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PayPal's Australian Charity Rate Is 1.10%, If You Get Approved For It
PayPal is a payment rail, not a fundraising platform. It processes the money well and leaves you to assemble the donation forms, ticketing, receipts and donor records around it.
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PayPal
Zeffy
Zeffy VS PayPal
PayPal
Pricing
Zeffy:
$
0.
PayPal: 
1.10%*.
the approved Australian charity rate. Without approval the standard 2.90% + A$0.30 applies
Processing fees
PayPal:
1.10% + A$0.30*.
once approved for the charity rate. Until then 2.90% + A$0.30, and 1.00% more from overseas
Platform fees
Zeffy:
$
0.
Zeffy never takes a cut. You keep 100% of every donation, on the only plan we have.
PayPal:
$0.
No platform fee. PayPal is a payment processor rather than a fundraising platform, and the whole cost is per transaction
Monthly fees
Zeffy:
$
0/month.
No subscriptions, no paywalls. Every org, big or small, gets full access for free.
PayPal:
$0.
No monthly fee for standard use
Other fees
Zeffy:
$
0.
We've never charged a single cent to not-for-profits and we never will.
PayPal:
Varies.
1.00% more on overseas gifts, plus currency conversion. PayPal's card services carry their own charity rates, 1.10% to 3.60%
Value for money
Features
Donations
Zeffy: 
Donations without the cut. Custom forms, tax receipts, donor tracking — all fee-free.
PayPal:
A hosted donate button takes one-time and recurring gifts. There are no campaign pages, no donor records and no receipting for your organisation
Ticketing
Zeffy:
Sell tickets, check in guests, track sales — and keep 100%. No fees. No fine print.
PayPal:
No event ticketing. Tickets, registration and check-in need a separate platform
Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
Zeffy:
Teams or individuals launch fundraising pages in minutes. Track progress, keep 100%. No fees.
PayPal:
No peer-to-peer fundraising pages for supporters
Auctions
Zeffy:
Run auctions without giving up a percentage. List items, track bids, collect payments — all fee-free.
PayPal:
No auction tooling. PayPal can take the payment once the bidding happens elsewhere
Online Store
Zeffy:
Skip the tool sprawl. Sell merch and manage your store in one place — no fees, no add-ons.
PayPal:
PayPal Commerce Platform sells products, without the receipting or donor tracking a not-for-profit needs
Memberships
Zeffy:
Automate memberships with no per-member fees. Dues go straight to your organisation, which suits clubs, alumni and supporter groups.
PayPal:
Recurring subscriptions can collect dues, but there are no membership tiers, member portals or renewal handling
Donor management/CRM
Zeffy:
Ditch the expensive CRM. Track donations, send thank-yous, and build donor loyalty — all fee-free.
PayPal:
Payment records only. No giving history and no donor profiles
Emails & Newsletter
Zeffy:
Manage contacts and send newsletters from the same place you fundraise. Unlimited sends, no fees.
PayPal:
No email or newsletter tools; contacts and sending live elsewhere
Payment Processing
Zeffy:
Accept donations, ticket sales, and payments — all 100% fee-free. No cuts, no hidden fees, ever.
PayPal:
First-party processing, with an Australian charity rate available on application
Payment Methods
Zeffy:
All-in-one fundraising: donations, events, memberships, email and a donor CRM, 100% free.
PayPal:
Cards, PayPal balance and digital wallets through PayPal checkout. In-person collection needs PayPal's own hardware.
Credit Card Payments
Zeffy:
Accept all major credit cards with zero processing fees. Zeffy covers the cost — you keep 100% of every donation.
PayPal:
All major cards through PayPal checkout, with guest checkout available so donors are not required to hold a PayPal account
Apple Pay & Google Pay
Zeffy:
One-tap donations and tickets with Apple Pay & Google Pay. No fees, just smooth mobile checkouts.
PayPal:
Apple Pay and Google Pay are available inside the PayPal checkout flow rather than as standalone buttons
Tap to Pay App
Zeffy:
Anyone on your team can take payments from their phone. No card reader, no fees, no friction.
