Fundraising Platforms With No Fees — What "Free" Actually Means

Search for "free fundraising platform" or "fundraising with no fees" and you'll find plenty of results — but the word "free" in fundraising is almost always more complicated than it appears. Here's what's actually going on, and how to find the platform that keeps the most money in your cause.

The two fees on every online donation

There are two completely separate fee categories on every online donation:

1. Platform fee — what the fundraising company itself charges for using the platform. This is the number that varies most across platforms and the one usually advertised.
2. Payment processing fee — what the card processor charges (typically Stripe) to move money from the donor's card to a bank account. This is almost unavoidable and runs around 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction on standard rates.

When a platform advertises "no fees," they almost always mean no platform fee. The payment processing fee is usually still there — just not mentioned prominently.

The third cost: the donor tip prompt

Several major platforms (GoFundMe is the most prominent example) have introduced a third cost: a prompt at checkout asking donors to leave a "tip" to the platform itself. This is pre-filled, appears at the end of checkout, and is easy to miss. Research has found GoFundMe's average "tip" amounts to 5–8% of the donation value.

This means a donor who intends to give $100 to your community campaign may actually send $110 — with $10 going to GoFundMe, not your cause. The campaign receives $97 (after payment processing), and GoFundMe receives $13 total. The platform's real revenue is substantial despite advertising "0% fees."

What "truly free" looks like — and who it applies to

The closest thing to genuinely free fundraising is Zeffy, which charges 0% platform fee for registered 501(c)(3) nonprofits and absorbs payment processing costs through an optional donor contribution to Zeffy. If donors decline to tip Zeffy, the nonprofit pays nothing. But Zeffy requires formal 501(c)(3) verification — most community groups, block associations, and informal organizations don't qualify.

How to compare the real cost across platforms

For a $1,000 fundraiser, here's what different fee structures actually cost:

• GoFundMe: ~$29 processing + ~$50–$80 in donor tips → $80–$110 total cost → 8–11% effective
• KindRise (donor covers fees): ~$7.50 platform fee, processing covered by donors → under 1% effective for the campaign
• KindRise (standard): ~$7.50 platform fee + ~$29 processing → $36.50 total → ~3.6% effective
• Zeffy (501(c)(3)): $0 if donors don't tip Zeffy → 0% effective
• Venmo/Zelle: $0, but no formal campaign page, no receipts, no reporting

The two things that actually minimize what you pay

1. Choose a platform with a low, transparent platform fee — not just a 0% headline that hides tip prompting.
2. Use a "donor covers fees" option — when well-presented, most donors choose to cover the processing cost, bringing the campaign's net cost to near-zero.

KindRise is built around both of these: a low platform fee (0.75%), transparent pricing with no tip prompts, and a clear donor-covers-fees option enabled by default. For community groups that don't qualify for Zeffy's nonprofit pricing, it's the most cost-effective option available.

See the full fundraising fees guide and GoFundMe alternatives comparison for more.