Platform Comparison
Compare UK fundraising platform fees
See how much of every donation actually reaches your cause on DONATE, JustGiving, Enthuse, GoFundMe and others — with real numbers, not marketing headlines.
Every UK fundraising platform advertises a low headline rate, but the amount your charity actually receives depends on the full stack of charges: transaction fees, Gift Aid processing fees, monthly subscriptions, payout fees and — on some platforms — "voluntary" donor tips that come out of your supporters' generosity. Comparing platforms on the headline percentage alone is how charities end up losing hundreds of pounds a year without noticing.
This page compares the platforms UK charities most often shortlist: DONATE (run by the National Funding Scheme, a registered charity), JustGiving, Enthuse, GoFundMe and FundraisingBox. The interactive calculator below lets you plug in your own monthly amounts, Gift Aid rate and text-giving mix; the tables here summarise a typical scenario so you can see the shape of the answer at a glance.
How the platforms charge
| Platform | Transaction fee | Gift Aid | Monthly fee | Raffles / auctions / text |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DONATE | 4.5% + 22p (charities); Gift Aid–backed donations charged from the Gift Aid instead | Fully managed; fee taken from the 25% uplift, not your donation | £6–£12 (tiered by amount raised) | All included — raffles, auctions, text giving, tap to donate |
| JustGiving Grow | 1.9% + 30p (web) | 5% of Gift Aid claimed | £15–£39 + VAT (tiered) | Basic raffles; no auctions; text giving carries a 5% fee. Donors are prompted to tip JustGiving |
| Enthuse | 1.9% + 30p | 5% of Gift Aid claimed | £39.99 | No raffles, auctions or text giving; 5% payout fee applies |
| GoFundMe | 1.9% + 20p | Not supported — you claim yourself | £0 | Raffles prohibited; auctions Pro only; no text giving |
| FundraisingBox | 5.4% + 20p | Not supported — you claim yourself | £0 | No raffles, auctions or text giving; donor tipping applies |
A typical month, side by side
Take a charity whose supporters give £500 in a month, where 30% of donations carry Gift Aid and 40% arrive by text message. After every fee on every platform, here is what reaches the charity:
| Platform | Charity receives | % of donors' £ (incl. Gift Aid) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| DONATE | £472.75 | 94.6% | All features included |
| JustGiving Grow | £470.43 | 94.1% | Donor tips reduce net; 5% text-giving fee |
| Enthuse | £447.58 | 89.5% | No text giving; 5% payout fee + £39.99/mo |
| GoFundMe | £380.50 | 76.1% | No Gift Aid processing or text giving |
Assumes ~50 donations of £10, JustGiving's suggested 12.5% tip accepted on 60% of web donations, and each platform's published rates (sources below the calculator; analysis prepared March 2026). Platforms without a feature are shown as if the money still arrived by other channels — in practice a missing channel usually means the donation is never made.
A worked raffle example
Suppose your PTA or charity runs a £500 online raffle — 50 supporters buying £10 of tickets. Raffle tickets don't qualify for Gift Aid (here's why), so on DONATE the fees are 4.5% + 22p per transaction (£33.50), a £12 platform month and an £11 payout fee: you receive £443.50 of the £500 raised — 88.7%, with ticketing, the draw and winner notification all handled for you. Most general-purpose platforms either prohibit raffles outright or leave you running the compliance side yourself.
Want the numbers for your own situation? Use the calculator below — drag the sliders and every figure recalculates.
Interactive fee calculator
The interactive calculator needs JavaScript — the tables above summarise the same data.