Most fundraising platforms take a cut of every dollar you raise. GoFundMe charges up to 3% plus payment processing fees. Kickstarter takes 5%. WordPress crowdfunding plugins let you skip the middleman and keep 100% of what you raise.
I tested the most popular options across payment support, setup speed, fee structures, and donor management. Here’s what made the final list, and what got cut.
Before diving in, consider the factors that build donor trust for your campaigns. They’ll inform which plugin features matter most.
Key Takeaways
- No platform fees: Every plugin on this list lets you keep 100% of donations raised, with no percentage taken off the top.
- WP Simple Pay and Charitable are the top picks for most sites. Both are beginner-friendly, offer free plans, and have strong Stripe and PayPal support.
- Need a Kickstarter-style platform? Growfund and IgnitionDeck let visitors create and manage their own campaigns on your site.
- GiveWP is the best choice for nonprofits that need full donor management, recurring donations, tax receipts, and 18+ payment gateways.
- WooCommerce is not required by most plugins here. Only Growfund needs it for payment processing.
How I Test WordPress Crowdfunding Plugins
Each plugin was evaluated on the criteria below. I prioritized how well each one handles the full donation flow, not just the payment step.
See my testing criteria
- Payment gateways: Does it support Stripe and PayPal at minimum? What about Apple Pay, Google Pay, and international options?
- Platform fees: Does the plugin take a percentage, or do you keep 100% of every donation?
- Ease of setup: Can a non-developer launch a campaign in under an hour?
- Customization: Can you match your brand, set campaign goals, and allow custom donation amounts?
- Donor management: Does it track donors, generate receipts, and support recurring giving?
- WooCommerce dependency: Does it work standalone, or does it require WooCommerce?
Why Trust IsItWP?
IsItWP has been testing and reviewing WordPress plugins for over a decade. Our team includes developers and digital marketers who have run real fundraising campaigns on WordPress. We don’t accept payment to rank plugins higher. Our picks are based on testing results and verified data.
Best WordPress Crowdfunding Plugins Compared
Here’s a quick overview of how the top picks compare before we get into the full breakdown.
| Plugin | Best For | Free Plan | Starting Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Charitable | Zero-fee nonprofit campaigns | Yes | $69/year |
| 2. WP Simple Pay | Stripe-powered donation pages | Yes | $49.50/year |
| 3. WPForms | Multi-purpose organizations | Yes | $49.50/year |
| 4. GiveWP | Full donor management | Yes | $149/year |
| 5. Growfund | Multi-user crowdfunding platforms | Yes | $74.50/year |
| 6. Formidable Forms | Advanced form logic and analytics | Yes | $39.50/year |
| 7. IgnitionDeck | Rewards and equity crowdfunding | Yes | $349/year |
Use the quick links below to navigate through the article:
Best WordPress Crowdfunding Plugins
Here are our top picks, tested and ranked for different fundraising use cases.
1. Charitable ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Best for: Nonprofits and charities who want zero platform fees and full control over their donation campaigns.
Why Is Charitable One of the Best WordPress Crowdfunding Plugins?
Charitable is the most complete fundraising plugin for WordPress nonprofits. The free version lets you launch unlimited campaigns with no transaction fees taken by the plugin itself.
You can set monetary goals, time-limited deadlines, or both. Each campaign displays a live progress bar so donors can see how close you are to hitting your target.
Campaigns automatically inherit your WordPress theme’s styling. You don’t need to write any CSS to make them look like a native part of your site.
The premium plans add Stripe payments, recurring donations, peer-to-peer fundraising, a fee relief option (where donors cover processing costs), and dozens of integrations with email marketing and CRM tools. For more detail, see our full WP Charitable Review.
My Experience with Charitable
Setup took under 20 minutes. The campaign builder is clean. I had a live donation form with a goal progress bar running before I needed to read any documentation.
One thing to check before installing: the free version only supports PayPal and offline payments. Stripe requires the Pro plan. If Stripe is a day-one requirement, factor that cost in from the start.
🟢► Pros
- Zero platform fees: you keep 100% of every donation
- Unlimited campaigns on the free plan
- Campaigns inherit your theme styling automatically
- Supports suggested amounts and custom donor-entered amounts
🔴► Cons
- Stripe support requires the Pro plan ($69/year)
- Peer-to-peer fundraising is a paid add-on
Pricing: Free plan available. Pro starts at $69/year.
2. WP Simple Pay ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Best for: Site owners who want a fast, Stripe-powered donation page without setting up WooCommerce.
Why Is WP Simple Pay One of the Best WordPress Crowdfunding Plugins?
