Nonprofit Strategies

10 best online auction sites and bidding apps for nonprofits

Compare the top online auction sites by features, pricing, pros, cons, and more.

$

Raised

Supporters

Teams/Members

Nonprofit Strategies

10 best online auction sites and bidding apps for nonprofits

Compare the top online auction sites by features, pricing, pros, cons, and more.

$

Raised

Supporters

Teams/Members

Compare the top online auction sites by features, pricing, pros, cons, and more.

$

Raised

Supporters

Teams/Members

Reisa Shanaman
September 12, 2022
July 20, 2022
February 3, 2023

We’ve rounded up the best online auction sites with unique features and glowing testimonials to help you select one that best suits your organization’s needs.

Compare top auction software for nonprofits

Whether your organization is looking for a one-stop event management shop or a straightforward mobile bidding platform, there are plenty of options (and price ranges) to choose from. 

Givebutter Auctions

Givebutter is the only end-to-end fundraising platform that lets users raise funds, host events, send emails and texts, and keep track of donor activity all for free. Givebutter Auctions is the newest addition to the all-in-one platform and it integrates seamlessly with Givebutter’s 100+ other free fundraising tools.

⚡️ Key features: Modern and user-friendly design, automatic bidding options, app for mobile bidding, and unlimited auction items.

📱 Auction app offered: Givebutter’s new mobile app makes it easy for supporters to bid and check out in person or on the go.

💰 Pricing: Like all of Givebutter's tools and features, Auctions is free thanks to Givebutter’s transparent tip-or-fee model. For users who choose to disable optional donor tips, a standard event fee of 5% applies.

👍 Pros: Seamless integration with Givebutter’s full suite of fundraising and event tools, including donor management, email marketing, and Text-To-Donate. 

👎 Cons: Givebutter Auctions is fresh out of the oven, so it may be missing some of the features other longstanding auction platforms offer. That being said, Givebutter is committed to rolling out new features after its initial launch.

⭐️ Best for: Nonprofit organizations of all sizes looking to ditch multiple, expensive tools in exchange for one, centralized place to raise money, manage events and auctions, and communicate with donors directly.

💥 Our take: Givebutter provides a a seamless auction experience that’s easy to mange and downright fun to use. There’s no other auction platform like Givebutter Auctions on the market. With real-time updates, instant bid notifications, fully customizable items auction items, automated bidding and checkout, and so much more, Givebutter Auctions has everything organizations need to run successful auctions—all completely free. 

OneCause

OneCause is a full-suite fundraising and event management solution that offers mobile bidding and auction software. With OneCause, you can make the most of top auction features like ticketing and table assignments alongside popular fundraising features like peer-to-peer fundraising and text-to-give.

⚡️ Key features: Mobile bidding, real-time scoreboards, and user-friendly registration and check out.

📱 Auction app offered: No mobile app available. Instead, you can send supporters a link via text to place mobile bids on your auction page.

💰 Pricing: Multiple pricing plans are available based on the number of features and level of support your organization needs. OneCause doesn’t list the pricing for these plans publicly. Instead, you have to request a consultation to learn more.

👍 Pros: OneCause offers extensive training and direct support to help users make the most of its features.

👎 Cons: Users report that some backend features, like image uploading and reporting, are hard to use and glitchy.

⭐️ Best for: Nonprofits looking for a full suite of services who don’t mind paying extra for top features and direct support.

💥 Our take: OneCause outshines many competitors with its best-in-class auction features and premium consulting available. But, this full suite of features makes this a more expensive option. Take a look at the pricing plans and decide if there’s a package that fits within your budget and suits your organization's needs. 

Clickbid

Clickbid is a cloud-based auction platform that integrates with several CRM software, including Salesforce, Raiser's Edge, and Classy. Some notable Clickbid clients include the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, and the Boys and Girls Club of America.

⚡️ Key features: Customizable event landing pages, called “Virtual Venues,” and outbid texts that notify bidders in real-time (leading to higher bids).

📱 Auction app offered: No mobile app available, but supporters can check in, check out, and bid from their mobile devices. 

💰 Pricing: ClickBid’s annual event license costs $795, which includes unlimited bidders, items, mobile bidding for up to four events, and 365 days of text-to-give and online donations. If you want to add features like mass messaging, ticket sales, improved fundraising pages, direct support, or livestreaming, it’ll cost you an additional $200-$500 per year.

👍 Pros: A highly rated checkout process, user-friendly bidding interface, and CRM integrations make ClickBid a comprehensive auction software.

👎 Cons: ClickBid is not as customizable as other platforms.

⭐️ Best for: The annual licensing fee makes this a great option for organizations that hold multiple auctions a year.

💥 Our take: By and large, users seem incredibly happy with this software and report serious results in terms of revenue. The price point is more affordable than other competitors for the level of support and the number of features offered. Though it isn’t as customizable as other options on the market, the “Virtual Venue” is still a solid landing page, and ClickBid is a top-notch option overall.

