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Nonprofit Strategies

Compare the best WordPress donation plugins for nonprofits

Over half of donors prefer to give online. Make sure your site is set up for success with one of the best WordPress plugins for donations.

Rachel Ayotte
December 29, 2023
Nerd Mr Butter

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Donation plugins can make or break your nonprofit’s ability to collect donations online. Without the right tools for online giving—the method 54% of donors worldwide prefer—your nonprofit could lose out on major revenue.

To help you make the best decision for your nonprofit, we’ve rounded up the top WordPress donation plugins based on features, price, and why they might be a good fit for your organization. 

7 features to look for in a WordPress donation plugin

While some WordPress donation plugins offer specialized features—which are perfect for nonprofits with specific needs—there are standard, essential components that every plugin should have:

  • User-friendly forms and buttons 👋 Look for plugins that are easy to use to ensure a smooth and intuitive donation process for supporters.
  • Multiple payment options 💸 Use a WordPress plugin that supports credit cards, PayPal, Venmo, and other popular payment options.
  • Recurring donations 🔄 Choose a plugin that allows donors to set up recurring donations—a kind of giving that amounts to 42% more raised annually compared to one-time donations. 🤯
  • Customization options  🎨 Branded donation pages raise 6X more money. Choose a plugin that offers the ability to customize donation forms, emails, and confirmation pages, creating a cohesive experience for donors.
  • Security 💪 Use a plugin that follows industry-standard security practices, including SSL support, data encryption, and compliance with payment card industry (PCI) standards.
  • Integrations 🛠️ Consider plugins that seamlessly integrate with other tools and platforms, such as CRM systems, email marketing services, or accounting tools.
  • Affordable fees and pricing 💰 Choose a tool that works for your budget. Some plugins offer subscriptions, nonprofit discounts, or are completely free (like Givebutter!).

The 6 best donation plugins for WordPress

1. Givebutter: Best free WordPress donation plugin for nonprofits of all sizes

With Givebutter—the all-in-one fundraising solution for nonprofits—organizations can collect donations through embeddable donate buttons and custom donation forms for free. Givebutter integrates with WordPress seamlessly, making it simple to set up and perfect for nonprofits seeking a quick solution for collecting donations through their WordPress site.

Plus, when nonprofits sign up for a free Givebutter account, they gain access to a complete suite of top-rated fundraising features, including a built-in CRM, marketing and engagement tools, event management software, and so much more.

💰 Price: Givebutter is completely free to use—forever! All Givebutter features are free for nonprofits thanks to optional tips from donors. Donors can even opt-in to cover the small transaction fee charged by Givebutter's payment processors, which 95% of donors on Givebutter do.

📣 Standout features: 

  • Built-in nonprofit CRM
  • Wide variety of convenient payment methods
  • Email, SMS, and direct mail marketing tools
  • Event and auction management
  • Peer-to-peer and team fundraising
  • Award-winning customer support

✅ Best for: Any nonprofit looking for an all-in-one, free solution for collecting donations through a WordPress plugin.

🔥 Our take: Many plugins and integrations for WordPress can be difficult to set up and lack advanced customization options. Givebutter, however, offers charities a user-friendly and fully customizable plugin for free. Plus, Givebutter goes beyond other WordPress plugins to provide essential donation tools so nonprofits can do it all, all from one platform.

Drive more WordPress donations with Givebutter

2. GiveWP: Best for nonprofits look for enterprise-level fundraising solution 

GiveWP is a powerful and feature rich donation plugin that seamlessly integrates with WordPress websites, providing organizations with a comprehensive toolkit for creating, managing, and optimizing their donation campaigns.

💰 Price: GiveWP prices are feature dependent, and range from a free plan to $499/year. Plus, the platform offers a free trial as well as a 30-day money-back guarantee. 

📣 Standout features: 

  • Recurring donation management 
  • Fee recovery
  • Multiple payment options
  • Flexible integrations
  • Access to additional fundraising features 

✅ Best for: Organizations with a healthy fundraising budget. While GiveWP offers a free plan, it’s quite limited. The most expensive plan, however, includes lots of features that can help set nonprofits up for success, like peer-to-peer fundraising and VIP support, making it a perfect fit for larger organizations.

🔥 Our take: GiveWP is a great option for nonprofits that need a plugin as well as access to a full suite of other donation features. However, access to these features comes with a pretty hefty price tag, so nonprofits should be mindful of their budgets before signing up. Plus, compared to competitors like Givebutter, users note that GiveWP can be hard to learn and navigate. 

3. WPForms: Best for advanced features like conditional logic 

WPForms is a versatile and user friendly WordPress form builder that extends its capabilities to support donation forms, making it a convenient solution for nonprofits seeking to collect contributions seamlessly on their websites.