WP Simple Pay connects directly to your Stripe account. No WooCommerce, no shopping cart, no eCommerce setup required. It’s the fastest path from “nothing” to “accepting donations” for most WordPress sites.
The plugin supports 100+ payment methods through Stripe, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, SEPA bank transfers, and all major credit cards. Donors can choose a preset amount or enter a custom amount.
You can accept one-time donations, set up recurring giving plans, offer installment options, and run a trial period before charging. Every payment form is mobile-optimized out of the box.
For more details, see our WP Simple Pay Review.
My Experience with WP Simple Pay
Setting up a donation form took about 10 minutes. The form builder is minimal but covers the key scenarios: preset giving levels, custom amount fields, and automated email confirmations.
The free version is limited to a basic Stripe payment form. Recurring donations and the full feature set require the paid plan. At $49.50/year, it’s one of the more affordable options on this list.
🟢► Pros
- No WooCommerce required, Stripe-native setup
- 100+ payment methods including Apple Pay and Google Pay
- One-time and recurring donations supported
- Mobile-optimized payment flow out of the box
🔴► Cons
- Stripe-only: no PayPal support on any plan
- Recurring donations require the paid plan
Pricing: Free version available. Pro starts at $49.50/year.
Get started with WP Simple Pay!
3. WPForms ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Best for: Organizations that need donation forms alongside contact forms, event registrations, surveys, and other form types on the same site.
Why Is WPForms One of the Best WordPress Crowdfunding Plugins?
WPForms is the most versatile form builder on this list. It’s not built exclusively for donations. That makes it the right choice if your organization collects data and payments across many different form types.
The plugin includes 2,000+ pre-built templates. Dedicated donation and fundraiser templates come with payment fields already configured. The drag-and-drop builder lets you set suggested amounts, add custom fields, and configure email confirmations without writing any code.
Payment options include PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.Net. You can accept one-time or recurring donations. WPForms also tracks form abandonment and saves partial submissions. You can follow up with donors who started but didn’t complete the form.
Conditional logic lets you show or hide fields based on how a donor answers earlier questions. For long fundraiser forms, this significantly improves completion rates.
My Experience with WPForms
The prebuilt donation templates are a real time-saver. I had a working payment form live in under 15 minutes using the fundraiser template with no customization needed to get started.
Nonprofits get a special discount. If you qualify, check that page before purchasing. The savings are worth it.
🟢► Pros
- 2,000+ templates including donation-specific presets
- Accepts PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.Net
- Form abandonment tracking recovers incomplete donations
- Conditional logic reduces form friction for donors
- Integrates with email marketing services for donor follow-up
🔴► Cons
- No built-in campaign goal tracking or progress bar
- Donation-specific features are less deep than Charitable or GiveWP
Pricing: Free Lite version available. Pro starts at $49.50/year. A nonprofit discount is available.
4. GiveWP ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Best for: Nonprofits and charities that need full donor management, recurring donations, tax receipts, and multiple payment gateways in one plugin.
Why Is GiveWP One of the Best WordPress Crowdfunding Plugins?
GiveWP is the most fully featured donation plugin on this list. It was built specifically for fundraising. Unlike the other picks here, it was not adapted from a form builder or payment plugin.
The free core plugin supports 18+ payment gateways and recurring donation subscriptions. It also handles custom campaign goal tracking and PDF tax receipt generation. There are no added platform fees on any plan.
GiveWP accepts payments through Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Venmo. It also supports text-to-give, which lets donors contribute by texting a keyword to a phone number.
The donor management dashboard tracks each contributor’s giving history, total donated, last donation date, and contact details. Most form-based plugins don’t offer this level of donor tracking.
For more details, check our GiveWP review.
My Experience with GiveWP
GiveWP has more settings than any other plugin on this list. Setup takes longer, but the depth is worth it for organizations running serious fundraising operations.
The free version handles basic campaigns well. Advanced features require the Plus plan ($149/year) or individual add-ons. This includes Stripe payments, Salesforce sync, and peer-to-peer fundraising.
🟢► Pros
- 18+ payment gateways supported, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Venmo
- Text-to-give option for donors
- Full donor management dashboard with giving history
- Generates PDF tax receipts for donors
- No platform fees on any plan
🔴► Cons
- More configuration required than other options here
- Stripe integration requires the paid Plus plan
Pricing: Free core plugin. Plus plan starts at $149/year with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
5. Growfund ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Best for: Entrepreneurs and community organizers who want to build a Kickstarter-style crowdfunding marketplace on their own WordPress site.
