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Plain-English guide · for nonprofits
Free fundraising software for nonprofits: who pays when you don't
Updated October 2026
Several donation tools cost your nonprofit nothing. Someone still pays: usually your donors, through a tip, or you, through a fee on each gift. Here's how each one works, so you can pick the trade you're happy with. One disclosure up front: we make Ember, one of the options below, and it doesn't process donations.
Zeffy and Givebutter cost your nonprofit nothing when donors are offered an optional tip at checkout. Donorbox has no monthly fee but takes 2.95% of each online gift, plus card processing. CiviCRM is free, open-source software that needs technical help. So choose by who pays: your donors, your gifts or your time.
Three kinds of free
Your donors pay, through a tip
Zeffy and Givebutter ask each donor at checkout whether they'd like to add a tip for the tool. Your nonprofit keeps the full gift either way.
Your gifts pay, through a fee
Donorbox costs nothing a month and takes a percentage of each gift instead. You only pay when money comes in.
Your time pays
Open-source tools like CiviCRM cost nothing to download. Someone still has to host them, set them up and look after them.
The free options, side by side
| Tool | What your nonprofit pays | Who pays instead | Good fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zeffy | $0. No platform or card fees | Donors, through an optional tip. Zeffy says about 2 in 3 leave one | Donation forms, events, raffles, memberships, peer-to-peer |
| Givebutter | $0 with tips on. Tips off: 3% plus card processing | Donors, through an optional tip | Campaigns and events. Plus adds tools from $29 a month |
| Donorbox (Standard) | $0 a month. 2.95% of each online gift, plus processing | You, unless donors choose to cover the fees | Donation forms on your own website |
| CiviCRM | $0 to download. Hosted from $15 a month | Your time, or a paid helper | Teams with someone technical |
| Ember Giving (that's us) | $0 under a $50K annual budget | Nobody. Ember doesn't take donations | Thanking donors after the gift, wherever it came in |
Read from each tool's own pricing page on 7 October 2026.
Prices and company facts were read from each vendor's own pages on the date shown above and change often. Nothing here is legal, tax or purchasing advice. Check the vendor's current pricing page before you decide, and read your own contract before you switch.
A closer look at each one
Zeffy
Zeffy says it has no fees and covers transaction fees, so your nonprofit keeps 100% of each donation. Donation forms, event tickets, raffles, auctions, memberships, peer-to-peer campaigns, an online store and donor management are all included. It's paid for by optional donor tips, and Zeffy says about 2 in 3 donors leave one. Your donors will see that ask. So make a test gift first and see what they see.
Givebutter
With tips on, Givebutter charges no platform fee and no processing fee, and it covers any processing that tips don't. Turn tips off and you pay a 3% platform fee plus 2.9% + 30¢ per card gift, or 1.9% + 30¢ by bank transfer. Givebutter Plus adds more tools from $29 a month, priced by how many contacts you keep.
Donorbox
The Standard version has no monthly fee and no setup fee. Each online donation carries a 2.95% platform fee, or 3.95% for event tickets and memberships, plus card processing. Donorbox lists Stripe's nonprofit card rate as 2.2% + 30¢. Donors can choose to cover the fees, and Donorbox says most do. There's no tip prompt.
CiviCRM
CiviCRM is open-source donor and contact software, free to download and run on your own server, and it takes online contributions. If nobody on your team is technical, you'll pay someone to set it up, or use a hosted version. CiviCRM Spark starts at $15 a month.
Ember Giving (that's us)
Ember doesn't take donations. It isn't a payment processor and never touches the money. Ember Giving starts after the gift: you record it however it came in, or bring in your history from a Donorbox, Givebutter or Stripe export, or any spreadsheet.
Each gift waits in a needs-a-thank-you list until you send a personal thank-you from your own email. At year end, Ember makes every donor's giving statement in one go, and it shows you who's gone quiet. Only your owners and admins see who gave what. It's free if your budget is under $50K a year.
The question that decides it
Are you comfortable with your donors being asked for a tip? If you are, the math is hard to argue with. If your board watches the giving experience closely, a small fee and a quiet checkout may suit you better.
Make a test gift on each form. Choose the one you'd be happy to see as a donor. Our guide to accepting donations walks through the setup.
A receipt isn't a thank-you
Every tool here sends a receipt. The thank-you that brings a donor back is still yours to write, so decide now who sends it and how soon. The donor thank-you letter guide has wording you can copy, and the free donation receipt generator covers gifts that arrive by check or cash.
The Ember tool for thisEmber Giving
Record each gift, see who still needs a thank-you, and get a draft you send from your own email. Free under a $50K budget. Unlimited users on every tier.
Sources: Read on 7 October 2026: Zeffy pricing, Givebutter pricing, Donorbox pricing, CiviCRM, CiviCRM Spark pricing, Ember Giving and Ember pricing. Fees change often; check each tool's page before you decide.