You know what they say – nothing in life is truly free. Read on to find out why fee-free platforms like Zeffy might cost you in the long run.
Join the fundraising movement! Join the fundraising movement!Having an online fundraising option isn’t just practical these days – it’s a must. Donors want easy, online giving with the payment methods they know and trust.
As you try to rein in overhead costs, you might be attracted to fee-free fundraising platforms like Zeffy.
But if a platform claims to be free, chances are your donor – and their experience – are ultimately paying the price.
Read on to discover some common Zeffy complaints and why seeking out an alternative might be the best move for your organization.
Zeffy promises zero fees for nonprofits – always. However, the funds that fuel their platform ultimately have to come from somewhere.
Zeffy recoups fees through optional donor tipping, where donors are asked to “tip” the platform either a percentage of their total donation or a preset amount.
The requested tip that Zeffy asks for is based on the donation amount. For donations up to $99.49, the default percentage is 17%, and donors can choose to increase their tip amount if they wish. For donations over $99.50, the tipping percentage starts at 15%.
Here’s what that looks like in action:
| Donation Amount | Optional Tip Amount | Total |
|---|---|---|
| $25 | $4.25 | $29.25 |
| $100 | $15 | $115 |
| $500 | $75 | $575 |
If Doris the donor logs on to give $100, she might end up giving $115, $15 of which goes straight to Zeffy, not the nonprofit,” Kelly Hernandez, CEO of Nonprofit Marketing Nerds, explains in her article about Zeffy. “Unless [your donor] knows to toggle that tip down (or off), she’s unintentionally giving a lot more to a tech company than she planned.”
In a fundraising environment where donor trust is everything, you can’t afford to confuse your donors with optional tips. “It’s death by a thousand checkout screens,” Kelly Hernandez continues.
See what else she had to say in her dedicated Zeffy review:
Here’s what another reviewer had to say about the process:
The only thing I dislike about Zeffy is the way they solicit donations from users. Any time anyone makes a donation or buys a ticket on Zeffy, the form automatically adds on a donation to Zeffy, and it is not immediately apparent that the user can choose to reduce or omit the donation. This seems sneaky and like a hidden fee.” – Verified User
Here’s how this process looks on a Zeffy donation form. Donors can adjust the tip amount via a dropdown, but without digging further, it isn’t clear how they can remove the tip entirely. They must click “Other” and manually input $0 if they’d rather not tip. This additional step takes time and effort from your donors, which could lead to fewer completed donations.
Additionally, Zeffy forms don’t list the total again on the last step of their donation form, which is best practice for all transaction forms. Here’s how it looks on their form:
This makes it easy for donors to miss the added tip and can lead to confusion and, ultimately, mistrust.
Bonus resource: Check out this dedicated blog on Zeffy reviews to learn more about what nonprofits like and dislike about the platform.
While Zeffy has an overall rating of 4.9/5 stars on G2 and 4.5/5 stars on Trustpilot, some of their reviews show issues with their optional tipping program. Take a look at these real customer complaints:
Our members are confused by the prepopulated donation to Zeffy. Zeffy doesn’t make it clear that someone can change their donation amount to Zeffy. We lost some contributions/members due to this feature.” – Annette
I recently made two contributions to an NFP using Zeffy-$300 and $200. The site advertised that the NFP would get 100% of my contribution. When I received my credit card bill, the amount charged was $344.95 and $221.95. I was not asked to make a “voluntary” contribution to Zeffy to ensure that the NFP received my full donation. I would have done so had I been asked. But not asking and sneaking it onto my credit card bill is criminal.” – Richard
They charge 17% to the consumer to run a credit card. That is against Visa/MC rules and regulations – since they are a Payfac they get away with it. I refuse to donate to my favorite charity because they use Zeffy. 17% of the donation goes to them. I am calling the non-profit to let them know they are missing out on donations. 3 or 4% is acceptable to charge the consumer—I’m all for that. Zeffy is a horrible company to do that to charities.” – Jrm
Zeffy users receive pushback from their donors for the steep tipping and lack of transparency.
You may be wondering if optional tipping is really a big deal for donors.
Confusing pricing and optional tips with an unclear interface can cause the following problems:
To find a perfect replacement for Zeffy, I looked for platforms that offered:
While other features are a nice-to-have, these are the core must-haves for a replacement that maintains all the same functionality as Zeffy while offering more transparency for donors and, in many cases, even more features.
| Platform | Pricing | Key Features | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donorbox | Free with a 2.95%-3.95% platform fee; donors can cover all fees at checkout. Expanded plans available starting at $150/month with decreased platform fees. | - Advanced customization - Recurring donations - In-person giving - UltraSwift™ Pay for one-click giving - Built-in CRM - Event ticketing | Growing organizations that need robust recurring features, integrations with existing tools, and the most payment options. |
| BetterWorld | Free with 2.2%-5% fee when donor tipping is turned off. | - Auction and event support, including mobile bidding. - Built-in CRM | Organizations hosting events with silent auctions. |
| Raisely | Free with a 4% flat platform fee when donor tipping is turned off. | - Drag-and-drop donation page builder - Peer-to-peer individual and team pages - Built-in CRM | Organizations running in-depth peer-to-peer campaigns and creating heavily branded donor journeys. |
| Bloomerang | Fundraising features start at $40/month billed annually. | - 360° Supporter Profiles - Volunteer management features | Mid-sized to large organizations looking for powerful donor tracking and reporting. |
When considering moving your recurring donors from Zeffy to another platform, there are two key considerations to keep in mind:
Both considerations will ensure you choose a platform that won’t disrupt your donors’ experience.
