A fee on every gift
Standard takes 2.95% of each gift, on top of PayPal's or Stripe's fee. On $5,000 a month in $50 gifts, that is $147.50.
The free Donorbox alternative
Collect donations without Donorbox's platform fee
Payly takes no platform fee on your gifts. They go straight to your own PayPal or Stripe account, and you pay only their standard processing fees.
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Payly and Donorbox at a glance
$0
Platform fee on gifts
Donorbox Standard takes 2.95% of each gift, and Pro takes 1.75% for $150 a month. Payly takes no platform fee.
$147.50
A month on $5,000 in gifts
That is Donorbox Standard's 2.95% on 100 gifts of $50. On Payly it is $0. PayPal's or Stripe's fee comes out on both.
$0.30
More from a $10 gift
Through Stripe, a $10 gift leaves $9.41 on Payly and $9.11 on Donorbox Standard, after each one's fees.
Why organizations move from Donorbox
Donorbox is a full fundraising platform with a Standard plan that costs nothing a month, and it takes a share of each gift instead.
A lower fee costs $150 a month
Pro takes 1.75% and costs $150 a month, so its fees come to $237.50 on the same $5,000. It costs less than Standard only above $12,500 a month in gifts.
Small gifts lose the most
Card fees weigh most on small gifts, and Donorbox adds 2.95% to them. Through Stripe, a $10 gift loses 8.9% to fees on Donorbox Standard and 5.9% on Payly.
A cover-the-fee box that includes Donorbox's fee
When a donor ticks Donorbox's box, it adds enough for Donorbox's fee as well as PayPal's or Stripe's. It estimates at the lowest nonprofit processing rates, so an organization on standard rates can end up a little short. Payly's box covers the processing fee only, and you can change its rate.
What you actually pay
Donorbox's published fees against Payly's, for $5,000 in gifts in a month: 100 gifts of $50.
| Cost | Payly$0/mo | DonorboxStandard or Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly plan | $0 | $0 on Standard, $150 on Pro |
| Platform fee on each gift | None | 2.95% on Standard, 1.75% on Pro |
| Donorbox's fees on $5,000 in gifts | $0 | $147.50 on Standard, $237.50 on Pro with its plan |
| Card fees on 100 gifts of $50 | $223.50 with PayPal, $175.00 with Stripe | $223.50 with PayPal, $175.00 with Stripe |
| A month of $5,000 in $50 gifts, all fees, on Standard | $223.50 with PayPal, $175.00 with Stripe | $371.00 with PayPal, $322.50 with Stripe |
$5,000 a month is 100 gifts of $50. The organization pays every fee here, and no donor ticks a cover-the-fee box. Card fees are PayPal's 3.49% + $0.49 at checkout or Stripe's 2.9% + 30 cents for US cards, the same on both sides. The organization keeps $4,776.50 with PayPal or $4,825.00 with Stripe on Payly, and $4,629.00 or $4,677.50 on Donorbox Standard. Pro is shown at its $150 monthly price because Donorbox publishes no yearly price; its totals are $461.00 with PayPal and $412.50 with Stripe. Donorbox's Premium plan, its add-ons and nonprofit processing rates are not counted. Donorbox pricing as published November 2026.
What you get
- Suggested amounts, one picked at the start, and an amount donors type themselves
- A line on what each amount pays for
- One-time, monthly and yearly gifts
- A fundraising goal with a progress bar that counts monthly gifts and takes off refunds
- A box donors can tick to cover the processing fee
- A donation receipt for every gift, with your tax ID if you add it
- Any other questions you need, such as a name, an address or a message
- Your logo, header photo, colors and font, in one or two columns
- A link to share and a QR code to print
- Gifts as a summary, one at a time, or in a table you can download as CSV
- A robot check on every form to keep out spam
How donation forms work in Payly
You set the amounts and the goal. PayPal or Stripe collects each gift.
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Create a donation form
In Your sites, click New and choose Donation form. Start from a template or from scratch.
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Choose the amounts
Set suggested amounts, let donors type their own, and choose whether they can give once, monthly or yearly.
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Connect PayPal or Stripe, then publish
Your form runs on your own free Cloudflare account. Gifts go straight to your own PayPal or Stripe, and each donor gets a donation receipt by email.
Honest answers
Is Payly really free?
Yes. There is no monthly fee, no transaction fee and no paid tier. PayPal and Stripe charge their standard processing fees, as they would on any platform. How can this possibly be free?
Is Donorbox free?
Its Standard plan has no monthly, setup or cancellation fee, so you can start for $0. It takes 2.95% of each gift, on top of PayPal's or Stripe's fee. Pro costs $150 a month and takes 1.75%, and it costs less than Standard only above $12,500 a month in gifts. Payly takes no platform fee at any size.
What does Donorbox do that Payly does not?
Donorbox is a bigger fundraising platform. It has peer-to-peer pages that supporters run for you, year-end tax receipts sent in bulk, forms you can embed in your own website, a donor portal and a CRM, plus text-to-give and an in-person kiosk as paid add-ons. Payly's donation form has no year-end tax summaries, no fundraising pages for supporters and no way to place a form inside another website. If you need those, Donorbox may be worth its fee.
Can donors cover the processing fee on Payly?
Yes. Switch on the cover-the-fee box and donors can tick it to add the processing fee to their gift. It is not ticked to start with. Payly fills in the standard rate for your country, the higher of PayPal's and Stripe's when you take both, and you can change it, for example for a nonprofit rate. At PayPal's 3.49% + $0.49 rate, a $50 gift comes to $52.32 with the fee covered. Let donors cover the processing fee
Do donors get a receipt on Payly?
Yes. Every gift, monthly ones included, gets a donation receipt by email with the amount, the date and a receipt number. Add your tax ID and a note of your own and they show on every receipt. Payly does not send year-end tax summaries.
How do I move my donation form to Payly?
Payly has no importer for donation forms, so moving means setting up a new form. Set up a donation form in Payly, choose your amounts and goal, connect PayPal or Stripe and publish. The first time, Payly asks you to connect your free Cloudflare account, which hosts the form. Then share the new link or QR code. Payly cannot move monthly gifts that donors already set up with Donorbox, so ask those donors to give again on your new form.
Thinking about another platform?
Collect your next donation, free
Your form, your payment account, your donors. The only thing you pay is normal PayPal and Stripe processing fees.
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