Givebutter

Overview

Givebutter brings nonprofit fundraising, donor records, and supporter communications together, making it a strong fit for organizations that want one place to manage campaigns and contacts. Its free tier is unusually broad; the main trade-off is that Plus pricing rises with contact volume, while payment processing remains a separate cost.

The platform covers donation forms and pages, events, auctions, and peer-to-peer fundraising, alongside a CRM for donor histories and engagement. Givebutter traces its beginnings to 2016, when its founders helped a nonprofit raise funds for a food truck.

Key features

• Fundraising: Forms, campaign pages, events, auctions, and peer-to-peer campaigns give nonprofits several ways to solicit and organize gifts. Recurring donations are supported, which suits ongoing programs as well as one-time appeals.
• Free CRM: Unlimited contacts, donor histories, custom fields, notes, tags, and reporting let organizations maintain a sizeable donor record without a contact cap. That is especially useful for small teams that need donor management but do not need Plus automation.
• Plus tools: Plus adds automated workflows, task management, an advanced email editor, texting, custom reports, expanded data visualizations, file uploads, data hygiene, and discounted direct mail. These tools can support more involved outreach and reporting, but the contact-based price makes the upgrade less attractive as a database grows.
• Connections and safeguards: Givebutter says it connects to more than 1,000 third-party applications through native integrations and Zapier. Named integrations include Mailchimp, QuickBooks Online, Salesforce, HubSpot, and Stripe; QuickBooks Online requires Plus. Stripe handles payments as Givebutter’s PCI-compliant partner, and the service offers two-factor authentication and campaign reviews for fraud prevention.
• Mobile management: The free iOS and Android app supports tasks such as donations, event management, and campaign tracking, but requires a Givebutter account. Tap to Pay requires an iPhone XS or later with iOS 16.0+, or an Android 11+ device with NFC.

Pricing

The Free plan costs 0.00 USD per free and includes donation forms, fundraising pages, events, auctions, donor management, and marketing and engagement. Givebutter also describes its free offering as including unlimited users, contacts, email blasts, and campaigns. That combination makes it a practical starting point for organizations able to work without Plus features.

Givebutter Plus starts at 29.00 USD per month, billed annually, for up to 250 contacts. Higher listed tiers are 79.00 USD per month for up to 1,000 contacts and 129.00 USD per month for up to 2,500 contacts. Pricing is contact-based, with tiers extending through 50,000+ contacts. Plus includes the advanced tools described above and a 30-day commitment-free trial; the annual billing term matters when comparing the entry price with month-to-month alternatives.

Payment costs are separate from the subscription. With optional tips enabled, Givebutter lists 0% platform fees; with tips disabled, it lists a 3% platform fee plus 2.9% + 30¢ processing fees. Organizations should consider both gift volume and contact count when estimating costs. Givebutter says support is available 24/7 at no charge to all users.

Platforms

Givebutter is available on the web, Android, and iOS. The mobile app extends campaign and event tasks to phones, while Tap to Pay has the device and operating-system requirements noted above.

Who it's for

Givebutter suits nonprofits that want fundraising, donor management, and supporter engagement in a single service, particularly those that can make use of unlimited free CRM contacts. It is less compelling for organizations that need Plus-level automation but have a large contact list, since the subscription scales by contacts, or for teams focused chiefly on payment processing rather than a broader fundraising toolkit.

Pros and cons

• Pro: The free CRM has unlimited contacts and includes donor histories, notes, tags, custom fields, and reporting, avoiding a basic contact-cap bottleneck.
• Pro: Donation forms, events, auctions, peer-to-peer campaigns, and recurring gifts cover multiple fundraising approaches in one platform.
• Pro: The free mobile app supports donations, event management, and campaign tracking, and support is free and available 24/7.
• Con: Plus is billed annually at its listed monthly rates, and its price increases with contact volume.
• Con: Payment processing is separate; disabling optional tips adds both a 3% platform fee and 2.9% + 30¢ processing fees.
• Con: QuickBooks Online integration requires Plus, so organizations relying on that connection cannot keep the full workflow on the free plan.

Alternatives

Consider GivingFuel if its plans’ stated annual online-giving thresholds and platform fees better fit your budget: Starter is 9.00 USD per month with a 2% platform fee and one admin account, while All-In is 59.00 USD per month with a 1% platform fee for annual online giving under $1M.

Soapbox Engage is another option for nonprofits choosing individual apps; its Non-Profit Per App plan has a $500 platform activation fee, with transaction fees of 1.9% for donations and 2.9% for events.

For matching-gift programs, Amply offers a freemium tier, a Standard plan at 5.00 USD per contact, and custom pricing.

BetterWorld offers a free plan with a 0% platform fee plus standard processing fees, or a Flex plan with a 2.2-5% platform fee plus standard processing fees.

GoFundMe Pro may suit nonprofits with annual revenue under $1 million seeking its Essentials core product suite, which has no subscription or setup fees.

Whitelabel charges per gift, passes card and bank costs through at cost, and has no monthly fees, setup fees, or contracts.

DonorOS is a web-based option built by Jeremy Estrella, a former associate vice president and dean at Portland Community College.

GiveCampus GC Outreach is a web-based alternative with Essentials and Enterprise email plans, plus an Enterprise texting allowance.

For focused comparisons, browse Nonprofit Matching Gift Software, Nonprofit Email Marketing Software, Donation Management, Nonprofit Payment Processing Software, Nonprofit Online Donation Software, and Fundraising Event Software.

Verdict

Givebutter is a strong choice for nonprofits seeking broad fundraising tools and an unlimited-contact CRM without a subscription. Choose it especially if its free capabilities cover your needs; look elsewhere if Plus costs tied to a growing contact list or the separate platform and processing fees outweigh the convenience of one combined system.