Overview

Built for nonprofits, including faith organizations, schools, and universities, Better Giving brings donation collection and fundraising tools into one platform. Organizations abroad and U.S. groups without 501(c)(3) status can use fiscal sponsorship for tax-deductible U.S. giving. Better Giving says it is a U.S. 501(c)(3) public charity and has served nonprofits since 2021.

Key features

The embeddable form accepts cards, bank and ACH payments, PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, Google Pay, stock, donor-advised funds, IRA/QCD gifts, and cryptocurrency. That range can reduce the need to manage separate giving methods; DAFpay via Chariot is built in. Better Giving describes the giving methods as available through one integration.

Recurring donations, peer-to-peer fundraising, dedication gifts, program-specific giving, goal-tracking progress bars, automated receipts, and reporting support a range of fundraising activities. Nonprofits can export full donor-level data and giving history by CSV or API at no charge, which is useful for teams that want records available outside the platform.

Direct transfer of stored card credentials to a new processor depends on card-network rules, PCI-DSS, and that processor. If credentials cannot move, Better Giving says it can provide gift schedules and support donor reauthorization; organizations should account for this potential donor follow-up when changing processors.

Pricing

Fundraising & fund management costs 0.00 USD per free, with all features included and donor contributions optional. It is the natural starting point for nonprofits that want the hosted service without a subscription, though payment processing is separate.

Self-hosted costs 0.00 USD per free for the open-source software. Organizations use their own payment gateway and pay its processing costs, while taking responsibility for receipts, compliance, and operations. That tradeoff suits teams able to operate the service themselves; it is less appropriate for organizations seeking a managed fundraising workflow.

Fiscal sponsorship costs 2.90 USD per once, billed per sponsored gift. It enables tax-deductible U.S. giving for organizations abroad or U.S. groups without 501(c)(3) status, making it relevant to those organizations rather than nonprofits already able to receive such gifts directly.

Better Giving has a free plan and no free trial. The hosted plan includes all features, while self-hosting exchanges managed operations for control and responsibility. Payment processing remains a separate cost on the hosted offering, and self-hosted groups pay their gateway directly.

Platforms

Better Giving is available on the web and offers an API and a self-hosted option. Its security policy says data is encrypted in transit with TLS 1.2+ and at rest with AES-256, and that Better Giving does not store or process raw card data. It says donations are handled by Stripe, a PCI DSS Level 1-certified processor, and that it maintains PCI DSS 4.0 SAQ A through the Stripe integration. The homepage offers live chat; portability requests can be directed to support@better.giving.

Who it's for

Better Giving fits nonprofits that want broad donation methods, fundraising tools, and no-charge donor-data exports without a platform subscription. Fiscal sponsorship adds a route for eligible organizations that otherwise lack 501(c)(3) status. Teams with limited capacity for compliance and operations should favor the hosted plan over self-hosting; organizations that need a direct transfer of card credentials should plan for processor and network constraints.

Pros and cons

Pros: The form covers cards, bank payments, popular digital wallets, stock, DAFs, IRA/QCD gifts, and crypto, giving nonprofits one place to support varied contributions.
Pros: Full donor-level data and giving history can be exported by CSV or API at no charge, helping organizations retain access to their records.
Pros: The hosted plan includes all features at 0.00 USD per free, with optional donor contributions rather than a stated platform subscription.
Cons: Payment processing is separate, so the free plan does not eliminate transaction costs.
Cons: Self-hosting requires the organization to manage receipts, compliance, and operations in addition to paying gateway processing costs.
Cons: Porting stored card credentials is conditional; some donors may need to reauthorize gifts when an organization changes processors.

Alternatives

For organizations comparing options, the Nonprofit Fundraising Software and Nonprofit Online Donation Software directories provide broader category choices; teams focused on employer matching can browse Nonprofit Matching Gift Software.

Amply is a matching-gift alternative with a free feature-limited plan and a Standard plan at 5.00 USD per contact. GoFundMe Pro offers a free Essentials plan with no subscription fee or setup costs for nonprofits with annual revenue under $1 million, with additional fees and add-ons. FrontStream Matching Gifts is a sales-led workplace option covering donation matching, in-kind donation management, employee giving campaigns, volunteer-hour tracking, and Gusto integration.

GivingFuel starts at 9.00 USD per month for its Starter plan, with annual online giving under $100,000, a 2% platform fee, and one admin account. Double the Donation Matching is a paid matching-focused alternative whose Essentials tier charges 300.00 USD per once for up to $2,000 in match-eligible dollars identified, with the first year free. Givebutter offers a free-forever plan that includes donation forms, fundraising pages, events, auctions, donor management, and CRM. BetterWorld has a free plan with a 0% platform fee, with standard payment processing fees applying. Whitelabel has a no-monthly-fee, no-setup-fee option billed per gift, with card and bank costs passed through at cost.

Verdict

Better Giving is a strong fit for nonprofits that want varied donation methods, campaign tools, and portable donor records without a platform subscription. Its main advantage is the combination of a full-featured free hosted plan, no-charge exports, and a self-hosting route. Look elsewhere if your team needs payment processing included in the price or cannot take on the operational work that self-hosting requires.

	Better Giving	Kindful
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	No	No
Paid from	Free	—
Open source	No	No
Platforms	api, self-hosted, Web	Android, api, iOS, Web
Free plan	Yes	—
Donation forms	Yes	—
Recurring donations	Yes	—
Peer-to-peer fundraising	Yes	—
Payment processing	separate	—

Better Giving vs Kindful

Better Giving

Kindful