All comparisons
GiveSmart pricing comes in two models, an Annual Fee Subscription and Pay-As-You-Go, but GiveSmart doesn't publish the price of either. The annual fee is quoted after a demo, and the Pay-As-You-Go transaction rate is disclosed at signup. On the annual plan, card processing is charged at 3.5% per transaction, or 3.95% for American Express.
GalaBid publishes its pricing, and you can sign up without a sales call. It offers three plans with 100+ features on every plan: a Free plan with no platform fee, supported by optional supporter tips with 10% shared with your cause; a Pro plan at 4.9%; or a $1,250 flat fee per campaign. Card processing runs through your own Stripe account at Stripe's rates, with no markup.
This guide explains what GiveSmart costs, what users say about its value, and when GalaBid may be the better fit.
Note: Details about GiveSmart were last checked October 2026.
GiveSmart's plans page describes both pricing models but gives no figures. The Annual Fee Subscription is a fixed yearly fee that, according to GiveSmart's parent company Momentive, stays the same however much you raise, and Pay-As-You-Go is "$0 to get started", funded by a transaction fee disclosed when you sign up. Both plans' Get Started buttons lead to a demo request.
Capterra lists GiveSmart's annual subscription at $3,000 a year, but that figure doesn't appear on GiveSmart's own site, so treat it as a starting point and ask for a full quote.
GiveSmart's annual fee covers unlimited events and campaigns for the year, which can suit organizations that fundraise often. GalaBid's $1,250 flat fee covers one campaign, with no annual subscription to manage. If GiveSmart's annual fee were $3,000, as Capterra lists, GalaBid's flat fee would cost less for one or two campaigns a year ($1,250 or $2,500), and GiveSmart's would cost less from three campaigns a year.
On GiveSmart's annual plan, card payments are charged at 3.5%, or 3.95% for American Express. On GalaBid, card processing runs through your own Stripe account at Stripe's rates, with no GalaBid markup. On a $1,000 Visa payment, GiveSmart's 3.5% comes to $35.00, while Stripe's standard US rate of 2.9% + $0.30 comes to $29.30.
On both platforms, supporters can choose to cover the processing fee. Momentive says about 55% of GiveSmart donors do, which lowers the real cost for organizations.
Registered nonprofits may pay even less on GalaBid. In the US, 501(c)(3) organizations can apply to Stripe directly for a discounted nonprofit rate. Because GalaBid uses your own Stripe account, any discount Stripe gives you applies to your GalaBid payments too. On GiveSmart’s annual plan, card payments are charged at GiveSmart’s own 3.5% rate (3.95% for Amex), so a discount from Stripe wouldn’t lower it. Note that Stripe’s discount is for organizations whose payments are mostly tax-deductible donations (at least 80%), and it doesn’t count ticket sales or auction purchases as donations, so event-heavy fundraisers may not qualify.
GiveSmart's Pay-As-You-Go plan has no upfront fee, but charges your organization a transaction fee that covers processing and the platform, at a rate GiveSmart discloses at signup. GalaBid's Free plan has no platform fee for your organization. It's supported by optional supporter tips, and GalaBid shares 10% of tips with your cause. If you'd rather not ask supporters for a tip, GalaBid's Pro plan at 4.9% and its flat fee remove the tip prompt.
On Capterra, GiveSmart is rated 4.5 out of 5 from 211 reviews, as of September 2026.
What reviewers like: having ticketing, seating, auctions, check-in and reporting in one place, a polished experience for guests and bidders, and responsive support. Several have used GiveSmart for many years.
Where reviewers are critical: value for money is GiveSmart's lowest score. One long-time customer says the price goes up considerably each year, and others mention a back end that's hard to learn for occasional users, limited design customization and occasional glitches. Many recent reviews are marked as incentivized by Capterra.
The St. Louis gala has silent and live auctions, a paddle raise the foundation calls Bid for a Cure, and a local band. Its guests span a wide range of ages, and that made the choice of platform matter.
The foundation had already used two fundraising platforms for the event. On the last one, guests had to create an account just to browse the auction items, and many older guests found both platforms very difficult to use. So the team went looking for something more user-friendly.
Meredith Bankston, who works with the foundation, says two things stood out when they found GalaBid.
Browsing without an account. Guests could look at every item and read the descriptions without signing up, and only needed to create an account when they wanted to place a bid.
Paying by invoice. If a guest didn't want to enter a credit card straight away, the team could send them an invoice after the event, which made it easy to pay afterwards.
When the team needed help, Meredith used GalaBid's live chat and found it very helpful, quick and responsive. As she put it, GalaBid has the things the other platforms didn't.
GiveSmart may be the best fit if:
GalaBid may be the best fit if:
GiveSmart doesn't publish its prices. It offers an Annual Fee Subscription, quoted after a demo, and Pay-As-You-Go, with no upfront fee and a transaction rate disclosed at signup. Capterra lists the annual subscription at $3,000 a year, but that isn't on GiveSmart's own site.
No. GiveSmart's plans page describes both pricing models without figures, and both lead to a demo request. GalaBid publishes its pricing and lets you sign up yourself.
A plan with no annual upfront fee, described as "$0 to get started". Instead, a transaction fee is charged to your organization on payments, covering processing and the platform. GiveSmart discloses the rate at signup.
On the Annual Fee Subscription, 3.5% per transaction, or 3.95% for American Express. On Pay-As-You-Go, processing is bundled into a higher all-in transaction fee. Donors can choose to cover the fee.
GiveSmart says its annual plan has no per-transaction fees on top of its 3.5% card processing rate. Pay-As-You-Go is funded by a transaction fee instead of an annual subscription.
It depends on how often you fundraise and the quote you receive. If GiveSmart's annual fee were $3,000, as Capterra lists, GalaBid's $1,250 flat fee would cost less for one or two campaigns a year, and GiveSmart's would cost less from three. GalaBid's Free plan has no platform fee, and its card processing runs at Stripe's rates rather than 3.5%.
GiveSmart's plans page directs both plans to a demo request. With GalaBid, you can sign up and set up your campaign yourself today.
Yes. GiveSmart lists 24/7 customer support on both plans, with phone, chat and email, plus a Client Success Manager. GalaBid offers live chat 7 days a week and free Zoom calls while you set up.
GiveSmart is part of Momentive Software, which provides software to associations, nonprofits, faith-based groups and K-12 schools.
GalaBid publishes its pricing, lets you start without a sales call, and offers a $1,250 flat fee per campaign, a Free plan with no platform fee, and card processing at Stripe's rates. It includes auctions, raffles with a certified random number generator, event ticketing and no-risk consignment items.
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