25+ Best Free Tools for UK Charities in 2026

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Most small UK charities are running a fragmented stack: JustGiving for donations, Ticket Tailor for fete tickets, Crowdfunder for a project appeal, a separate CRM, and a newsletter tool on top. Each comes with its own subscription, its own login, and its own Gift Aid blind spot. The real question is not which 25 tools exist, but which lean stack handles Gift Aid, small-society raffles, and card-at-fete without four separate monthly fees.

Per-ticket fees alone can price a village hall out of ticketing entirely. One community fundraiser put it plainly: all these platforms apart from Zeffy charge an overhead per ticket that would make them too expensive for a small event.

This guide is the short list: organised by what each tool actually does, with a comparison table up top, a 'which 5 you can probably skip' section, and a final section on how the keepers connect to Zeffy for free. No affiliate arrangements here.

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In this article:

• Comparison table: the 25+ tools at a glance

• Fundraising and donations

• CRM and supporter management

• Email marketing

• Design

• Website

• Accounting

• Volunteer management

• Project management

• Team communication

• Paid acquisition and analytics

• AI and automation

• Social and recruiting

• Zeffy's API and integrations

• Which 5 tools you can probably skip

• Frequently asked questions

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Comparison table: the 25+ tools at a glance

Categories are ordered by how often a typical small UK charity touches each one. 'Gift Aid' notes whether the tool handles declaration collection or claim submission natively.

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Fundraising and donations

1. Zeffy

Full disclosure: this is us. Zeffy is a 100% free fundraising platform for UK charities. No platform fee, no transaction fee, no card fee, ever. Donation forms, ticketing, small-society raffles, peer-to-peer, memberships, online shops, and tap-to-pay at fetes and community events are all included at no cost.

Gift Aid is handled natively: donors sign a declaration on the donation form, and Zeffy prepares the eligible donation data for your HMRC Charities Online claim. HMRC lets a registered charity reclaim 25p for every £1 a UK taxpayer gives, so a £100 gift becomes £125 to the charity at no extra cost to the donor. (HMRC Gift Aid guidance)

• Set up a donation form in under 5 minutes, mobile-first.

• Sell tickets for fetes, galas, and fundraising events with no per-ticket fee.

• Run a small-society raffle: Zeffy handles the ticketing; the licence from your local council is on you (see the raffle note below).

• Tap-to-pay from a phone at the door, no card reader needed.

What it replaces: paid platforms that charge 2% to 5% per donation, plus monthly fees, plus a separate fee on Gift Aid value.

Pricing: £0. Always.

A note on small-society raffles. Most UK charity raffles fall under the Gambling Act 2005 as small society lotteries. You must register with your local licensing authority (council fee: £40 initial, £20 annual renewal). The rules: £20,000 single-draw cap, £250,000 annual aggregate, at least 20% of proceeds to the cause, maximum single prize of £25,000. Submit a return to the council within three months of the draw. Important: Gift Aid does not apply to raffle ticket purchases (the donor receives a chance to win, which counts as a good or service). (Gambling Commission guidance)

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2. CAF Donate

CAF Donate is built by the Charities Aid Foundation, itself a registered charity. Over 8,000 small-to-medium UK charities use it. No monthly subscription; low per-donation fees. Gift Aid is handled. Trustees will recognise the CAF name, which helps with internal sign-off.

Honest take: low fees and very low marketing flair. Reporting is basic compared to commercial platforms. Strong for embedded donate buttons and Direct Debit. A solid fallback for charities where trustee trust in the platform matters most.

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CRM and supporter management

3. HubSpot for Nonprofits

HubSpot offers a free CRM that handles up to 1 million contacts. The free plan is genuinely robust: contact records, deal pipelines, email tracking, 2,000 marketing emails a month, and forms. You can connect HubSpot with Zeffy so donation and ticketing data flows into your CRM automatically.

HubSpot's free CRM is a strong general-purpose starting point, but it was not built for UK fundraising. It does not handle Gift Aid declaration collection or HMRC claim submission. For that, UK charities pair HubSpot with Zeffy (which captures the Gift Aid data) or move to Beacon or Donorfy once Gift Aid volume justifies it.

• Free tier covers most small UK charities indefinitely.

• If you outgrow the email limits, route through Brevo or Mailchimp rather than upgrading.

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4. Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud

Salesforce offers 10 free licences to eligible charities through its Power of Us programme. The eligibility route for UK charities is Power of Us via Salesforce.org. It is powerful and it is overkill if you do not have a dedicated technical admin. NCVO (ncvo.org.uk) and Charity Digital both flag the high implementation cost; most small UK charities under-use it badly. Better default for the majority: Beacon or Donorfy below. Pair with Zeffy through Zapier or the free Public API.

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5. Beacon

Beacon is UK-built and fundraising-first. It has been rated the number-one UK fundraising CRM in Fundraising Magazine's survey for six consecutive years. Native Gift Aid claim submission direct to HMRC Charities Online is included, which matters when Gift Aid income is a survival lever for the charity. Starter tier from £33.50/month (verify current pricing at beaconcrm.org before committing).

