BiddingOwl and Givebutter both support nonprofit auctions, donations, tickets, and event fundraising, but they are built around different priorities. Givebutter is a broader year-round fundraising and donor-engagement platform. BiddingOwl is more specialized for charity auctions that may combine online bidding, paper bid sheets, live or silent events, pre-bidding, mixed payments, and hands-on event support.
The better choice depends on whether your organization primarily needs an auction system or one platform for fundraising campaigns, donor records, and communications throughout the year.
Before comparing individual platforms, use our auction software for nonprofits buyer’s guide to identify the auction format, payment workflow, support, and fundraising features your organization actually needs.
| Feature | BiddingOwl | Givebutter |
|---|---|---|
| Primary focus | Charity auctions and auction-centered fundraising events | Broad nonprofit fundraising, donor management, and supporter engagement |
| Standard platform pricing | No standard monthly or setup fee. A 5% performance fee applies to winning online and mobile bids. Traditional silent and live auction tools, donations, tickets, Fund-a-Need contributions, and paddle raises are not subject to that 5% fee. | With optional donor tips enabled, Givebutter states that qualifying online transactions have 0% platform and processing fees under the Givebutter Guarantee. With tips disabled, a 3% platform fee applies, plus standard processing fees. |
| Auction payment exception | The 5% fee is based on the winning online or mobile bid, regardless of whether the winner later pays online or outside the system. | Auto-charging or manually charging a winner’s saved payment method triggers a 3% platform fee plus processing under current standard pricing. Optional tips are not available for auto-charged auction-item payments. |
| Online and mobile bidding | Yes, including proxy bidding, bid increments, watchlists, and outbid and winner notifications | Yes, including maximum bids, automatic bidding, configurable increments, and notifications |
| Traditional paper auctions | Dedicated printable bid sheets and traditional silent-auction administration | Official auction materials emphasize online and mobile bidding; a dedicated printable paper bid-sheet generator is not described in the materials reviewed |
| Live and hybrid events | Online pre-bidding, mobile bidding, paper auctions, live auctions, manual winner entry, and hybrid event workflows | In-person, online, and hybrid auctions, with a mobile-first bidding and event workflow |
| Donations and tickets | Donations, admission tickets, raffle tickets, Fund-a-Need, paddle raises, and crowdfunding | Donation forms, recurring gifts, tickets, events, auctions, and paddle raises |
| Year-round fundraising | Useful event-fundraising tools, but not intended to replace a full donor CRM | Fundraising pages, recurring giving, peer-to-peer campaigns, CRM, email, texting, widgets, and other year-round tools |
| Winner payments | Stripe or PayPal checkout, invoices, refunds, cash, checks, and outside payment recording. | Payment request or automatic charging. Auto-charge can run when each item is won or when the auction ends. Manual dashboard charging is also available. |
| Offline payments | Cash, check, or another outside processor can be used; the invoice is then marked paid | Offline auction payments can be recorded, and no online-processing fee applies to a logged offline payment |
| Support | Phone and email support during posted weekday hours, personal training, knowledge base, and 24/7 critical-event emergency support | 24/7 chat and email support for users. Phone support is available to active Givebutter Plus subscribers. |
| Best suited for | Organizations that need flexible auction formats, paper or live workflows, mixed payments, personal training, or event-day support | Nonprofits that want auctions inside a broader fundraising, CRM, and communications platform |
The main difference is product focus.
Givebutter is an all-in-one nonprofit fundraising platform. Its current tools include donation forms, fundraising pages, events, auctions, recurring gifts, peer-to-peer and team fundraising, a nonprofit CRM, email marketing, payment processing, and supporter-engagement features.
BiddingOwl is centered more specifically on charity auctions and auction-event operations. Its tools include online and mobile bidding, traditional silent and live auctions, printable bid sheets, online pre-bidding, donations, tickets, Fund-a-Need campaigns, paddle raises, invoices, and online and offline payment workflows.
That does not make one platform universally better. Givebutter may replace several fundraising and communication tools for an organization. BiddingOwl may be the more natural fit when the auction itself—and the way volunteers will run it—is the primary concern.
Both platforms can be started without a standard upfront software purchase, but their fee models are not the same.
BiddingOwl does not charge a standard monthly subscription or setup fee.
A 5% performance fee applies when an item receives a winning online or mobile bid. For example, a $100 winning online bid creates a $5 BiddingOwl platform fee.
