Donorbox vs. Givebutter: Which Option is Right for Your Nonprofit?

Looking for the perfect fundraising platform for your cause? You may be interested in "free" platforms like Givebutter. However, many nonprofits are looking for Givebutter alternatives that will help them raise more – while protecting their relationships with their donors. In this article, we'll compare Donorbox and Givebutter so you can decide which platform best fits your fundraising needs.

5 minutes read
Donorbox vs. Givebutter: Which Option is Right for Your Nonprofit?

Online giving is a huge priority in the nonprofit world these days. And with good reason – 63% of donors prefer to give online over other methods.

It’s easy for nonprofits to fall into the trap of “free” fundraising platforms when they search for an online giving solution. Free sounds fantastic! But ultimately, “free” platforms like Givebutter could come with significant costs to your donors’ trust – and end up costing you donations in the future.

That’s why many organizations are looking for Givebutter alternatives to help them raise more while protecting their reputation with donors.

Read on to discover the differences between Donorbox and Givebutter. We’ll walk you through everything you need to know about these two platforms so you can choose the best option to fuel your mission.


Is a “Free” Platform the Best Choice for Your Nonprofit?

Free is great when it comes to samples, giveaways, or Sunday afternoons. But is free a good choice when you’re looking for the tool that’s going to help you fund your crucial mission?

Fee-free platforms operate by asking each and every donor for an optional “tip” to the platform on top of their donation. This means if they give $100 to support your Giving Tuesday campaign, platforms like Givebutter ask them to tip an additional $15 for a 15% tip.

With platform tipping, you run the risk of increasing your donors’ tipping fatigue. USA Today found that 48% of people are tired of being asked to tip with every transaction – especially for transactions where the recipient of the tip is unclear or not present. Your donors’ generosity could be affected if they’re asked for an additional, unexpected tip on top of their donation.

Donors might be left with a bad feeling that they then associate with your organization. This can damage your nonprofit’s reputation in the long term, making it more difficult to build donor trust.

On the other hand, Donorbox charges a low platform fee that donors also have the option of covering – for a much lower cost than tipping. In the example above, a $100 donor giving through Donorbox would have the option of covering the Standard plan platform fee (1.75%) and the standard industry payment processing fee (2.2% + 30¢) for an additional charge of only $4.25. For users on the Pro and Premium plans, that donation form platform fee is only 1.5% and the optional cost to donors is only $4.00.

Free isn’t always free – and sometimes you get what you pay for.


Donorbox vs. Givebutter

Let’s take a closer look at these two platforms to see which one comes out on top.


Donorbox

Trusted by thousands of organizations, Donorbox helps small to large nonprofits find growth and sustainability in their fundraising. We offer powerful features designed with nonprofit experts to help you raise more and streamline your workflows.

Screenshot of Donorbox's home page.


Features

  • Customizable donation forms with an industry-leading conversion rate – meaning more donations for your cause.
  • A robust CRM that allows you to communicate with donors and track key data all in one place.
  • A helpful AI assistant that pulls and analyzes data and writes fundraising materials for you.
  • Ability to upsell recurring donations, transforming one-time donors into valuable, life-long supporters – plus easy recurring plan management for both you and your donors.
  • Attention-catching features like a Sticky Donate Button and Giving Reminder.
  • One-click repeat giving and easy recurring donation management with the Donorbox Donor Portal.
  • Dynamic fundraising options like Crowdfunding and Peer-to-Peer to supercharge your contributed income.
  • Event ticketing that allows you to create unlimited ticket tiers, leverage promo codes, check-in guests, and more.
  • Text-to-Give for easy giving with just a text – and one-text repeat giving.
  • A powerful in-person donation collector with the Donorbox Live™ Kiosk app.

And so much more! Check out all of our features here.

Start Fundraising Today


Integrations

Donorbox pairs with thousands of your favorite tools with both native and Zapier integrations to make your life easier. Integrations include:

  • Accounting tools like Intuit QuickBooks.
  • Email marketing tools like MailChimp and Active Campaign.
  • Tracking and analytics with Google Analytics and Meta Pixel.
  • Donation matching with Double the Donation and stock & crypto donations with The Giving Block.
  • CRMs like Salesforce, Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT, HubSpot, and more.

Plus, choose Stripe or PayPal as your processor for secure payments.


Pricing and Plans

Regardless of your budget, Donorbox has a plan that can help you scale your fundraising – with no start-up fees.

