WhyDonate flags hidden fees on UK fundraising platforms

WhyDonate has published a cost comparison of UK online fundraising platforms, finding that total fees on a model £10,000 campaign ranged from £230 to £504.

The Amsterdam-based platform said UK charities and individual fundraisers can lose between 2.3% and 5% of online donations to platform, processing and Gift Aid fees.

The comparison covered JustGiving, GoFundMe, Crowdfunder and Enthuse, alongside WhyDonate's own pricing. It modelled a £10,000 campaign made up of 200 donations averaging £50 from UK-issued cards, with 50% of donors eligible for Gift Aid.

The figures suggest advertised platform fees do not reflect the full cost paid by charities. Card processing, fixed per-transaction charges, Gift Aid processing fees, monthly subscriptions and currency conversion were often charged separately.

On the modelled campaign, platforms with a 0% platform fee still passed on card processing costs of 1.9% plus 20p to 30p per donation. WhyDonate said that amounted to about £230 to £276 on the same fundraising total, with VAT applying on one platform.

Two of the five platforms in the comparison charged a fee on Gift Aid claims. On a campaign where half of donors were eligible, that would cut a £1,250 Gift Aid uplift by as much as £62.50.

Small donation impact

The figures also pointed to a sharper effect on lower-value donations. Fixed per-transaction charges alone could account for up to 6% of a £5 gift, compared with 0.3% on a £100 donation, according to WhyDonate.

Subscription-based pricing was cheaper only for charities raising more than £22,000 a year online, the analysis found. Below that level, the monthly fee made up most of the cost.

WhyDonate linked the findings to the year-end giving period, when many charities collect a significant share of their annual online income over a short period. It said the gap between the cheapest and most expensive way of collecting the same £10,000 was £274, or more than five average £50 gifts.

Niels Corver, Founder of WhyDonate, said: "Most charities choose a fundraising platform on features and brand recognition, then find out what it really costs when the payout arrives. Fees usually come in small pieces, so none of them looks worth questioning on its own. Added together over a year, they can be the difference between hitting a target and missing it."

WhyDonate also set out a three-step audit for charities to calculate what it called their effective fundraising cost. It said organisations should export 12 months of transaction reports from donation platforms and payment processors, gather invoices for subscriptions and add-ons, and list every cost, including platform fees, card processing, fixed charges, Gift Aid fees, chargebacks, payout fees and currency conversion.

The final step is to divide total costs by gross donations to calculate an effective rate, and by the number of donations to find the cost per gift. Charities could then compare that result with alternatives, ask payment processors for a charity rate, and offer bank transfer for larger gifts to avoid card fees, the company said.

Method used

The methodology used publicly listed pricing as of 4 November 2026. WhyDonate said it applied each platform's standard UK charity rates and counted subscription costs over a full year, assuming the charity raises £10,000 online annually.

Optional donor tips were excluded from the model because donors, rather than charities, pay them. WhyDonate said its own pricing includes a 0% platform fee on one-time donations and card processing at 1.9% plus £0.25 per donation, which it calculated at £240, or 2.4%, on the modelled campaign.

Founded in Amsterdam in 2012, WhyDonate said it is used by charities, community groups and individuals in more than 100 countries. More than €20 million was raised through its platform in the past year, according to the company.

Corver said: "Our advice is simple. Before year-end, pull your last twelve months of transaction reports, add up every fee, and divide by what you raised. That one number tells you more than any pricing page."