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Nonprofits · head to head

Fundraise Up vs GuideStar

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
GuideStar logo

GuideStar

Nonprofits

Nonprofit profile and intelligence platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only GuideStar has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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.; GuideStar guideStar and Foundation Directory are being retired and merged into a single Candid platform, per Candid's own learning.candid.org help pages, with existing subscribers redirected to log in at app.candid.org
  • They diverge on capability: Fundraise Up covers Embedded donation checkout, GuideStar covers Nonprofit profile.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fundraise Up and GuideStar actually diverge.

Attributes where Fundraise Up and GuideStar differ
AttributeFundraise UpGuideStar
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelPercentage of each donationsubscription
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, Mobile-responsive
FoundedUnknown1995

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 Fundraise Up

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

Only in GuideStar

  • Nonprofit profile
  • Impact data
  • Donor verification
  • Financial transparency
  • Ratings
  • Salesforce
  • Google Analytics
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Fundraise Up

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

GuideStar

  • Business operationsnot Fundraise Up
  • Productivitynot Fundraise Up
  • Automationnot Fundraise Up

Where each one falls short

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

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.

GuideStar

  • GuideStar and Foundation Directory are being retired and merged into a single Candid platform, per Candid's own learning.candid.org help pages, with existing subscribers redirected to log in at app.candid.org
  • Candid's own pricing page lists Candid Premium (annual) at $1,199 per year in USD, and $219 per month if billed monthly, with an Ultimate annual tier at $1,699 per year adding compliance monitoring features
  • Candid's free tier limits search results, profile views and dashboards; full grants and profile data downloads are capped even on Premium annual, at 1,000 grants downloads and 5,000 profile downloads per month

Pricing, plan by plan

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

GuideStar

Free
  • ProfileFree
    • Nonprofit profile
    • Basic data
  • Gold$300/month
    • Enhanced profile
    • Donor verification
    • Impact reporting

Which should you pick?

Choose Fundraise Up if

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

Choose GuideStar if

  • You need nonprofit profile.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Mobile-responsive.
  • You also want impact data.
GuideStar review

Questions people ask

Is Fundraise Up or GuideStar better?
Neither clearly leads. Fundraise Up starts at On request and GuideStar at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fundraise Up or GuideStar?
GuideStar has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Fundraise Up and Free for GuideStar.
Does Fundraise Up or GuideStar run on more platforms?
Fundraise Up runs on Web. GuideStar runs on Web, Mobile-responsive.
Can I use GuideStar for free?
Yes. GuideStar has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Fundraise Up starts at On request.
What is Fundraise Up best used for?
Fundraise Up is most often used for a charity with a working crm and website that wants to raise online conversion without replatforming, an international organisation needing donors to give in local currency and language, a campaign pushing one time givers into monthly recurring support at the point of donation, a digital team that can measure conversion before and after and justify a percentage fee with data. Of those, a charity with a working crm and website that wants to raise online conversion without replatforming and an international organisation needing donors to give in local currency and language are not what GuideStar is typically brought in for.
What can Fundraise Up do that GuideStar cannot?
Fundraise Up covers Embedded donation checkout, Digital wallet payments, Recurring gift upgrade prompts, Multi currency and multi language. GuideStar covers Nonprofit profile, Impact data, Donor verification, Financial transparency.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

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.

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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