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Cheddar Up reviews: honest take for UK charities and community groups (2026)
July 3, 2026
If you have been searching for Cheddar Up from the UK, this guide gives you the honest picture: what the platform does, why it is not available to UK charities and community groups, and which UK-native alternatives actually handle Gift Aid, £, and the stack a small UK group needs.
Cheddar Up is a US-only platform. UK PTAs, charities, and community groups cannot sign up for it. The guide below covers what Cheddar Up offers US groups (for reference) and the UK alternatives that genuinely solve the same problems.
Cheddar Up is a Denver-based US platform designed to simplify group payments, collections, and fundraising for US PTAs, sports clubs, and community groups. It supports online and in-person payments, accepts multiple payment methods, and integrates with tools such as QuickBooks for accounting. It has an overall Capterra rating of 4.9/5 and is well regarded by its US user base for being user-friendly and intuitive.
UK groups cannot sign up for Cheddar Up. The platform prices entirely in US dollars, has no UK entity, and does not handle Gift Aid (the HMRC mechanism that lets registered UK charities reclaim 25p per £1 from eligible donations). It also does not support UK Direct Debit, the payment method behind roughly 31% of UK charity donations, or the small-society-lottery rules that govern most UK charity raffles under the Gambling Act 2005.
Understand why UK groups need a different tool
PTAs, village halls, community groups, unincorporated associations, and CICs collecting payments in the UK face a distinct set of requirements. A good UK group-payments tool should support Gift Aid declarations and HMRC claims (where the group is a registered charity), Direct Debit for regular giving, tap-to-pay for events where cash is no longer the norm, and a raffle or prize-draw tool that is compliant with small-society-lottery rules. As one UK village-hall organiser put it: "all of these platforms apart from Zeffy charge an overhead per ticket, which would probably make them too expensive for us."
Cheddar Up handles none of these UK requirements. The rest of this guide describes what it offers for reference, then sets out the UK alternatives that do.
Cheddar Up pricing
Cheddar Up's pricing is in US dollars. UK groups that cannot sign up should treat these figures as reference only.
US pricing, USD:
Basic plan: £0 platform fee, 3.95% + £0.95 per transaction
Pro plan: £15/month (or £10/month billed annually) + 3.95% + £0.95 per transaction
Team plan: £36/month (or £30/month billed annually) + 3.95% + £0.95 per transaction
Cheddar Up bills in US dollars. UK groups pay foreign-exchange conversion on top of the platform and transaction fees, and there is no reduced UK charity rate. Compare that with UK-native platforms where you pay in £ and, if you are a registered charity, can reclaim 25p per £1 on eligible donations through Gift Aid.
Handle Gift Aid the UK way
UK-registered charities can reclaim 25p from HMRC for every £1 a UK taxpayer donates via Gift Aid, provided the donor signs a Gift Aid declaration confirming they have paid enough UK Income or Capital Gains Tax. The charity submits the claim through HMRC Charities Online and must keep records for at least six years.
Cheddar Up has no Gift Aid mechanism. Any UK alternative you choose should handle Gift Aid declarations and HMRC claim submission natively. Note that Gift Aid does not apply to ticket sales, raffle entries, or auction lots at fair value, as these are payments for goods or services rather than donations, per the Charity Tax Group.
Top features of Cheddar Up
The following describes what Cheddar Up does for its US users. UK groups evaluating the category should use this as a feature checklist to apply to UK-available platforms.
Online payments
If you are organising collections across credit cards, bank transfer, or cash and cheque, Cheddar Up brings everything into one place without a complicated setup. For UK PTAs and community groups, the equivalent need is met by platforms that also support UK payment rails and tap-to-pay at the door.
Customisable forms
Cheddar Up's customisable forms let organisers gather RSVPs, permissions, or additional information alongside payments. For UK groups, any platform collecting donor data must have a lawful basis under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, governed by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). GDPR compliance is a gate UK charities rightly ask about before adopting any new tool.
Recurring payments
Cheddar Up supports flexible schedules for ongoing payments such as membership fees, subscriptions, or regular giving. In the UK, Direct Debit via a provider such as GoCardless is the dominant mechanism for regular giving, accounting for roughly 31% of all UK charity donations. Cheddar Up does not support UK Direct Debit; any UK alternative you choose should.
Verified Capterra reviews: pros of the platform
The following quotes are from verified Capterra reviewers in the US, where Cheddar Up is available.
Payment processing
"Easy for us to use and offers a simple, customisable payment page that we can use to collect money virtually. Also, a good feature is the automatic reminders to help ensure that payments are made on time, as well as tracking tools to help groups keep track of who has paid and who still needs to pay." - Verified Reviewer
Simple to use
"Our hiking group needed a way to collect donations to cover our annual expenses and some swag items. Cheddar Up was perfect. No one had a problem donating, and we used all of the shares including a QR code, texting, and web link." - Greg G.
