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Comparison Free for organizers

Zeffy vs Givebutter: who pays the fees and who keeps what

Zeffy fits nonprofits that want the price buyers see to be what they keep; Givebutter fits US groups that need an API and supporter pages.

Box Office Fees EditorialPublished 14 min readEditorial policy
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On this page
  1. The short answer
  2. Givebutter and Zeffy side by side
  3. Who pays the fees and what the buyer sees at checkout
  4. What you can sell beside the entry ticket
  5. Taking payments at the door and checking people in
  6. Who can sign up and in which currency
  7. Connecting it to your website and other software
  8. Each one in detail
  9. How they compare
  10. Which one to pick
  11. How we compared
  12. Questions buyers ask
  13. Sources

The short answer

The deciding fact is who pays the fees. Zeffy deducts nothing from a paid ticket and earns only from an optional contribution buyers may add, and it sells in US dollars, Canadian dollars or British pounds.

Givebutter takes a 3% platform fee plus 2.9% + 30c per transaction with tips off, or 0% when buyers’ optional tips fund it. It suits groups based in the United States that want raffle tickets in the same order, a public API that every account can use and fundraising pages for supporters and teams.

On 28 October 2026 we listed 19 ticketing platforms: 5 of them under Nonprofit and fundraiser ticketing and 11 with a free plan.

  • Zeffy shows an all-in price at checkout: the ticket price buyers first see is what the organizer receives.
  • Givebutter charges a 0% platform fee with tips on, or 3% plus 2.9% + 30c per transaction with tips off.
  • Givebutter sells raffle tickets and items for sale in the same order as entry tickets, with bundles that package a table or add-on into a single purchase.
  • Zeffy’s Tap to Pay app turns a phone into a card reader at the door with no terminal.
  • Givebutter and Zeffy each have a free plan, so what an event costs comes down to who pays the fees at checkout.
Zeffy vs Givebutter.

Givebutter and Zeffy side by side

Table 1 Price and the points where they differ, checked 27 October 2026
GivebutterZeffy
From
Free, then $33.80 a month
Free
Free plan
Yes
Yes
Add-ons
Yes
Partly
All-in price at checkout
No
Yes
API
Yes
Partly
Door sales
Partly
Yes
Disputed charges
Partly
Yes
Sell on your own website
Partly
Yes
The fee per ticket
Yes
No
United States
Partly
Yes
Nonprofit rates
Partly
Yes
Promoter links
Yes
Partly
Best for
galas selling raffle tickets alongside entry
nonprofits that keep the full ticket price

Who pays the fees and what the buyer sees at checkout

Zeffy fits organizers who want buyers to see the real price, with an all-in price at checkout. Zeffy deducts nothing from a paid ticket and earns only from an optional contribution buyers may add, so the price buyers first see is what you receive, plus a sales tax line if you turn it on.

Givebutter lets you choose per campaign whether buyers cover the fees optionally, must cover them so you keep 100%, or you pay them out of the ticket price. Its platform fee is 0% with tips on, or 3% plus 2.9% + 30c per transaction with tips off.

What you can sell beside the entry ticket

Givebutter sells extras inside the ticket order. Its ticket builder handles entry tickets, raffle tickets and items for sale, and bundles package a table or add-on into a single purchase. Buyers can add a donation or give without attending, and checkout asks them for an optional tip to Givebutter.

Buyers can add a donation to any Zeffy event form, and checkout also asks whether they want to leave an optional contribution to Zeffy.

Taking payments at the door and checking people in

Zeffy’s Tap to Pay app turns a phone into a card reader with no terminal and logs cash too, though auctions, memberships and recurring gifts are excluded. Check-in needs no hardware, and any number of volunteers can share the check-in manager link.

Givebutter sells at the door by Tap to Pay, a Bluetooth card reader, cash or check, but door card sales always carry the 3% platform fee on top of 2.9% + 30c, even with tips on. Its free iPhone and Android app scans ticket codes or finds guests by name, email, phone or ticket number, and Givebutter does not document whether scanning works offline.

Who can sign up and in which currency

Zeffy wins on currency and Givebutter on who can sign up. Zeffy is the 1 of the 2 that fully covers selling markets: US accounts sell in US dollars, Canadian accounts in Canadian dollars and British accounts in pounds. Zeffy is also the 1 of the 2 built only for nonprofits and registered charities, with a single tier for all of them.

