AI Summary
Do you want to accept online payments for your nonprofit website? You should! Having the ability to receive payments and donations on your website is a major factor in funding your organization and helping it run smoothly.
But, you’ll need an online payment processor, too.
An online payment processor is a backend tool that collects payments and donations on your website and will move the money from your donor’s bank account and deposit it directly into yours.
Let’s take a look at the 5 best payment processors for nonprofits (and we’ll peek at some honorable mentions, too).
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What Should I Look For in a Payment Processor?
When shopping around for a payment processor to use with your nonprofit website, keep an eye out for these important features:
- Integration: Does the payment processor seamlessly integrate with your site, or does it take your donors to a 3rd party website? When your site visitors are redirected, they may not finish the donation process. (We’ll focus on the payment processing options that keep donors on your nonprofit site.)
- Security: Ensure your donor’s money and personal information is safely transferred by choosing a trustworthy payment processor. Your payment processor should encrypt user information and utilize fraud protection, among other things.
- Payment Options: Which types of payments does the payment processor accept? Can donors make recurring payments? Payment options could include credit cards, ACH (automatic clearing house), PayPal, and others, and should offer scheduled payments, too.
- Reports: Does the payment processor keep track of the amount of money accepted through online donations? Knowing how much money you’re raising on your site is very important to keeping your nonprofit successful.
- Nonprofit Perks: What sort of discounts or perks does the payment processor offer to nonprofit organizations? Be sure to check the fine print to see if your nonprofit qualifies.
I checked the current rates and nonprofit terms on each of these platforms, and these five came out with the best mix of features for a nonprofit website.
5 Best Payment Processors for Nonprofits
Nonprofit payment processing really comes down to three questions. What rate do you pay per gift, will the processor discount that rate once you’re a registered charity, and how cleanly does it drop into your website?
The nonprofit payment processors below are ranked on that basis, and every rate here was verified against the company’s own pricing page in August 2026.
| Processor | Standard online rate | Registered nonprofit rate | Recurring donations | WPForms license |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stripe | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.2% + 30¢ | Yes | Every tier, including Lite |
| Square | 2.9% + 30¢ via API | No nonprofit rate | Yes, with Square Pro | Every tier, including Lite |
| PayPal | 2.89% + 49¢ | 1.99% + 49¢ | Yes | Every tier, including Lite |
| PayPal Braintree | 2.89% + 29¢ | 2.19% + 29¢ | Yes | Not supported |
| Authorize.Net | 2.9% + 30¢ plus $25/mo | No nonprofit rate | Yes | Elite only |
1. Stripe
Stripe is an online payment processing platform that is very reputable, operating in more than 40 countries and 135 currencies. Its global reach, versatility, emphasis on security, and developer-friendly integration make it a great choice for your nonprofit website.
Recommended Features: Stripe offers all of the features you’d want and need in your nonprofit’s online payment processor.
- Security: Stripe offers a powerful and reliable payment infrastructure that can handle online transactions securely and efficiently. It’s also PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliant, ensuring the protection of donor information.
- Integration: Stripe is a user-friendly platform, and easily integrates with your nonprofit website. The APIs and tools used allow for seamless customization and collaboration with other systems or platforms you may use. So, your donors don’t have to be sent to a 3rd party site where they might abandon their donation.
- Payment Options: As for payments, Stripe’s flexibility enables your nonprofit to accept donations from a wide range of donors, both domestically and internationally. With Stripe, you’re increasing accessibility and convenience for your supporters. You can also set up recurring donations with Stripe.
- Reports: Stripe provides comprehensive reporting and analytics tools, offering insights into your donation activities. You can track donation trends, analyze transaction data, and gain valuable insights to optimize your fundraising strategies.
- Nonprofit Perks: Stripe discounts processing to 2.2% + $0.30 for registered nonprofits, but you have to apply for it rather than wait for it to appear. You’ll need your EIN or IRS determination letter, and at least 80% of your Stripe volume has to come from tax-deductible donations to qualify. American Express is charged at 3.5% even once the nonprofit rate is applied.nonprofits.
