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.
Interactive fee calculator
The interactive calculator needs JavaScript; the tables below summarise the same data.
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, FundraisingBox and Zeffy. The calculator above lets you plug in your own monthly amounts, Gift Aid rate and text-giving mix; the tables here summarise a typical month so you can see the answer at a glance.
How the platforms charge
| Platform | Transaction fee | Gift Aid | Monthly fee | Raffles | Auctions | Text giving |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DONATE | 4.5% + 22p (charities) without Gift Aid; no percentage fee on a Gift Aided donation, just 22p | Fully managed; you keep 60% of the Gift Aid, and our 40% replaces the 4.5% fee | £3 usage fee per week, only in weeks donations reach £10, capped at £12 a month (no subscription) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| JustGiving Grow | 1.9% + 30p (web)donors are prompted to tip JustGiving | 5% of Gift Aid claimed | £15 or £39 + VAT (£18 or £46.80), by amount raised | ✗no tool; allowed on charity pages | ✗ | ✓via Fonix |
| Enthuse | 1.9% + 30p; none on the Donations plan0% platform fee, no payout fee listed | 5% of Gift Aid claimed | £0 to £39.99 + VAT, by plan | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| GoFundMe | 1.9% + 20p (charities) | Claimed by PayPal Giving Fund; the charity receives 100% | £0 | ✗prohibited | ✗prohibited | ✗GoFundMe Pro only, UK not confirmed |
| FundraisingBox | 4% + VAT, plus payment provider fees | Not on their site; you claim yourself | £0 | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Zeffy | £0 to the charityfunded by optional donor contributions requested at checkout | Through a Swiftaid connectionSwiftaid's own fees may apply | £0 | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
Zeffy is free to charities because it asks donors for an optional contribution at checkout. That contribution comes from your supporters' generosity.
One-to-one comparisons: DONATE vs Zeffy, DONATE vs GoFundMe, DONATE vs JustGiving, DONATE vs Enthuse and JustGiving alternatives.
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 | £473.25 | 94.7% | Text giving, Gift Aid, raffles, auctions, team challenges and voting in one account, no subscription |
| JustGiving Grow | £470.63 | 94.1% | £18 a month subscription and donor tips reduce what reaches you; text giving only through the Fonix integration |
| GoFundMe | £310.80 | 62.2% | No text giving, so the £200 by text is never given; raffles and auctions prohibited |
| Enthuse | £273.38 | 54.7% | No text giving, so the £200 by text is never given; £39.99 a month + VAT |
Assumes ~50 donations of £10, JustGiving's suggested 12.5% tip accepted on 60% of web donations (Enthuse, GoFundMe and DONATE also offer donors an optional tip, not modelled here), JustGiving text gifts charged at its web rate because Fonix's charges are not published, and each platform's published rates (sources below the calculator; analysis prepared March 2026, competitor rates rechecked October 2026). Where a platform has no text giving, the share given by text is counted as never given, because supporters who would have texted have nowhere to give.
A worked raffle example
Suppose your PTA or charity runs a £500 online raffle: 50 supporters buying £10 of tickets over four weeks. Raffle tickets don't qualify for Gift Aid (here's why), so on DONATE the fees are 4.5% + 22p per transaction (£33.50), £12 in usage fees (£3 for each of the four selling weeks) and a £10.50 payout fee: you receive £444.00 of the £500 raised, or 88.8%, with ticketing, the draw and winner notification all handled for you. GoFundMe's terms prohibit raffles and Enthuse does not offer them on its site; where a platform allows raffles, as on DONATE, your organisation holds its own lottery licence.
Want the numbers for your own situation? Use the calculator at the top of the page: drag the sliders and every figure recalculates.