All comparisons
32auctions’ free plan lets you run an auction with up to 20 items and unlimited bidders, with no credit card. Paid upgrades are bought per event: the Most Popular package is about $170 per event, and The Works bundles every upgrade. If you collect payments online, 32auctions adds a transaction fee of 2.9% + $0.40 per payment, on top of Stripe or PayPal's own fee.
GalaBid offers three plans: a Free plan supported by optional supporter tips, with 10% of tips shared with your cause; a Pro plan at 4.9% with no tip prompts; or a $1,250 flat fee per campaign. Features like more than 20 items, multiple images per item, outbid text alerts, raffles and event ticketing are part of GalaBid, while on 32auctions they're paid upgrades or not offered as a feature.
So which suits you depends on the size of your auction and what else your fundraiser needs. If you're reading 32auctions reviews to decide, this guide covers what 32auctions does well, where it falls short, what it costs, what users say about it, and where GalaBid may be the better fit.
Note: Details about 32auctions were last checked October 2026. User ratings come from Capterra.
What it is: a browser-based silent auction platform for nonprofits, schools, churches and similar organizations, built for online and hybrid auctions that organizers run themselves. Bidders don't need to download an app.
Who it suits: small, self-run silent auctions, especially free auctions of up to 20 items where you'd rather not ask supporters for tips.
Our verdict: 32auctions is a low-cost option for small online or hybrid silent auctions, particularly if you'll collect payments yourself and don't want tips. If your fundraiser needs more than 20 items without per-event upgrades, a raffle, event ticketing or live chat support, GalaBid covers those.
On Capterra, 32auctions has an overall rating of 4.0 out of 5 from 14 user reviews, as of October 2026. Its category scores are:
What reviewers like: ease of use for both bidders and administrators, good value, and features for remote bidding. Several positive reviews are from 2018 and 2019, so they may not reflect the platform today.
Where reviewers are critical: customer service is the lowest-scoring area. One reviewer noted that support is by email only, with no phone line, and the most recent review, from August 2026, gave one star after the reviewer said they were still waiting for donations a month after their auction ended, with little response from support.
With only 14 reviews, a single review moves the average noticeably, so treat these ratings as a rough guide rather than a verdict.
32auctions' software costs come in when you add upgrades, which are priced per event, or collect payments online, which adds 2.9% + $0.40 per payment.
32auctions' transaction fee is charged in addition to the payment processor's fee, not instead of it. On a $100 online payment, that's $3.30 to 32auctions, plus whatever Stripe or PayPal charges. On GalaBid's Pro plan, the same $100 payment carries a $4.90 platform fee, plus Stripe's fee. On GalaBid's Free plan, there’s no platform fee; it’s funded by supporter tips instead.
32auctions also lets organizers give supporters the option to pay the transaction fees when they pay online.
32auctions' free plan covers up to 20 items with one image each. More items come in increments of 100, up to 1,000, and up to 4 large images per item are a separate upgrade. On GalaBid, you can have more than 20 items and add multiple higher-quality images to each item.
32auctions doesn't ask supporters for tips, and it makes that a selling point. GalaBid's Free plan is supported by optional supporter tips instead of a platform fee, and GalaBid shares 10% of tips with your cause. If you'd rather not show a tip prompt at all, GalaBid's Pro plan and flat fee remove it.
Fundraising matters to the school, and its parents know it. The auction runs at the busiest time of year, around the year-end shows, when parents and grandparents come into the building.
One year, Paige's boss wanted to try running the auction on paper. It didn't go very well, so the school went back to running it online.
Paige set up the auction by duplicating items from previous years and working from there. During the three weeks, the items were on display throughout the school, with posters explaining that they were part of the fundraiser, so families visiting for the dance show and music recital could see them and bid.
This year, the school also used Buy Now as a donation option. Some families are generous and would rather give money than win an item, so they could make a Buy Now purchase instead, with the school providing a tax receipt. Paige plans to keep offering it.
When the auction ends, she has the option to charge winners straight away, but she prefers to give them a couple of days. After that, the platform takes care of the rest, and she emails winners with details on how to pick up or redeem their items.
32auctions may be the best fit if:
GalaBid may be the best fit if:
Yes. 32auctions is an independent, family-run platform based in Mansfield, Texas, and has been online since 2009. It says more than 130,500 causes have used it. Payments are collected through your own linked Stripe or PayPal account.
On Capterra, 32auctions is rated 4.0 out of 5 from 14 reviews, as of October 2026. Reviewers score it well for ease of use (4.4) and value for money (4.1), and lowest for customer service (3.0).
Small, self-run online or hybrid silent auctions, particularly free auctions of up to 20 items where you'll collect payments yourself and don't want to ask supporters for tips.
Yes, for up to 20 items with unlimited bidders, and no credit card is needed. Free auctions show third-party ads and allow one image per item. If you collect payments online, 32auctions charges 2.9% + $0.40 per payment on top of the Stripe or PayPal fee; there's no 32auctions fee if you collect payments yourself.
The base auction is free. Upgrades are bought per event, with no contract or subscription: the Most Popular package is about $170 per event, and The Works bundles all upgrades. 32auctions says it never charges a performance fee on the total amount raised.
2.9% + $0.40 per online payment or donation, in addition to the Stripe or PayPal transaction fee. Organizers can give supporters the option to pay these fees. Self-managed payments have no 32auctions fee.
Up to 20. The More Items upgrade adds items in increments of 100, up to 1,000. On GalaBid, you can have more than 20 items.
Only with its paid Text & Email Notifications upgrade, and only to mobile numbers in the US, Canada, Australia, the UK and New Zealand. Free auctions send outbid alerts by email.
32auctions doesn't have a raffle feature. Its help page suggests selling raffle tickets as Buy Now items and picking a winner at random from the sales summary. GalaBid offers raffle ticket packages, a certified random number generator and a live drawing projector display.
32auctions doesn't have an event ticketing system; tickets can be sold as Buy Now items with a set quantity. GalaBid offers free and paid tickets, table sales, guest list management and QR code check-in.
No. Bidders use a mobile-friendly website in any browser, and there's no text bidding.
32auctions lists email support. GalaBid offers live chat around the clock, 7 days a week, plus Zoom calls for guidance and support.
Yes, with the paid Transition to Offline Event upgrade. You start the auction online, print bid sheets for the event, then enter the final results online, and invoices can be paid online.
GalaBid combines silent auctions with raffles (ticket packages, a certified random number generator and a live drawing projector display) and event ticketing (free and paid tickets, table sales, guest lists and QR code check-in), with live chat support around the clock.
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