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Nonprofits · head to head

Give Lively vs Tendenci

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
Tendenci logo

Tendenci

Nonprofits

Open-source association management system for nonprofits

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.; Tendenci self-hosting is a real operational commitment, and organisations without technical capacity should not treat the free licence as a free system
  • They diverge on capability: Give Lively covers Branded donation pages, Tendenci covers Open-source licence.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Give Lively and Tendenci differ
AttributeGive LivelyTendenci
Pricing modelFree to nonprofits, card processing charged by the processorOpen source, with paid hosting available
PlatformsWebWeb, Linux, Self-hosted, Cloud

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Tendenci

  • Open-source licence
  • Membership management
  • Events and registration
  • Donations
  • Content-managed website
  • Email

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 Tendenci
  • Running a peer-to-peer campaign where thin margins make a per-donation platform cut painfulnot Tendenci
  • A small organisation with no software budget that still needs branded, mobile-ready donation pagesnot Tendenci
  • Adding donor advised fund giving at checkout without paying for a separate DAF integrationnot Tendenci

Tendenci

  • Nonprofits whose boards require member and donor data to stay under their own controlnot Give Lively
  • Organisations with data residency obligations a hosted platform cannot satisfynot Give Lively
  • Groups with technical capacity wanting to avoid per-member subscription costs at scalenot Give Lively
  • Associations needing to customise workflows beyond what a proprietary platform allowsnot 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.

Tendenci

  • Self-hosting is a real operational commitment, and organisations without technical capacity should not treat the free licence as a free system
  • The community is small compared with mainstream open-source projects, so answers are harder to find and contributors are few
  • The interface is dated against the commercial association platforms and this is the most common user complaint
  • Fewer integrations than commercial competitors, and building them is a development task rather than a configuration one
  • Feature depth in events and continuing education is behind the specialist commercial systems

Pricing, plan by plan

Give Lively

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

Tendenci

Free
  • Self-hostedFree
    • Full source code
    • No per-member licence
    • Community support
  • Managed hosting$undefined/month
    • Hosted and maintained
    • Updates applied
    • Support included

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 Tendenci if

  • You need open-source licence.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Cloud.
  • You also want membership management.
Tendenci review

Questions people ask

Is Give Lively or Tendenci better?
Neither clearly leads. Give Lively starts at Free and Tendenci at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Give Lively or Tendenci?
Give Lively starts at Free and Tendenci at Free.
Does Give Lively or Tendenci run on more platforms?
Give Lively runs on Web. Tendenci runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Cloud.
Can I use Give Lively for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Tendenci is typically brought in for.
What can Give Lively do that Tendenci cannot?
Give Lively covers Branded donation pages, Peer-to-peer fundraising, Text-to-donate, Event ticketing. Tendenci covers Open-source licence, Membership management, Events and registration, Donations.

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.

Tendenci: Is Tendenci really free?

The software is, under an open-source licence with no per-member fee. Running it is not: hosting, updates, backups and security are the organisation responsibility unless managed hosting is purchased.

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.

Tendenci: Who should choose it?

Organisations with a genuine requirement to control their own data, and the technical capacity to act on it. Choosing it purely to avoid subscription cost usually ends badly.

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

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

Tendenci: Can I move my data out?

Yes, entirely. That is the point. Data lives in a PostgreSQL database you control, and there is no vendor holding it.

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.

Tendenci: How does it compare to Wild Apricot?

Wild Apricot is easier, better supported and better looking. Tendenci is the answer when data ownership is a requirement rather than a preference.

Tendenci: Is it actively maintained?

It is developed openly on GitHub with a small team and community. Check recent commit activity before committing, as with any small open-source project.

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