The Truth About "Free" Raffle Platforms What Zeffy, RallyUp, and BetterWorld Don't Tell You
The most seductive word in nonprofit software is "free." Before you sign up for a platform that advertises $0 to your organization, you need to understand exactly how they make money and what that model costs your donors at checkout.
How "free" fundraising platforms actually make money
There is no free lunch in software. Servers cost money. Developers cost money. Support teams cost money. When a platform charges your organization $0, the bill goes somewhere.
Platforms like Zeffy, BetterWorld, and the RallyUp free tier have built their entire business model around a mechanism called voluntary tipping sometimes called "guilt-based tipping" or "donor tips." Here is exactly how it works at checkout.Donor decides to buy a $50 raffle ticket
They click your raffle link, choose their tickets, and enter their information. Everything looks normal.Donor reaches the payment screen
Credit card entered. Order summary visible. Total shows $50. They prepare to click "Complete Purchase."The friction point: a tip prompt appears
Before completing, a message appears: "We rely on the generosity of donors like you to keep this platform free for nonprofits. Would you like to add a tip to support our work?" A dropdown is pre-selected at 15%, 20%, or even 25%. The total now shows $57.50, $60.00, or $62.50 depending on which tip level was pre-checked.Three things happen here
Some donors notice, uncheck the tip, and complete the purchase. Some donors don't notice and tip generously the platform receives that revenue. And some donors more than most platform vendors will admit get confused, feel misled, or frustrated, and close the tab entirely. That last group represents pure lost revenue for your organization.
What cart abandonment actually costs your organization
Cart abandonment is the single most important number in e-commerce and the number tip-based platforms never include in their marketing materials.
Nonprofit donors are naturally committed buyers. They already decided to support your cause before they started checkout. Their baseline abandonment rate is just 7–8% far below the 70%+ typical in general e-commerce. That committed-buyer psychology is an asset. Tip prompts destroy it. When a donor encounters an unexpected fee at the end of checkout especially one that feels like it's going to someone other than your cause that commitment evaporates. Research from Baymard Institute, eMarketer, Contentsquare, and VWO consistently documents what happens next.| Pricing Model | Donor Charge | Incremental Abandonment | Org Pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| C2W Premium (~8% optional supporter charge) | ~8% — disclosed, optional, flows 100% to org | ~0% | Flat fee from $329 |
| C2W Zero Fee (fixed 12% upfront) | 12% — disclosed at start, no surprise | 1–2% | $0 |
| Service fee 11–14% (disclosed upfront) | 11–14% — disclosed, manageable | 1–2% | Varies |
| Tip model (~15% suggested) | ~15% tip — pre-checked at checkout | ~25% | $0 |
| Zeffy / RallyUp — school events | 17–29% tip — variable, pre-checked | ~30% | $0 |
| Zeffy / RallyUp — church events | 17–29% tip — variable, pre-checked | ~40% | $0 |
Sources: Baymard Institute (48% unexpected-fee abandonment study) · eMarketer June 2024 · Contentsquare 2025 Digital Experience Benchmark · VWO 2026 Conversion Research · Internal modeling across tens of thousands of raffle transactions.
What a "free" platform actually raises across different campaign sizes
Run these numbers for your expected fundraising goal before you choose a platform. The direction is consistent regardless of campaign size.
$20,000 campaign net revenue kept by organization:
$50,000 campaign net revenue kept by organization:
$100,000 campaign net revenue kept by organization:
Normalized modeling. Tip range per Zeffy published checkout flow. Abandonment rates per Baymard Institute, eMarketer June 2024, Contentsquare 2025. Individual results vary; the direction does not.
