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Nonprofits · head to head

CommCare vs Zeffy

CommCare logo

CommCare

Nonprofits

Offline-first case management and mobile data collection for frontline health and development programmes

From
$100/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zeffy logo

Zeffy

Nonprofits

100% free fundraising platform for nonprofits

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Zeffy has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: CommCare pricing is by included mobile user bands with a hard step between them, so a programme at 260 mobile users pays the Pro band plus per-user overage or jumps to Advanced, and neither option matches its actual size.; Zeffy revenue model relies entirely on donor voluntary tips with no guaranteed income
  • They diverge on capability: CommCare covers Case management, Zeffy covers Donation forms.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CommCare and Zeffy actually diverge.

Attributes where CommCare and Zeffy differ
AttributeCommCareZeffy
Starting price$100/monthFree
Pricing modelPer month by mobile user countfree
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsAndroid, WebWeb, IOS, Android
FoundedUnknown2019

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 CommCare

  • Case management
  • Offline-first mobile app
  • App builder
  • Multi-language support
  • Two-way SMS
  • Report builder
  • API access
  • BI integration

Only in Zeffy

  • Donation forms
  • Event ticketing
  • Membership management
  • Peer-to-peer fundraising
  • Recurring donations
  • Mailchimp
  • Zapier
  • Facebook

What people use each for

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

CommCare

  • A community health worker programme where each worker must see their own assigned households, what is overdue and what happened last visit, which a survey tool cannot representnot Zeffy
  • A ministry of health digitising a national frontline protocol and requiring in-region data hosting for legal reasonsnot Zeffy
  • An NGO running the same intervention in four countries that needs one application, several languages and consolidated reportingnot Zeffy
  • A research team collecting longitudinal data on the same participants over years, where linking visits to a case rather than a submission is the whole requirementnot Zeffy

Zeffy

  • Donation collection for nonprofitsnot CommCare
  • Event ticketing with check-innot CommCare
  • Membership sales with tiersnot CommCare
  • Peer-to-peer fundraising campaignsnot CommCare
  • In-person payment with Tap to Paynot CommCare

Where each one falls short

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

CommCare

  • Pricing is by included mobile user bands with a hard step between them, so a programme at 260 mobile users pays the Pro band plus per-user overage or jumps to Advanced, and neither option matches its actual size.
  • The subscription is the small number; application design, device procurement, worker training and supervision dominate the real cost, and grant budgets that fund only the licence stall at deployment.
  • Grant funding cycles and subscription renewals rarely align, so programmes routinely face a year-four cliff where the software is embedded in a workflow and the money that paid for it has ended.
  • It is Android-only on the device side, which is usually right for the target markets but blocks iOS-issued staff and makes the platform a poor fit for programmes in higher-income settings.
  • The open source option is real but effectively theoretical: self-hosting CommCare HQ requires substantial engineering, so the licence being free does not translate into an escape from the subscription.

Zeffy

  • Revenue model relies entirely on donor voluntary tips with no guaranteed income
  • All features included equally with no upgrade path for additional capabilities

Pricing, plan by plan

CommCare

$100/month
  • Standard$100/month
    • 50 mobile users included
    • $2 per additional mobile user per month
    • Unlimited free web users
  • Pro$500/month
    • 250 mobile users included
    • Case sharing and child cases
    • Web report builder
  • Advanced$1000/month
    • 500 mobile users included
    • Power BI and Tableau integration
    • Web applications
  • Enterprise$4000/month
    • Custom mobile user count
    • Single sign-on
    • Named account management

Zeffy

Free
  • Free ForeverFree
    • Unlimited donations
    • Ticketing
    • Memberships

Which should you pick?

Choose CommCare if

  • You need case management.
  • You work on Android, Web.
  • You also want offline-first mobile app.
CommCare review

Choose Zeffy if

  • You need donation forms.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want event ticketing.
Zeffy review

Questions people ask

Is CommCare or Zeffy better?
Neither clearly leads. CommCare starts at $100/month and Zeffy at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CommCare or Zeffy?
Zeffy has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $100/month for CommCare and Free for Zeffy.
Does CommCare or Zeffy run on more platforms?
CommCare runs on Android, Web. Zeffy runs on Web, IOS, Android.
Can I use Zeffy for free?
Yes. Zeffy has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. CommCare starts at $100/month.
What is CommCare best used for?
CommCare is most often used for a community health worker programme where each worker must see their own assigned households, what is overdue and what happened last visit, which a survey tool cannot represent, a ministry of health digitising a national frontline protocol and requiring in-region data hosting for legal reasons, an ngo running the same intervention in four countries that needs one application, several languages and consolidated reporting, a research team collecting longitudinal data on the same participants over years, where linking visits to a case rather than a submission is the whole requirement. Of those, a community health worker programme where each worker must see their own assigned households, what is overdue and what happened last visit, which a survey tool cannot represent and a ministry of health digitising a national frontline protocol and requiring in-region data hosting for legal reasons are not what Zeffy is typically brought in for.
What can CommCare do that Zeffy cannot?
CommCare covers Case management, Offline-first mobile app, App builder, Multi-language support. Zeffy covers Donation forms, Event ticketing, Membership management, Peer-to-peer fundraising.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CommCare: How much does CommCare cost?

Standard is $100 a month for 50 mobile users, Pro $500 for 250, Advanced $1,000 for 500 and Enterprise from $4,000. Extra mobile users are $2 each per month; web users are unlimited and free.

Zeffy: How much does Zeffy cost for nonprofits?

Zeffy is completely free for nonprofits. There are no platform fees, transaction fees, credit card processing fees, monthly subscriptions, or setup costs. Nonprofits retain 100% of funds raised.

Source
CommCare: Is CommCare open source?

Yes, CommCare HQ is open source, but self-hosting requires serious engineering capacity. Nearly all users take the hosted service.

Zeffy: How does Zeffy make money if it's free?

Zeffy relies on voluntary donor tips at checkout. On average, 2 out of 3 donors leave a tip. Tips are optional and donors can opt out, but Zeffy operates on this voluntary contribution model.

Source
CommCare: Where is our data stored?

You choose United States, European Union or India hosting, which is what makes it acceptable to ministries with data residency rules.

Zeffy: What nonprofit organizations can use Zeffy?

Schools, churches, sports teams, animal rescues, food banks, volunteer fire departments, arts organizations, and PTAs can all use Zeffy. Over 100,000 nonprofits globally use the platform.

Source
CommCare: Who funds CommCare?

Dimagi is a for-profit B Corporation funded by customer subscriptions and services. Individual deployments are usually funded by donors such as USAID successors, the Gates Foundation or national health budgets.

CommCare: Does it do case management or just forms?

Case management. Workers hold a caseload of individuals or households and see history and due actions, which is the main reason to choose it over a form tool.

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