Blackbaud vs Donately:
Which is better for small nonprofits

Looking for a Blackbaud alternative? Donately offers a modern, intuitive platform built for lean teams that want quick setup and flexible tools. While Blackbaud fits enterprise needs, Donately keeps fundraising simple and scalable.

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* Disclaimer: The comparison details on this page are based on publicly available data as of August 2025.^¹

Best fit breakdown

When Donately wins and when Blackbaud might

Every platform has its sweet spot. Here’s when Donately makes the most sense and when Blackbaud might be the better fit based on your fundraising needs and team setup.

Donately is your match if:

You want to launch donation pages and campaigns fast, without needing IT or implementation teams.

You need flexible pricing, predictable support, and tools that don’t overwhelm your team.

You're focused on growing recurring donations, peer-to-peer, and donor engagement—not managing enterprise infrastructure.

Blackbaud

Blackbaud might work if:

You’re a large, enterprise-level nonprofit with complex fundraising operations.

You have a dedicated ops team to manage CRM, campaigns, and integrations across multiple products.

You need deep historical donor data, built-in segmentation, and powerful analytics for large-scale campaigns.

Legacy tools can’t keep up

Fast, flexible giving vs enterprise overhead

Blackbaud is powerful—but slow to adapt. With heavy contracts and complex systems, it’s often too much for small teams. Donately delivers enterprise-grade tools without the enterprise baggage.

Blackbaud says...

“Enterprise-level marketing and fundraising.”

But the reality? It often requires long onboarding, IT support, and multiple Blackbaud products to function fully.

Donately says: Start raising funds today—dev assistance available whenever needed.

Blackbaud says...

“End-to-end nonprofit cloud.”

But the reality? Expect licensing fees, training, and setup delays.

Donately says: Get the essentials built-in and running within hours.

Blackbaud says...

“Industry-leading analytics and segmentation.”

But the reality? Reports can be dense and require training to access and interpret.

Donately says: See what matters—like conversion rates and donor drop-off—right away.

Donately vs Blackbaud:
feature comparison

Fundraising platforms can look similar—until you dig in. From native integrations to transparent pricing and real support, Donately gives small teams everything upfront. Here’s how we compare:

Donately

Get started

Blackbaud

Flexibility

Modular tools with fast launch—great for growing teams at any stage.

Enterprise-grade CRM and fundraising suite—highly robust but rigid for smaller or mid-sized teams.

Customization

Self-serve custom donation forms, branding, and flows—with developer assistance available.

Extensive customization available, often requiring IT, consultants, or partner support.

Usability

Clean UI with intuitive workflows built for fundraisers.

Steep learning curve; legacy UI components make onboarding slower.

Support

Same-day, real-human support on all plans.

Tiered support levels, often requiring premium add-ons or contracts for quick help.

Integrations

Salesforce, HubSpot, Mailchimp, Webflow, Constant Contact, Zapier and more.

Strong ecosystem—especially with other Blackbaud tools—but integrations often require configuration.

Time to launch

Launch in hours—self-serve setup, no IT roadmap needed.

Weeks to months—sales-led onboarding, data migration, and training required.

Pricing clarity

Transparent pricing, no long-term contracts, no hidden fees.

No public pricing—requires demo and quote; total cost varies widely based on organization size.

Team fit

Ideal for lean or scaling teams with limited tech resources.

Best for large enterprises or institutions with IT, ops, and fundraising admin teams.

Top goal

Run smart, scalable campaigns with minimal overhead.

Centralize data, donor management, and compliance at a high enterprise level.

For $10,000 monthly donation volume

You save: $750-$2,500+ per month with Donately*

Blackbaud is powerful—but often overbuilt for everyday fundraising. Donately offers modern forms, recurring giving, and real-time insights out of the box, with no custom dev or multi-month rollouts.

All features. No surprises.

Blackbaud

Enterprise strength. Enterprise strain.

Platform fees

$0–$400
(0%- 4%)

Not publicly disclosed

Processing fees

$220–$290
Stripe (2.2–2.9% + $0.30)

~$220–$300
(Blackbaud Merchant Services or PayPal)

Subscription fees

$0–$99 /month

$500–$2,500+/month
(Pricing scales with donor volume and CRM use)

Setup/Onboarding

Often includes mandatory onboarding & training packages

Support

Included with all plans

Tiered; premium support reserved for larger contracts

Total monthly

$220–$789 /month

$1,000-$3,000+ /month
(varies widely based on implementation and plan)

Ask yourself before choosing Blackbaud

If not, Donately offers powerful tools without the red tape—made for small teams with big goals.

Explore Donately

Do you really need an enterprise system—or just a reliable way to raise more with less effort?

Can your team afford long onboarding, locked contracts, and features you may never use?

Will complex workflows and higher fees support—or slow—your mission?

Why nonprofits choose Donately instead

Donately offers branded peer-to-peer, recurring, and text-to-donate campaigns with extensive integrations (HubSpot, Webflow, Zapier, etc.), human support during business hours, and transparent pricing without feature paywalls or hidden costs.

Launch in hours, not months

Skip the demos and dev tickets. Build your first campaign right now.

Modern giving, zero clutter

Everything you need to run successful campaigns—nothing you don’t.

Data you can use

Real-time visibility into campaign performance, donor behavior, and conversion.

Simple but smart

Get the tools larger platforms charge extra for, without the complexity.

Support that cares

You get fast, human help. Not waitlists or training certifications.

Blackbaud alternative — frequently asked questions

Is Blackbaud overkill for small to midsize teams?

It can be. If you don’t need grant management, financial aid tools, or advocacy campaigning, you may not use much of the stack. Donately is purpose-built for fundraising.