Givebutter Review

Givebutter is a US fundraising and donor CRM platform run by Givebutter, Inc., whose executives are based in Austin, Texas, with an all-remote team. Max Friedman, Liran Cohen and Ari Krasner started it in 2016 while at college. It sells donation forms, fundraising pages, ticketed events, auctions, peer-to-peer campaigns, a donor CRM with email and text, a mobile app with Tap to Pay and card readers, and a Stripe-powered Wallet account with Visa spend cards. Every organisation is onboarded to a Stripe Connect account through Givebutter, and Givebutter sets the fees, holds campaign balances, approves payouts and handles disputes. As of October 2026, accounts created since 9 September 2025 have two choices per campaign. With donor tips switched on, Givebutter charges the organisation nothing: donors are asked to cover a 2.9% + 30 cent processing fee and to tip Givebutter, and under its Guarantee, Givebutter absorbs any processing fee they decline. With tips switched off, a flat 3% platform fee applies, plus 2.9% + 30 cents for cards (1.9% + 30 cents for ACH). Givebutter Plus adds automation and phone support from $29 a month billed annually. Payouts are withdrawn by hand and, according to the help centre, take 3 to 5 business days; the pricing page says 2 to 3. The tip model is under legal challenge: two proposed class actions filed in 2026 allege that Givebutter preselects tips and processing fees on donors' behalf without proper consent. Both are pending.

Estimated annual cost at three realistic processing volumes, using Givebutter’s published online rate plus monthly fees. Real costs vary with average transaction size, chargeback rate, and any negotiated terms.

What Givebutter is

Givebutter is fundraising and donor-management software for nonprofits and other cause-driven organisations in the United States, run by Givebutter, Inc. Its About page says its three co-founders met at college in Washington, D.C., and built the first version in 2016 to help a friend raise $13,000 for a nonprofit food truck. The BBB lists a business start date of 16 March 2016, and the Wayback Machine's earliest capture of givebutter.com is from May 2016. Max Friedman is co-founder and CEO; the other co-founders are Liran Cohen, Chief Technology and Product Officer, and Ari Krasner. The company's press releases are datelined Austin, Texas. The NonProfit Times reported in 2024 that its executives are based there and that the rest of the workforce is remote, and the About page says the team is spread across 25 states and 8 countries. In April 2024 Givebutter took a $50 million growth investment led by BVP Forge, Bessemer Venture Partners' growth fund, with existing investor Ardent Venture Partners. At the time it said more than 35,000 nonprofits used it and total donations had passed $1 billion. Bessemer is an investor, not an owner of the business. In October 2025 Givebutter acquired We Are For Good, a community and podcast for social-impact workers.

Givebutter's own scale figures vary by page. A November 2025 press release says more than 70,000 nonprofits trust it. Its press page links a March 2026 interview headlined with $9 billion in donations, and its About page, read in October 2026, still says $300M+. We rely on the dated press release for the organisation count and do not quote a current donation total.

Why we list Givebutter as a payment facilitator

Givebutter's terms say it is a platform, not a payment processor, money services business or financial institution, and that payments to fundraisers are processed by a third-party payment processor. That processor is Stripe. Each organisation goes through Stripe Connect onboarding inside Givebutter, giving its EIN or the owner's SSN and identity documents, and links a US bank account or debit card for payouts. Beyond that, Givebutter runs the payment relationship. It sets the processing price donors and organisations see: 2.9% + 30 cents for cards, which matches Stripe's standard US list rate for domestic cards, and 1.9% + 30 cents for ACH, well above Stripe's list ACH rate of 0.8% capped at $5. It holds each campaign's balance until the organisation withdraws it and approves each payout manually. It also handles disputes with donors, decides refunds, and its help centre says it is the merchant donors see on PayPal and Venmo charges. Card statements read GB* plus the organisation's name. The organisation does not bring or choose its own processor account. In the site's taxonomy that is a payment facilitator built on Stripe Connect, the same model as other donation platforms we list this way. We do not class it as merchant of record, because Givebutter says donations go to the organisation, with only the tip going to Givebutter. One of the pending class actions alleges that Givebutter is itself the processor and keeps the processing fee. That is an allegation, not a finding.

