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Nonprofits · head to head

Raisely vs Sumac

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
Sumac logo

Sumac

Nonprofits

Modular nonprofit CRM that pairs donor management with client case management

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Sumac pricing is not published at all, so a small organisation cannot compare Sumac against per contact priced competitors without committing to a sales process.
  • They diverge on capability: Raisely covers Peer to peer fundraising, Sumac covers Donor and gift management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Raisely and Sumac actually diverge.

Attributes where Raisely and Sumac differ
AttributeRaiselySumac
Pricing modelFree core platform funded by optional donor tipsquote
PlatformsWebWeb, Windows

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 Raisely

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

Only in Sumac

  • Donor and gift management
  • Case management module
  • Memberships and volunteers
  • Grant management
  • Role based permissions
  • Custom fields and forms

What people use each for

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

Raisely

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

Sumac

  • A social service agency that must record client cases and donor gifts without buying two systemsnot Raisely
  • A charity that wants only donor and grant modules and refuses to pay for an events suite it will not usenot Raisely
  • A Canadian organisation wanting local support hours and receipting conventionsnot Raisely
  • An agency replacing a legacy Access or FileMaker database with something supportednot Raisely

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Sumac

  • Pricing is not published at all, so a small organisation cannot compare Sumac against per contact priced competitors without committing to a sales process.
  • The interface reflects the product's age, and staff arriving from consumer grade software find navigation and data entry slower than in newer CRMs.
  • Holding client case notes and donor records in one database makes permission design a compliance obligation, and a misconfigured role can expose confidential client material to fundraising staff.
  • The integration catalogue is small, so payment, email and accounting connections outside the listed few mean manual export or paid custom work.
  • Modular licensing means the price rises in visible steps as programmes expand, and organisations frequently discover the module they need most was not in the original quote.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Sumac

On request
  • Sumac$undefined/year
    • Quoted by module selection and organisation size
    • Case management is a separately licensed module
    • Implementation and data migration quoted separately

Which should you pick?

Choose Raisely if

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

Choose Sumac if

  • You need donor and gift management.
  • You work on Web, Windows.
  • You also want case management module.
Sumac review

Questions people ask

Is Raisely or Sumac better?
Neither clearly leads. Raisely starts at On request and Sumac at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Raisely or Sumac?
Raisely starts at On request and Sumac at On request.
Does Raisely or Sumac run on more platforms?
Raisely runs on Web. Sumac runs on Web, Windows.
What is Raisely best used for?
Raisely is most often used for a charity running a challenge or endurance event where supporters raise money on their own pages, a campaign team that wants each appeal to look bespoke without rebuilding infrastructure each time, an organisation unwilling to give a platform a percentage of a large peer to peer income line, a digital team with front end skills or an agency partner who will customise the supporter journey. Of those, a charity running a challenge or endurance event where supporters raise money on their own pages and a campaign team that wants each appeal to look bespoke without rebuilding infrastructure each time are not what Sumac is typically brought in for.
What can Raisely do that Sumac cannot?
Raisely covers Peer to peer fundraising, Customisable campaign pages, Recurring giving, Matched giving and appeals. Sumac covers Donor and gift management, Case management module, Memberships and volunteers, Grant management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Sumac: Is Sumac the same product as Societ?

The vendor has been moving its products under the Societ brand, so you may see both names for the same platform during a sales cycle.

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.

Sumac: Can it handle client case management?

Yes, that is its clearest differentiator among donor CRMs. It is a licensed module, not part of the base product.

Raisely: Is it a donor CRM?

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

Sumac: Is pricing published?

No. It is quoted by module and organisation size, which makes like for like comparison harder than with published per contact products.

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.

Sumac: Does it work for US charities?

Yes, though the vendor is Canadian and its receipting and support conventions are strongest for Canadian organisations.

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