Best Nonprofit Event Software, Compared on Fees

The best event software for most small nonprofits is a free platform such as Zeffy or Givebutter, which charge your charity nothing on ticket sales and ask supporters for an optional tip instead. Ticket Tailor is the cheapest fixed-fee option, at $0.85 a ticket with 50% off for registered charities. Eventbrite costs the most on paid tickets, about $1,020 on 200 tickets at $50, and its nonprofit discount does not reduce ticketing fees. For galas with auctions, OneCause and GiveSmart are the specialists, but neither publishes a price.

Most lists of nonprofit event software are written by one of the vendors on them. This one compares the fees each platform publishes on its own site, read on 28 October 2026, and works out what each would take from the same event. It covers registration and ticketing; auction-specific planning is in how to run a charity auction.

The platforms at a glance

What each takes from the same event

The headline fee is not the whole cost. Some platforms charge a percentage and a fixed amount per ticket, then add card processing on top; others charge nothing and rely on supporters’ tips. Here is the same event, 200 tickets at $50, if your charity absorbs the fees:

Our calculation from each platform’s published US fees, assuming one ticket per order and card payment. Eventbrite’s processing fee is calculated on the order total; we have applied it to the $50 ticket, as when you absorb the fees. Ticket Tailor’s charity price assumes the 50% discount applies to its $0.85 pay-as-you-go fee. Bloomerang’s processing applies to event registration and its Fundraising product must be bought with its CRM. Humanitix is left out because its own pages give two different US fees. Work out your own figure with the donation fee calculator.

Two things change the picture. First, most platforms let you pass fees to the buyer, so your charity keeps the full $50 and the supporter pays a little more. Whether that is wise depends on your audience; a $5 fee on a $50 ticket is noticeable, and some supporters resent it. Second, the free platforms are not free to everyone. Zeffy and Givebutter fund themselves through a contribution prompt at checkout, so your supporters pay instead of you, voluntarily. That is a reasonable trade for most small charities, but tell your supporters plainly that the tip goes to the platform, not to you.

The platforms

Zeffy

Zeffy describes itself as “100% free, always” and says it covers card and transaction fees, funding itself through optional contributions from supporters. It sells tickets with multiple types (general admission, group, VIP tables, sponsor tiers), scans QR codes at the door, supports Tap to Pay, can suggest a donation on top of a ticket and issues tax receipts. It also runs auctions, raffles and peer-to-peer campaigns. Eligibility, from its help centre: “You must have an EIN – you do not need to be a 501(c)(3), but an EIN is mandatory”, and it serves organizations in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia and Germany. We found no seating chart. Best for small charities that want no fees and do not need reserved seating.

Givebutter

Givebutter’s pricing charges “0% platform fees across all campaign types when tips are enabled”, and says nonprofits pay no processing fees with tips on. Turn tips off and a flat 3% platform fee applies, plus processing of 2.9% + 30 cents on cards and 1.9% + 30 cents on ACH. The core tools are free; Givebutter Plus starts at $29 a month. Its events pages list unlimited free and paid ticket types, bundles for tables and VIP packages, promo codes, custom questions, check-in by scanning in its app, auctions with mobile bidding and peer-to-peer fundraising. Best when an event is one part of a wider campaign, because donations, auctions and tickets sit in one system. See nonprofit fundraising software for how it compares as a donation platform.

Ticket Tailor

Ticket Tailor charges a flat fee per ticket rather than a percentage: $0.85 a ticket pay as you go, or from $0.30 if you buy ticket credits upfront, in its US dollar view. It says “Registered charities get 50% off our fees”, for good, on proof of charitable status. Card processing is separate, through Stripe, PayPal or Square; Stripe’s standard US rate is 2.9% + 30 cents. Free tickets cost nothing up to an annual allowance, which its pricing page gives as 5,000 and its FAQ as 2,000. Reserved seating uses an extra credit per seat. It has a free check-in app. We did not find a donation add-on at checkout. Best for charities selling higher-priced tickets, where a flat fee beats a percentage.

Eventbrite

Eventbrite is free for free events. For paid tickets in the US, its fees article says: “Service fee is 3.7% + $1.79 per sold ticket. Payment processing fee is 2.9% of the total order.” Buyers pay these by default; you can choose to absorb them. Donation tickets pay only the 2.9% processing fee in the US. The nonprofit offer is narrower than it sounds: its nonprofit pricing article gives 50% off an eligible Pro plan, says Premium plans are not eligible, and says “Nonprofit pricing does not reduce standard Ticketing Fees for paid tickets or add-ons.” Its plans article also says Pro plans are no longer available to new subscribers, so a charity signing up now gets no nonprofit saving on tickets. What Eventbrite offers instead is reach: events are listed where people search for things to do. Best for public events that need to find an audience beyond your supporters.

RallyUp

RallyUp has a Free plan funded by supporters’ tips that says “you will never pay a platform fee, even if no donors tip”, and a Flex plan with fees by activity: 2.9% on ticketing, 4.9% on auctions (capped at $100 per auction item) and 6.9% on raffles. Card processing, 1.9% to 2.9% plus 30 cents, is paid to the processor on either plan. It combines ticketing with raffles, online auctions, peer-to-peer and livestreaming; live auctions and paddle raises need Flex. Raffles are regulated by state law, so check the rules in nonprofit raffle rules first. Best for events built around raffles and auctions.

