Zeffy vs Givebutter
Both cost the organisation no licence fee and fund themselves by asking donors for an optional contribution. Zeffy, from Canada, also absorbs card processing and serves Canadian and American nonprofits with compliant receipts. Givebutter serves US organisations only, card fees apply, and it leans towards peer-to-peer pages and events. Location and campaign style decide it.
Vendors can pay for visibility on this site; it never changes what we say about a product. How that works.
Choose Zeffy ifyou are a Canadian or American nonprofit that wants to keep the full gift, card processing included, and need ticketing, memberships and correct tax receipts in one place.
Choose Givebutter ifyou are a small US nonprofit running peer-to-peer campaigns and events, want a donor record without a licence fee, and accept that card fees still apply.
Zeffy and Givebutter side by side
| Zeffy | Givebutter | |
|---|---|---|
| Our donor management rank | #14 of 15 | #12 of 15 |
| Established in | Canada | United States |
| Pricing | Free to the organisation; funded by optional donor contributions | Free with donor tips enabled; 3% platform fee plus card fees with tips off; Plus from $29 per month, published |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Self-hostable | — | — |
| Built for | Canadian and American nonprofits who want genuinely zero platform cost | Small US nonprofits with no budget at all for fundraising software |
| Not for | European organisations, or those uneasy with checkout prompts | Any organisation that is registered outside the United States |
Both are reviewed in full in our donor management ranking: Zeffy and Givebutter.
Where they differ
Zeffy 2 · Givebutter 0 · open 2- 01
Who pays the card fees
Zeffy charges the organisation nothing at all: it absorbs card processing as well as its own costs, so the full gift arrives. Givebutter has no licence fee either, but card fees still apply. On a pure what-reaches-the-charity basis, Zeffy keeps more of each donation with the organisation, provided enough donors contribute to sustain the model.
Edge: Zeffy
- 02
Countries served
Givebutter serves organisations registered in the United States and nobody else. Zeffy covers both Canada and the United States, and its Canadian and American receipting is correct for each. A Canadian charity therefore has only one of these two available, and a US nonprofit can use either. Neither offers anything to a European charity.
Edge: Zeffy
- 03
Fundraising formats in the box
Zeffy bundles donation forms, ticketing, memberships and tax receipts. Givebutter bundles donation pages, peer-to-peer fundraising, events and a donor record, with reporting that stays light. A membership organisation will find Zeffy the closer match; a nonprofit built on supporters fundraising for it will prefer Givebutter. Neither list is plainly longer than the other.
Depends on the buyer
- 04
The request made to your donors
Both business models rest on a prompt shown to donors at checkout. Givebutter asks donors to tip the platform; Zeffy asks for a contribution and depends entirely on it for revenue. In each case the request draws on goodwill the charity might want for its next appeal, so the unease is shared equally.
Depends on the buyer
When neither fits
Outside North America neither is available, and organisations uneasy about checkout prompts should avoid both. Enthuse captures UK Gift Aid declarations at the point of donation, while GiveWP is a self-hosted plugin whose cost holds still as fundraising grows.
Zeffy or Givebutter: questions
3 answersIs Zeffy really free compared with Givebutter?
For the organisation, Zeffy goes further: it charges no platform fee and also absorbs card processing, funded by optional donor contributions.
Givebutter has no licence fee and is funded by optional donor tips, but card fees apply. In both cases the donor is asked to pay.
Can a Canadian charity choose between Zeffy and Givebutter?
No. Givebutter serves United States organisations only and is unsuitable for anything registered elsewhere. Zeffy is a Canadian company serving Canadian and American nonprofits, with compliant receipts for both countries, so it is the only one of the pair open to a Canadian charity.
Do Zeffy and Givebutter both ask donors for extra money?
Yes. Zeffy shows a contribution prompt that funds the company, and Givebutter asks donors to tip the platform. Both are optional for the donor. The question for a board is whether it is comfortable with that request appearing at the moment someone is already giving.