GiveWP
Long-running WordPress donation plugin with campaigns, a visual form builder, donor dashboard and donor wall; paid plans add recurring, P2P and tributes.
97
WP Charitable
Self-hosted donation and fundraising plugin with unlimited campaigns, goals and a drag-and-drop builder; paid plans add recurring, Gift Aid and P2P.
Free installs10K+WordPress.org, active
Est. Pro installs~1.5KLikely 750–3K
Vendor claims10K+Vendor's own figure
Rating4.9/5219 reviews
Price from$149/yrFreemium
Last updated29 Oct 2026Version 1.8.14.1
Overview
WP Charitable (listed on WordPress.org as Charitable – Donation & Fundraising Platform) is a self-hosted fundraising plugin now developed under Syed Balkhi’s team. Campaigns, donors and donations live in your own WordPress database, and the free “Lite” version is open source.
How it works
Every fundraiser is a campaign with a goal, an optional end date and ready-made templates that can show a progress bar and donor wall. A drag-and-drop builder handles campaign and form layout, with suggested amounts, a custom amount field and embedding in pages, popups or widgets. Lite includes Stripe (cards plus Apple Pay and Google Pay), PayPal and offline donations, along with donor records and basic reporting.
Free vs paid
Lite adds a 3% transaction fee to Stripe donations; an active paid licence waives it. Plans are sold yearly with heavy first-year discounts:
- Basic ($149 regular): PDF receipts, Square, Authorize.Net, donor dashboard, no fees.
- Plus ($199): recurring donations, Fee Relief, Gift Aid, annual receipts, tributes, Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign.
- Pro ($399): peer-to-peer, ambassadors, crowdfunding, Zapier, webhooks, multi-currency and more.
- Elite ($599, 5 sites): adds multisite and client management.
Strengths and limitations
Charitable’s mid-range Plus plan bundles recurring giving, fee coverage, Gift Aid and tributes at a lower list price than comparable tiers elsewhere, and its campaign templates and builder make setup approachable. Against that, the Lite version’s 3% Stripe fee is higher than GiveWP’s 2%, recurring gifts are not available for free, and the vendor’s own pages are inconsistent about which plan includes the donor dashboard. Peer-to-peer fundraising sits in the Pro tier.
Charitable suits small and mid-sized charities, including UK organisations needing Gift Aid, that want a self-hosted plugin and are happy to buy a Plus licence for recurring giving.
Best for: Small and mid-sized charities wanting self-hosted fundraising with recurring giving, Gift Aid and tributes on one affordable plan.
Charitable is an easy, campaign-centred alternative to GiveWP whose Plus plan covers most everyday charity needs at a reasonable list price. Avoid running Lite with Stripe long term because of the 3% fee, and budget for Pro if you need peer-to-peer.
Pros
- Unlimited campaigns with goals, end dates and templates in Lite
- Plus plan bundles recurring, Fee Relief, Gift Aid and tributes
- Lite includes Stripe wallets, PayPal and offline donations
- Self-hosted donor data with CSV import and export
- Many gateways on paid plans, including Square, GoCardless and Mollie
- 14-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- Lite adds a 3% fee on Stripe donations
- No recurring donations in the free version
- Peer-to-peer and Zapier need the Pro plan
- Vendor pages disagree on which tier includes the donor dashboard
- Advertised prices are first-year discounts; renewals are roughly double
Key features
What WP Charitable highlights on its WordPress.org page and its own website, split by version.
Free version WordPress.org
- Unlimited campaigns at no extra cost
- Drag-and-drop campaign and form builder
- Suggested and custom donation amounts
- Campaign goals and end dates
- Stripe with Apple Pay and Google Pay
- PayPal donations
- Offline cash, cheque and wire gifts
- Donor wall on campaign templates
- Donor records and donation reports
- Spam protection and GDPR tools
Pro / paid adds From $149/yr
- No transaction fees on any plan
- PDF and annual donation receipts
- Recurring donations
- Donor-covered processing fees
- UK Gift Aid
- Tribute donations
- Peer-to-peer and ambassador fundraising
- Crowdfunding
- Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign
- Zapier and webhooks
- Square, Authorize.Net and more gateways
- Multi-currency and multisite support
Feature checklist
19 of 19 features we track in Donations & Fundraising, feature score 97/100
Donation forms 5/5
Donation forms Key
Customisable donation forms you can embed anywhere.
Drag-and-drop builder; embed forms in pages, popups, widgets or campaigns.
Included
Recurring donations Key
Monthly or yearly giving.
Monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annual giving via the Recurring extension.
Paid version Plus
Preset & custom amounts
Suggested amounts plus a custom amount field.
Suggested amounts, a custom amount field, or both.
Included
Fee recovery Key
Donors can cover the processing fee.
Fee Relief asks donors to add enough to cover processing fees.
Paid version Plus
Tribute & dedication gifts
Donate in honour or memory of someone.
Tribute donations listed in the plan comparison from Plus.
Paid version Plus
Payments 5/5
Stripe
Card payments through Stripe.
Stripe built in; Lite adds a 3% fee that a paid licence removes.
Included
PayPal
Donations through PayPal.
PayPal included in Lite; PayPal Commerce gateway added in 1.8.11.
Included
Apple Pay, Google Pay & bank payments
Wallets, ACH or direct debit.
Apple Pay and Google Pay via Stripe in Lite; GoCardless direct debit on paid plans.
