How Zeffy compares to popular Payment Processors

Why should I choose Zeffy over payment processors like PayPal or Square for my nonprofit?

Most payment processors weren't built for nonprofits — they're business tools that happen to work for donations. That means you're paying 2-3% in fees on every donation, plus dealing with separate tools for events, donor management, and communications. Zeffy eliminates all platform fees and gives you everything in one place: donation forms, event ticketing, donor CRM, and automated receipts. You keep 100% of donations and save time managing fewer tools. For a small nonprofit, those fees add up fast — $500 in fees could be a whole program kit or two therapy grants.

Is there really no catch with Zeffy being free? How do you make money?

We get this question a lot — and we understand the skepticism. Zeffy stays free because donors can choose to leave a voluntary contribution to support our platform when they donate to your cause. It's completely optional, clearly labeled, and donors can opt out. We're not taking a percentage of your donations or charging hidden fees. This model works because it aligns our success with yours — we only succeed when nonprofits thrive. You can see exactly how this works in your dashboard, and many of our users share their receipts showing $0 in platform fees.

I'm already using multiple tools for donations and events. Is it worth switching to an all-in-one platform?

If you're juggling PayPal for donations, Eventbrite for ticketing, and spreadsheets for donor tracking, you're probably losing time and money on tool management. Most of our users come from exactly this setup — they were patching together 3-4 different platforms and paying fees on each one. With Zeffy, you get donation forms, event registration, donor management, and automated communications in one place, with no fees on any of it. The time you save not switching between tools and reconciling data can go back to your actual mission work. Plus, your donors get a consistent, professional experience whether they're buying event tickets or making a monthly donation.

How hard is it to get started with Zeffy? I don't have time to learn another complicated system.

We hear this concern all the time from small nonprofit teams who've been burned by "easy" tools that turned out to be anything but. Zeffy is designed for the one-person shop who needs to launch a donation page this afternoon, not next month. You can have your first donation form live in under 10 minutes — no developer needed, no lengthy setup calls, no waiting for approval. We give you templates that actually work, and everything connects automatically: your donation page talks to your donor database, receipts go out instantly, and you can see your campaign performance right away. Most of our users are up and running the same day they sign up. Compare that to payment processors where you're juggling multiple accounts, or event platforms where you need a manual just to create a ticket.

Will my donors trust Zeffy, or does using a lesser-known platform hurt my credibility?

Your donors care about two things: that their money reaches your mission safely, and that you're being a good steward of their gifts. Zeffy actually strengthens both. When donors see that 100% of their donation goes to your cause with zero platform fees, that builds trust — they know you're not wasting their money on unnecessary costs. Your donation pages look completely professional and can match your branding, so donors see your organization, not ours. Plus, we're PCI compliant and handle all the security requirements that donors expect. Many of our users tell us that donors actually comment positively when they see the "zero fees" messaging. You're not asking them to trust a random startup — you're showing them you chose a tool that puts their donations first.