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Nonprofits · head to head

Give Lively vs Raisely

Give Lively logo

Give Lively

Nonprofits

Fundraising software given free to nonprofits, funded by its founders rather than by fees

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Raisely logo

Raisely

Nonprofits

Peer to peer and campaign fundraising platform funded by optional donor tips rather than a platform fee

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Give Lively has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Give Lively eligibility is limited to US 501(c)(3) organisations, so charities registered in the UK, Canada, Australia or the EU cannot use it at all regardless of fit.; Raisely the tip model performs unevenly, so an organisation with an older or offline recruited donor base sees a lower tip rate and quietly absorbs more of the platform cost than the model assumes.
  • They diverge on capability: Give Lively covers Branded donation pages, Raisely covers Peer to peer fundraising.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Give Lively and Raisely actually diverge.

Attributes where Give Lively and Raisely differ
AttributeGive LivelyRaisely
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelFree to nonprofits, card processing charged by the processorFree core platform funded by optional donor tips
Free tierYesNo

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 Give Lively

  • Branded donation pages
  • Peer-to-peer fundraising
  • Text-to-donate
  • Event ticketing
  • Donor database
  • DAFpay
  • Multiple processors

Only in Raisely

  • Peer to peer fundraising
  • Customisable campaign pages
  • Recurring giving
  • Matched giving and appeals
  • Open API and webhooks
  • Automations

What people use each for

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

Give Lively

  • A US nonprofit currently paying a percentage platform fee on every gift and wanting that money back in programme budgetnot Raisely
  • Running a peer-to-peer campaign where thin margins make a per-donation platform cut painfulnot Raisely
  • A small organisation with no software budget that still needs branded, mobile-ready donation pagesnot Raisely
  • Adding donor advised fund giving at checkout without paying for a separate DAF integrationnot Raisely

Raisely

  • A charity running a challenge or endurance event where supporters raise money on their own pagesnot Give Lively
  • A campaign team that wants each appeal to look bespoke without rebuilding infrastructure each timenot Give Lively
  • An organisation unwilling to give a platform a percentage of a large peer to peer income linenot Give Lively
  • A digital team with front end skills or an agency partner who will customise the supporter journeynot Give Lively

Where each one falls short

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

Give Lively

  • Eligibility is limited to US 501(c)(3) organisations, so charities registered in the UK, Canada, Australia or the EU cannot use it at all regardless of fit.
  • The platform is funded by its founders' personal philanthropy rather than by revenue, so there is no contractual commitment to a roadmap or a service level and no paying customer base to keep it alive if that funding stops.
  • Support is email based with no paid escalation tier, so an organisation mid-campaign with a broken form has no way to buy faster attention.
  • The donor database is adequate for gift tracking but thin compared with a real CRM, so most organisations still pay for Bloomerang, DonorPerfect or Salesforce alongside it and maintain a sync.
  • Optional donor tips appear at checkout to fund the platform, which some boards object to because it puts a second ask in front of a donor who has already decided what to give.

Raisely

  • The tip model performs unevenly, so an organisation with an older or offline recruited donor base sees a lower tip rate and quietly absorbs more of the platform cost than the model assumes.
  • It is a campaign platform, not a CRM, so supporter data must be synced onward and organisations that skip that step lose cross channel giving history.
  • Getting the most out of the customisation requires front end capability, and charities without it run campaigns that look like the default template while paying for a platform built for the opposite.
  • Support hours are anchored to Australian time zones, which leaves European and North American teams waiting overnight during a live campaign.
  • Payment processing is tied to a small set of processors, so organisations with an existing merchant relationship or unusual regional payment needs may not be able to keep it.

Pricing, plan by plan

Give Lively

Free
  • Give LivelyFree
    • All fundraising products included
    • No platform fee on donations
    • No setup or subscription charge

Raisely

On request
  • Raisely$undefined/year
    • No platform percentage charged to the organisation on the core plan
    • Donors are prompted to add an optional contribution to the platform at checkout
    • Card processing is charged separately by the payment processor

Which should you pick?

Choose Give Lively if

  • You need branded donation pages.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want peer-to-peer fundraising.
Give Lively review

Choose Raisely if

  • You need peer to peer fundraising.
  • You also want customisable campaign pages.
Raisely review

Questions people ask

Is Give Lively or Raisely better?
Neither clearly leads. Give Lively starts at Free and Raisely at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Give Lively or Raisely?
Give Lively has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Give Lively and On request for Raisely.
Does Give Lively or Raisely run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Give Lively for free?
Yes. Give Lively has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Raisely starts at On request.
What is Give Lively best used for?
Give Lively is most often used for a us nonprofit currently paying a percentage platform fee on every gift and wanting that money back in programme budget, running a peer-to-peer campaign where thin margins make a per-donation platform cut painful, a small organisation with no software budget that still needs branded, mobile-ready donation pages, adding donor advised fund giving at checkout without paying for a separate daf integration. Of those, a us nonprofit currently paying a percentage platform fee on every gift and wanting that money back in programme budget and running a peer-to-peer campaign where thin margins make a per-donation platform cut painful are not what Raisely is typically brought in for.
What can Give Lively do that Raisely cannot?
Give Lively covers Branded donation pages, Peer-to-peer fundraising, Text-to-donate, Event ticketing. Raisely covers Peer to peer fundraising, Customisable campaign pages, Recurring giving, Matched giving and appeals.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Give Lively: Is it genuinely free, or free with a percentage taken?

Genuinely free. Give Lively takes no cut of donations and charges no subscription. You pay only the card processing fee, which goes to Stripe, Shift4 or PayPal, starting around 1.99% plus $0.25.

Raisely: How does Raisely make money if there is no platform fee?

Donors are prompted to add a voluntary contribution to the platform at checkout, and some organisations pay for plans that remove the prompt.

Give Lively: How does the company make money?

It does not, in the ordinary sense. Operating costs are covered by its founders as a philanthropic commitment, plus voluntary tips donors can add at checkout.

Raisely: Does the tip prompt reduce donation totals?

It changes the checkout, and results vary by audience. Test it against your own list rather than relying on published averages.

Give Lively: Can a UK or Canadian charity use it?

No. Give Lively requires US 501(c)(3) status.

Raisely: Is it a donor CRM?

No. It runs campaigns and pushes data to a CRM through the API or an integration.

Give Lively: Does it replace a donor CRM?

Not for most organisations. It stores donors and gift history, but fundraisers running major gift or grant pipelines usually keep a dedicated CRM and sync to it.

Raisely: Who is it best for?

Peer to peer and challenge event fundraising where a percentage platform fee on high volume would be the largest single cost.

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