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Nonprofits · head to head

GiveWP vs Tendenci

GiveWP logo

GiveWP

Nonprofits

WordPress donation plugin for nonprofits

From
$199/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Tendenci logo

Tendenci

Nonprofits

Open-source association management system for nonprofits

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Tendenci has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: GiveWP recurring donations and fee recovery only available in Pro and Elite tiers; Essentials tier ($199/year) limited to one-time donations; 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: GiveWP covers Donation forms, Tendenci covers Open-source licence.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which GiveWP and Tendenci actually diverge.

Attributes where GiveWP and Tendenci differ
AttributeGiveWPTendenci
Starting price$199/yearFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, with paid hosting available
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWordPress plugin (self-hosted on WordPress sites)Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Cloud
Founded2012Unknown

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 GiveWP

  • Donation forms
  • Recurring donations
  • Donor management
  • Fundraising campaigns
  • Stripe
  • PayPal
  • Mailchimp
  • Zapier

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.

GiveWP

  • WordPress-hosted nonprofits managing donors with self-hosted data (no third-party donor database)not Tendenci
  • Organisations needing text-to-give and multi-gateway payment processing (Stripe, PayPal, Square, Apple Pay, Google Pay)not Tendenci

Tendenci

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

Where each one falls short

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

GiveWP

  • Recurring donations and fee recovery only available in Pro and Elite tiers; Essentials tier ($199/year) limited to one-time donations
  • Email marketing integrations (Mailchimp, Constant Contact, Salesforce) require Pro tier or higher
  • Peer-to-peer fundraising only available in Elite tier ($599/year); not in lower tiers

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

GiveWP

$199/year
  • Essentials$199/year
    • Everything needed to start fundraising on your own site
    • Unlimited donation forms
    • Donor database
  • Pro$399/year
    • All Essentials features
    • Recurring donations
    • Fee recovery options
  • Elite$599/year
    • All Pro features
    • Peer-to-peer fundraising
    • Funds and designations

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 GiveWP if

  • You need donation forms.
  • You work on WordPress plugin (self-hosted on WordPress sites).
  • You also want recurring donations.
GiveWP 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 GiveWP or Tendenci better?
Neither clearly leads. GiveWP starts at $199/year and Tendenci at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, GiveWP or Tendenci?
Tendenci has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $199/year for GiveWP and Free for Tendenci.
Does GiveWP or Tendenci run on more platforms?
GiveWP runs on WordPress plugin (self-hosted on WordPress sites). Tendenci runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Cloud.
Can I use Tendenci for free?
Yes. Tendenci has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. GiveWP starts at $199/year.
What is GiveWP best used for?
GiveWP is most often used for wordpress-hosted nonprofits managing donors with self-hosted data (no third-party donor database), organisations needing text-to-give and multi-gateway payment processing (stripe, paypal, square, apple pay, google pay). Of those, wordpress-hosted nonprofits managing donors with self-hosted data (no third-party donor database) and organisations needing text-to-give and multi-gateway payment processing (stripe, paypal, square, apple pay, google pay) are not what Tendenci is typically brought in for.
What can GiveWP do that Tendenci cannot?
GiveWP covers Donation forms, Recurring donations, Donor management, Fundraising campaigns. Tendenci covers Open-source licence, Membership management, Events and registration, Donations.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

GiveWP: How much does GiveWP cost?

GiveWP pricing starts at $199 per year for the Essentials plan, $399 per year for Pro, and $599 per year for Elite. There are no per-transaction donation processing fees on any tier.

Source
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.

GiveWP: Does GiveWP charge transaction fees on donations?

No, GiveWP charges no platform fees or per-donation transaction fees. Organizations only pay the standard payment processor fees (Stripe, PayPal, Square, etc.).

Source
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.

GiveWP: Do I own my donor data with GiveWP?

Yes, with GiveWP you retain complete data ownership of your donor relationships and donation history. There is no vendor lock-in.

Source
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.

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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