Both court small nonprofits, from opposite directions: Givebutter with free, modern, payments-first tooling; Network for Good (now Bonterra Guided Fundraising) with paid software plus human coaching.
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.
Coaching-led fundraising platform now operating as a Bonterra product. Small nonprofits without a dedicated development director who want a platform plus human guidance. Now a Bonterra product. Pricing is by quote with annual contracts; coaching and onboarding services are bundled. Effective monthly cost has historically landed in the low three figures at the entry tier, but contact sales for current pricing.
Watch out for
Watch out for
| Capability | Givebutter | Network for Good | DonorForge* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price | Free tier | By quote | 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 · networkforgood.com · g2.com
On raw value Givebutter is hard to beat — free software, polished donation pages, and rapid product velocity. Network for Good justifies its subscription with onboarding and coaching, which matters if nobody on staff has run fundraising before. If you don't need the hand-holding, Givebutter keeps the budget for your mission; if you do, weigh whether coaching is worth the recurring cost as the Bonterra transition settles.
Pick Givebutter if you are
Budget-conscious teams comfortable running their own fundraising playbook.
Pick Network for Good if you are
Organizations that want a coach bundled with their software.
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.