What it costs

Givebutter has two pricing schemes. Accounts created on or after 9 September 2025 are on Standard pricing. Older accounts stay on Legacy pricing unless they switch, and switching cannot be undone. Under both, each campaign chooses between optional donor tips and a platform fee. As of October 2026:

• Tips on (Standard and Legacy): no platform fee and no processing fee for the organisation. Donors are asked to cover processing of 2.9% + 30 cents and to tip Givebutter. Under the Givebutter Guarantee, Givebutter absorbs any processing fee the donor declines.
• Tips off, Standard: a flat 3% platform fee on every campaign type, plus 2.9% + 30 cents for cards and digital wallets (including PayPal, Venmo and Apple Pay) or 1.9% + 30 cents for ACH. ACH is available to verified nonprofits and fiscally sponsored accounts.
• Tips off, Legacy: a 1% platform fee on forms, 3% on pages and 5% on events, plus the same processing fees.
• Auctions: charging a bidder's saved card automatically or from the dashboard always carries the 3% platform fee (5% on Legacy) plus processing, whatever the tip setting.
• In person (Tap to Pay or card reader): 2.9% + 30 cents plus a 3% platform fee (1% on Legacy). The Guarantee does not apply. Card readers cost $99.
• Offline cash and cheque gifts logged in the dashboard: no fee.
• Instant payouts: 1.75% of the amount. Standard payouts are free.

With tips off, the organisation chooses whether donors must cover the fees, may choose to, or never see them. If it absorbs them, a $100 card gift costs about $3 in platform fee and $3.20 in processing on the published rates, leaving roughly $93.80. With tips on and a donor who declines both the tip and the fee, the organisation receives the full $100. Givebutter's terms say the Guarantee is a credit, not insurance. It is subject to caps 'which may include monthly or aggregate maximums and may vary by plan or customer segment', published only inside the account, and Givebutter can suspend it for abuse, which it defines as including encouraging donors not to cover fees. Givebutter's pricing page says 92% of donors cover the fees; its Legacy pricing article says around 95%.

Givebutter Plus is an optional subscription for larger teams, priced by number of contacts. As of October 2026 it costs $29, $79 or $129 a month billed annually ($348, $948 or $1,548 a year) for up to 250, 1,000 or 2,500 contacts, or $33.80, $92.90 or $150.50 billed monthly. Bigger lists are priced by the sales team, and contacts above a tier's limit are billed in blocks of 100. Plus has a 30-day free trial and uses the same tip and fee options as the free plan. The free CRM has no contact limit. Pricing is in US dollars. Givebutter's terms put any taxes on the customer, but the pricing page does not say whether sales tax is added to Plus.

The donor's side of the tip model

Givebutter's revenue on a tips-on campaign comes from donors, so the checkout matters as much as the fee table. Givebutter says tips are always optional and can be edited or removed, and its help centre gives an example of a $100 gift with a $3.30 processing fee and a 10% tip, for a total of $113.30. It does not publish what tip is preselected. Truth in Advertising (TINA.org) published an ad alert in June 2026 saying a campaign it examined added a 15% tip automatically. Its example was a $500 gift that became about $590 once the tip and a $15.24 processing fee were added, with the total shown only after payment details were entered. TINA.org also noted that the prompt to cover processing fees tells donors that payment processors take a cut, without telling them the charity would receive the full gift under the Guarantee if they declined. Donors who tip by mistake can ask Givebutter support for a tip-only refund. An organisation that cares how its donors feel about this can switch tips off and pay the platform fee instead.

How it works day to day

An organisation signs up free, builds a form, page, event or auction, and connects payouts through Stripe Connect before going live. Donors can pay by card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, JCB and Diners Club), Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Venmo, Cash App Pay, ACH and donor-advised funds through DAFpay by Chariot. Venmo is not available for recurring gifts. All donations are processed in US dollars. The free plan includes the donor CRM, email, website widgets, peer-to-peer and team fundraising, text-to-donate, and the mobile app with Tap to Pay and event check-in. Plus adds workflows, tasks, advanced reporting, data hygiene, video messages, outbound texting for verified nonprofits, QuickBooks Online sync and phone support. Individuals cannot run personal fundraisers; Givebutter is for organisations and people fundraising on their behalf.

