Best Silent Auction Software in Australia (2026

If you are running a silent auction in Australia, the shortlist is smaller than the global listicles suggest. Three of the platforms below are Australian companies with people on the ground here. The rest are overseas platforms that will take your event, but price in US dollars and support you from another time zone.

This guide compares seven platforms Australian charities, schools and clubs actually shortlist, with the fee models set out plainly. It also covers the card surcharge change landing on 1 October 2026, which affects what your supporters see at checkout no matter which platform you pick.

Quick Comparison

Fees below are what each platform publishes. Card processing is charged separately in every case, so read the two columns together rather than on their own.

Every rating is labelled with its source so you can weigh them yourself. Where a platform has fewer than five reviews on a site we have said so rather than printing a score, because a rating built on one or two reviews tells you nothing either way. Several platforms here have no Trustpilot presence at all, and two of the Australian ones have almost no software directory presence, which says more about where their customers leave feedback than about the products.

Three of These Platforms Are Australian

GalaBid, Oktion and AirAuctioneer are all Australian registered companies with people here. That matters more than it sounds. Support is answered inside your working day, pricing is quoted in Australian dollars, and the people building the product understand how an Australian gala night actually runs.

Support is the part organisers underrate until the night itself. A silent auction closes at a fixed minute in front of a room full of people, usually on a Friday or Saturday evening. That is exactly when an overseas support desk is closed and a chatbot is all that answers. Ask any platform who picks up at 8pm on a Saturday in your time zone, and whether it is a person.

GalaBid was founded in Australia in 2011 and works out of Brookvale in Sydney, with an Australian development and production team. It holds 5.0 out of 5 from 103 Google reviews, and on Capterra Australia 4.8 out of 5 from 56 reviews, with 4.9 for customer support specifically and 90% of reviewers saying they would recommend it. Oktion operates from North Sydney under DigiGround Pty Ltd. AirAuctioneer is an Australian private company registered in New South Wales since 2018.

The other five are overseas platforms. Several will serve an Australian charity perfectly well, and Zeffy and Givergy both have real Australian availability. Just check what currency you are quoted in and when their support team is awake.

The Card Surcharge Change on 1 October 2026

From 1 October 2026, eftpos, Mastercard and Visa are each introducing no surcharge rules, and American Express is doing the same. In practical terms, Australian organisations can no longer add a card surcharge to pass processing costs to the payer. The Reserve Bank has confirmed that not for profit organisations are not exempt unless a card network or a law provides an exemption.

This matters when you choose a platform because many Australian charities currently pass card fees to the bidder at checkout. After 1 October that option goes away, so the processing cost sits with your organisation. Two questions are worth asking any platform before you sign:

Does the Platform Mark Up Card Processing?

Some do, and it is easy to miss. 32auctions charges its own 2.9% plus 40c on every online payment, on top of whatever Stripe or PayPal take, which its pricing page states plainly. Stack that on a domestic Australian Stripe rate and each transaction is carrying roughly 4.6% plus 70c, on a platform marketed as free.

GalaBid charges Stripe's rates directly with nothing added, and AirAuctioneer states the same. Ask any platform for the total percentage a $500 winning bid actually carries, rather than the headline fee. Where processing is bundled into the platform's own fee, ask what the effective rate is once it is unpicked.

Whose Account Do the Funds Land In?

With GalaBid and AirAuctioneer, funds settle into your organisation's own Stripe account. You are not waiting on a platform to release them after the event. Platforms that hold funds and pay out later are common, and it is worth confirming the timing before your event rather than after it.

A note on tax and complianceSoftware will not handle your receipting or your state's fundraising rules for you. Deductibility, GST treatment and any fundraising authority requirements are your organisation's responsibility. Check with the ACNC and your state regulator, and take advice where the amounts are material.

The Platforms in Detail

GalaBid

GalaBid is an Australian fundraising platform covering silent auctions, live auction and paddle raise, raffles, ticketing and donations in one campaign. It runs around 1,000 events a year across Australia and New Zealand. Supporters register once and use every feature from there, so a person who bought a ticket does not create a second account to bid.

Australian pricing works two ways. You can take a fixed fee for the event, or a performance fee calculated on the total raised. Under both, the fee steps down as you take more auction items on consignment, so an organisation happy to run consignment items pays materially less for the platform itself. Onsite support is a separate package on the same basis, and account management support can be added. Ask for a quote or see pricing for your region.

Card processing is Stripe's own rate with no GalaBid margin added. You connect your organisation's own Stripe account rather than sitting inside a supplier's sub-account, so payouts arrive in real time instead of waiting on someone else's payout schedule. If you would rather not use Stripe at all, payments can be recorded as cash, eftpos or bank transfer.

