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Nonprofits · head to head

CiviCRM vs Raisely

CiviCRM logo

CiviCRM

Nonprofits

Open source constituent relationship management for nonprofits, with no per contact or per donation fee

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 CiviCRM has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: CiviCRM nobody maintains it for you, so security patches and major version upgrades are your operational responsibility and organisations that skip them end up stranded on an old release.; 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: CiviCRM covers Contribution and pledge tracking, 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 CiviCRM and Raisely actually diverge.

Attributes where CiviCRM and Raisely differ
AttributeCiviCRMRaisely
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeFree core platform funded by optional donor tips
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Linux, Self-hostedWeb

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 CiviCRM

  • Contribution and pledge tracking
  • Membership management
  • Events and registration
  • Case management
  • CMS integration
  • Extension framework

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.

CiviCRM

  • A membership organisation with a large contact file that refuses to pay a per contact meternot Raisely
  • An advocacy group needing to hold constituent data on infrastructure it controlsnot Raisely
  • A charity already running Drupal or WordPress that wants CRM inside the same stacknot Raisely
  • An organisation with unusual data requirements that no hosted product will build for itnot Raisely

Raisely

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

Where each one falls short

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

CiviCRM

  • Nobody maintains it for you, so security patches and major version upgrades are your operational responsibility and organisations that skip them end up stranded on an old release.
  • The interface and configuration model are dated compared with hosted competitors, and staff turnover is expensive when the next fundraiser has to be trained on it from scratch.
  • Extension quality is inconsistent, so a payment processor or integration that works on one version can break on the next with no vendor obligation to fix it.
  • Total cost of ownership is genuinely low only at scale, and a five person charity often pays more to a partner for setup and support than a hosted product would have charged outright.
  • Implementation partners hold the practical knowledge of your configuration, so switching partners can be as disruptive as switching products despite the software being free.

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

CiviCRM

Free
  • CiviCRMFree
    • No licence fee, no per contact charge and no percentage of donations
    • Costs are hosting, implementation partner time and upgrade work
    • Paid hosting and support available from partners at their own rates

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 CiviCRM if

  • You need contribution and pledge tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Self-hosted.
  • You also want membership management.
CiviCRM review

Choose Raisely if

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

Questions people ask

Is CiviCRM or Raisely better?
Neither clearly leads. CiviCRM 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, CiviCRM or Raisely?
CiviCRM has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for CiviCRM and On request for Raisely.
Does CiviCRM or Raisely run on more platforms?
CiviCRM runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted. Raisely runs on Web.
Can I use CiviCRM for free?
Yes. CiviCRM has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Raisely starts at On request.
What is CiviCRM best used for?
CiviCRM is most often used for a membership organisation with a large contact file that refuses to pay a per contact meter, an advocacy group needing to hold constituent data on infrastructure it controls, a charity already running drupal or wordpress that wants crm inside the same stack, an organisation with unusual data requirements that no hosted product will build for it. Of those, a membership organisation with a large contact file that refuses to pay a per contact meter and an advocacy group needing to hold constituent data on infrastructure it controls are not what Raisely is typically brought in for.
What can CiviCRM do that Raisely cannot?
CiviCRM covers Contribution and pledge tracking, Membership management, Events and registration, Case management. Raisely covers Peer to peer fundraising, Customisable campaign pages, Recurring giving, Matched giving and appeals.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CiviCRM: Is CiviCRM really free?

The software is, with no licence, per contact or per donation charge. Hosting, implementation and support are real costs and are where the budget goes.

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.

CiviCRM: Do we need a developer?

You need technical capacity, either in house or a retained partner. Treating it as a hosted product without support is the common failure mode.

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.

CiviCRM: Where does it win against commercial CRMs?

At scale. A large contact file or high donation volume that would cost tens of thousands a year in metered fees costs nothing in licence here.

Raisely: Is it a donor CRM?

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

CiviCRM: Can it be hosted for us?

Yes, several partners offer managed CiviCRM hosting, which removes the upgrade burden and reintroduces a monthly fee.

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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