Softwr

Nonprofits · head to head

CiviCRM vs GiveWP

CiviCRM logo

CiviCRM

Nonprofits

Open source constituent relationship management for nonprofits, with no per contact or per donation fee

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
GiveWP logo

GiveWP

Nonprofits

WordPress donation plugin for nonprofits

From
$199/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only CiviCRM has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: CiviCRM nobody maintains it for you, so security patches and major version upgrades are your operational responsibility and organisations that skip them end up stranded on an old release.; GiveWP recurring donations and fee recovery only available in Pro and Elite tiers; Essentials tier ($199/year) limited to one-time donations
  • They diverge on capability: CiviCRM covers Contribution and pledge tracking, GiveWP covers Donation forms.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CiviCRM and GiveWP actually diverge.

Attributes where CiviCRM and GiveWP differ
AttributeCiviCRMGiveWP
Starting priceFree$199/year
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Linux, Self-hostedWordPress plugin (self-hosted on WordPress sites)
FoundedUnknown2012

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 CiviCRM

  • Contribution and pledge tracking
  • Membership management
  • Events and registration
  • Case management
  • CMS integration
  • Extension framework

Only in GiveWP

  • Donation forms
  • Recurring donations
  • Donor management
  • Fundraising campaigns
  • Stripe
  • PayPal
  • Mailchimp
  • Zapier

What people use each for

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

CiviCRM

  • A membership organisation with a large contact file that refuses to pay a per contact meternot GiveWP
  • An advocacy group needing to hold constituent data on infrastructure it controlsnot GiveWP
  • A charity already running Drupal or WordPress that wants CRM inside the same stacknot GiveWP
  • An organisation with unusual data requirements that no hosted product will build for itnot GiveWP

GiveWP

  • WordPress-hosted nonprofits managing donors with self-hosted data (no third-party donor database)not CiviCRM
  • Organisations needing text-to-give and multi-gateway payment processing (Stripe, PayPal, Square, Apple Pay, Google Pay)not CiviCRM

Where each one falls short

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

CiviCRM

  • Nobody maintains it for you, so security patches and major version upgrades are your operational responsibility and organisations that skip them end up stranded on an old release.
  • The interface and configuration model are dated compared with hosted competitors, and staff turnover is expensive when the next fundraiser has to be trained on it from scratch.
  • Extension quality is inconsistent, so a payment processor or integration that works on one version can break on the next with no vendor obligation to fix it.
  • Total cost of ownership is genuinely low only at scale, and a five person charity often pays more to a partner for setup and support than a hosted product would have charged outright.
  • Implementation partners hold the practical knowledge of your configuration, so switching partners can be as disruptive as switching products despite the software being free.

GiveWP

  • Recurring donations and fee recovery only available in Pro and Elite tiers; Essentials tier ($199/year) limited to one-time donations
  • Email marketing integrations (Mailchimp, Constant Contact, Salesforce) require Pro tier or higher
  • Peer-to-peer fundraising only available in Elite tier ($599/year); not in lower tiers

Pricing, plan by plan

CiviCRM

Free
  • CiviCRMFree
    • No licence fee, no per contact charge and no percentage of donations
    • Costs are hosting, implementation partner time and upgrade work
    • Paid hosting and support available from partners at their own rates

GiveWP

$199/year
  • Essentials$199/year
    • Everything needed to start fundraising on your own site
    • Unlimited donation forms
    • Donor database
  • Pro$399/year
    • All Essentials features
    • Recurring donations
    • Fee recovery options
  • Elite$599/year
    • All Pro features
    • Peer-to-peer fundraising
    • Funds and designations

Which should you pick?

Choose CiviCRM if

  • You need contribution and pledge tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Self-hosted.
  • You also want membership management.
CiviCRM review

Choose GiveWP if

  • You need donation forms.
  • You work on WordPress plugin (self-hosted on WordPress sites).
  • You also want recurring donations.
GiveWP review

Questions people ask

Is CiviCRM or GiveWP better?
Neither clearly leads. CiviCRM starts at Free and GiveWP at $199/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CiviCRM or GiveWP?
CiviCRM has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for CiviCRM and $199/year for GiveWP.
Does CiviCRM or GiveWP run on more platforms?
CiviCRM runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted. GiveWP runs on WordPress plugin (self-hosted on WordPress sites).
Can I use CiviCRM for free?
Yes. CiviCRM has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. GiveWP starts at $199/year.
What is CiviCRM best used for?
CiviCRM is most often used for a membership organisation with a large contact file that refuses to pay a per contact meter, an advocacy group needing to hold constituent data on infrastructure it controls, a charity already running drupal or wordpress that wants crm inside the same stack, an organisation with unusual data requirements that no hosted product will build for it. Of those, a membership organisation with a large contact file that refuses to pay a per contact meter and an advocacy group needing to hold constituent data on infrastructure it controls are not what GiveWP is typically brought in for.
What can CiviCRM do that GiveWP cannot?
CiviCRM covers Contribution and pledge tracking, Membership management, Events and registration, Case management. GiveWP covers Donation forms, Recurring donations, Donor management, Fundraising campaigns.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CiviCRM: Is CiviCRM really free?

The software is, with no licence, per contact or per donation charge. Hosting, implementation and support are real costs and are where the budget goes.

GiveWP: How much does GiveWP cost?

GiveWP pricing starts at $199 per year for the Essentials plan, $399 per year for Pro, and $599 per year for Elite. There are no per-transaction donation processing fees on any tier.

Source
CiviCRM: Do we need a developer?

You need technical capacity, either in house or a retained partner. Treating it as a hosted product without support is the common failure mode.

GiveWP: Does GiveWP charge transaction fees on donations?

No, GiveWP charges no platform fees or per-donation transaction fees. Organizations only pay the standard payment processor fees (Stripe, PayPal, Square, etc.).

Source
CiviCRM: Where does it win against commercial CRMs?

At scale. A large contact file or high donation volume that would cost tens of thousands a year in metered fees costs nothing in licence here.

GiveWP: Do I own my donor data with GiveWP?

Yes, with GiveWP you retain complete data ownership of your donor relationships and donation history. There is no vendor lock-in.

Source
CiviCRM: Can it be hosted for us?

Yes, several partners offer managed CiviCRM hosting, which removes the upgrade burden and reintroduces a monthly fee.

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