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Nonprofits · head to head

Raisely vs Tendenci

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
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: 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.; 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: Raisely covers Peer to peer fundraising, Tendenci covers Open-source licence.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Raisely and Tendenci actually diverge.

Attributes where Raisely and Tendenci differ
AttributeRaiselyTendenci
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelFree core platform funded by optional donor tipsOpen source, with paid hosting available
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, Linux, Self-hosted, Cloud

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 Raisely

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

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.

Raisely

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

Tendenci

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

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

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

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 Raisely if

  • You need peer to peer fundraising.
  • You also want customisable campaign pages.
Raisely 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 Raisely or Tendenci better?
Neither clearly leads. Raisely starts at On request and Tendenci at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Raisely or Tendenci?
Tendenci has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Raisely and Free for Tendenci.
Does Raisely or Tendenci run on more platforms?
Raisely runs on Web. 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. Raisely starts at On request.
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 Tendenci is typically brought in for.
What can Raisely do that Tendenci cannot?
Raisely covers Peer to peer fundraising, Customisable campaign pages, Recurring giving, Matched giving and appeals. Tendenci covers Open-source licence, Membership management, Events and registration, Donations.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Raisely: Is it a donor CRM?

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

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.

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.

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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