ReadySetAuction

Another cloud-based, end-to-end event management system, ReadySetAuction covers all the bases from RSVPs and meal selections to auction donation tracking, mobile bidding, and post-event reporting. 

⚡️ Key features: Ready-to-print auction materials, donation tracking, the ability to easily combine donations into baskets, and up to 50 backend users.

📱 Auction app offered: No mobile app available, but supporters can browse and bid on items, donate to your organization, and check out from their mobile devices.

💰 Pricing: Pricing plans range from $1,099-$1,999 per year. Each package includes unlimited nonconcurring events for one year, unlimited bids, online resources, training videos, and email support.

👍 Pros: No backend or hidden charges.

👎 Cons:
Donors must create an account before viewing prices and bidding on items, and many users report frustration with this registration process. You can also only run one event at a time.

⭐️ Best for: The price point makes this software ideal for organizations with a robust budget who hold multiple in-person, seated fundraisers every year.

💥 Our take: Though ReadySetAuction costs a bit more upfront than its competitors, it doesn’t take a portion of the proceeds through additional backend fees. ReadySetAuction is a great choice for a larger team looking for an end-to-end management solution to help them stay on top of tickets, meals, seating, and marketing for multiple events.

Qgiv

Qgiv is a highly customizable fundraising solution that allows users to accept online donations, set up text giving, and manage events and auctions. This platform also integrates with leading CRM and email solutions such as Mailchimp, Constant Contact, DonorPerfect, Salesforce, and more.

⚡️ Key features: Swipe to bid, bid via QR code, auction item watchlist, unlimited auctions, and engaging push notifications to encourage higher bids.

📱 Auction app offered: Qgiv does offer an app for mobile bidding. Supporters can also visit your auction page on their mobile device if they’d rather not download an app.

💰 Pricing: Qgiv’s most popular pricing plan is the “Giving Essentials” package for $25 per month (or $60 per quarter), with the option to add on auctions for an additional $259 per month (or $687 per quarter). Other features, such as text and peer-to-peer fundraising, come with their own monthly fees. Custom pricing is available for high-volume organizations looking for more features.

👍 Pros: All pricing plans include unlimited forms, events, customer support, and backend users. Plus, the ability to customize and integrate with other platforms makes this an attractive fundraising solution for many nonprofits.

👎 Cons: Costs for additional fundraising features can add up quickly.

⭐️ Best for: High-volume organizations (who process more than $350K annually) who can take advantage of Qgiv’s full suite of features and get the most bang for their buck with Qgiv’s custom pricing.

💥 Our take: For many fundraisers, Qgiv is a great option with several attractive features that make mobile bidding and auction management easy. However, paying for extra features like auctions, text giving, and peer-to-peer fundraising deters many small- to mid-sized nonprofits from choosing this platform.

Auctria

Auctria offers end-to-end auction management that gets into the nitty-gritty details other platforms often overlook. Users report being especially satisfied with this platform's ease of use and customer service.

⚡️ Key features: Real-time monitoring, streamlined inventory management, detailed donor tracking, and the option for bidders to “buy now.”

📱 Auction app offered: Auctria does offer an app for mobile bidding. Supporters can also visit your auction page on their mobile device if they’d rather not download an app.

💰 Pricing: There are three different pricing plans available. Users who make less than $10K in yearly revnue, expect no more than 250 bidders per event, and only need three backend users can take advantage of Auctria’s free plan. Otherwise, you can expect to pay $300-$600 per year with the option to add on event launch services to your yearly license for an additional $400.

👍 Pros: Small organizations can access many popular auction fundraising features for free.

👎 Cons: Auctria’s bidding interface is not as user-friendly or intuitive as some of its competitors. Many users complain about the bidder experience being confusing, especially when completing transactions for items they win.

⭐️ Best for: Small organizations with a modest budget looking to run auction-only events, as it does not offer a full suite of fundraising and event management features.

💥 Our take: While Auctria is relatively affordable, you definitely get what you pay for. Users have expressed frustrations with the software’s reporting features and check-out process. Still, for organizations with a smaller budget running auction-only fundraisers, these issues may be worth overlooking for the money you’d save in the long run.

Silent Auction Pro

Silent Auction Pro is a comprehensive auction and event management platform. Silent Auction Pro offers top features to help with ticketing, seating, mobile bidding, and marketing for in-person, virtual, and hybrid auctions.

⚡️ Key features: “Paddle Raise” for in-person and online bidders, drag-and-drop seating management, and a virtual confetti drop to celebrate when you reach your fundraising goal.

📱 Auction app offered: No mobile app available, but supporters can bid from their mobile device. Any mobile device can also be set up as a bidding kiosk for supporters who want to bid online at your event but do not have a smartphone.

💰 Pricing: Pricing plans range from $348-$796 per year, depending on the number of features you need and whether you’re using virtual or paper bidding. All packages include an additional fee of 2% of auction proceeds (caps at $2,000 per event) and 1% of ticket proceeds.

👍 Pros: Users praise Silent Auction Pro’s ease of use and simplicity.