Why Is Growfund One of the Best WordPress Crowdfunding Plugins?
Growfund (formerly WP Crowdfunding by Themeum) is the only plugin on this list designed specifically for multi-user crowdfunding platforms. Campaign creators register on your site and launch their own fundraisers, just like Kickstarter or Indiegogo.
Each campaign displays a live progress bar, a deadline countdown, and a running total of funds raised. Visitors can browse campaigns by category or filter by trending projects. You can track overall platform performance from a centralized dashboard.
Growfund integrates with WooCommerce for payment processing, which gives you access to WooCommerce’s full payment gateway library, including Stripe, PayPal, and Authorize.Net.
My Experience with Growfund
Setup requires WooCommerce to be installed first, which adds a step compared to the other plugins here. For a single-organization fundraiser, this overhead isn’t worth it. Charitable or GiveWP are simpler choices.
For the specific use case of a public platform where anyone can create a campaign, Growfund is the most capable option on this list.
🟢► Pros
- Multi-user platform: visitors can create and manage their own campaigns
- Campaign progress bars, deadlines, and category browsing built in
- WooCommerce integration unlocks a wide range of payment gateways
🔴► Cons
- Requires WooCommerce for payment processing
- Not the right fit for single-organization fundraising
Pricing: Free version available. Pro starts at $74.50/year.
6. Formidable Forms ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Best for: WordPress developers and agencies that need advanced conditional logic and detailed campaign reporting alongside donation collection.
Why Is Formidable Forms One of the Best WordPress Crowdfunding Plugins?
Formidable Forms is an advanced form builder with strong data handling capabilities. It’s more powerful than WPForms in terms of analytics and calculation logic, making it useful for pledge-style fundraisers where the donation amount depends on variables.
The plugin includes prebuilt donation templates and a drag-and-drop builder. Once donations start coming in, you can view campaign performance through built-in graphical charts and export all data for use outside WordPress.
Conditional logic is a standout feature. You can show or hide fields based on donor responses, build multi-page forms, and add calculated fields, which is useful for matching gift programs or tiered fundraising structures.
My Experience with Formidable Forms
Formidable is best suited for developers comfortable with its visual data management tools. For straightforward donation collection, WPForms or Charitable are simpler choices with a lower learning curve.
The built-in analytics charts are a genuine differentiator. If you need to report campaign performance to a board or grant committee, the exportable data tools save significant time.
🟢► Pros
- Advanced conditional logic for complex donation forms
- Built-in graphical analytics for campaign performance
- Easy data export for external reporting
- Supports polls and surveys alongside payment forms
🔴► Cons
- Steeper learning curve than other form builders on this list
- Payment integrations require the paid plan
Pricing: Starts at $39.50/year.
Get started with Formidable Forms!
7. IgnitionDeck ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Best for: Organizations running rewards-based or equity crowdfunding campaigns on a dedicated, fully white-label WordPress platform.
Why Is IgnitionDeck One of the Best WordPress Crowdfunding Plugins?
IgnitionDeck is the most advanced platform on this list. It supports three campaign types that most plugins don’t offer: donation-based, rewards-based (backers receive perks), and equity crowdfunding (backers receive a financial stake in the project).
Payment processing runs through Stripe Connect, which enables automatic fee splitting between the platform owner and campaign creators. This is the feature that makes IgnitionDeck viable as a true crowdfunding marketplace. Platform operators can take a percentage of every campaign automatically.
IgnitionDeck is fully white-label. Your branding, your domain, your data. There is no third-party platform dependency.
The free plugin on WordPress.org gives you the core functionality, with the paid licenses adding support, deployment services, and managed hosting options.
My Experience with IgnitionDeck
IgnitionDeck is built for serious crowdfunding operations, not quick fundraisers. Full platform setup typically requires the Core license ($349/year) and some developer assistance for configuration.
It’s the right tool for a dedicated crowdfunding business. It’s not the right fit for a nonprofit collecting donations alongside other site content. Charitable or GiveWP serve that use case better.
🟢► Pros
- Supports donation, rewards-based, and equity crowdfunding campaigns
- Stripe Connect with automatic fee splitting between platform and campaigns
- Fully white-label: your branding, your domain, your data
- WooCommerce compatible for additional payment options
🔴► Cons
- Most expensive option at $349/year for the Core license
- Setup complexity typically requires developer help
- Not suitable for simple, single-organization fundraising
Pricing: Free plugin on WordPress.org. Core license starts at $349/year.
Get started with IgnitionDeck!
Bonus WordPress Crowdfunding Plugins
These two picks didn’t make the main list, but they’re worth knowing about for specific situations.
