In 2022, America’s top 30 peer-to-peer fundraising programs raised $1.05 billion.
A powerful fundraising strategy, and a great way to engage supporters, a peer-to-peer fundraising method can help strengthen community ties, spread awareness about the cause, and help you ultimately raise more money for your mission.
In this blog, we’ll cover the best peer-to-peer fundraising platforms and their features — plus what they cost — so you can choose the best solution for your organization, and make the most out of this kind of fundraising campaign.
9 best peer-to-peer platforms for nonprofits at a glance
What makes the best peer-to-peer fundraising platform?
🌟 Review process:
All of our Zeffy comparison articles and roundups are written by real experts in the nonprofit industry. Using G2, Capterra, and other reputable and credible software sites, our team hand-selects dozens of apps to compare to help you find the best fit for your organization.
Because we know Zeffy is one of the best free fundraising software solutions out there, we’re not afraid to offer objective, truthful reviews of our competitors.
When it comes to choosing the right P2P platform to run your peer-to-peer fundraisers, there are a few features worth considering.
1. Pricing
While there are some completely free peer-to-peer fundraising platforms like Zeffy, lots of solutions charge fees like:
- Payment processing fee
- Platform fee
- Set up fee
- Per user fee
2. Individual and team pages
One of the most important components of successful P2P fundraising is the ability to easily create individual and team fundraising pages. Because P2P relies on supporters reaching out to a personal connection — like family members — to raise money, the process of creating a personal fundraising page should be simple and easy. This might include:
- Straightforward registration process
- Option to create team peer-to-peer pages
- Option to create personal fundraising pages
- Option to offer discount codes
3. Gamification tools
One of the best ways to keep fundraisers motivated and engaged in a peer-to-peer fundraiser is by offering some friendly competition. Some of the best P2P platforms include:
- Team leaderboards
- Individual leaderboards
- Fundraising thermometers to show progress toward fundraising goal
- Countdowns
4. Customization tools
When creating their own fundraising pages — whether personal or team pages — peer-to-peer participants should be able to customize their campaign page with:
- Videos or pictures
- Personalized campaign objectives.
- Custom colors
- Personal descriptions or connection to the cause
- Personalized thank you messages
5. Flexible payment methods
In order to make donating as easy as possible, your P2P platform, and every donation page, should accept:
- All credit cards
- Apple Pay and Google Pay
- ACH and PAD
- Checks
6. Communication tools
Great peer-to-peer initiatives require meaningful and prompt communications — whether you're communicating with dedicated supporters or new donors. Be sure your chosen P2P platform includes:
- Automated tax receipt tools
- Event reminder emails
- Donor messages via donor board
- Social sharing tools (i.e. a Facebook integration or integrations with other social media platforms)
1. Zeffy: Best 100% free peer-to-peer fundraising platform for all nonprofits
Zeffy—the only free peer-to-peer fundraising platform for nonprofits—empowers changemakers to make the most impact possible. With free, unlimited customer support, a full suite of fundraising tools like P2P fundraising, donor management, and even raffle and e-commerce capabilities, few fundraising platforms compare.
Best features:
- The only 100% free platform for nonprofits
- Flexible payment options
- Customizable forms and pages
- Automated tax receipts
- Team and individual fundraising
- Team leaderboards and messages
- Reporting and analytics
- Unlimited customer support
- Donor management system or CRM (constituent relationship management tool)
- E-commerce fundraising tools
- Raffle and lottery tools
Price:
While every other donation platform takes fees away from your mission, Zeffy delivers 100% of it to your nonprofit. That means you can raise money and run successful campaigns all for free.
Here’s how it works: When someone makes a donation on your fundraising form, they have the option (but are never obliged) to give to Zeffy. Not everyone gives every time and that's okay. Enough donors, though, leave a contribution that covers overhead and fees, so nonprofits never pay a cent.
In short: Nonprofits never have to worry about paying for a feature or transaction with Zeffy—ever.
Testimonial:
“Zeffy is a free platform where 100% of the donors' funds stay with the charity. As a small charity, that means a lot to us and it was the reason we decided to give it a try. It's easy for donors to use, fairly simple to set it up, and offers various options including peer-to-peer and ticketing.”
2. DonorDrive: Best for Facebook fundraising
DonorDrive, a peer-to-peer fundraising platform crafted exclusively for nonprofits, provides a suite of features. This includes personalized campaign pages, tools for easy social sharing, and live analytics. Tailored for charitable use, DonorDrive equips nonprofits with a wealth of tools and resources to enhance their peer-to-peer initiatives.
Price:
Custom quote required
Key features:
- Custom fundraising pages
- Activity tracking
- Facebook integrations
- Easy activity tracking
- Mobile friendly interface
Testimonial:
“While we at first wondered if it made sense to bring on a true peer-to-peer platform for our fundraising efforts, learning how DonorDrive is so much more than that and the cost being truly competitive and huge bang for your buck, I am so grateful we brought them on and only wish we had done it sooner.”
— Heather H.
3. Givebutter: Best for supporter communications
Givebutter is designed for highly social fundraisers, making it easy for donors to share campaigns on social media and engage with the community, including access to supporter feeds and mass texting and emailing. Plus, supporters can see who the top fundraisers are on the built-in leaderboard and other gamification tools
Price:
$0 platform fees, up to 2.9% + 0.30 processing fees
Best features:
- Gamification tools
- Automated receipts
- Supporter feeds
- Customizable team and individual donation pages
- Mass texting and emailing
- Social sharing
- Launch multiple active campaigns
- Thermometer for fundraising progress
Testimonial:
“When we were planning small events that had a fundraising component, we decided to give Givebutter a try. The Givebutter set-up process was easy and user-friendly, and we were able to get things up and going quickly. We were pleasantly surprised by how well the peer-to-peer fundraising elements worked, and we exceeded our fundraising goals!”