Payouts, refunds and disputes

Donations sit in a Givebutter balance, per campaign or, with Wallet switched on, in one combined balance. They become available to withdraw 48 to 72 hours after the gift. ACH gifts take 5 to 7 business days to settle. Withdrawals are not automatic: an admin requests one, Givebutter's fraud and security team approves it, and the help centre says the money then takes 3 to 5 business days to reach a bank account or debit card. Givebutter's pricing page says 2 to 3 business days. Debit card payouts are capped at $9,999 each, and the withdrawal screen invites the organisation to add an optional tip to Givebutter. Verified nonprofits that have completed a payout can ask support to switch on automated nightly payouts for balances of $100 or more. Eligible accounts can take instant payouts in about 60 minutes for 1.75%. Givebutter Wallet, powered by Stripe Financial Accounts, pays 2.5% APY rewards (variable), moves money out by same-day ACH and supports Visa spend cards issued by Celtic Bank.

Refunds can be made by the organisation or by Givebutter for up to 12 months after the gift (6 months for PayPal), provided the campaign balance covers them, and only in full: partial refunds are not supported. Givebutter will not refund a gift the organisation has already withdrawn. When a donor files a chargeback, Givebutter holds the disputed amount from the available balance and argues the case with the donor itself. A lost dispute leaves the balance negative, and an account with a negative balance cannot withdraw until it is repaid. Givebutter lists no dispute fee. For ACH disputes, Givebutter takes the funds immediately, invoices any negative balance, and may revoke ACH access or suspend accounts with a pattern of disputes.

Contract and terms

There is no contract on the free platform. Plus renews automatically each billing cycle and can be cancelled from the dashboard, effective at the end of the period, and amounts paid are non-refundable except at Givebutter's discretion. Givebutter can change subscription fees from the next billing cycle after reasonable notice, and transaction and platform fees from the date in its notice. The Terms of Service, effective 1 October 2026, let Givebutter refuse or end anyone's use of the site at its sole discretion, for any reason or none, without notice. They require disputes to go to binding individual arbitration with a class-action waiver (small claims excepted), set a one-year deadline for claims, cap Givebutter's liability at $100 and apply Delaware law. Organisations must also accept Stripe's agreement and Stripe's prohibited-business rules.

Lawsuits, reputation and complaints

Two proposed consumer class actions name Givebutter, Inc. as defendant. McClintock v. Givebutter was filed in the Chester County, Pennsylvania, Court of Common Pleas on 1 April 2026 and removed by Givebutter to the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on 22 April 2026 (2:26-cv-02668). It alleges that Givebutter added a $3.00 tip and a $0.91 processing fee to a $20 donation without consent. Givebutter moved to dismiss and to strike on 17 August 2026, and the plaintiff filed an amended complaint on 18 September 2026. Summeril v. Givebutter was filed in the Southern District of California on 4 August 2026 (3:26-cv-04455) on behalf of donors in California, Oregon, Ohio and Georgia. It makes similar dark-pattern allegations, and Givebutter filed motions to dismiss and to strike on 13 October 2026. Both cases were pending when we checked the dockets in October 2026, and no court has ruled on the allegations. Separately, Givebutter itself sued Simplyk, Inc., the company behind the Zeffy platform, for trademark infringement in Delaware federal court in January 2025. The case was dismissed by stipulation on 11 June 2025.

As of 20 October 2026, Givebutter's Trustpilot TrustScore is 4.4 from 386 reviews, with 78% five-star and 15% one-star. The profile is claimed, and Trustpilot shows Givebutter replying to 85% of negative reviews. Most recent one-star reviews come from donors describing tips they did not notice, several citing 15%, along with refund difficulties. A smaller group, from organisations, describes payouts held for review, accounts closed with little explanation and fees when tips were off. On the BBB, Givebutter, Inc. in Austin is rated A+, is not accredited, and has two complaints in the past three years. Its 18 customer reviews average 1.06 out of 5 and centre on default tips. The BBB letter grade does not take reviews into account.

Who Givebutter suits

Givebutter suits a US nonprofit, school, club or community group that wants a modern, all-in-one fundraising and CRM platform without a monthly bill, and is comfortable asking donors to support the platform with a tip. If you keep tips on, check what your checkout preselects and decide whether that fits how you want to treat your donors. Keep the pending lawsuits and the unpublished Guarantee caps in mind too. If you switch tips off, compare the 3% platform fee plus 2.9% + 30 cents with flat-fee software, because together they cost around 6% of a typical card gift. Organisations outside the US, individuals raising money for themselves, and anyone who needs money to arrive automatically from the first day should look elsewhere. Givebutter may also not suit an organisation that cannot risk an account being closed at the platform's discretion.