Platform Comparison
How platforms really stack up
As a charity ourselves, we aim to be transparent, fair and cost-effective, ensuring organisations receive the maximum possible value from every donation.
This tool shows how much of your donation reaches your chosen beneficiary, depending on the fundraising platform used. Our analysis is based on known costs. Please feel free to explore the numbers; we welcome scrutiny of our method.
Contact us if you have any comments
Amount received by fundraisers, highest to lowest
£500/month: 30% Gift Aid, 40% SMS/text Giving
£500 gifted by donors. 30% of donors tick Gift Aid. 40% via text, 60% via web.
| DONATE ✓ | JustGiving Grow ✓ | Enthuse ✓ | GoFundMe ✓ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donors pay (total) | £500 | £500 | £500 | £500 |
| Gift Aid generated | £37.50 | £37.50 | £37.50 | £0 (not supported) |
| Transaction fees | £26.75 | £14.70 | £24.50 | £19.50 |
| Gift Aid fee | £15.00 (40%) | £1.88 (5%) | £1.88 (5%) | — |
| Gift Aid admin cost ** | Included | Included | Included | £100.00 |
| Monthly subscription | £12.00 | £18.00 (£15+VAT) | £39.99 | — |
| Payout fee | £11.00 | — | £23.56 (5%) | — |
| SMS / Text giving fee | Included | £10.00 (5%) | ✗ Not supported | ✗ Not supported |
| Donor tip (kept by platform) *** | — | £22.50 (12.5%) | — | — |
| vs best | — | -£2.33 | -£25.17 | -£92.25 |
| Fundraiser receives | £472.75 | £470.42 | £447.58 | £380.50 |
| % of donor's £ reaching fundraiser | 94.5% | 94.1% | 89.5% | 76.1% |
** Assuming 2 hours @ £50/hour to self-administer Gift Aid claims to HMRC.
*** We have applied the suggested tip of 12.5% to 60% of web donations when Tip friction is turned on.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | DONATE | JustGiving Grow | Enthuse | GoFundMe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Online donations | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Campaigns | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Live auctions | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | Pro only |
| Raffles | ✓ | Basic | ✗ | Prohibited |
| SMS / text giving | ✓ | Limited (5% fee) | ✗ | ✗ |
| Tap to donate | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Gift Aid processing | ✓ | ✓ (5%) | ✓ (5%) | ✗ |
| Gift Aid admin cost | Included | Included | Included | £100/mo ** |
| Donor reporting | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Basic |
| API / integrations | Excel exports (API coming soon) | ✓ | ✓ | Pro only |
| Group fundraising | Coming soon | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Event registration | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ (£39.99/mo) | Pro |
| Monthly fee | £12 | £46.80 | £39.99 | £0 |
| Payout | Monthly* | 14 days* | Monthly | 2 to 7 days |
* SMS / text giving donations are subject to network operator payouts which can take up to 90 days.
** Assuming 2 hours @ £50/hour to self-administer Gift Aid claims to HMRC.
*** We have applied the suggested tip of 12.5% to 60% of web donations when Tip friction is turned on.