Do you need to create a convenient and effective platform for collecting donations? You can achieve this with the help of WordPress and dedicated plugins.
It’s no surprise that there’s a wide range of donation plugins available. But how do you choose the best one for your needs?
Whether you’re looking for simple donation buttons, recurring payment options, or advanced features like donor management and analytics, the right plugin can help you collect contributions more effectively. So, now, let’s find the answer to that burning question, “What is the best donation plugin for WordPress?”
Table of Contents
- What Features to Look For in the Best Donation Plugin for WordPress?
- Top 11 Donation Plugins for WordPress Compared
- FAQ
- The Bottom Line
What Features to Look For in the Best Donation Plugin for WordPress?
Of course, when you’re choosing the best plugin for your WordPress site, it’s important to base your decision on the tasks you need to accomplish. However, there are a few features that most developers look for when selecting a donation plugin for a website. Let’s take a look at what those are.
1. User-friendly donation forms
The best plugins allow you to build customizable, mobile-friendly forms that are easy to integrate into your website. Their intuitive design ensures that donors can quickly complete their contributions without confusion or frustration.
2. Multiple payment gateways
A variety of payment options, such as PayPal, Stripe, Apple Pay, and credit cards, make it easier for donors to give in the way that suits them best. The more payment gateways supported, the broader your donor reach.
3. Recurring donation options
Recurring donations provide a steady stream of income. Look for plugins that allow donors to set up automated monthly or yearly contributions, boosting user retention and financial stability.
4. Donation tracking and reporting
Detailed analytics and reporting tools help you monitor donations, track performance, and identify trends. This insight is crucial for refining your fundraising strategies.
5. Integration with email marketing
A plugin that integrates with email marketing platforms like Mailchimp or Constant Contact makes it easy to follow up with donors, send thank-you emails, and build long-term relationships.
6. Customizable donation amounts
Flexibility in setting donation amounts—whether fixed, suggested, or user-defined—allows donors to contribute at a comfortable level and encourages more participation.
7. Donor management tools
Advanced donor management features, such as donor databases and CRM integration, enable you to organize donor information, track interactions, and personalize your outreach efforts.
8. Campaign and goal tracking
Support for fundraising campaigns with progress bars or goal tracking adds transparency and motivates donors by showing how close you are to achieving your target.
Top 11 Donation Plugins for WordPress Compared
JetFormBuilder (Freemium)
💰 Best for creating dynamic donation forms.
JetFormBuilder is a form-building plugin that supports dynamic forms and different form types, including donations. You can easily set up forms with conditional logic, dynamic values, and integrations with popular payment gateways.
Key features:
- conditional logic for form fields;
- PayPal and Stripe integration;
- PayPal recurring payments (Pro).
Pricing: there is a free core version and three Premium plans, starting at $43/year.
Pros:
- AI-powered form generation;
- adding and updating CPT and CCT front-end posts;
- possibility to create multi-step forms;
- 15+ pre-made form templates.
Cons:
- learning curve for complex forms.
GiveWP (Freemium)
💰 Best for creating powerful, customizable donation forms.
GiveWP is another WordPress donation plugin that offers different features for nonprofits and fundraisers. It allows you to create highly customizable donation forms or add simple buttons. The plugin also provides tools like recurring donations and donor management to optimize your fundraising efforts.
Key features:
- advanced donor management system;
- support for multiple payment gateways;
- goal tracking and progress bars;
- recurring donation options.
Pricing: a free version is available; Premium add-ons start at $149/year.
Pros:
- extensive reporting and analytics;
- integration with email marketing tools;
- customizable forms and templates.
Cons:
- some users mention a lack of support.
Paymattic (Premium)
💰 Best for collecting one-time and recurring donations.
Paymattic is a popular WordPress donation and payment plugin with 3000+ active users. Paymattic allows you to create customizable donation forms to accept funds for non-profits as well as simple payment forms for online businesses. It comes with stunning form templates to build your form in a blink. Besides, it supports Stripe, PayPal, Mollie, Razorpay, Payrexx, Square, Paystack, and four other payment gateways.
Key features:
- simple payment;
- ability to set recurring donations;
- donation templates, goals, and the progress item;
- subscription payment and coupons;
- donor profile;
- currency switcher;
- advanced reporting.
Pricing:
The Paymattic plugin has three pricing plans (priced accordingly for the first-year license):
- Personal – $4.99/month and $299 for Lifetime;
- Agency – $9.99/month and $449 LTD;
- Unlimited – $19.99/month and $599 LTD.
Pros:
- lightweight and easy to use;
- the plugin does not require any coding skills;
- it has a user-friendly interface and a Gutenberg-style editor to create and customize forms using drag-and-drop;
- 135+ currencies and 14 integrations are supported;
- additional features include Google reCAPTCHA, coupons, import-export, email notifications, custom CSS/JS, and more;
- good customer support.
Cons:
- Paymattic supports only the Stripe payment gateway in the free version.
Charitable (Freemium)
💰 Best for adding crowdfunding campaigns to the website.
Charitable is an easy-to-use plugin that helps you create fundraising campaigns without requiring a third-party platform. Its flexible features allow you to run time-sensitive campaigns or accept ongoing donations.
Key features:
- time-sensitive campaign creation;
- offline donation support;
- multiple payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal, etc.);
- GDPR compliance.
Pricing: free version available. Premium plans start at $149/year.
Pros:
- possibility to add crowdfunding;
- pre-built donation form templates and workflows;
- ability to add donation goals and display them in the donation widget.
Cons:
- very limited free version.
Donorbox (Freemium)
💰 Best for recurring donations and donor management.
