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Nonprofits · head to head

CharityEngine vs Givebutter

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
Givebutter logo

Givebutter

Nonprofits

Free nonprofit fundraising with donor management and campaign tools

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Givebutter 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.; Givebutter free tier includes 3% platform fee when donor tips are disabled
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CharityEngine and Givebutter actually diverge.

Attributes where CharityEngine and Givebutter differ
AttributeCharityEngineGivebutter
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 Givebutter

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 Givebutter
  • Replacing a stack of a CRM, an email tool and a separate donation gateway with one contract and one reconciliationnot Givebutter
  • A direct mail heavy organisation that needs offline gift entry and mail file segmentation as first-class features, not add-onsnot Givebutter
  • An organisation whose finance team wants a single settlement file that already reconciles to donor recordsnot Givebutter

Givebutter

  • Launching donation pages where donors cover feesnot CharityEngine
  • Managing peer-to-peer and event fundraising togethernot CharityEngine
  • Automating donor thank-you workflows and tasksnot CharityEngine
  • Accepting donations across Venmo, PayPal, cards, ACHnot 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.

Givebutter

  • Free tier includes 3% platform fee when donor tips are disabled
  • Plus pricing varies by contact volume: up to $129/month for 2,500+ contacts

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

Givebutter

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Donation forms
    • Fundraising pages
    • Donor CRM
  • Givebutter Plus$29/month
    • For 250 or fewer contacts: $29/month or $348/year
    • Automated workflows
    • Task management

Which should you pick?

Choose CharityEngine if

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

Choose Givebutter if

  • You want to start without paying.
Givebutter review

Questions people ask

Is CharityEngine or Givebutter better?
Neither clearly leads. CharityEngine starts at On request and Givebutter at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CharityEngine or Givebutter?
Givebutter has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for CharityEngine and Free for Givebutter.
Does CharityEngine or Givebutter run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Givebutter for free?
Yes. Givebutter 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 Givebutter is typically brought in for.
What can CharityEngine do that Givebutter 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.

Givebutter: How much does Givebutter cost?

Givebutter's core platform is free to use. The optional Givebutter Plus upgrade starts at $29 per month for nonprofits with 250 or fewer contacts, scaling to $129 per month for 2,500+ contacts.

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.

Givebutter: How does Givebutter stay free?

Givebutter remains free when nonprofits enable optional donor tips. Donors can choose to tip when donating, and Givebutter covers any uncovered transaction costs through the Givebutter Guarantee. Without tips enabled, a 3% platform fee applies plus standard processor fees.

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.

Givebutter: Can I cancel Givebutter Plus anytime?

Yes, Givebutter Plus subscriptions can be cancelled anytime; cancellation takes effect at the end of the billing period. A 30-day Plus trial is available.

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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