What Fundraise Up, Donorbox, and Whitelabel cost per $100 donation once processing is included, and how donor-covered fees change the math.
The headline rate misleads
A development director shortlists two platforms from their pricing pages, one at 4 percent and one at 2.95, and only finds out at the first monthly statement that neither number was the number. Every donation platform advertises a platform fee, and almost none includes processing in the figure you see first. Fundraise Up says 4 percent, then Stripe or PayPal processing applies on top; Donorbox Free says 2.95 percent, plus processing. The only question that matters is the same every time: on a $100 gift, how much reaches the mission.
We think the honest way to compare is all in, at Stripe's nonprofit rate of 2.2 percent plus 30 cents where a platform runs on Stripe. On that basis a $100 gift costs roughly $6.20 on Fundraise Up and about $5.15 on Donorbox Free. Whitelabel is 3.5 percent platform plus interchange passed through at cost, which averages about 1.1 percent, so $4.60 all in, on processing that meets the same PCI DSS Level 1 specification. We sell that one, and the rest of this piece is the working.
Donor-covered fees change the maths
The bigger lever is not the rate but who pays it. On Smart Checkout donors are asked to cover the fee by default, and the large majority leave that box ticked, so on those gifts 100 percent reaches the cause instead of about 95 cents on the dollar.
Across a year that is not a rounding error. A nonprofit processing $500,000 keeps roughly $23,000 more when donors cover the fee, which is closer to a programme hire than a discount, and it compounds on every campaign after the first.
Fees outside the rate card
Monthly subscriptions, setup fees, charges for premium features such as employer matching, and annual contracts all quietly raise the effective rate without ever appearing in it. Whitelabel has no monthly fee, no setup and no contract, and matching gifts and hyper-personal donation flows are part of the platform rather than paid add-ons.
So compare a real gift rather than a rate card. Model $50, $100 and $500 donations end to end, including what the donor sees, who covers the fee and what lands in your account. We run exactly that exercise in the Donorbox alternatives and Fundraise Up alternatives guides, and the director who does it before signing rather than after is the one who does not get a surprise in month one.
Frequently asked questions
What does Whitelabel cost per $100 donation?
3.5% platform fee plus 1.1% processing, $4.60 all in. Donors cover fees by default, so in practice 100% of the gift typically reaches your cause.
Do donors agree to cover fees?
Yes, overwhelmingly. When covering fees is the friendly default at checkout, the large majority of donors keep it on, which is why donor-covered fees are the single biggest lever in the comparison.
Is there a monthly fee or contract?
No. Whitelabel has no monthly fees, no setup fees, and no contracts. You pay per gift, and you can start by signing up to the pay rails.