Humanitix

Humanitix describes itself as a registered charity that donates 100% of its profits, and it gives registered charities a discounted booking fee. Free events cost nothing. The problem is the US fee. Its US pricing page shows 2.1% + $0.99 plus processing, and 1% + $0.99 for charities; its help centre, updated 23 June 2026, gives 5% + $1.29 plus tax for US events and 3.9% + $1.29 for charities. The help centre lists the lower structure for other currencies, so the pricing page may be showing the wrong figures for the US. Ask Humanitix for your rate in writing before you rely on either. Booking fees are passed to buyers by default. It has reserved seating and a scanning app.

Ticketleap

Ticketleap’s help centre lists $1 + 2% a ticket for tickets over $5, plus a 3% transaction fee per order, with the ticket fee capped at $20, and no fees on free events. It says plainly: “We currently do not offer discounted pricing for nonprofit organizations.” Online fees can be passed to buyers; the 3% on sales at the door cannot. The cap makes it worth a look for expensive gala tickets.

Bloomerang Fundraising

Formerly Qgiv, Bloomerang Fundraising starts at $40 a month but must be bought with Bloomerang’s CRM, from $125 a month. Its processing rates are 3.95% + 30 cents on cards, 4.95% + 30 cents on American Express and 1.95% + 95 cents on ACH. Events get custom registration fields, ticket bundles, add-on donations, QR check-in and drag-and-drop seating. Best for charities already on Bloomerang, because attendees land in the donor database without an import. See donor management software for the CRM itself.

OneCause and GiveSmart

Both are built for galas with silent and live auctions, mobile bidding, table management and check-in, and both sell on quotes. OneCause shows “Get Pricing” for its plans. GiveSmart publishes no subscription price; its Pay-As-You-Go option is “$0 to get started” with a transaction fee it does not publish. Ask for the full cost of your event, including processing, in writing. Best for events raising six figures, where auction tools pay for themselves.

Zoom Events

Zoom Events costs $149 a month, or $124.17 a month billed annually, with ticket types from early bird to VIP. It is the option for a virtual conference or hybrid event rather than an in-person fundraiser. Check the attendee capacity included before you buy; we could not confirm it on the pricing page. Zoom’s general nonprofit discounts are in nonprofit software discounts.

The tax rule every ticketed event has to follow

When a supporter pays more than $75 for a ticket that includes a dinner or other benefit, the IRS treats part of it as a payment for goods and part as a gift. Under the IRS quid pro quo contribution rules, your charity must give a written statement saying the payment is deductible only to the extent it exceeds the value of what the supporter received, and giving a good-faith estimate of that value. The penalty for failing is $10 per contribution, up to $5,000 per fundraising event or mailing, unless the failure had reasonable cause. So a $150 gala ticket with a $60 dinner needs a statement that only the amount above the $60 dinner, $90, is deductible.

Most platforms send a confirmation email but not a correct disclosure. Check whether yours lets you state the fair market value on the ticket and the receipt. If it does not, send your own: the donation receipt template includes the quid pro quo wording. Add-on donations at checkout are pure gifts and need a normal receipt; sponsorship packages are covered in corporate sponsorship.

How to choose

• Free community event, small charity: Zeffy or Givebutter with tips on. Your charity pays nothing.
• Paid tickets at $50 or more, no auction: Ticket Tailor at the charity rate, or Ticketleap for expensive tickets where its cap applies.
• Public event that needs new attendees: Eventbrite, and pass the fees to buyers.
• Raffle or auction night: RallyUp, Givebutter or Zeffy at a small scale; OneCause or GiveSmart for a large gala.
• Charity already on a donor CRM: use its own event tool if it has one, such as Bloomerang’s, so attendees become donor records automatically.
• Virtual conference: Zoom Events.

Whichever you choose, the data that matters after the event is who came, who gave and who should be thanked. Export attendee and donor lists into your nonprofit CRM within a week, and send thank-you letters using the donation thank-you letter templates. For staffing the night, volunteer management software handles shifts and sign-ups.

Are fundraising events still worth it?

For the charities that run them, yes. In IRS Form 990 data the median fundraising event raised $45,751 in 2023, more than before the pandemic, but only 24.1% of charities reported holding one, down from 28.4% in 2019. The full figures are in nonprofit fundraising trends. For other ways to raise money with less work, see fundraising ideas, and for a campaign built around a single day, GivingTuesday.

How this list was made

We read each platform’s pricing, help-centre and nonprofit pages on its own site on 28 October 2026, in US dollars where a currency choice was offered. Fees change often, so check the vendor’s page before you commit. Where a vendor’s own pages contradict each other, as Humanitix’s and Ticket Tailor’s do, we say so rather than choose one. No vendor paid to be included and we take no referral fees. Platforms that sell only on quotes are included because they are common for galas, but we cannot compare their cost.