Right fit when: you have real Gift Aid volume, a growing supporter database, and need proper UK charity reporting without a Salesforce admin.

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6. Donorfy

Donorfy is UK-built and fundraising-focused, now part of The Access Group. It offers a cheaper entry point than Beacon, with a broad integration ecosystem covering JustGiving, Enthuse, Mailchimp, GoCardless, and Stripe. Historically free up to a set constituent count; verify current pricing directly at donorfy.com before applying. Reporting is more basic than Beacon, but it is a practical step up from a spreadsheet.

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7. Zeffy supporter management

If your fundraising volume does not yet justify a standalone CRM, Zeffy's built-in supporter management already captures every gift, ticket, recurring supporter, and Gift Aid declaration. Many small UK charities run on Zeffy plus a spreadsheet for years before adding a dedicated CRM.

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Email marketing

8. Mailchimp

Mailchimp is the default for charities running newsletters. The free tier covers small lists; templates are polished; automation is decent. If your list is growing past a few thousand contacts, the price curve gets steep. See our roundup of Mailchimp alternatives for charities.

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9. Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)

Brevo prices by emails sent rather than contacts stored, which usually wins for charities with large but quiet supporter lists. It also covers SMS and transactional email under one roof. The cost cliff is real: several small UK charity fundraisers have found Brevo becomes around £15/month as their newsletter list grows past a few hundred subscribers. Pricing by volume rather than list size keeps costs lower for charities who email infrequently.

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10. Zeffy newsletter and supporter email

If your email needs are mostly thanking donors and sending a monthly update, Zeffy's newsletter and emailing tools are free and sit next to your supporter records, with no second tool required.

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Design

11. Canva for Nonprofits

Canva for Nonprofits is free for UK registered charities verified via TechSoup UK. You get all Canva Pro features: brand kits, premium templates, background remover, and more. You will need your Charity Commission, OSCR, or CCNI registration number to apply.

Important caveat: Community Interest Companies (CICs) and unincorporated community groups are not eligible for the Canva for Nonprofits programme. If your group is not yet a registered charity, Canva's free Basic tier is still available to everyone.

It is the single biggest free design upgrade most small UK charities can make to their communications.

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Website

12. WordPress

WordPress powers roughly 43% of the web. It is free at its core, the community is large, and you can add a free Zeffy donate button to WordPress in a few clicks with no coding. For most UK charities this is the right answer for their main site.

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13. Charity Digital

If you need a developer, video team, or copywriter for a specific project, Charity Digital maintains a partner directory of vetted UK charity technology suppliers. It is the UK's main hub for charity technology guidance, discounted software, and sector news.

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Accounting

UK-registered charities file an annual return and Trustees' Annual Report and Accounts (TAR) with the Charity Commission, OSCR, or CCNI. Accounts should follow the Charities SORP if income is above £250,000. (Charity Commission guidance / OSCR)

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14. QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online is the default for charity bookkeeping in the UK: most UK auditors, bookkeepers, and independent examiners already know it. Discounted access is available via TechSoup UK or Charity Digital Exchange. You can connect QuickBooks with Zeffy in under 5 minutes and it is always free, with payouts auto-categorised by campaign or fund. Other UK fundraising platforms lock QuickBooks sync behind paid tiers; with Zeffy it is included at no cost.

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15. Xero

Xero is widely used by UK charity bookkeepers alongside QuickBooks and offers a 25% discount for charities. It provides SORP-friendly reporting and integrates with GoCardless for Direct Debit. A practical choice if your bookkeeper already works in Xero.

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16. Wave

Wave offers free core accounting (income, expenses, basic reports) and only charges for payments and payroll. Check that Wave still serves UK customers at the time you apply; if it does not, FreeAgent (UK-built, popular with very small organisations) is a solid alternative. Wave is worth considering for charities under roughly £100,000 income, below the CCEW audit threshold, before SORP-compliant fund accounting becomes necessary.

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Volunteer management

17. Assemble (Team Kinetic)

Assemble by Team Kinetic is UK-built volunteer management software, used across UK volunteer centres and charities. It handles shift scheduling, volunteer applications, hours tracking for grant reporting, and DBS check workflows. Contact Team Kinetic directly for charity pricing.

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18. Better Impact

Better Impact is used across UK volunteer centres and larger charities. It covers volunteer scheduling, communication, and hours reporting in more depth than a rota tool. Paid tiers; verify current UK pricing at their website.

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Project management

19. Asana

Asana offers a 50% nonprofit discount on paid plans, and the free Basic tier is enough for most small teams. It works well for running an annual gala or a multi-channel campaign across staff and volunteers.

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20. Trello

Trello is the Kanban-board option: visual, simple, free at the entry tier. Lighter than Asana and harder to scale, but a practical starting point for small volunteer-run groups.

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Team communication

21. Slack

Slack has an 85% nonprofit discount on paid plans, available to UK registered charities via TechSoup UK. The free tier works well for teams under 10 people. Connect a Zapier flow and you can receive a Slack notification every time a donation arrives.

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22. Zoom

Zoom offers nonprofit pricing to UK registered charities via TechSoup UK. The free tier's 40-minute cap is fine for short trustees' meetings; the paid tier removes the cap and unlocks longer webinars for supporter events.