💰 Price: WPForms offers generously discounted nonprofit pricing: the WPForms Pro plan is priced at $99/year, and the WPForms Elite is priced at $199/year. However, it’s important to note that organizations can only access this discounted pricing (in comparison to their standard prices) by applying for nonprofit status with the platform.  

Plus, WPForms charges processing fees of up to 2.6% + $0.30 per transaction.

📣 Standout features: 

  • Conditional logic on forms
  • Custom notifications
  • Templates 
  • Spam protection
  • Coupon add-ons
  • Custom interactive calculators 

✅ Best for: Nonprofits that need a donation plugin that allows for conditional logic on donation forms.

🔥 Our take: WPforms is a great option for organizations that need a basic donation plugin, plus access to more advanced features like conditional logic and built-in interactive calculators. However, compared to competitors, WPForms doesn’t offer as many fundraising features for its price point. 

4. WP Crowdfunding: Best for peer-based fundraising campaigns

WP Crowdfunding is a WordPress plugin designed specifically for creating and managing crowdfunding campaigns on donation platforms and websites. Tailored for nonprofits, entrepreneurs, and creative projects, WP Crowdfunding provides a comprehensive platform to harness the power of crowdfunding.

💰 Price: WP Crowdfunding pricing starts at $149/year. Access to premium features and unlimited licenses costs $299/year. WP Crowdfunding also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

📣 Standout features: 

  • Native wallet system
  • Versatile money management
  • Detailed campaign reports and stats
  • Easy to use interface
  • Social sharing integration
  • reCAPTCHA security

✅ Best for: Nonprofits that want to utilize crowdfunding. WP Crowdfunding stands out as a powerful and specialized solution for WordPress users that leverage the crowdfunding model for their fundraising campaigns. 

🔥 Our take: WP Crowdfunding is a solid choice for nonprofits looking for a plugin built specifically for peer-based fundraising. However, it’s a bit of an expensive tool—especially for organizations that want access to all of their features, plus live chat support.  

5. WP Simple Pay: Best for alternative payment methods 

WP Simple Pay is a WordPress plugin designed to simplify the process of accepting payments on WordPress websites. While not specifically tailored for fundraising, it provides a straightforward solution for nonprofits, businesses, or individuals looking to collect payments, raise funds, or sell products and services seamlessly.

💰 Price: WP Simple Pay pricing ranges from $49.50-$299.50/year. The platform also charges Stripe processing fees.

📣 Standout features: 

  • Payment form templates
  • Drag and drop form builders
  • Automatic billing
  • Advanced tax reports
  • Accepts 135+ currencies
  • Buy now, pay later

✅ Best for: Nonprofits that want to offer flexible ways to give, like buy now, pay later and multiple subscription options.

🔥 Our take: While WP Simple Pay is a great choice for organizations looking to offer supporters multiple ways to donate, the platform was not designed for nonprofits. It lacks some essential features for fundraising, like capturing donor data and fund designation. 

6. WooCommerce: Best for product pages and e-commerce

WooCommerce is a versatile and powerful e-commerce plugin for WordPress, providing a robust platform for creating online stores. While the solution lacks some nonprofit-specific tools, charities can leverage WooCommerce to sell products, merchandise, or event tickets to support their cause.

💰 Price: WooCommerce pricing starts at $21/month, with the most expensive plan costing $492.75/month. The platform also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

📣 Standout features: 

  • Free data migrations
  • Disaster recovery assistance
  • SSL security
  • Image compression for fast load times

✅ Best for: Nonprofits that sell merchandise or services to support their mission. 

🔥 Our take: While WooCommerce was not specifically built for charities, it offers a host of tools beneficial for organizations that run online stores. However, this plugin can get costly quickly and doesn’t offer some of the same nonprofit-specific features that its competitors do.

Bring in more donations with Givebutter

There are several options of WordPress donation plugins for nonprofits to use on their websites and campaign pages. Many of these plugins are designed specifically for charities, or specific types of campaigns, like crowdfunding.

With Givebutter, nonprofits can receive donations using a wide variety of modern payment methods—like Google Pay, Apple Pay, PayPal, and even Venmo—and get access to a full suite of other free fundraising features. Plus, with award-winning customer support and a user-friendly interface, the free Givebutter WordPress donation plugin can be launched in just a few minutes.

Here's what Brittany Puzio, Marketing Director at Mission Zero, had to say about using Givebutter to drive donations through their nonprofit's website: 

We needed a good way to collect donations on our WordPress website, and Givebutter made that super easy. The backend is very user-friendly, and it's easy to learn the platform and set up new campaigns.

Sign up for your free account today and see why more and more nonprofits are making the switch to Givebutter for their WordPress donations.

Methodology

Our editorial team sources comparison metrics directly from sites like G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, BBB, InHerSight, Comparably, Glassdoor, and more. Data gathered on December 18, 2023.
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