If you're shopping for a fundraising platform, you've probably noticed that most of them claim to be "free." It's a crowded space, and the differences between platforms aren't always obvious until you're mid-campaign and something doesn't work the way you expected.
This post breaks down three of the most talked-about options (GalaBid, Zeffy, and Givebutter) with honest pros and cons for each. We'll look at pricing models, tip and revenue share structures, fixed fee options, platform strengths, and where each one falls short.
The "Free" Fundraising Platform Problem
Before diving in, it helps to understand how these platforms actually make money, because none of them are truly free in the traditional sense. All three rely on optional donor tips to fund their operations when the platform itself charges no fee. This is worth understanding upfront, because the tip model shapes the donor experience in ways that matter.
The difference is in the details of how tips are handled, whether the platform charges fees when tips are disabled, and crucially, whether any of that tip revenue gets shared back with your cause.
GalaBid
Best for: Silent auctions, live events, raffles, and event-based fundraising
GalaBid has been around since 2011 and is purpose-built for fundraising events. If you're running a gala, school auction, sports club raffle, or charity ball, it's hard to find a platform that covers as much ground in one place.
Pricing Overview
GalaBid offers three plans:
- Free Plan: $0 platform fee. Funded by optional donor tips. GalaBid shares 10% of all tips received back to your cause through their Tip Revenue Share program.
- Pro Plan: 4.9% platform fee. No tips shown to participants.
- Flat Fee Plan: $1,250 per campaign (US pricing). No tips, no percentage cut, and predictable cost for large events.
All plans use Stripe for payment processing. GalaBid does not mark up Stripe fees, and you can pass processing fees on to participants, meaning you can realistically keep close to 100% of what you raise even on the free plan.
Funds go directly from Stripe to your bank account. GalaBid never holds or delays your money, which is a meaningful distinction from platforms that pool funds through their own accounts first.
What Makes GalaBid Different: Tip Revenue Share
The Tip Revenue Share is something no other major fundraising platform offers. On the Free plan, when your participants tip GalaBid at checkout, 10% of those tips come back to your campaign. It's not a huge amount, but it's genuinely additive. If your campaign generates $1,000 in tips, you receive an extra $100 on top of what you raised.
Tips are optional and participants can reduce or remove them entirely. There's no penalty to your campaign if they opt out.
GalaBid Pros
- Purpose-built for events: Silent auctions, live auctions, raffles, donations, buy-it-now, paddle raises, and event ticketing all in one platform
- Tip Revenue Share: The only platform that gives back a percentage of tips to your cause (10% on the Free plan)
- No funds held: Money goes straight to your Stripe account with no delays
- Stripe fees not marked up: You pay exactly what Stripe charges, nothing more
- Flat Fee option: Great for large events where predictability matters more than percentage savings
- SMS/text notifications: Included on all plans, essential for keeping bidders engaged at live events
- 24/7 live human support: Real people via chat, not bots
- 100+ features on the free plan: Leaderboards, volunteer accounts, real-time displays, pre-event bidding, and more
- Active in multiple markets: US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, and EU
GalaBid Cons
- Not ideal for pure donation campaigns: If you just need a simple donation form, GalaBid's auction-focused feature set may be more than you need
- Flat Fee plan requires activation: It's not self-serve, so you need to contact the team to get started
- Stripe required for online payments: If you don't have or want a Stripe account, this is a limitation (though the Flat Fee plan allows offline payments)
- Regional pricing varies: Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Ireland have separate pricing structures, so confirm with the team before assuming US pricing applies
Zeffy
Best for: Small to mid-size nonprofits focused on donations, events, and online giving
Zeffy has built a strong reputation in the nonprofit space on the back of a genuinely compelling proposition: 100% of every donation stays with the cause. No platform fees, no transaction fees, no processing fees passed to the nonprofit. Over 100,000 nonprofits have used the platform, and it has facilitated more than $2 billion in donations.
Pricing Overview
Zeffy is free for nonprofits. No platform fee, no processing fee, no subscription tier.
Like GalaBid, Zeffy is funded through optional donor tips at checkout. The suggested tip percentage is based on the donation amount. For smaller donations (under around $99), the suggested tip defaults at around 17%, which can be adjusted or removed by the donor. Zeffy absorbs all payment processing costs regardless of whether a donor tips or not.
There is no fixed-fee option, no pro plan, and no way to remove the tipping prompt entirely (donors can always opt out themselves).