Verified Capterra reviews: cons of the platform
Inability to handle large events
"I have one event that is quite complicated and I have to manually monitor it. I have several payment options and I wish it were smart enough to adjust the availability number as payments are selected." - Gloria H.
Functionality requires upgrades
"Obviously, advertising is what pulls in your customers, but I felt slightly misled by all the features advertised. I found out upon signing up, some of the features I wanted to use were behind a pay wall. I understand the platform needs to make money, but I wish it had been mentioned in the advertising so I could expect it." - Sarah S.
POS glitches
"Not a deal breaker, but Cheddar Up's POS credit card reader requires an internet connection (i.e. wifi, hotspot, cellular network) to use. This is challenging for our PTA because our school is in a cellular dead zone, and the school is very hesitant to allow us to join their network." - Heidi H.
This last point is relevant for UK village halls and community venues too. Many rural UK buildings sit in poor-signal areas, which makes offline tap-to-pay capability worth checking before you commit to any platform.
User experience
Cheddar Up is well regarded by US users for keeping payment tracking, automatic reminders, and form collection in one place, without requiring technical know-how. For a busy PTA treasurer or community-group organiser juggling spreadsheets and emails, that consolidation is genuinely valuable.
UK PTAs and community groups have the same core need: one place for event signups, payments, and communications. The key difference is that UK groups also need platforms to handle £, Gift Aid (where eligible), and tap-to-pay for events where "people are not carrying around cash like they used to" (a real pattern reported by UK village-hall organisers). The UK alternatives in the next section address all of these.
Security
Cheddar Up is PCI-compliant and does not store financial data directly. Payment data goes to Stripe, which processes payments using encryption. Two-factor authentication protects accounts against unauthorised access.
For UK groups, security also means UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, regulated by the ICO. Any platform you use to collect donor or supporter data must have a lawful basis for processing that data (consent or legitimate interest), and your email marketing is governed by PECR. The Fundraising Regulator's Code of Fundraising Practice (effective 1 November 2025, with a new section covering online platforms) also sets expectations for how charities handle supporter data collected through digital fundraising tools.
Integration capabilities
Cheddar Up connects to thousands of apps via Zapier and has several built-in integrations. The following are available:
Accounting: QuickBooks, FreshBooks, Xero, Stripe, Apple Pay, Google Pay
Data and admin: Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, Google Calendar, Google Docs
CRM: Salesforce, HubSpot
Website and design: WordPress
Many of these (Xero, Salesforce, Mailchimp) are widely used by UK charities. However, Cheddar Up has no GoCardless integration, which means no UK Direct Debit. It also has no integration with Beacon or Donorfy, the leading UK fundraising CRMs. For UK groups already using those tools, the lack of native connection is a practical gap.
Customer support
Cheddar Up has a 4.9/5 customer service rating on Capterra and offers:
Detailed guides and FAQs available online
Contact form with responses within 48 hours
Live chat Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Mountain Time (roughly 4pm to midnight UK time)
Email support at friendlysupport@cheddarup.com
The timezone difference is a real consideration for UK organisers. Live chat support is only available in UK evenings, which makes same-day help during the working day impossible. UK-based platforms such as Ticket Tailor and TicketSource offer UK-hours support as standard.
UK alternatives to Cheddar Up
The platforms below solve the same jobs Cheddar Up addresses for US groups: group collections, customisable forms, tap-to-pay, memberships, and regular giving. Each is available to UK PTAs, charities, and community groups.
Run raffles the legal UK way
Before reviewing the alternatives, one practical note on raffles. Most UK charity raffles are small society lotteries under the Gambling Act 2005. To run one legally, your group must register with the local licensing authority (council), paying an initial fee of £40 (and £20 on annual renewal). A single draw may not exceed £20,000 in ticket sales, and at least 20% of proceeds must go to your charitable purpose. The maximum single prize is £25,000. Incidental non-commercial lotteries held entirely at an event (school fete raffles, dinner-table draws) need no registration. See the Gambling Commission's small society lotteries guidance for the full rules. Cheddar Up has no raffle or lottery tool. Zeffy does.
UK alternative
Ideal for
UK pricing
Zeffy
Charities and community groups wanting free donations, ticketing, raffles, memberships, and auctions in one platform
100% free. No platform fee, no transaction fee, no card fee
TryBooking UK
PTAs and school groups running free and paid events with tap-to-pay at the door
Free for free events; 5% + 15p per paid ticket; free tap-to-pay app included
Ticket Tailor
Groups selling paid tickets above £10 where per-ticket flat fees beat percentage models
From £0.22 per ticket with pre-purchased credits (up to £0.60 pay-as-you-go); 50% charity discount; free events under 2,000 tickets/year free
CAF Donate
Community groups and charities already banking with CAF who want a trust-first donate button at low cost
No monthly subscription; per-transaction fee by donation type
Membermojo
Small sports clubs, PTAs, and associations collecting subs and membership fees only
Free up to 50 members; from £30/year by member count
Zeffy: the 100% free alternative for UK charities
Zeffy is a 100% free fundraising platform with a 4.8/5 overall rating and a 4.9/5 'value for money' rating on Capterra. It charges no platform fee, no transaction fee, and no card fee, ever.
