Betterplace
German and Austrian nonprofits and social-cause project owners that want a trusted, charitable, German-run donation platform with low pass-through costs and local data handling.
A German donation crowdfunding platform run by the charitable betterplace.org gGmbH, serving Germany and Austria on a transaction-fee model that passes the bulk of each donation to the project.
- Founded i
- 2007
- Headquartered in i
- DE
- Funding model i
- Keep What You Raise
- Platform fee i
- 0%
- Payment processing fee i
- 2.8% + €0.00
- Recipient gets i
- €97.20 / €100
- Data residency i
- —
- Registered entity i
- gut.org gemeinnützige AG, Amtsgericht Charlottenburg HRB 266367 B
- Payout speed i
- Slow
- Countries i
- 2
- Languages i
- 2
- Trustpilot i
- 4.7 / 5
- Domain Rating i
- 87 / 100
- Transparency i
- 3 / 5
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Our overall editorial assessment. Full weights are published in the methodology.
The review
betterplace.org is Germany's best-known donation crowdfunding platform, founded in 2007 and operated by the charitable betterplace.org gGmbH. It connects donors with nonprofit projects and social causes, primarily across Germany and Austria, and is built around organisations and individual project owners collecting for public-benefit causes.
The platform is free for organisations to use: betterplace.org retains roughly 2.8% of each donation to cover payment-provider and technical processing costs, passing the remaining share directly to the supported project. Its own operating costs are funded separately through voluntary additional donor contributions, corporate partnerships, and private funding rather than from that transaction share. Supported payment methods include credit card, PayPal, SEPA Direct Debit, and bank wire transfer.
betterplace.org's strength is its standing as a trusted, nonprofit-run platform in the German-speaking market, where charitable status and German data handling matter to donors and organisations. The trade-offs are a narrow geographic footprint and limited language coverage: it centres on Germany and Austria with a German and English interface, which makes it less suited to cross-border or multilingual fundraising than internationally focused competitors.
For German and Austrian nonprofits that want a recognised, charitable platform with low pass-through costs, betterplace.org is a natural fit; organisations fundraising across multiple European countries or in additional languages may find its coverage limiting. Donations flow to projects on a keep-what-is-raised basis rather than an all-or-nothing model.
What’s good, what’s not.
- ✓Operated by the charitable betterplace.org gGmbH — a nonprofit, mission-aligned platform.
- ✓Roughly 2.8% transaction fee, with the large majority of each donation passing to the project.
- ✓Free for organisations to set up and run campaigns.
- ✓Supports credit card, PayPal, SEPA Direct Debit, and bank wire transfer.
- ✓Established, widely recognised platform in the German-speaking donation market.
- −Narrow geographic footprint — focused on Germany and Austria rather than pan-European coverage.
- −Limited interface language coverage (German and English) for cross-border fundraising.
- −Single-currency (EUR) settlement may not suit organisations collecting in other currencies.
Where each €100 actually goes.
Fees vary by payment method. We default to Credit card because that’s the dominant method in the United Kingdom.
Betterplace doesn’t process payments in GBP. Pricing is shown in EUR, its native currency.
| Payment method | Per transaction | Of €100, recipient gets | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Pay · Bank Transfer · Card · Google Pay · PayPal · SEPA | 2.8% + €0.00 | €97.20 | 0% platform fee |
2 countries · 2 languages · 6 payment methods.
Better-fit alternatives to Betterplace.
Our curated shortlist — the platforms we’d actively recommend instead of Betterplace for fundraising in the United Kingdom, with the figures behind the call.
WhyDonate lets more of each donation through than Betterplace — £97.85 reaches the recipient per 100, against £97.20.
Zeffy lets more of each donation through than Betterplace — £100.00 reaches the recipient per 100, against £97.20.
JustGiving lets more of each donation through than Betterplace — £97.80 reaches the recipient per 100, against £97.20.
See how Betterplace stacks up head-to-head.
Frequently asked questions
What does Betterplace charge?
Betterplace charges a 0% platform fee and 2.8% + €0.00 in payment processing per donation.
Where is Betterplace based?
Betterplace was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Germany. Data residency is unspecified.
Which countries does Betterplace operate in?
Betterplace operates in 2 countries, including Germany, Austria.
Which payment methods does Betterplace support?
Betterplace accepts Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, SEPA, Bank Transfer.
Is Betterplace suitable for nonprofits?
Betterplace’s primary audience is individual fundraisers and groups; nonprofits can use the platform but may find specialized alternatives better suited.
Rankings are produced by a public editorial methodology — open to peer review. We disclose ownership, scoring weights, and every change.