— Jenny W.
4. OneCause: Best for event management
OneCause is the perfect peer-to-peer fundraising software solution for running events, offering a comprehensive suite of tools from managing registrations to conducting successful auctions. When it comes to P2P campaign management, the software is mobile-friendly and offers a wide variety of tools.
Key features:
- Peer-to-peer recruitment tools to invite supporters to join
- Individual campaign pages
- Text to giver
- Easy page sharing
- Mobile optimized
Pricing:
Custom quote required
Testimonial:
“OneCause allows us to seamlessly run our largest fundraising event of the year through the team-supported peer-2-peer solution. This package also allows our supporters to create their own fundraising events with support from us to make the website for transactions and tracking of registrations.”
— Ryan L.
5. Donorbox: Best for capturing donor data
Donorbox stands out as an accessible and user-friendly nonprofit and fundraising software platform, designed to cater to the needs of small to medium-sized nonprofits. The platform's simplicity extends to its creation of donation forms, ensuring a seamless and hassle-free experience for both nonprofits and their supporters. Plus, it's a great tool for capturing donor data to help with the retention and stewardship of supporters.
Key features:
- Self-managed recurring donations
- Custom donation forms
- Third-party integrations
- Personalized donation pages
- Flexible payment methods
- Ready to use templates
- Donor management tools
Pricing:
$0–$139+/month, 1.5% platform fee, and up to 2.2% + $0.49 in processing fees
Testimonial:
Donorbox stands out as an exceptionally intuitive platform, ideal for nonprofits of any scale. Its cutting-edge technology facilitates swift and efficient checkouts for potential donors, thereby boosting conversion rates. Offering a diverse array of tools—from forms and events to peer-to-peer interactions and automated emails—it caters to various nonprofit needs.”
— Morgan G.
6. Funraise: Best for customization
Funraise offers nonprofits a versatile toolkit. From intuitive donor management to seamless campaign optimization, Funraise simplifies complex tasks. The platform's analytics and reporting tools provide actionable insights, empowering nonprofits to make informed decisions and foster lasting supporter relationships.
Key features:
- Custom personal pages for individual fundraisers
- Mobile responsive fundraising platform
- Automated emails
- Auto-charge payments
Pricing:
Funraise offers a limited free plan — for access to other features, a custom quote is required. Donors can cover platform or transaction fees.
Testimonial:
“The Funraise platform allows us to collect donations in a way that smoothly integrates with both our website and our CRM (Salesforce). It also includes many other features such as event ticketing and peer-to-peer campaigns.”
— Emily S.
7. MightyCause: Best for integrating with Eventbrite
MightyCause offers user-friendly campaign creation tools and social integration features. Plus, its broad reach, especially when paired with Eventbrite, and accessibility make it an ideal choice for nonprofits seeking to engage a diverse audience and drive impactful fundraising campaigns.
Key features:
- Individual fundraiser pages
- Team pages
- Eventbrite integrations
Pricing:
$79-$119/month plus up to 2.2% and $0.29 in processing fees
Testimonial:
“Overall, we still keep using MightyCause, because it is the best option for peer-to-peer fundraising.”
— Rebekah W.
8. Classy: Best for reporting and analytics
Nonprofits using Classy gain access to a range of features, including personalized campaign pages, social sharing tools, and real-time analytics. The platform's sleek interface and intuitive design enhance the overall donor and fundraiser experience, making it an excellent choice for organizations aiming to modernize their fundraising efforts.
Key features:
- Easy reporting
- Donors can cover fees
- Mobile flexibility
- Secure transactions
- Customizable features
- User-friendly
- Manage donor information
Price:
Custom pricing plus 2.5% + $0.30 in processing fees
Testimonial:
“Classy helps us run campaigns that raise funds for our organization! We set up various campaigns such as peer-to-peer fundraising or recurring giving and attract, manage and cultivate donors with the help of Classy's tools. It is SO easy to create and report on donor activity!”
— Lauren A.
9. Bonfire: Best for seeing merchandise
Bonfire offers a unique twist to peer-to-peer fundraising by focusing on customizable merchandise campaigns — mainly t-shirt fundraisers. Nonprofits can create and sell custom apparel to support their causes. With an emphasis on community engagement and creative expression, Bonfire provides a platform for nonprofits to leverage the power of branded merchandise in their peer-to-peer fundraising endeavors.
Key features:
- Easy to use
- Bonfire handles shipping and handling
- No upfront costs
- Social integration
- Donors can cover fees
Price:
$0 platform fee, up to 8% processing fees
Testimonial:
“Creating an easy-to-use site that I can sell my products on. So far on other platforms I've tried, they have information overload. I feel Bonfire simplifies it to make it usable for everyone.”
— Gianna O.
How The Sashbear Foundation peer-to-peer campaign avoided more than $10k in fees with Zeffy
The Sashbear Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to delivering educational webinar series, and skills programs across Canada.
To help bring in donations and streamline their event, the 2023 Sashbear Walk, the organization used Zeffy.
In total, this nonprofit brought in a whopping $151k. Plus, they saved over $10k in fees by using Zeffy — the only 100% fee-free peer-to-peer fundraising platform.
Which peer-to-peer fundraising platform should you use?
In the world of fundraising, picking the right peer-to-peer platform is crucial. But every P2P platform is different when it comes to price, features, and who it's best suited for.
Out of all these platforms, Zeffy stands out as the best free peer-to-peer fundraising platform. Innovative, easy for users, and packed with a suite of engaging features, Zeffy does more than just regular peer-to-peer fundraising. From managing donors and keeping track of campaigns to encouraging giving through gamification tools, Zeffy does it all.
And the best part? It’s completely free.