Event.Gives vs PaddleUp

Event.Gives is web software for ticketing, attendee management, donations, and fundraising events. Organizers can run live and silent auctions, virtual or hybrid events, golf tournaments, and peer-to-peer fundraising, as well as use embedded donation forms. Its tools include online ticketing, auction management, live streaming, mobile bidding, raffles, text-to-donate, real-time reporting, mobile checkout, instant payout, and recurring donations. An AI item-description generator creates auction copy aligned with DISC personality profiles. Checkout accepts Apple Pay, Google Pay, or credit cards, and ticket and donation funds transfer through the organization’s Stripe account. Event.Gives says it does not collect or store card details. Integrations include Double the Donation, Raiser's Edge NXT, Stripe, Zoom, and Twilio. The service lists a free plan, Basic at $99 a month, Professional at $2,495 a year, and Enterprise at $3,495 a year. Its calculator lists 3.5% plus $0.30 per credit card transaction and a 4.5% platform fee; attendees may cover fees.

PaddleUp provides event and fundraising software for schools and nonprofits, covering jog-a-thons, galas, auctions, and online sales. Campaign dashboards bring fundraising goals, settings, and related activities together. The platform supports live, silent, and online auctions, with mobile bidding; staff can use its iOS app to set up and monitor events in person. Ticketing covers registration and attendee check-in, and seating links tables and guests to the ticket roster. Bid sheet tools include printable sheets with QR anchors, photo uploads, and AI-assisted read-back against registered bidders. Stripe processes card and ACH payments, and the staff app can pair with Stripe Terminal Bluetooth readers for on-site sales. Organizations can use API keys and webhooks, with staff MCP tools for custom workflows and AI-assisted operations. The maker says sensitive attendee and bidder contact fields are encrypted with AES-256-GCM and per-organization keys managed through AWS KMS in production; service traffic uses TLS. Stripe handles card numbers and records payouts and refunds. There is no monthly platform subscription; Stripe processing fees apply, and AI tokens are pay-as-you-go.