Price: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction
ACH Direct Debit Price: 0.80% and up to $5 per transaction
Registered Nonprofit Price: 2.2% + $0.30 per transaction in the U.S
Speaking of price, this is where WPForms users get a nice break, because Stripe comes with WPForms Lite. That extra field in the form builder means you can start accepting credit card donation payments directly on your site without paying for an upgraded license first.
So, when you’re creating your nonprofit donation form, don’t forget about Stripe. And keep reading, I’ll come back to the Stripe and WPForms Lite pairing later in this post.
2. Square
Square offers a comprehensive payment processing solution with user-friendly features, customizable options, and secure payment processing. Where it really pulls ahead for nonprofits is in-person giving, because the card reader and your online account share a single dashboard.
Recommended Features: Square meets all of the requirements on our list of recommended features for a payment processor.
- Security: Square prioritizes security, utilizing advanced encryption and fraud detection tools to safeguard sensitive donor information.
- Integration: Square provides easy integration options, allowing you to seamlessly integrate their payment processing functionality into your nonprofit website.
- Payment Options: Square supports various payment methods, including credit cards, debit cards, mobile payments, and contactless payments.
- Reports: The platform provides clear reporting and analytics tools, giving you insights into your fundraising efforts and helping you track donation trends.
- Nonprofit Perks: There’s no nonprofit discount at all, and a registered 501(c)(3) pays exactly what a coffee shop pays. Organizations processing more than $250,000 a year in card volume can ask Square for custom pricing, but that’s a volume conversation open to any merchant rather than a charity program.
Square also restructured its pricing in January 2026, so the rate you pay now depends on which plan you’re on. The Free plan costs nothing per month, Plus runs $49 per month per location, and Premium is $149 per month per location.
- In-Person Price: 2.6% + $0.15 on Free, dropping to 2.5% + $0.15 on Plus and 2.4% + $0.15 on Premium
- Online Price: 3.3% + $0.30 on Free, and 2.9% + $0.30 on Plus and Premium
- Online API Price: 2.9% + $0.30 on every plan, and this is the rate that applies to donations taken through a form on your own site
- Manually-Entered Price: 3.5% + $0.15
- Registered Nonprofit Price: None
And like our Stripe integration, Square is also available for both WPForms Lite and Pro! So, you can accept payments on your forms with Square even if you don’t have a paid license with WPForms.
3. PayPal
Its wide acceptance, security features, ease of integration, and nonprofit discounts make PayPal a popular choice for nonprofits looking to accept online donations.
Recommended Features: PayPal boasts each of the five features we recommend looking for in a payment processor for your nonprofit site.
- Security: PayPal has a strong reputation for security and buyer protection. When donors use PayPal, their financial information isn’t shared with the nonprofit directly, which provides an added layer of security and privacy.
- Integration: PayPal provides easy integration options, such as plugins and APIs, allowing you to apply their payment processing functionality to your nonprofit website.
- Payment Options: Various payment methods are supported by PayPal, including credit cards, debit cards, and bank transfers.
- Reports: PayPal provides reporting and analytics tools that give you insights into your donation activities. You can track donations, generate financial reports, and gain valuable data to analyze and improve your fundraising strategies.
- Nonprofit Perks: PayPal’s Confirmed Charity rate of 1.99% + $0.49 is the lowest headline nonprofit percentage of any processor here. You do have to apply and get approved under PayPal’s Confirmed Charity terms first, so registering as a 501(c)(3) won’t hand you the rate on its own.
Price: 2.89% + $0.49 per transaction for donations, or 3.49% + $0.49 for standard commercial checkout
Registered Nonprofit Price: 1.99% + $0.49 per transaction, plus 1.5% on donations from outside the U.S.
- Now, that 1.99% deserves a second look next to Stripe’s 2.2%, because the fixed fee flips the answer depending on how big your gifts are.