For example, let’s look at how Donorbox and Zeffy compare when it comes to recurring features:
| Zeffy | Donorbox |
|---|---|
| Monthly, quarterly, and yearly recurring donations | Daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, 1st and 15th, quarterly, and annual recurring donations |
| A donor portal so donors can manage their own recurring gifts | A donor portal so donors can manage their own recurring gifts |
| Automated receipts | Automated receipts |
| Integration with CRMs, including a built-in CRM | Integration with CRMs, including a built-in CRM |
| ❌ | In-person recurring giving through Donorbox Live™ Kiosk or Mobile |
| ❌ | Ability to solicit recurring donations from your event ticketing form |
| ❌ | Ability to prompt one-time donors to upgrade to a monthly gift |
| ❌ | Ability to encourage recurring donors to increase their gift amount right from the donation receipt |
Plus, migrating your existing recurring plans from Zeffy to Donorbox is easy. Donorbox’s world-class support team makes the process smooth and painless.
Let’s take a closer look at how these two platforms compare.
Unlike Zeffy’s high, optional donor tipping, Donorbox charges a set platform fee of 2.95% for most products on the Standard Plan and 1.75% for most products on the Pro and Premium plans. Donorbox also charges the standard payment processing fees for Stripe (2.2% + 30¢) or PayPal (1.99% + 49¢).
Donors can choose to cover those fees as they check out, ensuring you receive 100% of their donation. For example, if a donor gives $100 on the Standard Plan with Stripe as a payment processor, the additional fee donors can optionally cover is only $5.50. For users on the Pro and Premium plans, that’s only $4.30 – significantly less than a 15% tip or $15.
Plus, Donorbox’s donation form makes it easy to uncheck the “cover fees” option, maintaining transparency and improving your donors’ experiences. The total is also included on the final button, reminding donors of the amount they’re agreeing to pay before they complete the transaction.
In addition to the comparison I provided above that looks specifically at recurring donation features, let’s take a broader look at how the two platforms stack up side by side.
| Donorbox | Zeffy | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | 2.95%-3.95% platform fee, no monthly cost | No platform fee, no monthly cost |
| Processing Fees | Donors can choose to cover processing fees | High-percentage, optional donor tips |
| Customization | Advanced donation form customization | Limited donation form customization |
| Payment Methods | 25+ | 5 |
| Event Ticketing | ✅ | ✅ – Plus auctions |
| Text-to-Give | ✅ | ❌ |
| Memberships | ✅ | ✅ |
| Peer-to-Peer Fundraising | ✅ | ✅ |
| In-Person Fundraising | ✅ | ✅ |
| CRM | ✅ | ✅ |
| Integrations | 5,000+ via Zapier, plus native integrations | 1,000+ via Zapier |
| Customer Support | 24/7 | Available daily 9:00 am to 5:00 pm EST |
| Security | Robust security features with SOC2 compliance | Robust security features, but not SOC2-compliant |
| Pros | - Easy setup and recurring plan migration - Top-rated recurring giving features - 25+ payment methods - International reach with 44 currencies supported - Donors can cover all fees for free fundraising | - No platform fee - Functionality for basic fundraising needs - Event ticketing - Auction support - Semi-customizable donation forms |
| Cons | - Not free if donors don’t cover fees - Some premium add-ons come with additional fees | - Relies on problematic donor tipping model - Limited fundraising functionality - Limited customization and branding - Transfer and verification delays - Limited resources |
See what this Donorbox user had to say:
Free isn’t always free. Investing in your organization and your donors’ trust will create lasting value for your cause. Fiscal health starts with responsible donor interactions – and you should partner with a fundraising platform that supports you with no hidden fees or donor confusion.
Over 200,000 organizations have trusted Donorbox to help them raise a collective $4 billion with responsive, donor-centric features that protect you every step of the way. With transparent pricing, powerful and user-friendly tools, and comprehensive resources, Donorbox helps you help others.
For more fundraising tips, check out the Nonprofit Blog. Subscribe to the monthly newsletter to receive the best of the blog in your inbox.
Lindsey Bower is a writer, content strategist, and nonprofit consultant. She specializes in helping nonprofits craft compelling messaging for websites, blogs, social media, and email marketing, with a strong focus on SEO and AEO strategy. With a background in fundraising and membership management, she knows firsthand what it's like to juggle priorities and wear many hats in the fast-paced nonprofit world.
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