The following tools and transactions are not subject to that 5% performance fee:
Payment processing is separate. An organization may connect its own Stripe or PayPal account, accept cash or checks, or take payment through another outside method and mark the invoice paid.
BiddingOwl also allows an organization to use a clearly disclosed Supporter Contribution to help offset fundraising and payment-related costs. The organization controls whether to use it and how much to request within the available settings.
Givebutter’s standard pricing has two main settings.
With optional donor tips enabled, Givebutter states that the nonprofit pays no platform or processing fees on qualifying online transactions under the Givebutter Guarantee. Supporters are invited to leave an optional tip for Givebutter and may also be asked to cover processing. If they do not cover the processing charge, Givebutter states that it absorbs the uncovered amount for qualifying transactions.
With optional tips disabled, Givebutter charges a 3% platform fee plus standard processing fees. Its current published card rate is 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction, with a lower published ACH rate for verified nonprofits.
Some payment methods and transaction types do not qualify for the Givebutter Guarantee. Organizations should review the current exceptions before assuming that every payment will be cost-free.
Givebutter’s auction pricing changes when the organization wants to charge saved cards.
This distinction matters. “Free auction software” does not necessarily mean that every checkout configuration has the same cost.
Before choosing either platform, estimate:
The lowest advertised percentage is not always the best operational fit. Compare the complete checkout experience and the work required from volunteers after the auction closes.
Both platforms provide functional online and mobile auctions. Both support item catalogs, maximum or proxy bidding, configurable bid increments, winner notifications, and online checkout. Givebutter states that organizations can run unlimited auctions and add unlimited items and categories. BiddingOwl supports the core online-auction features needed by small and midsized nonprofit events.
The practical difference appears when an organization moves beyond a fully online silent auction.
BiddingOwl supports:
BiddingOwl can be especially useful when a volunteer team wants online bidding for some items, paper bidding for another part of the event, or online pre-bidding followed by an in-person close.
A hybrid event does not have to mean accepting paper and online bids on the same item at the same time. That setup is possible to manage manually but is difficult to reconcile accurately. A cleaner approach is to use mobile bidding for shared items, use different bidding methods for different groups of items, or close online pre-bidding before continuing selected items live or on paper.
Givebutter supports:
Givebutter’s auction experience is closely connected to its wider fundraising platform. This can be valuable when the same organization also wants campaign pages, event registration, recurring giving, a donor database, email, and peer-to-peer fundraising in one account.
Givebutter is strongest when the organization wants a mobile-first auction inside a broader fundraising and CRM system.
BiddingOwl is strongest when the organization wants more control over traditional, paper, live, pre-bid, and mixed-payment auction operations.
Winner payment workflow is one of the most meaningful differences between the platforms.
BiddingOwl can connect to Stripe or PayPal for integrated card checkout. Winners receive email and text notifications and can complete payment through their invoice or shopping cart.
Organizations can also:
This administrator-controlled workflow can be useful when the nonprofit wants to review invoices, combine payment methods, handle a sponsor or major donor by check, or control exactly when saved cards are charged.
Givebutter allows an organization to choose when it wants to collect payment:
It also allows two main collection methods:
Givebutter can also manually charge a saved payment method from the dashboard. Its current standard pricing applies a 3% platform fee plus card processing to both auto-charge and manual saved-card charges.
Givebutter may be the better fit when automatic charging is essential and the organization is comfortable with the related fee setting. BiddingOwl may be the better fit when an administrator wants to control charging and continue accepting several payment methods.
Yes. It is inaccurate to describe BiddingOwl as an auction-only product that requires separate tools for every other part of an event.
BiddingOwl includes:
Those event-fundraising features do not require separate paid add-ons, and donations, tickets, Fund-a-Need contributions, and paddle raises are not subject to BiddingOwl’s 5% online winning-bid fee.
Givebutter includes a broader set of year-round fundraising tools:
The accurate distinction is not “auction tools versus no fundraising tools.” It is auction-centered event software versus a broader fundraising, CRM, and engagement platform.
BiddingOwl publicly lists:
Givebutter publicly lists free 24/7 chat and email support, including holidays. Active Givebutter Plus subscribers also receive phone support seven days a week during Givebutter’s posted hours. Phone support is not included with the standard free account or a Givebutter Plus trial.