- PayPal charges 49 cents per transaction against Stripe’s 30 cents, so the two rates cross at roughly $90. A $50 donation costs you $1.40 through Stripe and $1.49 through PayPal, while a $250 donation costs $5.80 through Stripe and $5.47 through PayPal.
- Small gifts favor Stripe’s lower fixed fee, and a major-gifts program saves more on PayPal’s lower percentage.
On the WPForms side, PayPal is available on every tier including Lite, with a 3% platform fee on transactions, and the PayPal Commerce addon on Pro and Elite removes that fee while adding conditional logic on payments, one-time and recurring gifts on the same form, and full refund and cancellation management.
4. PayPal Braintree
Braintree is now PayPal Braintree, and the old braintreepayments.com address redirects into PayPal’s enterprise section.
It’s the same underlying platform, aimed these days at larger organizations that want deep control over their own checkout. Advanced fraud tooling, a long list of supported payment methods, and strong recurring billing are the draw.
Recommended Features: As a payment processing option, Braintree offers many of the desired features to use in collaboration with your nonprofit website.
- Security: Braintree prioritizes security and offers advanced fraud protection tools, including tokenization and secure data storage.
- Integration: Integration options are provided, including robust APIs and software development kits (SDKs). However, Braintree suggests using a developer to help you build a custom solution using the platform’s open API.
- Payment Options: Braintree supports a wide range of payment methods, including major credit cards, debit cards, digital wallets, and local payment options. You can also easily set up and manage recurring payments with the platform.
- Reports: Braintree provides comprehensive reporting and analytics tools that offer insights to your donation activities. You can track transaction data, analyze donor behavior, and gain valuable insights to your fundraising strategies.
- Nonprofit Perks: Verified 501(c)(3) organizations get a reduced card rate of 2.19% + $0.29.
Cards and Digital Wallets Price: 2.89% + $0.29 per transaction
Venmo Price: 3.49% + $0.49 per transaction
ACH Direct Debit Price: 0.75% per transaction capped at $5, or 1.5% + $0.10 for same-day processing
Registered Nonprofit Price: 2.19% + $0.29 per transaction for verified 501(c)(3) organizations
One thing to flag before you get attached to those numbers. WPForms doesn’t have a Braintree integration, so you’d be building the donation checkout yourself or running it somewhere other than your forms.
5. Authorize.Net
Owned by Visa, Authorize.Net is already a well-established payment processor. Its reliability, security measures, seamless integration, and diverse payment options make it a great choice for nonprofits looking for a trusted and feature-rich payment processing solution.
Recommended Features: Authorize.Net provides many of the features necessary for a payment processor, plus it’s nonprofit-friendly.
- Security: Authorize.Net employs advanced fraud detection tools to protect donor data. The platform utilizes encryption and tokenization, ensuring that sensitive information is securely transmitted and stored.
- Integration: Easy integration options are offered, including APIs and developer tools, which allow you to apply the Authorize.Net payment processing functionality to your nonprofit website smoothly.
- Payment Options: Authorize.Net supports various payment methods, including major credit cards, debit cards, and electronic checks. Plus, it enables you to set up and manage automated recurring payments, making it convenient for donors to contribute regularly.
- Reports: Comprehensive reporting and analytics tools are provided with the platform, allowing you to track donation activities, generate financial reports, and gain insights into donor behavior.
- Nonprofit Perks: Though it doesn’t offer a discount, Authorize.Net provides specific fundraising tools that can be easily integrated into your website.
All-in-One Price: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction plus a monthly fee of $25, with no setup fee
Payment Gateway Only Price: $25 per month plus 10 cents per transaction and a 10-cent daily batch fee, for organizations that already hold a merchant account
Registered Nonprofit Price: None
For WPForms users, you’ll need the Elite License to add this payment option field to your forms.
Bonus: Additional Payment Processing Tools for Your Nonprofit
These are a few additional platforms, software, and other systems to process donations that you may find useful for your nonprofit.
