Most 'free' donation tools aren't free. They take a percentage of every gift or pre-select a tip your donors pay. Enter your numbers and see the real cost side by side.
On a tip-based "free" platform, your donors are asked for about
in extra "tips" on top of their gifts every year.
With Kindly, the cut taken from donations is
$0
Just a flat subscription from $129/mo and standard processing.
| Platform | Platform fee / tip* | + Processing | Total cost / year |
|---|---|---|---|
*Donor "tips" on Zeffy, Givebutter, and GoFundMe are technically optional but pre-selected by default, so most donors leave them on. They're added to the donor's charge rather than deducted from your funds, but that's still generosity going to a platform instead of your mission. Donorbox's platform fee comes out of the donation itself.
Estimates based on each platform's publicly listed rates as of June 2026. Pricing changes often, so verify before deciding.
Kindly isn't 'fee-free.' Donations still run through Stripe, and Kindly charges a subscription on top. The difference is the shape of the cost.
The more you raise, the more they take. A platform fee or pre-selected tip scales forever. Double your fundraising and you double what the platform earns from it. The cost is invisible until it compounds.
One predictable monthly bill covers donations, donor management, volunteers, events, and members. As your fundraising grows, your software cost stays the same, and it replaces the five separate subscriptions most nonprofits duct-tape together.
Kindly gives your nonprofit donations, volunteers, events, and members in one platform, for one predictable subscription, with no cut taken from donations.