Each "free" platform the full picture
Zeffy
Zeffy's headline is accurate: $0 to your organization. Their model relies entirely on donor tip prompts variable 17–29%, pre-checked at checkout. They are transparent about this model on their website, and to their credit, they genuinely believe it aligns with nonprofit values. The problem is the execution. At 17–29% pre-checked, the donor faces an awkward, guilt-laden decision at the worst possible moment the payment confirmation screen. Independent research documents the outcome: 30–40% of donors who reach this screen leave without completing the purchase on fundraisers with high tip prompts. Additionally: Stripe only, with all the account suspension risk that creates for regulated prizes (wine, spirits, firearms). No basket raffle, no Queen of Hearts, no duck race. No US phone support AI chatbot only. Tip prompts may also violate charitable gaming laws in certain regulated states.BetterWorld
BetterWorld offers a Free Forever plan (tip-based), a Flex plan (fees removed but charged a platform percentage), and a Partner plan at $1,550/year plus 1%. Their abandonment profile on the free tier mirrors Zeffy's, though their implementation is slightly softer. The pricing tier structure is genuinely confusing which itself creates friction for organizations trying to forecast costs. Stripe only. No specialty raffle formats. BetterWorld retains 0% of transaction fees from Stripe that 2.9% + $0.30 goes to Stripe directly, not BetterWorld. This is worth knowing when comparing true costs.RallyUp (free tier)
RallyUp's free tier has mandatory tipping that cannot be disabled the same abandonment exposure as Zeffy. Their Flex tier removes tipping but charges 6.9% on raffle transactions, which is expensive at scale. At $50,000 in sales, that's $3,450 in platform fees versus $459 for Chance2Win Premium. RallyUp is a genuinely good platform for peer-to-peer fundraising and standard events it looks polished and handles team-based campaigns well. The problem is the "free" tier, which most small organizations start with, is no different from Zeffy in terms of checkout friction.Why being Stripe-only creates a hidden campaign risk
The real cost of "free" from the Raffle Hotline
"Hi, we run our basket raffle with you and we need a discount. And we are a nonprofit, so we get a discount."
Support explained both pricing options. The Zero Fee model was described: roughly half the cost of most paid platforms, includes true basket raffle functionality, multiple payment options, and US-based phone support. The caller said it was too expensive. Support then explained the Zero Fee model where the organization pays nothing but donors see a 12% service charge disclosed at checkout. The caller responded: "But then our supporters have to pay a fee. Zeffy is free." Support explained that tip-based platforms often prompt donors for 18–29% at checkout, and that this significantly reduces the number of supporters who complete purchases. The caller acknowledged this and still pushed for a discount because Zeffy's headline was $0.
On a $20,000 basket raffle: C2W Zero Fee nets approximately $19,800. Zeffy with 30% abandonment nets approximately $15,000. The organization was willing to leave $4,800 on the table to avoid a $0 platform cost. The "free" option was costing them nearly $5,000 in donor revenue.
Fundraising success should be measured by total funds raised not by platform cost. The right question is never "what does the platform charge?" It's "how much will my supporters actually complete purchasing?"
"I have never done a raffle before but your software seems stupid. Why would you offer ticket bundles? What if someone wants to buy 3 tickets?"
Research across thousands of raffles shows bundle pricing dramatically increases fundraising totals. Single ticket pricing averages roughly $11 per order. Bundle pricing increases average contributions to approximately $64 per order. The caller argued that selling 10 tickets for $64 was giving tickets away for free. Support explained: tickets have no intrinsic value until sold. Selling 10 tickets for $64 raises nearly six times more than selling one ticket for $10. The caller asked: "Well who made you the expert?" The answer: "You did when you called for advice."
Ticket bundle pricing is one of the highest-leverage decisions in raffle fundraising. A platform that supports bundle structures is worth far more than the fee difference between it and a "free" option with single-ticket-only pricing.
Frequently asked questions about "free" raffle platforms
Ready to run a raffle that doesn't lose donors at checkout?
Chance2Win's Zero Fee plan is free to your organization. Donors see a disclosed 12% service charge not a guilt-based tip. No surprise at the payment screen. Start Your Raffle with Chance2Win → Back to Platform ComparisonRaffle and charitable gaming laws vary by state. Nothing on this site is legal advice. Published by The Chance2Win Team, Apollo Beach, Florida. © 2026 RafflePlatforms.com