99Pledges vs BetterWorld

99Pledges is free web-based fundraising software for schools, teams, youth organizations, and nonprofits running a-thon events. Organizers can create a fundraiser in minutes or have 99Pledges set one up for free. Each participant receives an individual donation page shareable by email, text, Facebook, and X. Donors can pay by credit or debit card, PayPal, Apple Pay, or Google Pay, while organizers can record cash and check donations. Real-time reports track participation, leaderboard rankings, and progress toward goals. After an event ends, funds are sent within one business day. Organizations receive a dedicated fundraising coach, and live chat typically responds within minutes. The 99Pledges plan costs nothing, with no contracts, subscriptions, or fundraising minimums, but charges 3.49% + $0.49 per transaction. The service is limited to organizations in the United States, except for U.S. military-based schools abroad. 99Pledges says Braintree handles payments as a Level 1 PCI DSS compliant provider and that it follows COPPA requirements for children’s privacy.

BetterWorld is web-based fundraising software for nonprofits and other community-serving organizations. Its tools include standard donations, donation forms, auctions, events and ticketing, giveaways and raffles, peer-to-peer fundraising, crowdfunding, paddle raises, impact giving, a-thons, and donor management. Plans include all fundraising tools, unlimited campaigns, and unlimited teammates. A donor system organizes donations, interactions, and insights; checkout supports cards, digital wallets, and bank transfers online or at events. BetterWorld lists more than 5,000 integrations, including native connections to Stripe, PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, Google Pay, HubSpot, Salesforce, DonorPerfect, and Blackbaud, plus Zapier integrations such as Mailchimp and Google Sheets. The platform states that it is PCI-compliant, uses bank-level encryption, and does not sell donor data. A free plan is available. Partner costs $1,550 a year and Keystone costs $5,950 a year, both billed annually. Standard payment processing fees of 1.5%-2.9% + $0.30 apply; donors can choose to cover them.