Chuffed vs Zeffy Comparison 2026
Chuffed and Zeffy both aim to leave a donation untouched by fees, funded instead by an optional tip at checkout, but Zeffy goes further: it states plainly that it takes no platform fee and no processing fee, covering card costs itself out of what donors tip. Chuffed's 0 percent platform fee is real too, though donors separately cover payment processing on top of their gift. Zeffy asks for nonprofit registration at signup and bundles ticketed events, raffles, auctions and memberships into the same account; Chuffed is narrower and does not require nonprofit status, open to causes and community projects more broadly.
Crowdfunding that takes no cut of the total
Fundraising with no platform or processing fee
At a glance
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Chuffed | Zeffy | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | Free |
| Pricing model | Free | Free |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Usage-based | Usage-based |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export |
Chuffed
Crowdfunding that takes no cut of the total
Chuffed charges the campaign nothing and asks the donor for an optional tip instead, so the whole donation reaches the project once the card fee is paid. That model suits causes and community projects, which is most of what is on there. A creator funding a commercial product will find the audience is not looking for one.
Zeffy
Fundraising with no platform or processing fee
Zeffy takes nothing from a donation, and covers card processing itself out of the optional tips donors leave at checkout. Donations, ticketed events, raffles, auctions, memberships and a donor database are all in the same account. It is built for nonprofits, and the sign-up asks you to be one.
Our note
If you qualify as a nonprofit, start here, because no competitor can beat zero. Read the tip prompt on a live form first and decide whether you are comfortable with your donors seeing it, since that is the whole trade.
Only on this side
- Covers monetization & payments
Why people weigh these two
- Zeffy instead of Chuffed
- Zeffy goes one further than Chuffed and covers even the processing fee, leaving a cause the entire donation.
- Chuffed instead of Zeffy
- Chuffed also takes no cut of the total raised, free to start, crowdfunding-shaped rather than Zeffy's fuller nonprofit toolkit of events and memberships.
Which one should you pick
Choose Chuffed if you are not a registered nonprofit, since Zeffy's signup checks for that status and Chuffed's does not. The platform fee is still a genuine 0 percent, with processing covered by the donor separately and an optional tip on top that the campaign never depends on to break even.
Choose Zeffy if you qualify as a registered nonprofit and want donations, ticketed events, raffles, auctions and memberships in one account with literally nothing deducted, platform or processing. The trade is entirely social: your donor sees a tip prompt at checkout, and that prompt is the whole business model, so decide whether that is a conversation you want happening on your form before switching.
Common questions
- Which one takes less from a donation?
- Zeffy takes nothing at all, platform or processing, covering card costs itself from the optional tips donors leave. Chuffed's platform fee is also 0 percent, but payment processing is still covered separately by the donor on top of their gift.
- Does either one require nonprofit registration?
- Zeffy does; its signup checks for registered nonprofit status. Chuffed does not require that, and its audience includes individuals and community projects as well as registered organizations.
- Which one runs ticketed events, raffles and memberships in the same account?
- Zeffy does, alongside donation forms, auctions and a donor database. Chuffed's listing centers on campaign pages for causes rather than a broader suite of fundraising formats.
- Do both rely on a donor tip prompt at checkout?
- Yes, both fund themselves this way. Zeffy is explicit that the tip prompt is its entire business model; Chuffed treats the tip as an optional add-on separate from the processing the donor already covers.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.