This is really a comparison of two generations of fundraising software. Givebutter is a modern, free, payment-first platform that grew out of event and peer-to-peer fundraising. DonorPerfect is one of the longest-running traditional donor CRMs, built around the development office workflow.
Published by DonorForge, which competes with both. Pricing and features below are sourced from each vendor’s public pages and review sites; the verdict is ours, the table is theirs.
Free fundraising platform monetized through optional donor tips. Organizations running campaign-driven fundraising (events, P2P, crowdfunding) more than ongoing donor stewardship. Free tier with 0% platform and processing fees when donor tips are enabled (3% platform fee otherwise, plus 2.9% + $0.30 card processing). Givebutter Plus paid tier starts at $29 per month for up to 250 contacts and scales to $1,548 per month at 50,000+ contacts.
Long-running, highly configurable nonprofit CRM with a deep feature set. Nonprofits that need extensive customization and have IT or admin capacity to configure it. Pricing starts at $129 per month at the entry tier; tier-specific pricing is by quote, with online forms, recurring giving, and integrations on the higher plans. Setup fees may apply.
Watch out for
Watch out for
| Capability | Givebutter | DonorPerfect | DonorForge* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price | Free tier | From $129/mo | Free tier |
| Donor records & giving history | ◐ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Hosted donation pages | ✓ | ◐ | ✓ |
| Recurring giving (donor self-managed) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pledge tracking & dunning | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Grant pipeline & reporting | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Peer-to-peer fundraising | ✓ | ◐ | ✓ |
| Built-in donor email | ✓ | ◐ | ✓ |
| SMS / text-to-give | ✓ | ◐ | ✓ |
| Automated tax receipts | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Stripe + ACH out of the box | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Custom reports / board reports | ◐ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-fund accounting | ◐ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Real free tier (not a trial) | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| QuickBooks / accounting export | ◐ | ✓ | ◐ |
| Soft credits & household rollups | ◐ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Native mobile app | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Event / seating management | ◐ | — | ✓ |
*DonorForge included for reference — we make it, so read that column with the appropriate salt. Sources: givebutter.com · g2.com · donorperfect.com · g2.com
Givebutter wins on cost and modern donation UX; its CRM layer is newer and lighter. DonorPerfect wins on depth — gift entry, pledges, soft credits, reporting discipline — and costs accordingly. Small orgs running events and online campaigns lean Givebutter; established development offices with data hygiene needs lean DonorPerfect.
Pick Givebutter if you are
Event- and campaign-driven teams that want free, modern donation tooling first.
Pick DonorPerfect if you are
Development offices that need traditional CRM depth and mature reporting.
Donor records, recurring giving, pledges, campaigns, event seating, tap-to-pay terminals, and bookkeeping in one ledger — the full Pro plan at $0 for the next 200 signups. Not a trial. No card. Your data exports freely if it isn’t a fit.