Donately vs Givebutter Comparison 2026
Donately charges every organisation 2 percent on its free plan, a fee that does not change based on how donors behave. Givebutter charges nothing at all in platform fees while donor tips stay switched on, since an optional tip at checkout is what funds the free product; turn tips off and a platform fee applies instead. Both then add standard card processing on top. Donately's fee is fixed and known. Givebutter's is zero or not, depending on what donors choose to add.
At a glance
- Givebutter starts cheaper, at $29.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Donately | Givebutter | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $99 | From $29 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | 30 days |
| API | Yes |
Donately
Donation forms with the fee written down
Donately puts donation forms and recurring giving on a site you already have, and states its own cut on the pricing page rather than after signup. Every plan carries every feature, so what the money buys is a lower fee rather than more product. It argues openly against the platforms that call themselves free and then take a fifth through donor-paid fees.
Our note
The arithmetic is straightforward: below about $60,000 raised a year the free plan is cheaper, and above it the monthly plan starts winning. Ask what the $99 plan's fee actually is before you sign, because the page never says.
Only on this side
- Covers monetization & payments
Givebutter
Fundraising that runs on optional tips
Givebutter charges nothing for donation pages, events and its fundraising CRM, and funds itself from a tip donors can choose to add at checkout. Turning tips off swaps them for a platform fee, which is the honest version of free. The paid tier is a marketing add-on rather than the fundraising itself, and most organisations never need it.
Why people weigh these two
- Givebutter instead of Donately
- Givebutter funds itself through optional donor tips rather than a stated cut, the model Donately argues against, free to start with plans from $29.
- Donately instead of Givebutter
- Donately has a free tier, then a flat $99 a month with the fee written down up front rather than funded by an optional donor tip.
Which one should you pick
Buy Donately if a fixed, known fee matters more than a rate that depends on donor behaviour. Two percent on the free plan is the number to plan around, stated up front, and it does not move if donors decline to tip.
Buy Givebutter if keeping fees off the total is the priority and the audience is likely to add a voluntary tip. The platform fee is genuinely zero while tips are on, and the free CRM holds unlimited contacts with no cap, which nothing in Donately's pricing matches. Turn tips off, though, and a platform fee applies instead, so the saving depends on donors actually choosing to give a little more.
Common questions
- Is Givebutter really free?
- The platform fee is zero while donor tips are switched on, funded by an optional amount donors add at checkout. Turn tips off and a platform fee applies instead, so the cost moves to the donor rather than disappearing entirely. Donately's 2 percent free-plan fee, by contrast, applies regardless of what donors choose.
- Which has unlimited contacts in its CRM for free?
- Givebutter. Its free plan holds unlimited contacts with no cap, which is unusual in fundraising software. Donately's pricing details do not describe an equivalent CRM contact limit or allowance.
- Does Donately's fee change based on donor behaviour?
- No, it is fixed: 2 percent on the free plan regardless of what any individual donor does. Givebutter's real-world cost depends on whether donors opt to add a tip, since the platform fee is zero only while that option is switched on.
- What does Givebutter's paid Plus tier add?
- Marketing and contact-based features, at $29 a month or $348 billed annually, on top of a product that is otherwise free. Most organisations do not need it, since fundraising itself, not marketing, is what the free tier 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.