They didn’t necessarily meet our requirements for the list of best recommendations, but we think they’re still worth mentioning in this article.
SignUpGenius Fundraisers (formerly Fundly)
Fundly spent years as a standalone crowdfunding platform. It’s now part of SignUpGenius and runs as SignUpGenius Fundraisers, so the old fundly.com address lands on SignUpGenius branding.
Recommended Features: You can set fundraising goals, track donations, message donors, and manage campaign updates. There’s also peer-to-peer fundraising, where every supporter gets their own page, goal, and leaderboard spot, and that’s the strongest reason to look at it since peer-to-peer is awkward to build with a form alone.
Like most crowdfunding tools, it isn’t a payment processor in its own right. It sits on top of one, and campaigns live on the platform’s pages rather than yours, so your donors do leave your nonprofit website to give.
Price: Free to create and share a campaign. Processing fees are charged separately by the underlying payment provider.
Snowball
Snowball is a fundraising platform that provides a comprehensive suite of fundraising tools.
Recommended Features: Snowball boasts many desirable features for nonprofits, including online giving pages, text-to-give options, and secure payment processing. Snowball empowers nonprofits to boost fundraising revenue and engage donors effectively.
That said, many of these options are available with a form created on WPForms, and we’ll explain how to do it further in this post.
Essential Plan Price: Free
Premium Plan Price: $549 per year
WPForms as Your Nonprofit’s Payment Processor
After reviewing all of the options, features, and tools that make a specific payment processor a good choice for your nonprofit website, we’re left with a question: are you using WPForms to take donations?
WPForms coupled with a payment option like Stripe or PayPal creates virtually the same experience and functionality provided by Donate Kindly and similar platforms.
Here’s what you can actually plug in, and which license each one needs:
- Stripe: Available on every tier including Lite. On the free version or an inactive license, a 3% WPForms platform fee applies on top of Stripe’s own rate, and on an active Pro or Elite license there’s no WPForms fee at all. Conditional logic on Stripe payments needs Pro. The Stripe integration page walks through the setup.
- Square: Also available on every tier with that same 3% platform fee on Lite. The Square addon on Pro and Elite drops the fee and adds recurring payments through a Recurring Payments toggle.
- PayPal: Available on every tier through PayPal Core with the 3% fee. The PayPal Commerce addon on Pro and Elite removes it and unlocks conditional logic, one-time and recurring gifts on a single form, and full refund handling.
- Authorize.Net: Elite only. The Authorize.Net addon adds the gateway as a payment field on your forms.
Now let’s run WPForms through the same five features I judged everything else on.
- Security: Because WPForms runs on established payment gateways, your donation transactions stay secure and compliant with industry standards. Card data is never stored in WordPress.
- Integration: WPForms works with a wide range of other WordPress plugins. You can connect email marketing platforms, CRMs, and analytics tools to simplify your operations and get a clearer read on your fundraising.
- Payment Options: You have four gateways to choose from, all covered above, plus options for recurring donations and letting donors pick which method they’d rather use.
- Reports: Every donation lands in Entry Management inside your WordPress dashboard, where you can search it, star it, and export to Excel, PDF, or CSV. Payments get their own screen under WPForms » Payments, so you can filter by gateway, status, or date without leaving your site.
- Nonprofit Perks: WPForms offers discounted pricing for nonprofit organizations, and there’s a library of nonprofit form templates to get you started.
Let’s look at our list of recommended features and see how WPForms stacks up.
- Security: By leveraging established payment gateways through WPForms, you can ensure that your donation transactions are secure and compliant with industry standards. Card data is never stored in WordPress.
- Integration: WPForms seamlessly integrates with a wide range of other WordPress plugins. For example, you can integrate with email marketing platforms, CRMs, and analytics tools to streamline your operations and gain insights into your fundraising efforts.
