Donorbox vs Givebutter
Donorbox puts donation forms and recurring giving on a website you already have and takes a platform fee of 2.95% on its free plan. Givebutter charges no platform fee while donor tips are switched on, and needs a US bank account and tax number. Website-led programmes anywhere Stripe or PayPal works choose Donorbox; US nonprofits with no budget choose Givebutter.
Hannah ReiterSenior Analyst, Business Applications
Niels Abrahamsen
Sebastiaan SmitsVendors can pay for visibility on this site; it never changes what we say about a product. How that works.
Choose Donorbox ifyou need recurring donation forms embedded in your existing website this week, your annual volume is modest, and you would sooner pay a percentage than show donors a tip request.
Choose Givebutter ifyou are a US nonprofit with no software budget, want auctions, events and peer-to-peer pages alongside donations, and can live with a tip prompt shown to donors.
Donorbox and Givebutter side by side
| Donorbox | Givebutter | |
|---|---|---|
| Our donor management rank | #9 of 15 | #12 of 15 |
| Established in | United States | United States |
| Pricing | Standard: no monthly fee, 2.95% platform fee per donation; Pro $150 per month, published | Free with donor tips enabled; 3% platform fee plus card fees with tips off; Plus from $29 per month, published |
| List price, 30 September 2026 | Standard plan free with a 2.95% platform fee per donation plus payment processing; Pro $150 per month | Free with donor tips enabled (0% platform fee); with tips disabled, 3% platform fee plus 2.9% + $0.30 per card payment; Plus from $29 per month |
| Free tier | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Self-hostable | — | — |
| Built for | Small organisations who need online recurring giving working this week | Small US nonprofits with no budget at all for fundraising software |
| Not for | Large donation volumes where a percentage fee compounds | Any organisation that is registered outside the United States |
Both are reviewed in full in our donor management ranking: Donorbox and Givebutter.
Where they differ
Donorbox 1 · Givebutter 1 · open 2- 01
What the organisation pays
Donorbox's free Standard plan takes a 2.95% platform fee on each donation plus Stripe or PayPal processing; Pro costs $150 a month and lowers the platform fee to between 1.75% and 2%. Givebutter charges no platform fee and covers processing while donor tips are enabled. With tips off it charges 3% plus 2.9% and $0.30 per card payment. On direct cost, Givebutter with tips is cheaper.
Edge: Givebutter
- 02
Who is allowed to sign up
Givebutter works primarily with US entities: running a campaign needs a US bank account, a US tax number and a US phone number, and all donations are processed in US dollars. Donorbox is available wherever Stripe or PayPal operates, which it puts at 46 countries for Stripe and more than 200 countries and regions for PayPal. Outside the United States, Donorbox is the practical option.
Edge: Donorbox
- 03
Recurring gifts on your own site
Donorbox embeds recurring donation forms in an existing website, though its prompt that turns one-off donors into recurring ones is listed under the $150 Pro plan. Givebutter accepts monthly, quarterly and annual gifts through forms, pages and website widgets, gives donors a self-service portal, alerts you to failed payments and includes upsell messages. Both do the job; the better fit depends on budget and site.
Depends on the buyer
- 04
Events and supporter-led campaigns
Both cover campaign-style fundraising without a monthly fee. Donorbox's free Standard plan lists crowdfunding campaigns, peer-to-peer campaigns and event ticketing. Givebutter lists fundraising pages, peer-to-peer, events and auctions among its free tools, with unlimited users and contacts in its built-in CRM. Auctions tip it towards Givebutter for gala-style events; otherwise the two are close.
Depends on the buyer
When neither fits
When the real problem is a database of pledges, soft credits and legacy files, neither collection tool is deep enough. Virtuous and Blackbaud eTapestry are donor databases of that kind, though both price by record-count bands.
Donorbox or Givebutter: questions
4 answersIs Givebutter cheaper than Donorbox?
With tips enabled, yes: Givebutter charges no platform fee and absorbs processing, while Donorbox's free plan takes 2.95% plus processing on every gift.
With tips disabled Givebutter charges a 3% platform fee plus 2.9% and $0.30 per card payment, which is close to Donorbox's cost. Donorbox also lets donors cover fees.
Should a charity outside the United States pick Donorbox or Givebutter?
Donorbox. Givebutter requires a US bank account, a US tax number and a US phone number, and says organisations without a US presence may not complete registration.
Donorbox is supported in any country where Stripe or PayPal is available and shows both original and converted amounts for foreign-currency gifts.
Which has stronger reporting, Donorbox or Givebutter?
Neither is a reporting tool first. Donorbox lists reporting on its free plan and adds tracking and analytics on Pro at $150 a month.
Givebutter keeps custom reports and data visualisations for Givebutter Plus, which starts at $29 a month for up to 250 contacts and rises with the contact count.
Can donors cover the fees on Donorbox and Givebutter?
Yes, in different ways. Donorbox lets donors opt to cover processing fees at checkout. Givebutter asks donors for an optional tip to the platform, and while that prompt is enabled the organisation pays no platform or processing fee; Givebutter says it absorbs any shortfall.
Sources
Checked 30 September 2026- Donorbox pricing page: Donorbox platform fees, Pro price, free-plan features, fee coverage by donors and supported countries.
- Givebutter pricing page: Givebutter fees with tips on and off, free tools and Givebutter Plus price and features.
- Givebutter help centre: supported countries and currencies: US bank account, tax number and phone requirement and USD processing.
- Givebutter recurring donations page: recurring intervals, donor portal, failed-payment alerts and upsell messages.