Funraise vs Donately:
Which is better for small nonprofits

Looking for a Funraise alternative? Donately delivers full fundraising power without hidden fees, donor tipping, or locked features—built for small teams ready to grow. *

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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 Funraise might

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

Donately is your match if:

You want full access to core fundraising tools without jumping through plan tiers.

You prefer transparent pricing that doesn’t rely on donor fee coverage to stay affordable.

You need a lean platform with powerful support and integrations built for small teams.

Funraise

Funraise might work if:

You’re a mid- to large-sized nonprofit that needs deep CRM integrations and role-based team controls.

You’re okay with using a tipping model to reduce platform and processing fees.

You’re looking for enterprise-level onboarding, analytics, or donor segmentation.

“Free” Shouldn’t Come With Strings

When “free” depends on your donors

Funraise promotes a free plan—but relies on donors to cover your costs and hides key tools behind upgrade tiers. With Donately, what you see is what you get: transparent pricing, full access, and no tipping pressure.

Funraise says...

“Start for free.”

But the reality? You pay 5% unless donors opt to cover fees—and advanced tools require a paid plan.

Donately says: One price. One platform. No tipping tricks.

Funraise says...

“We scale with you.”

But the reality? Access to CRM integrations, reporting, and automation requires upgrading.

Donately says: Every plan comes with the essentials you need to grow.

Funraise says...

“Donors can cover your costs.”

But the reality? Not all donors opt in—so your effective fee varies.

Donately says: No pressure on your donors. Just predictable pricing you can budget for.

Donately vs Funraise:
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

Funraise

Flexibility

Transparent tiered pricing

Tiered plans: Essentials (free), Standard ($99), Premium (custom)

Customization

Full customization available on all plans

Strong customization; custom dev features gated to Premium

Usability

Simple, intuitive for lean teams

Powerful platform with more complexity at higher tiers

Support

Real-time human support included for all plans

Basic support in Essentials; advanced onboarding/support gated to Premium

Integrations

Deep integrations with Zapier, Salesforce, Webflow, HubSpot, Constant Contact

Salesforce, HubSpot, Raiser’s Edge, Mailchimp, and more (only at Standard+ tiers)

Time to launch

Same-day setup, instant access

Setup varies by tier; Premium includes guided onboarding

Pricing clarity

Fully public, transparent, and tipping-free

Effective cost depends on donor fee coverage and plan features

Team fit

Perfect for small-to-mid-size teams running scalable campaigns

Best for mid-to-large orgs that need CRM depth and team governance features

Top goal

Maximize donations with simplicity and flexibility

Scale digital fundraising with integrated donor engagement tools

For $10,000 monthly donation volume

You save: $300–$600+ per month with Donately*

And get transparent pricing, faster setup, and all-included features without gating core tools behind premium tiers.

All features. No surprises.

Funraise

Free-ish. Fee-heavy.

Platform fees

$0–400/month
‍Standard (4%) = $400
Lower Fee (2%) = $200
No Fee (0%) = $0

$500 (Essentials: 5%)
$0–500 (Standard: $99/month + 0–5%)

Processing fees

$220–290/month
Stripe (2.2–2.9% + $0.30)

$290+
(2.9% + $0.30 per transaction)

Subscription fees

$0–$99
(depending on plan)

$0 (Essentials)
$99/month (Standard)
Premium: Custom pricing

Setup/Support

$0
(includes onboarding and real-time support)

No setup fees, but Premium tier needed for onboarding, account manager, advanced support

Fee coverage tools

Available, but not required

Donor Cover Fees model (required to reduce effective costs)

Total monthly

$220–$689 /month

$520–889+
(based on Essentials vs Standard plan + processing fees)

Ask yourself before choosing Funraise

If you answered “no” to any of these, Donately gives you what Funraise can’t.

Explore Donately

Are you okay with paying for CRM access, dashboards, or integrations that come standard elsewhere?

Can your fundraising survive if donor tipping doesn’t cover your platform fees?

Are you looking for a platform that works out of the box—or one that requires onboarding, ops help, or upgrades?

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.

Essentials included

Recurring giving, P2P, text-to-donate, and donor insights—no upgrade needed.

No tier drama

You get the full platform from day one, not just a free teaser.

Transparent costs

No reliance on donor tipping, no shifting fee structures.

Ready to plug in

Integrates with your tools (Hubspot, Salesforce, Zapier, Constant Contact, GA4, Webflow, and more) without needing Premium.

Human help, always

Strategic support built in—whether you're solo or scaling.

Funraise alternative — frequently asked questions

Is Funraise really free?

Yes—but only at the Essentials tier. You’ll pay 5% per donation unless donors cover it. To unlock full features, you’ll need to upgrade.

Does Donately rely on donor tipping?

No. Our fees are transparent and fixed. Donors are never prompted to “cover” fees for you.

What kind of support does each platform offer?

Donately includes human support at every tier. Funraise offers enhanced support and onboarding only in its Premium plan.

Can I use CRM integrations with both?

Yes. Donately integrates with Hubspot, Salesforce, Zapier, Constant Contact, GA4, Webflow, and more. Funraise does too—but only on Standard or Premium plans.

Which is more affordable over time?

Donately. Especially with the one-time Scale plan, you avoid recurring fees and tipping dependencies.

Which is better for growth-focused teams?

Both platforms are growth-oriented—but Donately offers greater flexibility for smaller teams, while Funraise is ideal for larger orgs needing permission control and segmentation.

Will Donately scale effectively as our organization grows beyond mid-size?

Donately's architecture grows with you through robust integrations with enterprise tools like Salesforce and HubSpot, avoiding the need for complete platform migration.

BEST IN CLASS SOFTWARE FOR BEST IN CLASS ORGANIZATIONS