Pledge vs Snowball Fundraising
US-based individuals, nonprofits and purpose-driven companies that want a free-to-start fundraiser with a wide range of giving methods - cards, ACH, PayPal, Venmo, stock, donor-advised funds and crypto - plus Shopify and API-based embedded giving.
Small and mid-sized US nonprofits that want donation forms, text-to-give, online auctions and event ticketing in one platform with US-based bilingual support, fundraising domestically in US dollars.
Pledge & Snowball Fundraising don’t process payments in AUD — pricing shown in USD.
Side-by-side.
| Metric | Pledge | Snowball Fundraising |
|---|---|---|
| Recipient gets ($100) | $96.80 | $96.80 |
| Platform fee | 0% | 0% |
| Payment processing fee | 2.9% + $0.30 | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Trustpilot | — (0) | — (0) |
| Country coverage | 1 countries | 1 countries |
| Data residency | US | US |
| Languages | 1★ winner | 0 |
| Payment methods supported | 10★ winner | 1 |
Winner by category.
Fees are level on a credit-card donation.
— vs — on Trustpilot.
1 vs 1 countries.
Both share the same residency posture.
Choose based on who you are.
US-based individuals, nonprofits and purpose-driven companies that want a free-to-start fundraiser with a wide range of giving methods - cards, ACH, PayPal, Venmo, stock, donor-advised funds and crypto - plus Shopify and API-based embedded giving.
- ✓No mandatory platform fee - funded by optional donor tipping, with most donors choosing to cover the fees.
- ✓Exceptionally broad giving methods: cards, ACH, PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, Google Pay, stock, donor-advised funds and cryptocurrency.
- ✓Donations are regranted through the Pledgeling Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) public charity, with multi-state US fundraising compliance.
- ✓Shopify "Give & Grow" app and embedded-giving APIs and widgets for e-commerce and product integrations.
Small and mid-sized US nonprofits that want donation forms, text-to-give, online auctions and event ticketing in one platform with US-based bilingual support, fundraising domestically in US dollars.
- ✓All-in-one toolkit: donation forms, text-to-give and text-to-bid, online auctions, event ticketing, recurring gifts and donor CRM.
- ✓Free Starter tier available, with paid annual plans that remove the platform fee and speed payouts to 1-2 days.
- ✓Used by more than 15,000 US nonprofits, with US-based bilingual (English/Spanish) support.
- ✓Payments processed by Stripe; the company states no hidden platform fees beyond the chosen plan and processing.
A third option.
Dutch and other social-impact initiators running Global-Goals-aligned campaigns who value personal coaching and community-building over a high-volume, self-serve crowdfunding marketplace.
Other comparisons.
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper, Pledge or Snowball Fundraising?
On a $100 donation, Pledge delivers approximately $96.80 to the recipient and Snowball Fundraising delivers approximately $96.80. Real costs depend on the payment method donors choose.
Which is better for European nonprofits?
Both platforms operate inside the EEA framework. Choose based on local payment-method coverage and language support.
Which platform has more country coverage?
Pledge operates in 1 countries; Snowball Fundraising operates in 1.
Rankings are produced by a public editorial methodology — open to peer review. We disclose ownership, scoring weights, and every change.