Bidding runs in the browser with no app download. Configurable overtime extends the auction when late bids land, so a lot closing at 9pm does not end while two people are still bidding. Private max bidding lets someone set a ceiling and stop watching their phone.

Sealed bids suit items where you do not want the current price visible. Buy it now, reserves, pledge drives and prompted donations at checkout are all supported, and a streaming platform can be embedded so supporters watch and bid on the same page.

Support is local and it is staffed by people. Live chat runs round the clock from inside the platform, answered by real people rather than a bot, and the team is in Sydney, so an Australian organiser gets help inside their own hours. Customer support is GalaBid's highest rated attribute on Capterra Australia at 4.9 out of 5. There is also a help centre with articles, setup and operation videos, and remote account managed support if you want someone to help build the campaign with you.

For the room itself there is a projector display set: a live leaderboard with your sponsors' branding and a target tally, an honour roll scrolling each donation as it lands, an on-screen raffle draw, and table scoring that tracks the total raised per table. Volunteer mode lets your team take bids and payments for supporters who are not bidding on their own phone. Ticketing runs in the same campaign with QR check-in and table management, so the person who bought a ticket is already registered to bid.

GalaBid can also supply staff to work your event, which is unusual for a platform at this price point. An onsite package brings a designated account manager and at least one technician to run the auction, payment and collection desk, along with iPads for supporters who need help bidding and laptops driving the auction, leaderboard and checkout. Most self serve tools leave you to run the room yourself, and the managed alternatives quote at agency rates.

Items on consignment work the same way. You list no risk auction items from the catalogue and are only invoiced for what sells. Everything above the reserve goes to your cause with no cap, so an item attracting a single bid above reserve still returns funds. GalaBid handles redemption and booking afterwards, which is the part organisers usually underestimate. You can list as many of your own donated items alongside them as you like.

Oktion

Oktion is a Sydney based fundraising app covering silent auctions, raffles, donations and tickets. Creating an event is free, and you pay A$150 for each feature you switch on, so an auction plus a raffle is two feature charges.

On top of that, events raising more than A$500 pay 2% of the total raised. Remote support is A$80 per hour and onsite support A$150 per hour, both with a four hour minimum and outside normal business hours for the remote option. A white label event site is A$999.

The model suits a small community event where the upfront cost matters more than the percentage. Run the numbers at your expected total, because 2% of a large auction adds up quickly against a flat fee.

AirAuctioneer

AirAuctioneer is an Australian company running online silent auctions on a per item credit model. Your first five items are free, then you buy credits in bundles, published from $30 for five up to $180 for 200. There is no commission and no account fee.

Payments run through Stripe with no surcharge added by the platform, and organisers can also collect payment themselves offline at no cost. Features include proxy bidding, reserve prices, buyer's premiums and buy now.

It is a well priced option for a straightforward online auction with a known item count. It is narrower than a full campaign platform, so if you also need ticketing and a raffle you will be running more than one system.

Givergy, Now momoGood

Givergy has been folded into momoGood, alongside Tatango. The platform operates across Australia, the UK, Canada and the US, and offers both self serve software and managed services covering strategy, catalogue building, rehearsals and onsite staffing.

Pricing is quoted per event based on attendee numbers and the features used, and the company states it does not take a percentage of what you raise. Bidding is browser based with no app download, and onsite staffing is available through the managed packages.

This is the option to look at if you want an agency style service wrapped around the software for a large gala. Expect a quote rather than a published price.

Zeffy

Zeffy is available to registered charities in Australia and charges no platform fee at all. It is funded by optional tips your supporters add at checkout, and it covers the card processing cost from those tips.

Auctions are supported, with item listings, outbid alerts and automatic payment collection from winners. For an organisation whose priority is a zero invoiced cost, it is a real option.

The trade off is the tip prompt itself, and the level it is set at. Organisations posting on Zeffy's own public feedback board describe the default suggested contribution sitting at 17% and above, with one calling it "exorbitant" and another comparing it against the roughly 3% a payment processor charges. Your supporters see that figure at the moment they are paying you.

Lowering it means opening the dropdown and choosing something else rather than a low amount being offered up front. When organisations asked Zeffy to default the contribution to zero, Zeffy closed the request in March 2026 as complete after adding an "optional" label and a self refund path, but did not change the default. One organisation working with visually impaired supporters also reported that screen readers do not always handle the dropdown well.

None of that makes Zeffy a bad choice. It does mean the cost has moved rather than disappeared: your supporters are being asked to carry it, at a rate well above what processing actually costs. Whether that suits you depends on your audience and how often you go back to them. We have written a fuller view in our GalaBid vs Zeffy vs Givebutter comparison.