Givebutter takes buyers from anywhere but only in US dollars, and organizers must be based in the United States with an American bank account and phone number. It is open to any organization with no separate charity rate, and verified nonprofits get a cheaper bank-transfer rate of 1.9% + 30c and instant payouts.

Connecting it to your website and other software

Givebutter wins on the API and Zeffy on website builders. Givebutter is the 1 of the 2 with full API access: a free public API with documented endpoints is open to every account, with keys created by admins under Settings then Developers. Its widgets embed checkout on your site with no redirect but leave out the campaign page with its story and goal bar, and it has plugins for WordPress and Wix plus embed code for Squarespace, Weebly and GoDaddy.

Zeffy’s API is read-only across payments, contacts and campaigns, and the single account admin is the one who can create a key. A code snippet puts the campaign on your own page so buyers finish there, though embedded forms drop your description, images and logo. It has plugins for WordPress and Wix plus step-by-step embed guides for Squarespace, Shopify, Weebly, GoDaddy and any builder with a custom code block.

Each one in detail

Givebutter

Best for galas selling raffle tickets alongside entry: Givebutter sells entry tickets, raffle tickets and items for sale from one ticket builder, with bundles that package a table or add-on into a single purchase.

  • Price: Free, then $33.80 a month
  • Free plan: yes
  • Who it’s for: Nonprofits running galas, auctions and community fundraisers that want raffle tickets, table bundles and donations in the same checkout.
  • Skip it if: Your organization is based outside the United States, since Givebutter organizers need an American bank account and phone number.

Givebutter is a nonprofit fundraising platform with event ticketing, auctions and a built-in donor CRM. Its ticket builder makes unlimited ticket types with set quantities, table bundles, bulk discounts and promo codes, though a promo code applies to the whole order. Buyers can add a donation to a ticket order or give without attending.

Sign-up is self-service with no sales call, though a campaign stays inactive until you add payout information. Ticket buyers land in your own CRM with exportable details, and the built-in email and text tools let you market to them afterwards. Peer-to-peer pages give each supporter or team its own link and goal.

With tips switched on, Givebutter charges a 0% platform fee and absorbs card processing, funded by an optional tip to Givebutter that checkout asks buyers for. Switch tips off and each order carries 3% platform plus 2.9% + 30c per transaction. Zeffy also deducts nothing from a paid ticket, and Givebutter fits the gala that sells raffle tickets and tables in the same order.

What it does well

  • One ticket builder sells entry tickets, raffle tickets and items for sale, with bundles for a table or add-on.
  • Any app user can sell at the door by Tap to Pay, Bluetooth card reader, cash or check.
  • Every account gets a public API, with keys generated in the dashboard.
  • Chat and email support run 24 hours a day for every account, weekends and holidays included.

Where it falls short

  • Checkout asks buyers for an optional tip to Givebutter.
  • Card sales at the door always carry the 3% platform fee on top of 2.9% + 30c, even on campaigns with tips on.
  • Organizers must be based in the United States with an American bank account, and every sale is in US dollars.

Zeffy

Best for nonprofits that keep the full ticket price: Zeffy deducts nothing from a paid ticket, so the price a buyer first sees is what the organizer receives.

  • Price: Free
  • Free plan: yes
  • Who it’s for: Registered nonprofits running galas, fundraisers and member events with no budget for ticket fees, because Zeffy takes no percentage or fixed amount from a paid ticket.
  • Skip it if: Your group is not a nonprofit or registered charity, since Zeffy is open only to them.

Zeffy is a fundraising platform with event ticketing, auctions and a built-in donor CRM, open only to nonprofits and registered charities. Multi-date events let buyers pick a date and time slot, with sales capped per slot and per rate. It has no waitlist, and the documented workaround is a free ticket type named Waitlist.

Zeffy charges organizers nothing for any feature, absorbs the card fees and pays out to your bank at no cost. A campaign goes live as soon as you finish creating it. You get buyer and attendee details, a guest list export to Excel, and email to all or a filtered set of guests.

Zeffy’s revenue is the optional contribution its checkout asks buyers for, and a refund does not return that contribution until the buyer requests it. Givebutter reaches a 0% platform fee only with tips on. Zeffy fits the organizer who wants the ticket price to be the whole amount they keep.

What it does well

  • The ticket price a buyer first sees is what the organizer receives.
  • Accounts sell in US dollars, Canadian dollars or British pounds, with cards accepted from almost anywhere.
  • The Tap to Pay app turns a phone into a card reader at the door, and cash is logged in the same app.
  • Multi-date events sell timed slots, each with its own sales cap.