- Payment Options: WPForms integrates with various payment gateways, such as Stripe and Paypal, allowing you to collect payments through your forms. Additional customizations include options for recurring payments and allowing a choice of preferred payment method.
- Reports: WPForms allows you to capture and store donor information efficiently. With its built-in CRM functionality, you can manage donor data, track donations, and nurture relationships with your supporters.
- Nonprofit Perks: Not only does WPForms offer discounted pricing for nonprofit organizations, but we also provide a rich library of nonprofit form templates to help get you started.
Nonprofit Price:
WPForms Pro at $99/year — 75% off normal price
WPForms Elite at $199/year — 66% off normal price
Both nonprofit licenses cover 5 sites and include the same features and addons as the regular licenses. You’ll need to apply with your organization’s details and proof of nonprofit status, like an IRS determination letter for U.S. 501(c)(3) organizations.
And, as I mentioned earlier, Stripe is available as a payment option for WPForms Lite users. On the free version you’ll pay a 3% platform fee on each donation, and that fee disappears once you’re on an active Pro or Elite license.
Check out our full page on how WPForms can help your nonprofit organization. And then, when you’re all set with the perfect plan for your nonprofit, take a look at a few of our favorite examples to inspire your fundraising and a nonprofit WPForms case study.
FAQs on Payment Processors for Nonprofits
Nonprofit payment processing tends to raise the same handful of questions, whether you’re choosing your first gateway or trying to cut fees on one you already use. Here are the answers I get asked for most often.
What is the best payment processor for a nonprofit?
Stripe is the safest default for most nonprofits. The 2.2% + $0.30 registered-nonprofit rate is competitive, ACH transfers cost 0.80% capped at $5 for large gifts, and it runs on a free WPForms license. If your average gift sits above roughly $90, PayPal’s 1.99% + $0.49 Confirmed Charity rate will cost you less per donation. And if a real share of your giving happens face to face, Square’s shared reader and dashboard is the better fit.
Can small nonprofits use Stripe or PayPal for donations?
Yes. Neither one sets a minimum volume, and both let a registered charity apply for discounted rates. Stripe asks that at least 80% of your payment volume come from tax-deductible donations, and PayPal requires approval under its Confirmed Charity terms. Small organizations qualify for both as long as the paperwork holds up.
Is there free payment processing for nonprofits?
No card processor is genuinely free, because Visa and Mastercard interchange has to be paid by somebody. Some nonprofit-focused platforms advertise zero fees by passing that cost to donors through an optional tip or a fee-coverage checkbox. You can get the same result on your own site by adding a fee-coverage field to your donation form, and on the software side you can accept credit card payments for free with WPForms Lite, where your only costs are your processor’s rate and a 3% platform fee.
Do payment processors give nonprofits a discount?
Some do and some don’t, which is worth checking before you commit. Stripe discounts to 2.2% + $0.30, PayPal to 1.99% + $0.49, and PayPal Braintree to 2.19% + $0.29 for verified 501(c)(3) organizations. Square and Authorize.Net have no nonprofit rate at all. Square will discuss custom pricing above $250,000 in annual card volume, but any merchant can have that conversation.
Which payment methods does WPForms support?
WPForms supports Stripe, Square, PayPal, and Authorize.Net. Stripe, Square, and PayPal all work on every license including the free Lite version, with a 3% platform fee that goes away on an active Pro or Elite license. Authorize.Net is an Elite addon. All four handle one-time gifts, and recurring donations are available through Stripe, PayPal, and Square Pro.
Next, Grow Your Nonprofit with WPForms
Your choice of processor is one decision out of several, and the donation form wrapped around it does a lot of the work in whether a visitor actually finishes giving.
Suggested amounts, a recurring option, and a short field list all move that number more than the rate you pay ever will.
For ideas you can borrow, go through these donation page examples and look at how other nonprofits structure the ask before you build your own.
Ready to build your form? Get started today with the easiest WordPress form builder plugin. WPForms Pro includes lots of free templates and offers a 14-day money-back guarantee.
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