The lowest headline fee and the lowest real cost are rarely the same platform.
Two costs come out of every online donation: a platform fee and payment processing. Platforms advertise the first and stay quiet about the second — yet processing (around 2.9% + $0.30 a gift) is usually the bigger bite, and it's brutal on small donations.
| Platform | Est. fees on $5,000 | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|
| Ralli — flat 2% + low-cost rails | $150 | 3.0% |
| GoFundMe | $445 | 8.9% |
| Donorbox | $558 | 11.2% |
| Indiegogo | $600 | 12.0% |
| Kickstarter | $700 | 14.0% |
| Patreon | $945 | 18.9% |
Estimated fees on a $5,000 raise across 1,000 small contributions; actual rates vary by country and payment method.
Favour a flat, predictable platform fee; low-cost account-to-account bank rails over card-only processing; direct-to-bank payout with no withdrawal fee; and no reliance on donor tips. Ralli is a flat 2% plus a few cents of rail per gift, paid direct to your own bank, non-custodial.
Run your own numbers — free, no sign-up.
Open the fee calculator →Look at the all-in cost, not the headline. A flat 2% plus a small low-cost rail — as Ralli charges — is among the lowest real costs on small donations, where per-gift processing fees otherwise dominate.
Not with a transparent flat fee. The catch to watch for elsewhere is 'free' platforms that still pass through 2.9% + $0.30 processing and ask donors for tips.
By pairing a flat 2% platform fee with low-cost, geo-routed account-to-account bank rails instead of card-only processing, and by being non-custodial so there's no withdrawal fee.
Fee comparison calculator · Paid direct to your bank · NZ fundraising platforms · Medical fundraising · GoFundMe fees · Patreon fees
Figures are estimates based on each platform's published fee structure and typical processing rates, which vary by country and payment method. Platform names belong to their respective owners; Ralli is not affiliated with them.