Patreon WordPress ⭐⭐⭐
Patreon WordPress is a free plugin for content creators who already run a Patreon account. It lets you gate WordPress content by patron tier. Subscribers unlock posts by logging in with their Patreon credentials.
It’s not a standalone fundraising tool. But if your campaign already lives on Patreon and you want to extend it to your WordPress site, this is how you do it. Free on WordPress.org.
Seamless Donations ⭐⭐⭐
Seamless Donations is a free, no-frills donation plugin. You can configure your site to accept PayPal donations in about five minutes. Donors can set up automatic recurring payments, and you get basic tracking and email confirmations.
No platform fees, no commission percentage. Free with paid extensions starting at $19.95/year.
How to Choose the Right WordPress Crowdfunding Plugin
The right plugin depends on what kind of fundraiser you’re running and how much complexity you need.
Choose Charitable or GiveWP if you’re a nonprofit or charity. Both are built specifically for fundraising, have no platform fees, and support recurring donations. Charitable is simpler to set up. GiveWP is better if you need donor management, tax receipts, and text-to-give.
Choose WP Simple Pay if you want the fastest path to accepting Stripe donations. No WooCommerce, no shopping cart. Just a payment form connected to your Stripe account.
Choose WPForms if you need donation forms alongside other form types on the same site. It’s the best all-purpose form builder, especially if you already run contact forms, event registrations, or surveys.
Choose Growfund if you want to build a public platform where other people create campaigns, similar to Kickstarter or GoFundMe. It requires WooCommerce and more setup, but it’s the only option here that supports a true multi-user marketplace.
Choose IgnitionDeck if you need equity crowdfunding support, automatic platform fee splitting, or a fully white-label crowdfunding business on WordPress. It’s the most powerful option and the most expensive.
Whatever you choose, make sure to review the factors that build donor trust before launching your first campaign.
FAQs: WordPress Crowdfunding Plugins
What is the best WordPress crowdfunding plugin?
For most sites, Charitable or WP Simple Pay are the best starting points. Charitable is purpose-built for nonprofits with zero platform fees.
WP Simple Pay is best when you want a simple, Stripe-powered donation form without setting up WooCommerce. For organizations that need full donor management and tax receipts, GiveWP is the most complete option.
Do WordPress crowdfunding plugins charge transaction fees?
None of the plugins here charge a platform fee on top of standard payment processing. You keep 100% of what you raise, minus the payment processor’s fee (typically 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction for Stripe and PayPal). This is the key advantage over platforms like GoFundMe or Kickstarter, which take an additional percentage.
Can I create a Kickstarter-style site with WordPress?
Yes. Growfund and IgnitionDeck are both built for multi-user crowdfunding platforms. They let visitors register and create their own campaigns on your WordPress site, with progress bars, deadlines, and category browsing. IgnitionDeck also supports rewards-based and equity crowdfunding, which is closer to the full Kickstarter model.
What payment gateways do these plugins support?
Support varies by plugin. GiveWP leads with 18+ payment options, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Venmo. WP Simple Pay supports 100+ payment methods through Stripe, but no PayPal.
WPForms supports PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.Net. Charitable’s free plan supports PayPal. Stripe requires the paid plan. Check each plugin’s payment page for a full, current list.
Do I need WooCommerce to run a crowdfunding campaign on WordPress?
No. Most plugins here work without WooCommerce. The exception is Growfund, which uses WooCommerce for payment processing. Charitable, WP Simple Pay, WPForms, GiveWP, Formidable Forms, and IgnitionDeck all operate independently.
Final Verdict
After testing these plugins, here’s the verdict:
Charitable is the best all-around pick for nonprofits. It’s free to start, charges no platform fees, and covers the full fundraising workflow including campaign goals, progress bars, and donation receipts.
WP Simple Pay is the best choice if you want a simple, fast donation form powered by Stripe. No WooCommerce required and no complex configuration.
GiveWP is the right choice for organizations that need more than a payment form. Donor profiles, tax receipts, text-to-give, and 18+ payment gateways make it the most complete fundraising platform on this list.
If you’re building a Kickstarter-style platform, start with Growfund. If you need equity crowdfunding or automatic platform fee splitting, IgnitionDeck is your only real option here.
Resource Hub: WordPress Crowdfunding Plugins
- Best Crowdfunding WordPress Themes (Compared)
- How to Create a WordPress Donation Form (Step by Step)
- Best Recurring Donation Plugins for WordPress
- How to Build Donor Trust for Nonprofit Campaigns
- Best Email Marketing Services for Small Business
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