PayPal:
PayPal sells its own card-reader hardware for in-person payments. Availability and pricing in Australia are not published on the AU fees page
Support
Help Center
Zeffy:
Searchable help docs, video tutorials, and step-by-step guides — all free, all the time.
PayPal:
A large help centre, written for merchants generally rather than for not-for-profit fundraising
Email Support
Zeffy:
Email us anytime. Most questions answered within hours — not days.
PayPal:
Message support through the account. PayPal publishes no response-time commitment for it
Phone Support
Zeffy:
Need to talk? Call us. Real support from real people who understand not-for-profits.
PayPal:
Phone support is published for business accounts
Onboarding
Zeffy:
Get set up in under 30 minutes. No training required — but we're here if you need us.
PayPal:
Self-service setup from documentation. No onboarding service is published
Community
Zeffy:
Join thousands of not-for-profits sharing tips, templates and best practices.
PayPal:
PayPal runs a public community forum
Zeffy is 100% free, always.
Get the fundraising tools, not just the payment rail
💰
The charity rate is real, and it is gated
PayPal publishes 1.10% + A$0.30 for Australian charity transactions, which is genuinely low. It is "subject to eligibility, application, and pre-approval by PayPal", so until you are approved you pay the standard 2.90% + A$0.30. Zeffy has no rate to apply for and covers processing itself.
🧾
A payment rail is not a fundraising platform
PayPal moves money and issues a payment record. Donation pages, event ticketing, membership renewals, tax receipts and a donor history are yours to build or buy elsewhere. Zeffy includes all of them at no cost.
🇦🇺
Australian receipts and Australian rules, built in
Zeffy issues tax receipts for Australian donors and is built around ACNC registration and an ABN. PayPal gives you a transaction record and leaves the receipting, and the donor list, to you.
What does PayPal charge an Australian charity?
1.10% + A$0.30 on domestic transactions once approved for the charity rate, which PayPal states is "subject to eligibility, application, and pre-approval". Without that approval the standard commercial rate applies: 2.90% + A$0.30. Receiving from outside Australia adds 1.00%. Zeffy charges no platform fee and no transaction fee, and covers processing itself.
Is there a monthly or platform fee on PayPal?
No. PayPal charges no platform fee and no monthly fee for standard use; the cost is entirely per transaction. That is a genuine strength if all you need is a payment rail.
How do we get the PayPal charity rate?
You apply and PayPal pre-approves you. Their page is explicit that eligibility, an application and pre-approval are all required, and that once approved the rate applies to commercial transaction payments and donations received in the account. Budget on 2.90% + A$0.30 until the approval lands.
What is PayPal Giving Fund?
A separate PayPal programme that delivers donations to enrolled charities. It is not the same as the charity processing rate, and enrolling in one does not enrol you in the other. Worth looking at on its own terms rather than as a discount.
Can we run events, memberships or an auction on PayPal?
Not natively. PayPal offers a hosted donate button and recurring subscriptions, and everything else — ticketing, registration, check-in, member management, auctions, peer-to-peer pages — needs another platform on top. Zeffy includes them.
Does PayPal issue Australian tax receipts?
PayPal issues a payment confirmation, not a deductible-gift receipt for your organisation. Receipting stays your job. Zeffy issues receipts to Australian donors automatically.
Is Zeffy really free if PayPal already has no monthly fee?
The difference is the per-transaction cost and what comes with it. On $50,000 raised, PayPal at the approved charity rate of 1.10% + A$0.30 takes roughly $550 plus 30 cents a gift, and at the standard 2.90% roughly $1,450 plus the same. Zeffy takes nothing at any volume, and the donation forms, ticketing, memberships and donor CRM are included rather than assembled.
What does PayPal do better than Zeffy?
It is a payment rail with enormous reach, donors already have accounts, and it settles in more currencies and countries than any fundraising platform. If you need to accept money from many countries in many currencies, that is a real advantage. Zeffy is built for Australian not-for-profit fundraising specifically.
Still undecided?
Keep comparing, and see why not-for-profits choose Zeffy
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GSCB Troop 144
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