Best peer-to-peer fundraising platforms based on standout features

Nothing rallies a community around your cause like a peer-to-peer fundraiser, but knowing which platform to use for your campaign is the key to success. From coordinating with individuals to tracking results, P2P campaigns require superb coordination—and some essential tools. 

In this article, we’ll walk through the best ways to compare peer-to-peer fundraising platforms and then dive deeper into a comparison of eight solid options for nonprofits. We’ll also answer the burning question: Are there any free peer to peer fundraising platforms out there? (Spoiler: there sure are!) 

What essentials should my peer-to-peer fundraising platform include?

To launch a peer-to-peer fundraiser, nonprofits need a platform that lets them create a campaign page and then invite supporters to sign up as individuals or teams to fundraise on their behalf. 

Peer-to-peer fundraising is centered around your supporters and their relationships and social networks, and so the P2P platform you choose should make it fun and easy to emphasize and build on these connections. 

When comparing peer-to-peer fundraising platforms, consider these six key elements in order to find the best fit for your nonprofit. 

1. Price 💰

Some P2P fundraising platforms are robust but a bit expensive, while others are completely free. Know all of the costs before making your decision, including if the platform has any extra fees for additional features and tools. 

2. Gamification 🎮

One of the reasons peer-to-peer fundraising can be so successful is that participants are motivated by a sense of competition with one another. Whether your campaign includes individual or team fundraising (or a combination of both), your platform should offer the chance to gamify your fundraiser with leaderboards and goal bars. These kinds of tools motivate supporters to compete for the number one spot, in turn helping you raise more. 

3. Communication 🔑

Ever heard the phrase, “Communication is key?” Well, that applies here, too. Social media sharing, automated messaging through text and email, and live supporter feeds are just a few communication tools that are necessary for peer-to-peer fundraising success. Streamlined communication will take the pressure off your team and keep participants motivated and on track.

4. Easy-to-use interface 📱

Whatever solution your organization chooses should be user-friendly for you and your supporters. Because peer-to-peer fundraising relies on multiple team pages and individual fundraising, your platform should allow for easy donation page setup and customization.

5. Data and analytics 📈

Lots of teams and individuals participating + lots of new donors = a whole lot of important data. Your P2P fundraising solution should offer robust data and analytics so your staff can manage your event like pros—and meaningfully engage your fundraisers and donors well after the campaign is over. 

6. Customer support 💛

Regardless of how user-friendly a platform feels, it’s always important to consider what kind of customer service they provide, just in case you need some help along the way. Check out whether each platform has real-time customer service, chatbots, or only email support. 

Now that we’ve covered some of the most essential tools, let’s get into comparing the eight best peer-to-peer fundraising platforms for nonprofits out there today. 

Givebutter: Best all-in-one, free peer-to-peer fundraising platform 

Givebutter is a mobile-optimized, end-to-end nonprofit fundraising solution that makes it easy and fun for nonprofits to raise money, host events and auctions, send emails and text messages, manage donor data, and run successful peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns—all for free. 

💰 Price: While other platforms can come with a hefty price tag, Givebutter is free, thanks to optional tips from donors. If you prefer to turn off donor tipping for your peer-to-peer campaign, a platform fee of 3% applies instead. 

Just like other fundraising platforms, Givebutter’s secure payment processor charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, but thanks to donor-covered fees (which 95% of donors opt for) every penny raised can go right to your campaign. 

📣 Standout features: 

• Goal bars
• Leaderboards
• Individual, personalized pages with unique URLs
• Unlimited team creation 
• Interactive supporter feed with GIFs, pictures, and drawings
• Automated, personalized messaging
• Peer-to-peer texting
• Admin ability to create pages on behalf of fundraisers
• Built-in social media sharing
• Easy backend dashboard integrated with Givebutter CRM
• Accepts multiple payment types including Venmo, digital wallets, and donor-advised funds
• Built-in donation matching software

‍🧈 The spread: With award-winning customer service, Givebutter offers all of the world-class tools and integrations you need for successful peer-to-peer fundraising and more—without any of the cost.

Classy: Best for bigger budgets

Classy provides a secure, end-to-end fundraising platform for nonprofits with a large suite of features and tools including customizable donation forms, peer-to-peer fundraising, event management, and reporting and analytics. 

💰 Price: Classy only offers paid plans and does not list any of its pricing publicly. To receive a custom quote, nonprofits must contact the sales team.

📣 Standout features: 

• Easy individual and team page creation
• Built-in tips and coaching for P2P fundraisers
• Social sharing
• Robust reporting
• Mobile-friendly
• Accepts multiple kinds of payments

🧈 The spread: For nonprofits that might need an extra hand with hosting their peer-to-peer fundraiser, online reviews of Classy emphasize their exceptional customer support. But several reviews also share frustration with the lack of price transparency, noting that the cost of Classy’s features can add up quickly.

Qgiv: Best for Facebook integration

Qgiv is another feature-rich nonprofit fundraising platform that helps organizations easily create branded landing and donation pages, event registration forms, and peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns—all while tracking their progress in real-time. Qgiv also offers a variety of payment processing options, too.

💰  Price: Qgiv’s base package is $25/month, plus an additional $259/month to add on peer-to-peer fundraising features. Qgiv also charges a payment processing fee of $4.95 + $0.30 per transaction.

