All comparisons
Donorbox is an online donation platform built around donation forms, recurring giving, crowdfunding, memberships and event ticketing. It has no monthly fee on its Standard plan, but charges a platform fee on every transaction: 2.95% on donations, and 3.95% on event tickets, memberships and supporters' fundraising pages. Its Pro plan costs $150 a month and lowers those fees to 1.75% and 2%.
GalaBid is built for auctions, raffles and fundraising events, and offers three plans with 100+ features on every plan: a Free plan with no platform fee, 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.
If you're reading Donorbox reviews to decide, this guide covers what Donorbox does well, where it falls short, what it really costs, what users say about it, and when one of the Donorbox alternatives, like GalaBid, may be the better fit.
Note: Details about Donorbox were last checked October 2026.
What it is: a donation platform for nonprofits, churches, schools and other causes, focused on online and recurring giving, with crowdfunding, peer-to-peer, memberships, text-to-give and event ticketing.
Who it suits: organizations whose fundraising is mainly donations, especially monthly giving through forms embedded on their own website.
Donorbox is a strong, well-reviewed choice for organizations that mainly raise donations online, especially monthly gifts. If your fundraising centers on an auction, a raffle or a gala, Donorbox isn't built for it, and GalaBid is likely the better fit.
Donorbox's Standard plan has no monthly fee, but every transaction carries a platform fee: 2.95% on donations and crowdfunding, and 3.95% on event tickets, memberships and supporters' own fundraising pages. Card processing is charged on top. Donorbox lets supporters choose to cover fees at checkout, and says most do.
GalaBid's Free plan has no platform fee for your organization. It's supported by optional supporter tips instead, and GalaBid shares 10% of tips with your cause.
For a fundraiser selling $10,000 in tickets, Donorbox's Standard plan charges $395 in platform fees. GalaBid's Free plan charges no platform fee, and its Pro plan would charge $490. GalaBid's $1,250 flat fee covers the whole campaign, so it becomes cheaper than Donorbox's 3.95% once an event brings in more than about $31,600. That compares platform fees only, before card processing.
Donorbox's Acceptable Use Policy rules out raffles, sweepstakes and any other activity with an entry fee and a prize, and its features don't include auctions. GalaBid is built for both, with silent and live auctions, raffle ticket packages, a certified random number generator and a live drawing projector display.
On Capterra, Donorbox is rated 4.8 out of 5 from 631 verified reviews, as of September 2026.
What reviewers like: quick setup and donation forms that embed easily on a website; a smooth, mobile-friendly checkout; recurring donations and a self-service donor portal; plenty of payment options and currencies; useful integrations; responsive support; and being able to start for free.
Where reviewers are critical: platform fees adding up on top of Stripe or PayPal fees; advanced form styling needing CSS or a paid plan; event management described as more limited than dedicated event platforms; basic reporting and donor management for some users; and API access not being included in the base price.
Overall, Donorbox's reviews are strongest on ease of use for donations, and most critical on fees and event features, which is where the choice between it and GalaBid usually comes down to.
At its first gala, the team ran the silent auction and raffle on pen and paper. Keeping track of winners and payments was hard, the night ended with a lot of cash and checks to bank, and getting prizes to winners took a few months.
The team also had fees in mind. Their ticketing was on Eventbrite, where a $200 ticket came to $222.50 at checkout, and they didn’t want supporters facing another added charge at the gala.
They found GalaBid with a single Google search, met a couple of times with an account executive, and compared it with a couple of other platforms before deciding. They chose the flat-fee option, so the amount a supporter chose was the amount they paid, with no extra charge added at checkout. It also gave the team peace of mind: if they exceeded their fundraising goal, they could keep most of the funds for the cause.
The team had a series of check-in calls with GalaBid while they built their campaign.
Donorbox may be the best fit if:
GalaBid may be the best fit if:
Yes. Donorbox is operated by Rebel Idealist Inc, based in Alexandria, Virginia. Donations are processed through Stripe or PayPal, its forms are PCI compliant, and it's rated 4.8 out of 5 on Capterra from 631 reviews.
On Capterra, Donorbox is rated 4.8 out of 5 from 631 reviews (September 2026), with 4.8 for ease of use and 4.7 for customer service. Reviewers praise easy setup, embeddable forms and recurring giving; the main criticisms are fees adding up and event tools that are more limited than dedicated event platforms.
The Standard plan has no monthly fee but charges 2.95% on donations and 3.95% on event tickets, memberships and supporter pages. Pro costs $150 a month with fees of 1.75% to 2%, and Premium is custom-priced with fees of 1.6% to 2%. Card processing is charged on top on every plan.
There's no monthly fee on the Standard plan, but it isn't free to use: every transaction carries a 2.95% to 3.95% platform fee, plus Stripe or PayPal processing. Supporters can choose to cover the fees at checkout. GalaBid's Free plan has no platform fee for your organization.
3.95% on the Standard plan, and 2% on Pro and Premium, plus card processing. GalaBid includes event ticketing on every plan, and its $1,250 flat fee costs less than Donorbox's 3.95% once an event raises more than about $31,600.
No. Donorbox's Acceptable Use Policy prohibits raffles, sweepstakes and any other activity with an entry fee and a prize. GalaBid offers raffles with ticket packages, a certified random number generator and a live drawing display.
Auctions aren't listed among Donorbox's features. GalaBid offers silent and live auctions, with sealed bids, automatic overtime and outbid alerts by text.
Donorbox says it doesn't charge a conversion fee, but by default the conversion rate is 2% higher than the most optimal rate.
Yes, with a donor portal where supporters can manage their gifts and give again in one click. GalaBid doesn't offer recurring donations, so organizations that rely on monthly giving often keep that elsewhere.
Organizations whose fundraising is mainly online donations, especially monthly giving through forms on their own website, plus memberships and crowdfunding.
GalaBid is built for auctions, raffles and fundraising events, with silent and live auctions, raffles with a certified random number generator and live drawing display, event ticketing with QR check-in, and no-risk consignment auction items. Its Free plan has no platform fee.
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