Donorbox simplifies online fundraising by focusing on recurring donations. It offers a donation widget that integrates seamlessly with your WordPress site.
Key features:
- recurring donation options;
- donor profile management;
- multiple payment gateways;
- multi-currency support.
Pricing: the standard plan is free with a 1.75% platform fee. Premium costs $139 and offers a platform fee of 1.5% on donations.
Pros:
- supports Stripe, PayPal, Apple Pay, Venmo, and Google Pay;
- possibility to embed it on any page or use it as a pop-up donation form;
- offers tax receipt automation.
Cons:
- platform fee may increase costs for larger fundraisers.
WP Simple Pay (Freemium)
💰 Best for accepting payments and donations via Stripe.
WP Simple Pay is a Stripe-based plugin that allows you to collect donations or payments directly without requiring a full eCommerce setup.
Key features:
- one-time and recurring payment options;
- customizable donation forms;
- multiple 135+ currencies supported.
Pricing: a free version is available; the Pro license starts at $99/year.
Pros:
- integration with Stripe Checkout hosted payment forms;
- accept credit and debit cards;
- pre-made payment form templates.
Cons:
- requires a Stripe account.
WP Crowdfunding (Freemium)
💰 Best for building a crowdfunding website.
The WP Crowdfunding plugin has a wide range of donation options, which is suitable for creating entire crowdfunding platforms. In addition, it allows you to accept vast payments for several purposes.
Key features:
- a wide range of design options;
- the ability to accept payments for several purposes;
- generating reports;
- flexible commission settings.
Pricing:
There is a free version with limited functionality. Plus, you can always upgrade to one of the Premium packages intended for:
- Individuals – $149/year;
- Freelancers – $199/year;
- Agencies – $299/year.
Pros:
- wide opportunities for receiving payments;
- a large number of built-in design solutions;
- integration with payment systems.
Cons:
- some users mention a lack of support.
GiveForms (Freemium)
💰 Best for visually stunning donation forms.
GiveForms focuses on creating beautiful, embeddable donation forms that are mobile-friendly and easy to integrate into any WordPress site.
Key features:
- possibility to set one-click donation buttons;
- support for multiple payment gateways;
- embeddable forms on any page.
Pricing: the plugin takes 1.9% per successful charge.
Pros:
- optimized for any device;
- possibility to set suggested donation amounts;
- ability to share your fundraiser on social networks.
Cons:
- no free version.
Formidable Forms (Freemium)
💰 Best for creating advanced donation forms with conditional logic.
Formidable Forms is a powerful form builder plugin that allows you to create advanced donation forms with custom fields and conditional logic.
Key features:
- GDPR-friendly;
- conditional logic and calculations;
- PayPal and Stripe integration.
Pricing: there is a free version and Premium plans, which are priced from $79/year.
Pros:
- dynamic fields;
- highly customizable form layouts;
- integration with CRMs and email tools.
Cons:
- learning curve for beginners.
Donation Platform for WooCommerce (Free)
💰 Best for creating a donation platform with WooCommerce.
The plugin is specifically designed to help you launch a fundraising, crowdfunding, or donation platform with WooCommerce. It is completely free and does not charge any commission on donations.
Key features:
- regular donation schedules;
- built-in form designs;
- 100+ payment gateways;
- supports Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal.
Pricing: free.
Pros:
- automatic PDF donation receipts;
- mobile-optimized;
- donation management possibilities.
Cons:
- some users mentioned problems with the donation button after updates.
Donation Thermometer (Free)
💰 Best for creating donation forms in a unique design.
Donation Thermometer is a plugin that helps collect donations and displays the amount in thermometer format. All images used in the plugin are in the form of drawings that the user likes. You won’t be able to collect money with this plugin, but it’s great for visualizing the donation process.
Key features:
- an exciting design of metrics;
- the ability to create a donation form design in SVG format that suits your website.
Pricing: free.
Pros:
- vast opportunities for visualization of the collection process;
- the plugin accepts values using shortcodes from other plugins.
Cons:
- unable to accept payments.
FAQ
Such a plugin helps you accept donations and create fundraising campaigns for different goals. Therefore, it is indispensable for public, non-profit organizations, and charitable foundations.
Yes, many WordPress donation plugins support recurring donations. Plugins like GiveWP and JetFormBuilder allow you to set up automated monthly or yearly contributions, providing a reliable source of funding.
Yes, most donation plugins require a payment gateway like PayPal, Stripe, or Apple Pay to process transactions. Some plugins, such as WP Simple Pay, are specifically built around these gateways for streamlined setup.
Yes, most plugins offer customizable donation forms. JetFormBuilder, Formidable Forms, and GiveWP are great options for creating forms with features like conditional logic, dynamic fields, and customizable layouts.
The Bottom Line
Choosing the right donation plugin for your WordPress site can make a significant difference in the success of your fundraising efforts. Whether you’re running a nonprofit organization, collecting funds for a personal cause, or adding a charitable element to your business, there’s a great plugin for your needs. Let’s recap some of the best options described earlier:
- JetFormBuilder is indispensable for creating dynamic forms for crowdfunding and donations;
- A Donation Thermometer plugin is an exciting solution for displaying the fundraising process;
- A Donation Platform for WooCommerce plugin will help you to create a Woo-based donation platform;
- Formidable Forms is great for creating advanced donation forms with conditional logic;
- WP Simple Pay is the best for accepting payments and donations via Stripe.
The right donation plugin will not only simplify your fundraising process but also create a seamless and secure experience for your donors, helping you build trust and sustain long-term support.
