infrastructure

• Less depth than Raisely or Funraisin on P2P, branded campaign websites, or ongoing regular-giving programs

• Optional tip model still means donors see a fee prompt at checkout

• Not a full consolidated donations + ticketing + donor-management platform

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Pricing

0% platform fee. Credit-card processing approximately 2.5% + GST. Optional donor tip. Verify at mycause.com.au.

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7. Chuffed, 0% fees for social-justice and community causes

Chuffed was founded in Sydney in 2013 as Australia's first social-benefit company. It operates with a 0% platform fee model sustained by optional donor contributions to Chuffed itself. Eligibility is restricted: your cause must be social, environmental, political, community, or First Nations focused to qualify. Backed by Telstra Foundation and Blackbird Ventures, Chuffed has a strong track record with activist groups, climate campaigns, and community projects.

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Pros

• 0% platform fees; no subscription

• Strong social-justice and community-cause niche

• Donors can be anyone with no prior connection to your organisation required

• Suitable for one-off campaigns where social momentum matters

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Cons

• Eligibility is restricted to social, environmental, political, community, or First Nations causes; not all charities qualify

• Design and feature depth are more basic than GiveNow or Raisely

• Not suited to ongoing donations or DGR-receipted regular-giving programs

• Many AU charities use Chuffed for a specific campaign and a separate platform for everything else

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Pricing

0% platform fee. Platform funded by optional donor contributions. Verify at chuffed.org.

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8. GoFundMe AU, personal-cause dominant

GoFundMe is the most-recognised crowdfunding brand in Australia, with two million Australians having donated more than $200 million on the platform. It is designed primarily for individual personal causes: medical emergencies, memorial funds, and disaster recovery. A charity-facing product exists, but most AU charities running ongoing fundraising choose AU-native platforms such as GiveNow, Raisely, or MyCause rather than GoFundMe AU.

If you are a charity reader: GoFundMe AU is worth knowing about because your donors recognise it. As your primary fundraising infrastructure, it is harder to justify the fee structure and the personal-cause brand associations against AU-native alternatives built for charities.

If you are a personal-cause fundraiser (medical, memorial, disaster): GoFundMe AU or MyCause are the right choices. Note that Zeffy is for registered charities and NFPs, not individuals.

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Pros

• Strongest brand recognition for personal-cause crowdfunding in Australia

• Easy campaign setup; withdraw funds without hitting a goal

• Large discovery surface for reaching new donors beyond your existing network

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Cons

• Designed for personal causes, not registered-charity workflows

• Platform fee 0%, 4.9% depending on the pricing model selected, plus approximately 2.0% + $0.30 payment processing

• No built-in CRM, recurring-giving infrastructure, or DGR-receipting automation for charities

• AU charities generally prefer AU-native platforms (GiveNow, Raisely, MyCause) for ongoing charity fundraising

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Pricing

0%, 4.9% platform fee depending on the model selected. Approximately 2.0% + $0.30 payment processing. Donors may also see a prompt for an optional tip. Verify current rates at gofundme.com/en-au.

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9. GalaBid, the AU silent/live auction and mobile-bidding specialist

GalaBid is the platform AU charity galas reach for when they want silent auctions, live auctions, and mobile bidding from the table. Operating since 2011 through CrowdComms, with an Australian office in Sydney, GalaBid's client list includes Camp Quality, Ronald McDonald House, Variety, Redkite, Cerebral Palsy Alliance, and HeartKids. It is free to start and is purpose-built for gala-night fundraising.

GalaBid is not a substitute for an ongoing donations platform. The right setup for most AU charity galas is GalaBid for auction/bidding on the night and Zeffy for the event ticketing, donations page, and donor management year-round.

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Pros

• Free to start; no-risk consignment auction items (charity pays only if item sells)

• Purpose-built for charity gala events: mobile bidding from the table, paddle raise, live impact display

• Strong AU client base: Camp Quality, Ronald McDonald House, HeartKids, and others

• AU office and AU-focused support

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Cons

• Event-night specialist; not an ongoing-donations or regular-giving platform

• Stripe payment processing fees apply on bids and payments

• Less useful outside a formal gala or auction format

• Advanced paid plans add cost for features beyond the free tier

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Pricing

Free to start. Paid plans for advanced features. Stripe processing applies. Verify at galabid.com.

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What to look for in a donation website

Seven things actually decide whether a donation website is right for your charity. They matter more than feature checklists.

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1. The effective fee on a $100 donation

Only platforms that absorb processing actually deliver $100 to your cause. Most "free" platforms still pass Stripe AU's NFP rate of approximately 1.7% + A$0.30 to you, and several stack a platform percentage on top of that. Do the maths on a $100 gift, not on a $10,000 campaign: small-donor receipts are where stacked fees hurt most.

On a $100 donation processed through Stripe AU at the NFP rate, a charity on a flat 4% fee platform (like Raisely's paid tier) sees roughly $94.60 after all fees. On Zeffy, the charity receives the full $100. You can compare regular-giving options against a $0-fee alternative to see what stacked fees cost at your annual volume.

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2. Segment fit: who the platform is actually built for

GoFundMe AU is built for personal causes, not registered charities. Humanitix and TryBooking are built for event ticketing. GiveNow is built for AU-native ongoing donations. Many comparison guides flatten these into a single ranked list. Match the platform to the segment first, then compare fees within the segment.