Both companies provide direct help, but the channels are different. A nonprofit should decide whether it values 24/7 chat and email, included weekday phone and personal training, paid-plan phone access, or critical event-night support.
Givebutter may be the better fit for a nonprofit that:
BiddingOwl may be the better fit for an organization that:
BiddingOwl is often a practical fit for schools, churches, community groups, animal rescues, libraries, museums, clubs, and small or midsized nonprofits with volunteer-led events and mixed event-day workflows.
Yes. A nonprofit does not always have to choose one platform for every function.
An organization could use Givebutter for year-round donation forms, recurring gifts, peer-to-peer campaigns, and donor communication while using BiddingOwl for an auction that needs paper bid sheets, live-event tools, online pre-bidding, or mixed payments.
The tradeoff is data administration. Before using two systems, decide which platform is the primary source for supporter records, how auction and bidder data will be exported, who will manage duplicates, and how consent and communication preferences will be preserved.
Givebutter states that nonprofits pay no platform or processing fees on qualifying online transactions when optional donor tips are enabled, under the Givebutter Guarantee. If tips are disabled, a 3% platform fee plus processing applies. Auto-charging or manually charging auction winners also triggers the 3% platform fee plus processing under current standard pricing.
BiddingOwl does not charge a standard monthly subscription or setup fee. Traditional silent and live auction tools, paper bid sheets, donations, tickets, Fund-a-Need contributions, and paddle raises are not subject to its 5% performance fee. A 5% fee applies to winning online and mobile bids, and separate Stripe or PayPal processing charges may apply.
No. BiddingOwl’s 5% performance fee applies to winning online and mobile auction bids. Direct donations, event tickets, Fund-a-Need contributions, and paddle raises are not subject to that fee. Payment-processing charges may still apply when an electronic payment is processed.
It can. Givebutter lets the organizer use payment requests or auto-charge. Auto-charge can occur as items are won or at the end of the auction. Its current standard pricing applies a 3% platform fee plus processing to auto-charge transactions.
BiddingOwl does not auto-charge all winners by default. Winners may complete checkout through Stripe or PayPal, or the organization may accept and record cash, check, or another outside payment.
Yes. BiddingOwl can record cash, check, or another outside payment by marking the invoice paid. Givebutter can record offline auction payments, and no online-processing fee applies when Givebutter does not process the payment.
BiddingOwl is the more direct fit because printable bid sheets and traditional silent-auction administration are built into its published feature set. Givebutter’s official auction materials emphasize online and mobile bidding and do not describe a dedicated printable paper bid-sheet generator in the documentation reviewed.
Givebutter is generally the stronger fit when a nonprofit wants donation forms, recurring giving, peer-to-peer campaigns, CRM, email, events, and auctions in one system. BiddingOwl is more specialized for auction-centered fundraising and is not designed to replace a full year-round donor CRM.
BiddingOwl includes phone support during posted weekday hours and offers personal training and 24/7 critical-event emergency support. Givebutter provides 24/7 chat and email support to users; phone support is available to active Givebutter Plus subscribers.
A small nonprofit wanting one system for fundraising pages, recurring donations, CRM, email, and online auctions may prefer Givebutter. A small nonprofit running a volunteer-led auction with paper, live, pre-bid, hybrid, mixed-payment, or event-support needs may prefer BiddingOwl. The event workflow matters more than organization size alone.
Givebutter and BiddingOwl are both credible nonprofit fundraising platforms, but they solve different primary problems.
Givebutter is a strong option for organizations that want a broad fundraising, CRM, and engagement system with online and mobile auctions included. Its tip-supported pricing can leave the nonprofit with no platform or processing fees on qualifying transactions, although tips-off and saved-card charging workflows have different costs.
BiddingOwl is a strong option for organizations that want dedicated charity-auction operations across online, mobile, paper, traditional, live, pre-bid, and hybrid formats. Its pricing is based on winning online bids, and it provides flexible Stripe, PayPal, cash, check, invoice, and administrator-controlled payment workflows along with direct training and critical-event support.
Choose the platform that fits the auction you are actually planning—not simply the lowest percentage shown on a pricing page.
If auction flexibility is your priority, create a BiddingOwl account and test the event workflow with your team before the auction begins.
This comparison is intended to help organizations understand meaningful differences among auction platforms. Features and pricing can change. Information was reviewed on August 24, 2026, using publicly available provider information. Organizations should confirm current terms directly with each provider before selecting software.
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