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Nonprofits · head to head

CharityEngine vs Funraise

CharityEngine logo

CharityEngine

Nonprofits

Nonprofit CRM with its own in-house payment processing rather than a third-party gateway

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Funraise logo

Funraise

Nonprofits

Nonprofit fundraising and donor management with revenue-based free tier

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Funraise has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: CharityEngine payment processing rates are negotiated and never published, so the total cost cannot be compared to a licence-only CRM without getting a quote and modelling your own volume in basis points.; Funraise premium plans require custom pricing with sales contact
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CharityEngine and Funraise actually diverge.

Attributes where CharityEngine and Funraise differ
AttributeCharityEngineFunraise
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotefreemium
Free tierNoYes

Identical on both: platforms (Web), 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 CharityEngine

  • In-house payment processing
  • Recurring giving recovery
  • Direct mail segmentation
  • Peer-to-peer and events
  • Advocacy and membership
  • Marketing automation

Only in Funraise

Nothing recorded that CharityEngine does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

CharityEngine

  • A nonprofit processing high recurring gift volume that wants card updater and dunning built into the CRM rather than bought separatelynot Funraise
  • Replacing a stack of a CRM, an email tool and a separate donation gateway with one contract and one reconciliationnot Funraise
  • A direct mail heavy organisation that needs offline gift entry and mail file segmentation as first-class features, not add-onsnot Funraise
  • An organisation whose finance team wants a single settlement file that already reconciles to donor recordsnot Funraise

Funraise

  • Managing recurring donor relationships and pledge trackingnot CharityEngine
  • Conducting peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns for eventsnot CharityEngine
  • Processing multiple payment types including stock donationsnot CharityEngine
  • Screening donors for wealth and giving capacitynot CharityEngine
  • Automating email workflows based on donor behaviornot CharityEngine

Where each one falls short

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

CharityEngine

  • Payment processing rates are negotiated and never published, so the total cost cannot be compared to a licence-only CRM without getting a quote and modelling your own volume in basis points.
  • Because the vendor is both the software provider and the merchant processor, switching CRM also means re-papering merchant services and re-tokenising every recurring donor, which is a far larger project than a normal migration.
  • Subscription pricing is quote-only and reported entry points come from third parties rather than the vendor, so small organisations often discover the floor is well above what they budgeted.
  • The interface is dense and configuration-heavy, and organisations without a dedicated database administrator tend to use a fraction of what they pay for.
  • Implementation and data migration are billed on top of the subscription and are commonly the largest first-year line item, which is easy to miss when comparing monthly figures.

Funraise

  • Premium plans require custom pricing with sales contact
  • Processing fees of 5% platform fee plus 2.9% plus $0.60 per transaction on Free plan
  • Processing fees 0-3% platform fee plus 2.9% plus $0.60 per transaction on Premium plans

Pricing, plan by plan

CharityEngine

On request
  • CharityEngine$undefined/year
    • Donor CRM and gift processing
    • In-house payment processing at a negotiated rate
    • Email, SMS and direct mail tools

Funraise

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Donation forms and pages
    • Recurring donations
    • Events and tickets
  • Premium$null/mo
    • Custom pricing
    • Onboarding and dedicated success manager
    • Peer-to-peer fundraising

Which should you pick?

Choose CharityEngine if

  • You need in-house payment processing.
  • You also want recurring giving recovery.
CharityEngine review

Choose Funraise if

  • You want to start without paying.
Funraise review

Questions people ask

Is CharityEngine or Funraise better?
Neither clearly leads. CharityEngine starts at On request and Funraise at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CharityEngine or Funraise?
Funraise has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for CharityEngine and Free for Funraise.
Does CharityEngine or Funraise run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Funraise for free?
Yes. Funraise has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. CharityEngine starts at On request.
What is CharityEngine best used for?
CharityEngine is most often used for a nonprofit processing high recurring gift volume that wants card updater and dunning built into the crm rather than bought separately, replacing a stack of a crm, an email tool and a separate donation gateway with one contract and one reconciliation, a direct mail heavy organisation that needs offline gift entry and mail file segmentation as first-class features, not add-ons, an organisation whose finance team wants a single settlement file that already reconciles to donor records. Of those, a nonprofit processing high recurring gift volume that wants card updater and dunning built into the crm rather than bought separately and replacing a stack of a crm, an email tool and a separate donation gateway with one contract and one reconciliation are not what Funraise is typically brought in for.
What can CharityEngine do that Funraise cannot?
CharityEngine covers In-house payment processing, Recurring giving recovery, Direct mail segmentation, Peer-to-peer and events.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CharityEngine: Does CharityEngine publish pricing?

No. Both the subscription and the payment processing rate are quoted. Third-party sites report a starter tier around 550 US dollars a month, but the vendor does not confirm this.

Funraise: How much does Funraise cost?

Funraise offers a free plan for organizations raising under $1 million annually. Premium plans require custom pricing and contacting their sales team for a personalized quote based on organization needs.

Source
CharityEngine: Is the payment processing optional?

In practice no. The processing is the product. Using an external gateway removes most of what distinguishes CharityEngine from cheaper CRMs.

Funraise: What are Funraise's payment processing fees?

Free plan has approximately 2.5% total average costs with 5% platform fee. Premium plans have approximately 0.8% total average costs with 0-3% platform fee. Both include 2.9% plus $0.60 per card transaction. Approximately 90% of donors cover fees, reducing net costs.

Source
CharityEngine: Is there a nonprofit discount?

Every customer is a nonprofit, so there is no separate discount; pricing is tiered by contact count and gift volume instead.

Funraise: Are there setup fees for Funraise?

Funraise has no setup fees. Pricing is transparent and usage-based for premium plans, with volume pricing available for high-volume fundraisers.

Source
CharityEngine: How long is the contract?

Annual terms are standard, and multi-year commitments are used to buy down the rate.

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