👎 Cons: There’s an extra cost to import data, and some of the Silent Auction Pro interfaces can feel a bit dated.

⭐️ Best for: Nonprofits who hold multiple in-person auctions per year looking for a simple and affordable software to make managing their events easier.

💥 Our take: Silent Auction Pro boasts an impressive list of auction and event management features at a smaller price tag than many of its competitors. 

Accelevents

Accelevents is an end-to-end event management platform boasting a client list that includes TedX, the American Cancer Society, Stanford University, and Amazon. In addition to auction, raffle, ticketing, and registration systems, it has interactive features like livestreaming, real-time polls, a welcome video, and virtual lobby activities.

⚡️ Key features: Gamification, lead capturing, livestreaming, and main stage and breakout rooms for online events.

📱 Auction app offered: Accelevents does offer an event app to engage with supporters on their mobile devices. Supporters can donate and bid on items right in the app, or they can bid on items via text message.

💰 Pricing: Accelevents gives users the option to pay per event (starting at $500-$5,000 per event) or a monthly subscription fee for unlimited events (starting at $125-$1,250 per month). Pricing plans depend on the features you need, the number of attendees you have, and how many days your event lasts. You’ll also pay $249 per auction (plus $1 for every participant) to use Accelevent’s fundraising features. Regardless of the pricing plan you choose, Accelevents offers several à-la-carte features (like registrant importing, event support, and use of their mobile app) you can pay to add to your event.

👍 Pros: Accelevents provides best-in-class virtual event engagement features with exceptional tech support.

👎 Cons: Accelevents pricing can be difficult to follow, making it hard to know what that final invoice will cost you.

⭐️ Best for: High-volume organizations who are looking to add on auctions to large, multi-day events like conferences, workshops, summits, and seminars.

💥 Our take: If you are running a multi-faceted virtual or hybrid event with fundraising elements, this may be the ideal software for you. It includes many exciting features that engage and enhance the online experience of attendees.

eBay for Charity

Maybe you aren't planning a traditional auction, but you’d like to turn quality, donated goods into ongoing, unrestricted proceeds. Why not tap into eBay’s 150M+ active buyers? Consider registering as a Charity Seller to auction off donated goods and have payments sent directly to your organization’s bank account. 

⚡️ Key features: Large audience of active buyers, special ribbon added to your listings indicating charity status, and the option to invite supporters to sell items on behalf of your organization.

📱 Auction app offered: Supporters can download eBay’s mobile app to bid on your charity items or sell items on behalf of your organization.

💰 Pricing: As a Charity Seller, you’ll pay a final value fee at a reduced rate of 2% of your total sale amount, plus $0.30 per order. Other standard eBay listing or subscription fees may still apply, depending on the items you’re selling.

👍 Pros: Even if you don’t have a lot of items to auction off, you can still register your charity to receive donations from supporters through community selling and checkout donations.

👎 Cons: You can't meaningfully engage supporters on eBay’s platform.

⭐️ Best for: Verified 501(c)(3) nonprofits who receive in-kind donations (or have access to a high-quality inventory) but aren’t interested in running a full auction event.

💥 Our take: If you have access to some sought-after donated goods, eBay for Charity is a great way to receive sizable donations with less work than a traditional auction. However, it does not afford the same opportunity to excite and connect with donors.

Winspire

Winspire is a fundraising, event planning, and auctioning software that makes it easy to add exclusive travel packages and experiences to your auction offerings.

⚡️ Key features: Unique virtual and in-person experiences, access to a dedicated Event Consultant, text-to-bid, and outbid alerts. 

📱 Auction app offered: No mobile app available, but supporters can bid from their mobile device and receive outbid alerts via text.

💰 Pricing: There are no up-front costs to add Winspire travel packages to your auction event. Instead, Winspire charges a “Nonprofit Cost” that is determined by the cost of the travel package, promoting the package at your event, putting the package together, and hiring a team of travel professionals to coordinate with winning bidders. If you want to also use Winspire’s fundraising software to run your auction, an additional fixed 7.5% is applied to each transaction. 

👍 Pros: There are more than 200 travel packages to choose from and you don’t have to pay for travel packages that don’t sell.

👎 Cons: The Nonprofit Cost for most Winspire travel packages is more expensive than donated or sponsored auction items would be.

⭐️ Best for: Organizations looking for a simple way to add high-dollar travel packages to their auction (and has a donor base who can afford to bid on them).

💥 Our take: Winspire travel packages have a great track record among winning bidders for providing fun experiences and quality care. Though Winspire offers fundraising and virtual event software, we recommend using it as a supplementary service to add big-ticket items to your auction. 

Methodology

Our editorial team sources comparison metrics directly from sites like G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, BBB, InHerSight, Comparably, Glassdoor, and more. Data gathered on September 1, 2022.
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Reisa Shanaman
Author

Reisa Shanaman

Writer

Reisa is excited to use her nonprofit development, communications, and engagement background to help others elevate their fundraising, administrative, and programming proficiencies

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