32auctions

32auctions offers a free tier covering up to 20 items with unlimited bidders and no commission taken on what you raise. Paid per event upgrades add branding and lift the item cap.

The catch is online payments. 32auctions charges its own transaction fee of 2.9% plus 40c on every online payment or donation, and its pricing page states this is charged in addition to the Stripe or PayPal fee. Stacked on a domestic Australian Stripe rate, you are looking at roughly 4.6% plus 70c on each transaction before any upgrade cost.

That reframes what free means here. The platform takes no commission on the total raised, but it takes a cut of every payment that runs through it. The free tier only stays free if you collect payment yourself offline, which for a gala means chasing winners after the night.

The 20 item ceiling is the other thing to watch. Most gala auctions pass it, and the upgrade pricing is not published, so ask before you commit.

BetterWorld

BetterWorld runs a free plan at 0% platform fee, a flex plan charging 2.2% to 5%, and two paid annual plans at US$1,550 and US$5,950 with platform fees of 1.25% and 1% respectively. Published card processing is 1.5% to 2.9% plus 30c.

Organisations can hide fees, make covering them optional, or require the bidder to cover them. It is a US focused platform and does not publish Australian availability, so confirm that before shortlisting it.

How to Choose

Work out your expected total raised first, then model each fee structure against it. A percentage looks cheap on a $20,000 auction and expensive on a $200,000 one. A flat fee is the reverse.

Count Every Feature You Need

If your night involves an auction, a raffle and ticketing, a platform that charges per feature or a set of separate tools will cost more than one campaign fee, and your supporters will register more than once. Single registration across features is worth real bidding volume on the night.

Check the Currency, the Time Zone and Who Answers

A US dollar subscription moves with the exchange rate and your finance team has to reconcile it. Support on North American hours means a problem at 7pm on a Saturday in Melbourne waits until Monday.

Check whether support is a person or a bot, and whether live chat is staffed outside business hours. Round the clock chat answered by real people is worth more on auction night than any feature on the comparison table, because the one time you need it is the one time you cannot wait.

Ask Where the Funds Sit

Funds settling into your own payment account is a different arrangement from a platform holding them and paying out afterwards. Neither is wrong, but you should know which one you are agreeing to before the event, not after.

Look at Item Sourcing Separately

Software does not solve a thin item catalogue. If you are short on items, look at consignment arrangements where you only pay for what sells, and start from our guide to charity auction items, ideas and sourcing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Best Silent Auction Software in Australia?

For an Australian charity running a gala night with an auction, raffle and ticketing together, GalaBid is the strongest fit: it runs around 1,000 events a year across Australia and New Zealand, funds settle into your own Stripe account, and it can supply both onsite staff and consignment items. For a small online only auction with few items, AirAuctioneer or Oktion may cost less.

Is There Free Silent Auction Software in Australia?

Yes, with conditions. Zeffy charges no platform fee and is funded by optional supporter tips. 32auctions is free up to 20 items, though it adds 2.9% plus 40c of its own to every online payment on top of the processor's fee, so it is only really free if you collect payment offline. AirAuctioneer covers your first five items. In each case card processing is still charged, so free means no platform fee rather than no cost at all. Weigh that against what a paid platform gives you, particularly onsite support and item sourcing.

Can Australian Charities Still Pass Card Fees to Bidders?

Not after 1 October 2026. eftpos, Mastercard, Visa and American Express are all introducing no surcharge rules from that date, and the Reserve Bank has confirmed not for profit organisations are not exempt unless a card network or a law provides one. Plan for the processing cost sitting with your organisation.

Do These Platforms Support You on the Night?

It varies, and it is worth asking before you book. GalaBid runs live chat round the clock staffed by people, from a Sydney team, and can send staff to work the event itself. Oktion charges by the hour for support, remote or onsite, with a four hour minimum. Givergy offers onsite staffing through its managed packages. The US platforms support you on their own business hours, which is overnight here.

Do I Need a Permit to Run a Silent Auction in Australia?

Silent auctions are generally treated differently from raffles, which are games of chance and are licensed state by state. If your event also includes a raffle, check the rules for your state in our guide to Australian raffle rules state by state, and confirm your position with your state regulator.

How Much Does Silent Auction Software Cost in Australia?

Models vary from free with optional tips, to per item credits, to a percentage of the total raised, to an annual subscription. GalaBid quotes either a fixed fee per event or a performance fee, with both reducing as you take consignment items, so ask for a quote against your actual event. On top of any platform fee you will always pay card processing, typically under 2% domestically through Stripe. Model both together at your expected total before comparing.

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