📣  Standout features: 

• Past attendee invite tool
• Virtual storefront
• Activity tracker
• Integration with Facebook Fundraisers
• Multiple payment options
• Robust analytics 

🧈 The spread: For organizations that rely heavily on Facebook fundraising, Qgiv offers a seamless integration for participants to post their donation page and receive contributions right from Facebook. However, Qgiv does have a higher price tag in comparison to other peer-to-peer fundraising platforms for nonprofits (many of which also offer social media integrations). 

Donorbox: Best for international campaigns

Donorbox is an efficient online donation platform with peer-to-peer fundraising that helps nonprofits create customizable donation forms, accept a variety of payments and custom donations, and manage donors through a secure platform. 

💰 Price: Donorbox offers a free package that includes basic features like peer-to-peer fundraising and donation forms, for which additional platform may fees apply. To access more tools, nonprofits pay $139/month and up.

📣  Standout features: 

• Goal bars
• Templates 
• Personalized donation pages with photos
• Onboarding emails and video courses
• Accepts donations in 44 currencies 

🧈 The spread: With templates, instructional videos, and more, Donorbox offers a lot of support for nonprofits who may be new to peer-to-peer fundraising and other online campaigns. And for nonprofits with a global reach, Donorbox makes accepting international donations easy. 

Kindful: Best for integrations

‍Kindful is a fundraising platform integrated with Bloomerang that helps nonprofits manage their donor data, automate their fundraising processes, and track progress toward their goals with a suite of tools that include peer-to-peer fundraising. Online reviews offer high praise for the platform's integration capabilities. 

💰 Price: Kindful’s pricing is based on the number of contacts an organization has, starting at $119 for 1,000 contacts. Kindful does not charge any additional payment processing transaction fees, but there are extra costs for onboarding support, feature setups, and monthly coaching opportunities. 

📣 Standout features: 

• Unlimited, customized donation pages
• Goal progress visualization feature
• One-click social sharing
• Integrations with QuickBooks, MailChimp, Zapier, and more

🧈 The spread: For nonprofits that use several different platforms to manage their various fundraising campaigns and donor engagement, Kindful may be a great fit. But for organizations that want an all-in-one solution that can scale, they may want to look elsewhere. 

GivingFuel: Best for personalized pages

With GivingFuel, organizations can create mobile-optimized donation pages that accept 15 currencies. They also offer a suite of tools including peer-to-peer fundraising, recurring donations, and donor management features to help nonprofits maximize their impact.

💰 Price: GivingFuel offers a free starter plan, but nonprofits that want to use peer-to-peer fundraising tools need to purchase a Pro or Enterprise plan. Pro is free for 3 months, then $59/month—plus a 2.99% credit card fee per donation, which donors can choose to cover. 

📣 Standout features: 

• Unlimited P2P pages
• Conditional logic feature
• Magic links for easy logins
• Goal thermometer and countdown clocks
• Custom branding across pages
• Option to add merchandise to donation pages

🧈 The spread: GivingFuel offers multiple opportunities for support via phone, chat, email, and Zoom, but unlike other peer-to-peer fundraising platforms that offer an all-in-one fundraising solution, GivingFuel charges monthly for features you can get elsewhere for free. 

GoFundMe: Best for individual fundraisers

GoFundMe is a popular fundraising site where users around the world can create custom campaigns for any purpose and share them with their social networks. Their charity fundraising platform enables nonprofits to register so that individuals and teams can then create their own pages to fundraise for them directly at any time.

💰 Price: GoFundMe doesn’t charge a platform fee, but it does charge a payment processing fee of 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction that’s deducted automatically. GoFundMe does not allow donors to cover fees.

📣 Standout features:  

• Quick and simple setup for individual and team fundraisers 
• Easy search tool to find nonprofit beneficiaries of individual campaign
• Mobile friendly app
• Social media sharing integrations

🧈 The spread: GoFundMe makes it easy for an individual to fundraise for a nonprofit, but nonprofits who want to coordinate a centralized peer-to-peer campaign themselves will do much better on an all-in-one platform with options for gamification, automated messaging, customization, and donor management features. 

Bonfire: Best for selling merchandise

Bonfire enables individuals and organizations to create and sell custom t-shirts for fundraising purposes. Easy and efficient, Bonfire handles the printing, shipping, and customer service associated with every sale made. With Bonfire’s peer-to-peer fundraising tools, merchandise can be sold on behalf of nonprofits and their campaigns.

💰 Price: Free. Buyers can opt-in to cover the 8% processing fee which covers credit card transaction fees and other administrative expenses.

📣 Standout features: 

• Supporters can create and share t-shirt fundraisers
• Custom branded pages
• Goal bar
• Synchronizes data with Classy

🧈 The spread: Bonfire has a user-friendly design with a transparent pricing model, and offers a unique way for participants to fundraise on behalf of your nonprofit through t-shirt creation. But, similar to GoFundMe, nonprofits looking for more expansive fundraising features will find a better fit with other platforms. 

Set yourself up for success with peer-to-peer fundraising on Givebutter

Peer-to-peer fundraising platforms for nonprofits offer a unique opportunity to raise funds and engage supporters. When assessing the right solution for your next event, it’s crucial to assess the pros and cons of each, as well as what features they offer—and at what price.

More to explore

Discover the nonprofit’s complete guide to peer-to-peer fundraising →

For nonprofits that want a free peer-to-peer fundraising platform offering automated messaging, unlimited team and individual page creation, reporting, and more, Givebutter is the stand-out choice. Sign up today to start your next peer-to-peer fundraising campaign for free, in minutes.