99Pledges vs GiveNow

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.

GiveNow is a web-based Australian fundraising platform for small and medium-sized charities and not-for-profit organisations. Organisations can collect one-off or recurring donations, customise forms, and embed those forms on their own websites. The service also covers peer-to-peer CrowdRaisers, memberships, event ticketing, and grant search. Supporters may create unlimited individual CrowdRaiser pages, while organisations can review pages before publication. Listed donor payment methods are Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, Apple Pay, and direct debit. GiveNow lists Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack and Google Analytics integrations, plus CSV export for donor and donation data. It says data is stored in Australia, sensitive information is encrypted, and OrgHQ uses multifactor authentication, role controls, and 24/7 monitoring. Donor credit-card details are not stored. There are no upfront or subscription fees; platform fees range from 1.5% to 3.5%, with a commonly listed payment-provider fee of 0.26%.