GiveLink vs Raisely — Honest Comparison (2026)
Side-by-side comparison of GiveLink and Raisely for nonprofit fundraising. Pricing, tip model, features, and donor experience compared.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | GiveLink | Raisely |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Fee | 1% flat platform fee + Stripe processing pass-through | 0% (tip-funded) or paid plan |
| Donor Tips | None | "Donor tip" at checkout |
| Monthly Fee | $0 | $0 (free plan) / custom |
| AI Support | Coordinator weekly briefing + Stewardship suggestions | None |
| Payouts | Next-day automatic | Varies |
| API / Developer Platform | Coming-soon public API/MCP | API |
Company Overview
Raisely is an Australia-based fundraising platform that serves nonprofits, social enterprises, and community organizations globally. Raisely offers a free plan funded by donor tips — similar to Zeffy, Givebutter, and Chuffed — plus paid plans that remove the tip and add additional features.
Raisely's pricing and tip model are described in their pricing and fees article.
How Raisely's Tip Model Works
On Raisely's free plan, donors see a "donor tip" prompt at checkout with dynamically suggested amounts. The tip funds Raisely's operations. Donors can modify or remove the tip, but the prompt is part of the checkout flow.
Two things worth considering:
- The tip is a payment to Raisely, not a charitable gift to the beneficiary. Raisely is a for-profit company. Under IRS rules on charitable contributions (and equivalent rules in Australia and the UK), payments to a for-profit service provider are generally not tax-deductible for the donor, even when they travel alongside a charitable gift.
- Dynamic tip suggestions can anchor higher. Raisely uses dynamically calculated suggested tip amounts, which means the tip scales with the donation size. A $500 donation might see a suggested tip substantially higher than $5, creating more friction for donors who want to opt out.
GiveLink takes a different approach: the platform fee is charged to the nonprofit and disclosed in the pricing page up-front. Donors see only the gift they intended to make. No tip prompt, no pre-selected contribution, no default slider.
Who Should Choose Each
Choose Raisely if:
- You are based in Australia and need strong regional support and AUD processing
- You want campaign-focused tools with strong peer-to-peer capabilities
- You're comfortable with donor tip prompts on the free plan
Choose GiveLink if:
- You want your donors to have a clean checkout with no platform prompts
- You need Coordinator weekly briefing and Stewardship suggestions
- You want public API/MCP access when it launches
- You believe paying a transparent 1% fee is better than passing costs to donors