Where it falls short

  • Checkout asks buyers for an optional contribution to Zeffy, and a refund leaves it with Zeffy until the buyer asks for it back.
  • The API is read-only, and only the account admin can generate a key.

How they compare

Figure 1. Of 10 questions both answer, Givebutter says yes to 4 and Zeffy says yes to 6

Product Questions answered yes
Givebutter 4 of 10
Zeffy 6 of 10

Source: Our answers to the same questions for both products, each read on the vendor’s own pages.

Zeffy fully covers 6 of 10 points and Givebutter 4 of 10. Zeffy leads on currencies, and Givebutter on a writable API and supporter pages, so the count matters less than which of those your event needs.

“We mention the voluntary contribution twice on our forms—once when donors begin filling out the form, and again at the payment confirmation step.”

From Zeffy’s own page, read on 27 October 2026

Which one to pick

  • If you need the price on the ticket to be what your nonprofit receives: pick Zeffy. Zeffy deducts nothing from a paid ticket and the price buyers first see is what you receive.
  • If you need to sell raffle tickets and items alongside entry tickets: pick Givebutter. Givebutter’s ticket builder sells entry tickets, raffle tickets and items for sale in the same order.
  • If you need your own software to write data back through an API: pick Givebutter. Givebutter’s free public API with documented endpoints is open to every account, with keys created in the dashboard, while Zeffy’s API is read-only.
  • If you need to sell in Canadian dollars or British pounds: pick Zeffy. Zeffy’s Canadian accounts sell in Canadian dollars and its British accounts in pounds, while Givebutter sells in US dollars and needs an organizer based in the United States with an American bank account.
  • If you need supporters and teams to fundraise from their own pages: pick Givebutter. Givebutter gives each supporter or team a page and link with their own goal and amount raised, and can limit ticket types to registered fundraisers, while Zeffy’s supporter pages are built for donations and its paid registration link sells tickets singly from a single ticket form.

How we compared

We compared 2 ticketing platforms on price, free plan and 10 questions a buyer asks, reading each vendor’s pricing page and product pages on 27 October 2026. We did not sign up for or run any of them. In all we answered 42 questions about what they do.

Questions buyers ask

Do ticket buyers pay anything extra on Zeffy?

Not unless they choose to: Zeffy deducts nothing from a paid ticket and earns only from an optional contribution buyers may add at checkout. The price buyers first see is what the organizer receives. The only later lines are that optional contribution and, if the organizer turns it on, sales tax.

Who pays the fees on a Givebutter ticket?

You choose per campaign: buyers can cover the fees optionally, be required to cover them so you keep 100%, or you pay them out of the ticket price. With tips off the fee is 3% plus 2.9% + 30c per transaction. With tips on the platform fee is 0% and Givebutter absorbs processing.

Can a group that is not a registered nonprofit use Zeffy or Givebutter?

Givebutter takes any organization, with no separate charity rate, and verifying as a nonprofit brings a cheaper bank-transfer rate of 1.9% + 30c and instant payouts. Zeffy is open only to nonprofits and registered charities, with a single tier for all of them.

Can I sell tickets outside the United States?

Yes on Zeffy: US accounts sell in US dollars, Canadian accounts in Canadian dollars and British accounts in pounds, with cards accepted from almost anywhere. Givebutter takes buyers from anywhere but only in US dollars, and organizers must be based in the United States with an American bank account and phone number.

What happens when a buyer disputes a charge with their bank?

On both, if the bank rules for the buyer, the money goes back to the buyer. Zeffy files the evidence for you and names no fee for it, and it is the 1 of the 2 that fully covers disputed charges. Givebutter argues the dispute for you with no action needed, but a lost dispute leaves your balance negative until you cover it.

Can buyers refund or transfer their own tickets?

Givebutter buyers can transfer tickets but not refund them, and Zeffy buyers can do neither. In the Givebutter portal buyers edit attendee names and assign a ticket to a guest, while refunds must be requested from you or support. On Zeffy purchases are final by default, and you handle refunds, cancellations and date transfers from the dashboard.

Can I sell tickets on my own website?

Yes on both: each embeds its checkout on your site so buyers pay without leaving it. Zeffy is the 1 of the 2 that fully covers this, though its embedded forms drop your description, images and logo. Givebutter’s event widget carries the checkout without the campaign page and its story and goal bar.

Sources

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