Zeffy Pros
- Truly zero fees: No platform fee, no processing fee, no markup of any kind passed to the nonprofit
- Full feature set from day one: No tiered plans locking features behind paywalls
- Strong donor management tools: CRM, email campaigns, and donor tracking included
- Good breadth of tools: Donations, ticketing, raffles, auctions, peer-to-peer fundraising, memberships, and an online shop
- Large user base: 100,000+ nonprofits means the platform is well-tested and widely trusted
- No payout fees: Standard payouts are included at no charge
Zeffy Cons
- High default tip percentage: A suggested 15-17% tip shown to donors is meaningfully higher than what GalaBid or Givebutter suggest. Some donors find this confusing or off-putting, and reviews suggest a number have felt surprised by the added amount
- No tip revenue share: Unlike GalaBid, Zeffy keeps all the tips and none goes back to your cause
- Donor experience friction: Reviews note that some donors don't realize they can remove or reduce the tip, which can lead to complaints
- Limited auction depth: Auctions are available, but the feature set isn't as specialized as GalaBid's event-focused tools
- US and Canada focused: Zeffy's reach is more limited geographically than GalaBid
- No fixed fee option: There's no alternative pricing model for organizations that prefer predictable costs
Givebutter
Best for: Nonprofits wanting an all-in-one platform with strong CRM, email, and donor engagement tools
Givebutter has grown significantly over the past few years and markets itself as an all-in-one fundraising and donor management platform. It covers donations, events, auctions, peer-to-peer campaigns, and includes a built-in CRM and email/text communication tools. The platform has processed over $5 billion in donations.
Pricing Overview
Givebutter's pricing comes in two modes (for accounts created after September 9, 2025):
- Tips On (free): 0% platform fee, 0% processing fees, backed by the Givebutter Guarantee. The platform absorbs any processing fees donors don't cover.
- Tips Off (paid): Flat 3% platform fee across all campaign types, plus standard processing fees (2.9% + 30¢ for cards, 1.9% + 30¢ for ACH). You can pass these on to donors, make them optional, or absorb them yourself.
There is also Givebutter Plus, a paid subscription starting at around $29/month, which adds advanced CRM features, automation, and analytics based on your contact count.
The Givebutter Guarantee is worth noting: when tips are enabled, Givebutter covers any processing fees that donors don't tip to cover. So if a donor leaves no tip, Givebutter absorbs the Stripe fee rather than passing it to the nonprofit.
Givebutter Pros
- Strong all-in-one platform: 160+ features covering donations, ticketing, auctions, peer-to-peer, CRM, email, and text messaging
- Givebutter Guarantee: When tips are on, processing fees not covered by donors are absorbed by the platform, not the nonprofit
- Clean 3% flat fee option: When tips are off, the pricing is simple and predictable
- Good auction tools: Real-time auction updates and live display options for events
- Built-in CRM and email: If you want donor management baked in, Givebutter's toolset is more developed than GalaBid's
- Wide payment method support: Credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, ACH, Venmo, and PayPal
- Large feature set on the free tier: The free plan is genuinely capable
Givebutter Cons
- Donor tip confusion: Like Zeffy, some donor reviews report feeling misled by the tip prompt, with complaints about lack of clarity around what the tip is for and who receives it
- No tip revenue share: Givebutter keeps all tips and none is returned to your cause
- Manual payouts: Funds aren't automatically deposited, so you need to initiate each withdrawal manually, which can cause delays
- Instant payouts cost extra: There's a 1.75% fee on the payout amount for instant transfers
- Auction fees: Auto-charge auction transactions incur a 3% platform fee even when tips are enabled, which catches some users off guard
- Plus subscription required for advanced features: The free tier is solid, but scaling organizations may find themselves needing Givebutter Plus
- Not built specifically for events: Compared to GalaBid's event-specific tooling (leaderboards, live auction support, SMS outbid notifications), Givebutter's event features are more general-purpose
Head-to-Head Comparison US
Which Platform Should You Choose?
Choose GalaBid if you're running events, especially silent auctions, galas, charity balls, or school fundraisers. The event-specific toolset is unmatched, the fixed fee option provides cost certainty for larger campaigns, and the Tip Revenue Share is a genuinely unique feature that adds to your fundraising total rather than just taking from it. The direct-to-Stripe funds flow is also a standout for organizations that have been burned by platforms that delay payouts.
Choose Zeffy if you're a registered nonprofit primarily collecting donations, running peer-to-peer campaigns, or selling memberships and you want the simplest possible pricing story: zero fees, full stop. It's a strong choice for smaller organizations that don't need deep event functionality and want to keep their overhead messaging as clean as possible.
Choose Givebutter if you want an all-in-one platform that goes beyond fundraising into donor management, email campaigns, and long-term supporter engagement. The built-in CRM and communication tools make it a better fit for organizations looking to consolidate multiple tools into one place. Just be prepared for the manual payout process and the added complexity of the tip/guarantee model.
A Note on Tips and Transparency
All three platforms use optional donor tips to fund their operations, and all three are upfront about this. The key differences are:
- GalaBid suggests lower default tips and, uniquely, shares 10% of those tips back with your cause
- Zeffy absorbs all processing fees itself but suggests tips in the 15-17% range, which some donors find unexpectedly high
- Givebutter guarantees processing fee coverage when tips are on and offers a clean 3% flat fee when you'd rather not show tips at all
There's no objectively "best" model here. The right choice depends on your donor base, your event type, and how much you care about controlling the checkout experience.
GalaBid has been helping fundraisers run successful events since 2011. If you'd like to see how it works for your next auction or raffle, sign up for free or book a call with our team.