  • The Standard Plan: $0 a month with a 1.75% platform fee for most features.
  • Donorbox Pro: $139 a month with a 1.5% platform fee for most features that includes everything in the Standard plan plus additional integrations and more. Learn more about Pro here!
  • Donorbox Premium: fully customized pricing and features to meet your fundraising needs! This plan includes everything in the Pro plan plus exclusive perks. Learn more about Premium here.

Donorbox CRM is available starting at $75 a month. Contact sales for your custom pricing.

Learn more about our pricing and sign up today!


Resources

When you’re ready to grow, Donorbox has you covered with tons of free resources. Whether you’re looking for fundraising tips, product how-tos, or trends, we have something to support you!

Here are the resources we love to share with you:


Customer Support

Enjoy access to world-class support 24/5 with some weekend availability as well. With lightning-fast response times, our team is here to help answer your questions or assist you with setup. Premium accounts also receive priority technical support.

Contact our team here.


Givebutter

Givebutter is a fundraising platform that doesn’t charge platform fees when optional donor tipping is enabled. They offer a suite of tools to help nonprofits raise more.

Screenshot of the Givebutter homepage.


Features

  • Donor management and a CRM.
  • Fundraising pages with a social feed and peer-to-peer fundraising.
  • Donation form widgets to embed on your website.
  • Event ticketing and live display during events.
  • Auction support with real-time updates.
  • Mobile app to accept in-person donations and check in event attendees.
  • Email and direct mail marketing features to connect with donors.

Integrations

Givebutter integrates with over a thousand tools through both native integrations and Zapier. Integrations include CRMs, accounting tools, admin tools like Monday, social media platforms, and more.


Pricing and Plans

Givebutter charges no monthly fees and no platform fees if you have optional tipping turned on.

If you turn optional tipping off, they charge the following platform fees:

  • 1% for donation forms
  • 3% for fundraising pages
  • 5% for events or auctions

Plus, Givebutter charges a payment processing fee of 2.9% + 30¢.

Givebutter Plus gives you access to additional donor stewardship and productivity features for $33.80 a month or $348 a year.


Resources

Givebutter offers a variety of resources to help you fundraise.

  • Butter blog
  • Free downloadable resources
  • Fundraising idea database
  • Webinars
  • Givebutter Academy
  • Office hours
  • Help center

Customer Support

Givebutter has responsive, 24/7 support through live chat and email.


Comparing Features

Let’s take a side-by-side look at Donorbox and Givebutter’s features.

FeatureDonorboxGivebutter
Donation formsXX
Donations pagesXX
CRM and donor managementXX
CrowdfundingXX
Peer-to-Peer fundraisingXX
In-person donation toolXX
Event ticketingXX
Auction supportX
Text-to-GiveXX
Direct mail marketingX
Email marketingComing soon!X
Robust integrationsXX
Donor portalXX
QuickDonate™ one-click giving X
Digital wallet donations like Apple PayXX
AI Assistant - writing XX
AI Assistant - strategy and reportingX

Why Donorbox Stands Out as the Best Option for Your Nonprofit

As a comprehensive, all-in-one fundraising platform, Donorbox has helped more than 80,000 nonprofits like BluePath Service Dogs raise a collective $2 billion.

Screenshot of an organization's donation page.

Employ powerful tools that have been proven to help nonprofits of all sizes raise more money, with tons of back-end support to help you strategize, analyze, and grow sustainably.

Plus, Donorbox is powered by AI to simplify your workflow and provide new and exciting ideas. Whenever you feel stuck, we’re here to help with blog articles sharing hundreds of fundraising ideas. Our fundraising experts are always working hard to stay on top of trends and give you the support you need when you need it – now.

With Donorbox, you can get so much fundraising power for no monthly fees, all while protecting your reputation and building valuable relationships with your donors.

Get Started with Donorbox


Over to You

Operating without an online fundraising platform isn’t really an option these days. Donors want to give online – and they want to do so through a trustworthy, secure, and efficient donation form.

While it can be tempting to go with a “free” donation platform, ultimately you need to choose one that best fits your needs now and into the future. Givebutter offers some convenient and useful features features, but Donorbox has them beat with industry-leading fundraising tools that have helped thousands of organizations grow their missions.

Ready to start raising more money for your cause? Sign up and launch your first fundraiser in under fifteen minutes.

For more fundraising advice, check out the rest of our Nonprofit Blog. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive the best of the blog in your inbox every month.

Lindsey Baker

Lindsey spent years wearing many hats in the nonprofit world. Whether she was helping arts nonprofits with their messaging and content, planning a fundraising gala, writing an NEA grant proposal, or running a membership program with over 400 members, she learned how to navigate – and appreciate! – the fast-paced world of fundraising. Now, she loves sharing those hard-earned lessons with the Donorbox community.

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