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Paid acquisition and analytics

23. Google Ad Grants

The Google Ad Grants programme gives eligible charities up to £10,000 per month (roughly £8,000 equivalent) in free Google search ads. It is the single most underused free resource in the UK charity sector. Use it to put your donation page in front of people searching for causes like yours.

UK eligibility is validated via TechSoup UK: you need a Charity Commission, OSCR, or CCNI registration number. TechSoup UK also gates Canva for Nonprofits, Zoom, and Microsoft nonprofit discounts, so registering there once unlocks multiple tools. Google's Ad Grants management guidance is the best place to start once validated.

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24. Google Analytics 4

Google Analytics 4 is free and tells you which pages donors visit, where they came from, and where they drop off. Pair it with a plugin like MonsterInsights if you want the dashboard inside WordPress. You can also track Zeffy forms: contact us with your tracking ID.

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25. Hotjar

Hotjar shows you heatmaps and session replays: where people click, scroll, and stop reading. Hotjar accepts nonprofit applications for free Business accounts, with preference for organisations focused on environmental causes or equality work. The free Basic tier is open to anyone.

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AI and automation

26. ChatGPT

ChatGPT is genuinely useful for small charity teams when you give it the right context. Use it to draft social posts, write donor thank-you emails, plan a fundraising event, or work through the grant application process. A particularly useful UK-specific task: drafting the narrative sections of a Trustees' Annual Report. We have written walkthroughs on prompting it well, using it to draft social posts, write donor thank-you emails, plan a fundraising event, and work through the grant application process.

UK GDPR note. Whichever tools you adopt, check UK GDPR fit before sharing donor data. UK charities operate under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, overseen by the ICO. The Code of Fundraising Practice (current version effective 1 November 2025) covers online platforms in Section 9. Before adopting any tool, ask: where is donor data stored, is the supplier a UK data controller, and what is the sub-processor list? UK charities consistently cite GDPR compliance as the first question they ask before onboarding a new platform.

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27. Zapier

Zapier connects the tools above without code and offers nonprofit pricing. Zeffy has a native Zapier app, so you can push every donation and ticket sale into your CRM, accounting tool, or Slack automatically.

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Social and recruiting

28. Linktree

Linktree turns one social-bio link into a landing page for your donate form, online shop, events, and newsletter. The free tier is enough for most charities.

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29. LinkedIn for Nonprofits

LinkedIn for Nonprofits publishes guides and discounts for hiring, board recruiting, and content. It is where most professional sponsor and board-trustee outreach happens in the UK charity sector. NCVO and Charity Digital are the sector-body equivalents for professional networking, jobs, and guidance: Charity Digital's job board is where many UK charity roles are listed.

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Zeffy's API and integrations

Once you have picked your stack, the question becomes: how do these tools actually talk to each other without a developer? This is where most fundraising platforms quietly start charging. Other UK fundraising platforms lock QuickBooks sync behind paid tiers or subscription plans. API access is restricted. Even a WordPress donate button can sit behind an upgrade wall.

A UK charity running a £15 fete ticket, an autumn appeal, a Christmas raffle, and a sponsored 5K currently pays for Ticket Tailor, JustGiving, Crowdfunder, and a CRM separately. Zeffy consolidates that stack, free, with proper Gift Aid handling.

At Zeffy, the connectors are free. Always.

• Zeffy's free Public API gives read-only access to payments, contacts, and campaigns. Other fundraising platforms lock API access behind paid plans. Zeffy's Public API is completely free.

• QuickBooks integration is native: payouts auto-categorise by campaign or fund and the whole setup takes under 5 minutes.

• WordPress plugin adds a free Zeffy donate button to any WordPress site, no coding required.

• Zeffy AI Assistant lets you ask plain-English questions about your supporter data, with no SQL needed.

• Zapier app connects Zeffy to 1,000+ tools, including everything in this article that supports Zapier.

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Which 5 tools you can probably skip

No competitor roundup will tell you this, because more entries means more affiliate links. We will. Most small UK charities do not need all 25.

• 1. A paid CRM, if you are under roughly 500 donors. HubSpot free plus Zeffy's built-in supporter records cover you. Beacon and Donorfy are great once you have real Gift Aid volume and a growing database; they are overkill for a 200-donor organisation.

• 2. A separate paid event-ticketing platform. Zeffy ticketing is free, mobile, and issues QR codes with no per-ticket fee. Skip Eventbrite (roughly 6.95% plus £0.59 per ticket plus card processing) or Ticket Tailor for anything under £10 a ticket.

• 3. A standalone peer-to-peer platform. Zeffy peer-to-peer is included at no cost.

• 4. Two project management tools. Pick Asana or Trello. Running both is overhead with no benefit.

• 5. A paid email tool, until you outgrow free. HubSpot free covers 2,000 emails a month. Mailchimp free covers 500 contacts. Most UK charities do not need to pay for email in year one: the real cost cliff appears around 300 subscribers on Brevo, at roughly £15/month, and that is still well into the future for most small charities.

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Frequently asked questions

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