Fundraise Up vs Liberapay Comparison 2026
Fundraise Up charges a flat 4 percent of every donation plus card processing, with no subscription and every feature included, betting that a checkout tuned to raise more, suggested amounts, a monthly upgrade nudge, wallets, brings in enough extra to cover its own cut. Liberapay takes nothing itself, funded by donations to its own page, so the only cost is the processor's, roughly 3 percent through Stripe. Fundraise Up sells a better checkout for a fee. Liberapay sells the absence of a fee, with none of the optimisation to go with it.
A donation checkout tuned to raise more
Recurring donations with no platform cut
At a glance
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
- Liberapay takes no share of what you earn. Fundraise Up takes 4%.
Side by side
Fundraise Up | Liberapay | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | Free |
| Pricing model | Free | Free |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Usage-based | Usage-based |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Yes | Not stated |
Fundraise Up
A donation checkout tuned to raise more
Fundraise Up replaces a donation form with a checkout tuned to raise the amount given: suggested upgrades, a monthly nudge, wallets and a currency the donor recognises. It charges four percent of what comes in and sells no plans at all. The company's own figure is that most donors elect to cover that cost, which is the argument for a percentage over a subscription.
Our note
Four percent on top of processing is more than a plain Stripe form costs, and the case for it is that the checkout raises more than it takes. Ask for the figures on comparable organisations before assuming that holds for your audience.
Only on this side
- Covers crowdfunding
Liberapay
Recurring donations with no platform cut
Liberapay is a non-profit that collects recurring donations and keeps none of them, funding itself from donations to its own page. Money moves weekly rather than monthly, and a donor pays several weeks ahead so the processing fee is charged once. There are no tiers, no rewards and no shop, which is the point for people who wanted a way to be paid rather than a platform to run.
Why people weigh these two
- Liberapay instead of Fundraise Up
- Liberapay takes recurring donations with no platform cut at all, free, the opposite trade to a checkout tuned to raise more for a fee.
- Fundraise Up instead of Liberapay
- Fundraise Up is also free and tunes the checkout itself to raise more per donor, useful for a one-time campaign rather than an ongoing weekly gift.
Which one should you pick
Pick Fundraise Up when the current donation page is a plain form and a checkout built to raise more, suggested upgrade amounts, wallets, a currency the donor recognises, is worth 4 percent plus processing. Most donors reportedly cover that fee themselves at checkout, though that is the company's own figure and worth checking against comparable organisations before assuming it holds. There is no subscription and nothing held back for a premium tier.
Pick Liberapay for recurring support with literally no platform cut, only the processor's roughly 3 percent through Stripe or 5.1 percent through PayPal. It has no conversion-tuned checkout, no suggested-amount prompts and no tiers, rewards or shop; the entire product is a plain way to be paid weekly. Choose it because the model itself is agreeable, not because 4 percent sounds like a lot on paper.
Common questions
- Is Liberapay cheaper than Fundraise Up?
- On the platform cut alone, yes: Liberapay takes nothing, only the processor's roughly 3 percent through Stripe. Fundraise Up takes a flat 4 percent on top of processing, though its own case is that the checkout it provides raises more than that fee costs.
- Does Fundraise Up's checkout actually raise more money, or is that a claim?
- It is the company's own figure, and its own guidance suggests asking for data on comparable organisations before assuming it applies to a specific audience. Liberapay makes no equivalent claim; it is not built to optimise a checkout at all.
- Can donors cover the platform fee on either one?
- Fundraise Up offers this at checkout, and the company states most donors take the option. Liberapay's fee is only the payment processor's, and its FAQ does not describe a donor-covers-the-fee option the same way.
- Which one has tiers, rewards or a shop?
- Neither does, though for different reasons. Fundraise Up includes every feature on its one flat 4 percent rate with no premium tier. Liberapay is deliberately minimal by design, with no tiers, rewards or shop at all, which its own guidance says is the whole point for people who wanted a way to be paid rather than a platform to run.
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.