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Nonprofits · head to head

Charity Navigator vs Fundraise Up

Charity Navigator logo

Charity Navigator

Nonprofits

Nonprofit intelligence and rating platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Fundraise Up logo

Fundraise Up

Nonprofits

Donation checkout layer that replaces the giving form on an existing nonprofit website

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Charity Navigator has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Charity Navigator charity Navigator is a free 501(c)(3) nonprofit service funded by donor donations rather than charging the charities it rates, so it has no vendor pricing model to compare (own about-us page).; Fundraise Up the fee is a percentage of donations, so cost rises exactly as the product succeeds, and a single large gift routed through the checkout carries the same rate as a twenty pound one unless the agreement caps it.
  • They diverge on capability: Charity Navigator covers Nonprofit ratings, Fundraise Up covers Embedded donation checkout.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Charity Navigator and Fundraise Up actually diverge.

Attributes where Charity Navigator and Fundraise Up differ
AttributeCharity NavigatorFundraise Up
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreePercentage of each donation
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Mobile-responsiveWeb
Founded2001Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Nonprofits).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Charity Navigator

  • Nonprofit ratings
  • Financial analysis
  • Donor reviews
  • Impact metrics
  • Fundraising data
  • GiveWell
  • BBB Wise Giving Alliance
  • Web support

Only in Fundraise Up

  • Embedded donation checkout
  • Digital wallet payments
  • Recurring gift upgrade prompts
  • Multi currency and multi language
  • Donor covered fees
  • CRM sync

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Charity Navigator

  • Nonprofit evaluation and researchnot Fundraise Up
  • Charitable giving decisionsnot Fundraise Up
  • Donor due diligencenot Fundraise Up

Fundraise Up

  • A charity with a working CRM and website that wants to raise online conversion without replatformingnot Charity Navigator
  • An international organisation needing donors to give in local currency and languagenot Charity Navigator
  • A campaign pushing one time givers into monthly recurring support at the point of donationnot Charity Navigator
  • A digital team that can measure conversion before and after and justify a percentage fee with datanot Charity Navigator

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Charity Navigator

  • Charity Navigator is a free 501(c)(3) nonprofit service funded by donor donations rather than charging the charities it rates, so it has no vendor pricing model to compare (own about-us page).

Fundraise Up

  • The fee is a percentage of donations, so cost rises exactly as the product succeeds, and a single large gift routed through the checkout carries the same rate as a twenty pound one unless the agreement caps it.
  • It is a checkout, not a CRM, so it is always an additional cost on top of a donor database rather than a replacement for one.
  • Donor covered fee opt in rates vary widely by audience, so an organisation with an older or offline leaning donor base absorbs more of the fee than the sales model assumes.
  • Design control is limited to what the embedded component exposes, so brand teams that want full control over the giving experience will hit boundaries.
  • Live recurring gift authorisations are held in the platform, which makes leaving considerably harder than adopting, because migrating active mandates risks lapsing donors.

Pricing, plan by plan

Charity Navigator

Free
  • Free ProfileFree
    • Nonprofit profile
    • Ratings
    • Financial data

Fundraise Up

On request
  • Fundraise Up$undefined/year
    • Platform fee taken as a percentage of every donation processed
    • Card processing billed separately on top of the platform fee
    • Optional donor covered fee prompt shifts the cost to the giver rather than removing it

Which should you pick?

Choose Charity Navigator if

  • You need nonprofit ratings.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Mobile-responsive.
  • You also want financial analysis.
Charity Navigator review

Choose Fundraise Up if

  • You need embedded donation checkout.
  • You also want digital wallet payments.
Fundraise Up review

Questions people ask

Is Charity Navigator or Fundraise Up better?
Neither clearly leads. Charity Navigator starts at Free and Fundraise Up at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Charity Navigator or Fundraise Up?
Charity Navigator has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Charity Navigator and On request for Fundraise Up.
Does Charity Navigator or Fundraise Up run on more platforms?
Charity Navigator runs on Web, Mobile-responsive. Fundraise Up runs on Web.
Can I use Charity Navigator for free?
Yes. Charity Navigator has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Fundraise Up starts at On request.
What is Charity Navigator best used for?
Charity Navigator is most often used for nonprofit evaluation and research, charitable giving decisions, donor due diligence. Of those, nonprofit evaluation and research and charitable giving decisions are not what Fundraise Up is typically brought in for.
What can Charity Navigator do that Fundraise Up cannot?
Charity Navigator covers Nonprofit ratings, Financial analysis, Donor reviews, Impact metrics. Fundraise Up covers Embedded donation checkout, Digital wallet payments, Recurring gift upgrade prompts, Multi currency and multi language.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Charity Navigator: Is Charity Navigator free to use?

Yes, Charity Navigator provides completely free access to its database of charity ratings, donor education resources, Giving Basket donation tool, and AI-powered charity recommendations.

Source
Fundraise Up: Is Fundraise Up a CRM?

No. It is a donation checkout that syncs into a CRM you already run, so budget for both.

Charity Navigator: How does Charity Navigator make money if its services are free?

Charity Navigator operates through donations to the organization itself. The site includes a 'Support Charity Navigator' link for users who wish to contribute.

Fundraise Up: How does it charge?

A percentage of each donation, plus separately billed card processing. There is no flat licence that insulates you from volume.

Charity Navigator: What information can I access for free on Charity Navigator?

Free access includes searching and rating charities, using the Giving Basket donation tool, accessing donor education materials, and using Horizon AI Search for personalized charity recommendations.

Fundraise Up: Does the donor covered fee option remove the cost?

It shifts it. When donors opt in they pay the platform and processing fee; when they do not, the charity does.

Fundraise Up: What happens to recurring donors if we leave?

Active recurring authorisations sit with the platform and its processor, and migrating them is the part of an exit most organisations underestimate.

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