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3. Feature breadth included free

Regular giving, ticketing, P2P, donor records, and tax receipts: these are either included or sold as add-ons. A platform that includes them at $0 looks very different from one that gates them behind a Pro tier or a per-module upcharge. Raisely's advanced features now sit behind the Pro plan and Keela CRM integration; Humanitix's events features are strong, but the platform is ticketing-first.

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4. Tax-receipt and donor-record automation

This is what separates a payment tool from a fundraising platform. If you have to export your payment-gateway data, match it against a spreadsheet, and manually issue EOFY consolidated statements, you are not on a fundraising platform. You are on a payment processor with a form on top. Automated DGR-compliant receipt generation (charity name, ABN, DGR statement) is the baseline requirement for any AU charity running a serious fundraising program.

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5. Setup friction: time to first dollar

Demo gates, manual eligibility review, contract signatures, and minimum commitments are real switching costs that do not appear in fee tables. If you need to fundraise this week, eligibility timelines matter as much as fee percentages.

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6. DGR receipting and the $2 tax-deductible threshold

Donations of $2 or more are tax-deductible in Australia only if your charity is DGR-endorsed by the ATO. ACNC registration alone does not qualify. Your donation platform needs to surface your DGR status and ABN clearly on the donation page and issue a compliant receipt that includes your charity name, ABN, and a statement that the donation is tax-deductible. Donors can verify your DGR status on ABN Lookup before they give. Platforms that do not support AU-compliant DGR receipting put your donors' tax deduction claims at risk. See the ACNC's DGR factsheet for receipt requirements.

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7. Data sovereignty and Privacy Act 1988 compliance

AU-native rivals including GiveNow and TryBooking lead with "100% Australian-owned" and "data stored in Australia." This is a real competitive consideration for many AU charities, particularly post the Pareto Phone data breach and heightened OAIC guidance. The Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles apply to NFPs with annual turnover above $3 million (smaller organisations can opt in). The Notifiable Data Breaches scheme requires notification of eligible data breaches. When evaluating a non-AU-native platform, ask where donor data is stored, how it is secured, and what happens in the event of a breach.

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How to choose the right donation website for your not-for-profit

Map your situation to one of these patterns:

• You're a registered Australian charity or NFP and want to keep 100% of donations. Start with Zeffy. Donation forms, ticketing, auctions, memberships, and donor management are all included at $0, with automatic DGR-compliant receipting.

• You're running a gala with a silent or live auction and mobile bidding. Use GalaBid for the auction on the night, and Zeffy for event ticketing, ongoing donations, and donor management year-round.

• You're ticketing a trivia night, quiz night, school fete, or Year 12 formal. Compare Zeffy ($0), Humanitix (NFP rate 2.5% + $0.50 per ticket), and TryBooking ($0.50 per ticket + 2.5%). AU-hosted data sovereignty is the deciding factor for many schools.

• You're running a peer-to-peer challenge event (walk, ride, sleepout). Raisely suits small-to-mid charities; Funraisin is the enterprise option (28 of the top 30 ANZ P2P events per their published client list). Grassrootz owns the major community-event surface (City2Surf, Melbourne Marathon).

• You're fundraising for a social-justice, environmental, political, or community cause and qualify for Chuffed's eligibility criteria. Chuffed charges 0% platform fees and is the AU-native option for this niche.

• You're a sports club that can't get DGR endorsement directly. The Australian Sports Foundation (ASF) is the DGR umbrella for Australian sport. ASF allows tax-deductible donations to sports clubs that cannot qualify for DGR on their own. Use Zeffy or your preferred platform for non-DGR fundraising; direct donors to ASF when tax-deductibility matters.

• You need EOFY tax-deductible receipting handled automatically. Zeffy issues DGR-compliant receipts automatically at the point of donation, with EOFY consolidated statements supported. The 30 June deadline is unforgiving; confirm your platform's receipting configuration well before May.

• You're a personal-cause fundraiser (medical, memorial, disaster relief). GoFundMe AU or MyCause are the right choices for individuals. Zeffy is for registered charities and NFPs, not personal campaigns.

• You want the AU-native donations default with data stored in Australia. GiveNow has operated since 2001, is 100% Australian-owned, and stores all data locally. Platform fees from 1.5% to 3.5% apply.

For most AU charities, the question is really "which platform handles regular giving and DGR receipting at the lowest cost?" That is where you can compare regular-giving options directly.

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EOFY: why donation-platform choice matters most in June

The End of Financial Year (EOFY) on 30 June is the single most important giving moment on the Australian charity calendar. Donors maximise tax-deductible donations before the financial year closes on 30 June, and major AU charities including Australian Red Cross, Cancer Council, and The Smith Family run dedicated EOFY appeals from May through June. The Smith Family's 2025 EOFY appeal ran with a specific child-sponsorship count and a 30 June deadline prominently on the homepage.

Platform choice matters most at EOFY for three reasons:

• 1. Receipting must fire correctly under peak load. A delayed or missing DGR receipt during EOFY is a donor-relations problem. Your platform needs to issue the receipt at the point of donation, automatically, with charity name + ABN + DGR statement.

• 2. Consolidated annual statements are expected. Many donors expect a full-year giving summary from their regular-giving programs before 30 June. If your platform cannot generate this without a manual export, you are adding administrative load at the worst possible time.

• 3. The $2 DGR threshold must be surfaced clearly on the donation page. At EOFY, first-time donors motivated by the tax deadline need to see "Donations of $2 or more are tax-deductible" and your DGR status before they give, not after. Platforms that do not support this clearly reduce conversion on your highest-intent traffic of the year.

See the ATO's not-for-profit hub for current DGR receipt requirements.

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Frequently asked questions

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