For UK charities and community groups, Zeffy provides the consolidated stack that replaces Cheddar Up and the tools typically needed alongside it:
Online donations: accept donations with no fees
Tap-to-pay from a phone: process in-person payments at fetes, quiz nights, and community events without buying dedicated hardware
Event ticketing: manage paid and free events in one place
Raffles: small-society-lottery-compatible prize draws
Memberships: track and manage member subs and renewals
Auctions: run silent or live auctions at fundraising events
Supporter management: keep records of donors and supporters in one database
E-commerce: sell products and merchandise through your page
Recurring giving: set up regular monthly gifts with no additional fee
Email communications: send automated thank-you and update messages to supporters
Gift Aid: Zeffy handles Gift Aid declarations and the reclaim workflow, so eligible donations are worth 25p more per £1 to your charity at no extra cost
Zeffy is built for UK charities, with Gift Aid handling and UK GDPR support.
TryBooking UK
TryBooking is a strong option for PTAs and school-event organisers. It is free for free events and charges 5% + 15p per paid ticket, with the option to pass fees to the buyer. The free tap-to-pay app is included, which directly addresses the challenge of collecting payments at the door when attendees arrive without cash.
Key features:
Free for free events
5% + 15p per paid ticket
Free tap-to-pay mobile app for door sales
No monthly subscription
UK-based support
Ticket Tailor
Ticket Tailor is a UK-founded B Corp with flat per-ticket pricing rather than a percentage model. This makes it more economical than Eventbrite for higher-value tickets (above £10). Charities receive a 50% discount, and free events under 2,000 tickets per year cost nothing.
Key features:
From £0.22 per ticket with pre-purchased credits; up to £0.60 pay-as-you-go
50% discount for charities
Free events under 2,000 tickets/year: free
Direct payouts via Stripe or PayPal
No discovery marketplace (you bring your own audience)
CAF Donate
CAF Donate is built by the Charities Aid Foundation, one of the UK's most trusted charity infrastructure bodies. It is used by more than 8,000 UK charities and offers a donate button with no monthly subscription. Reporting is more basic than commercial platforms, but the CAF name carries institutional trust that donors recognise.
Key features:
No monthly subscription
Staggered per-transaction fee by donation type
Native Gift Aid handling
Trusted by 8,000+ UK charities
Membermojo
For groups whose primary need is collecting membership subs and renewals rather than event ticketing or fundraising, Membermojo is the simplest low-cost option. It is free for up to 50 members and scales by member count with no transaction fees.
Key features:
Free up to 50 members; from £30/year above that
No transaction fees
Simple membership management and renewals
Works for sports clubs, U3A groups, and special-interest associations
Cheddar Up's Basic plan has no platform fee but charges 3.95% + £0.95 per transaction (US pricing, USD). The Pro plan costs £15/month (or £10/month billed annually) plus the same per-transaction fee. The Team plan costs £36/month (or £30/month billed annually) plus transaction fees. UK groups cannot sign up for Cheddar Up, so these figures are for reference only. Zeffy, by contrast, is 100% free for UK charities: no platform fee, no transaction fee, and no card fee, ever.
Cheddar Up is PCI-compliant and passes payment data directly to Stripe for encrypted processing. Two-factor authentication protects accounts against unauthorised access. For UK groups, security also means UK GDPR compliance under the Data Protection Act 2018, regulated by the ICO. Any UK platform you adopt should have a clearly stated lawful basis for processing supporter data and comply with PECR for email and SMS marketing.
No. Cheddar Up operates only in the United States. It prices in US dollars, has no UK entity, and does not handle Gift Aid, UK Direct Debit, or UK small-society-lottery rules. UK charities, PTAs, village halls, and community groups cannot sign up for a Cheddar Up account.
For most UK PTAs and community groups, Zeffy is the closest like-for-like replacement: it is 100% free, covers donations, event ticketing, memberships, raffles, and auctions in one platform, and handles Gift Aid declarations and HMRC reclaims for registered charities. For groups whose primary need is tap-to-pay at events, TryBooking UK includes a free tap-to-pay app. For paid events above £10 per ticket, Ticket Tailor's flat per-ticket fee is the most cost-effective option. For groups focused solely on collecting membership subs, Membermojo is the simplest low-cost tool.
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