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Nonprofits · head to head

Fundraise Up vs GiveSmart

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
GiveSmart logo

GiveSmart

Nonprofits

Mobile bidding and event fundraising for charity auctions and galas

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.; GiveSmart licensing is annual while many buyers run a single event a year, so the effective cost per event is far higher than the annual figure makes it look.
  • They diverge on capability: Fundraise Up covers Embedded donation checkout, GiveSmart covers Mobile bidding.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Fundraise Up and GiveSmart differ
AttributeFundraise UpGiveSmart
Pricing modelPercentage of each donationquote
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), 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 GiveSmart

  • Mobile bidding
  • Auction management
  • Ticketing and check in
  • Text to give
  • Paddle raise and appeals
  • Payment settlement

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 GiveSmart
  • An international organisation needing donors to give in local currency and languagenot GiveSmart
  • A campaign pushing one time givers into monthly recurring support at the point of donationnot GiveSmart
  • A digital team that can measure conversion before and after and justify a percentage fee with datanot GiveSmart

GiveSmart

  • A hospital or school foundation running an annual gala with a live and silent auctionnot Fundraise Up
  • An organisation losing revenue to uncollected pledges after event nightnot Fundraise Up
  • A charity running several auction events a year that can amortise an annual licencenot Fundraise Up
  • A team wanting bidding, check in and payment settlement handled by one system on the nightnot 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.

GiveSmart

  • Licensing is annual while many buyers run a single event a year, so the effective cost per event is far higher than the annual figure makes it look.
  • Pricing is not published, and quotes commonly separate the licence, payment processing, hardware and event night staffing, so the first number a buyer sees is rarely the total.
  • On site technical support and equipment are usually extra, and organisations that decline them discover that event night is the worst possible time to be self supporting.
  • It is event software rather than a donor CRM, so guest and bidder data has to be pushed into the CRM afterwards or the relationship built at the gala is not retained.
  • Consolidation under Community Brands means several nominally competing products share an owner, which reduces the negotiating leverage a buyer thinks a shortlist gives them.

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

GiveSmart

On request
  • GiveSmart$undefined/year
    • Quoted as an annual licence rather than per event
    • Payment processing charged separately on funds raised
    • On site staffing, hardware and additional event support quoted as add ons

Which should you pick?

Choose Fundraise Up if

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

Choose GiveSmart if

  • You need mobile bidding.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want auction management.
GiveSmart review

Questions people ask

Is Fundraise Up or GiveSmart better?
Neither clearly leads. Fundraise Up starts at On request and GiveSmart at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fundraise Up or GiveSmart?
Fundraise Up starts at On request and GiveSmart at On request.
Does Fundraise Up or GiveSmart run on more platforms?
Fundraise Up runs on Web. GiveSmart runs on Web, iOS, Android.
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 GiveSmart is typically brought in for.
What can Fundraise Up do that GiveSmart cannot?
Fundraise Up covers Embedded donation checkout, Digital wallet payments, Recurring gift upgrade prompts, Multi currency and multi language. GiveSmart covers Mobile bidding, Auction management, Ticketing and check in, Text to give.

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.

GiveSmart: Is GiveSmart priced per event?

It is normally an annual licence, so organisations running one event a year carry the full cost against one night.

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.

GiveSmart: Who owns GiveSmart?

Community Brands, the private equity backed nonprofit and association software group that also owns MemberClicks.

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.

GiveSmart: Does it replace our donor database?

No. It captures bidders and guests at an event and needs to feed a CRM afterwards.

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.

GiveSmart: What is the actual benefit over paper bid sheets?

Bidding continues across the room and payment settles before guests leave, which is where paper auctions lose money.

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