Included
Offline donations
Record cheque, cash or bank transfer gifts.
Record cash, cheque and wire transfer gifts.
Included
No platform fee Key
No extra percentage taken by the plugin on donations.
Lite takes 3% per Stripe transaction; all paid plans list no fees.
Paid version Basic
Campaigns 4/4
Goals & progress bars Key
Campaign goals with live progress.
Campaign goals with progress display and a goal widget.
Included
Campaign pages
Dedicated pages for each fundraising campaign.
Unlimited campaigns with pre-built page templates.
Included
Peer-to-peer fundraising Key
Supporters create their own fundraising pages.
Peer-to-peer, donation teams and ambassadors.
Paid version Pro
Donor wall
Public list of supporters.
Campaign templates can show a donor wall.
Included
Donors & compliance 5/5
Donor management Key
Donor records, history and notes.
Donor records with history, CSV import and export.
Included
Donor dashboard
Donors manage their giving and receipts.
Full Donor Dashboard listed in Basic; Lite-vs-Pro page lists it as paid.
Paid version Basic
Tax receipts & annual statements Key
Automatic receipts and yearly statements.
Lite sends email receipts; PDF receipts need Basic, annual receipts Plus.
Partial
UK Gift Aid
Collects Gift Aid declarations for UK charities.
Gift Aid extension for UK donors.
Paid version Plus
CRM & email integrations
Mailchimp, Salesforce, Zapier and similar.
Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign from Plus; Zapier and webhooks from Pro.
Paid version Plus
Pricing
Free
$0On WordPress.org
Lite
Freeper yearUnlimited
Free on WordPress.org; Stripe donations carry a 3% transaction fee.
Basic
$149per year1 site
Introductory first-year price $69; renews at full price.
Plus
$199per year1 site
Introductory first-year price $99. Adds recurring, Fee Relief, Gift Aid, tributes, annual receipts.
Pro
$399per year1 site
Introductory first-year price $199. Adds peer-to-peer, ambassadors, crowdfunding, Zapier, webhooks.
Elite
$599per year5 sites
Introductory first-year price $299. Adds multisite and client management.
Prices are list prices from the vendor's site, checked 14 Oct 2026. Many vendors discount the first year.
How many sites use WP Charitable?
Free installs from WordPress.org, the vendor's own claim, and our estimate of paid installs.
Free version (WordPress.org)
10K+
Active installations reported by WordPress.org.
Vendor claim
10K+
Sites/users claimed on the vendor's website. source
Estimated Pro / paid installs
~1.5K
Our estimate, see method below.
How we estimated this: WordPress.org shows 10K+ free installs, which could mean anything from 10K to 20K. The vendor says 10K+ sites, so we put the free count halfway between the middle of that range and the vendor figure, at about 13K. About 13K free installs x 12% (the usual share of free sites that also run the paid version when some key features are paid, and store owners upgrade more often) gives 1.5K. Likely range: 750 to 3K. This counts sites running the paid version, including sites whose licence has lapsed. Estimates are rough and based on public figures as of 14 Oct 2026.
Stats & health
Weekly downloads
16,166 downloads last week, 1.3M all time
Rating breakdown
| Version | 1.8.14.1 |
|---|---|
| Last updated | 29 Oct 2026 (4 days ago) |
| Tested up to | WordPress 7.1.4 |
| Requires | WordPress 5.9+, PHP 7.4+ |
| Support threads (2 months) | 3 of 4 resolved |
| On WordPress.org since | 19 Aug 2015 |
Company & policy
| Refund policy | 14-day money-back (source, 14 Oct 2026) |
|---|
WP Charitable compared
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FAQ
Is WP Charitable free?
Yes. WP Charitable has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $149/yr.
How many sites use WP Charitable?
WordPress.org reports 10K+ active installations of the free version. The vendor claims 10K+ sites in total. We estimate around 1.5K sites run the paid version.
Does WP Charitable have donation forms?
Yes: included. Drag-and-drop builder; embed forms in pages, popups, widgets or campaigns.
Does WP Charitable have recurring donations?
Yes: paid version (Plus). Monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annual giving via the Recurring extension.
Does WP Charitable have fee recovery?
Yes: paid version (Plus). Fee Relief asks donors to add enough to cover processing fees.
Does WP Charitable have no platform fee?
Yes: paid version (Basic). Lite takes 3% per Stripe transaction; all paid plans list no fees.
Does WP Charitable have goals & progress bars?
Yes: included. Campaign goals with progress display and a goal widget.
Does WP Charitable have peer-to-peer fundraising?
Yes: paid version (Pro). Peer-to-peer, donation teams and ambassadors.
Does WP Charitable have donor management?
Yes: included. Donor records with history, CSV import and export.
Does WP Charitable have tax receipts & annual statements?
Yes: partial. Lite sends email receipts; PDF receipts need Basic, annual receipts Plus.
Does Charitable Lite charge a fee?
Yes. Lite adds a 3% transaction fee to Stripe donations on top of Stripe's charges. Any active paid licence waives it.
Which plan includes recurring donations?
Recurring donations start with the Plus plan, which also adds Fee Relief, Gift Aid, tributes and annual receipts.
Are the prices on the pricing page what I pay every year?
No. The headline prices ($69-$299) are first-year introductory rates; renewals are at the regular price ($149-$599).
Can supporters run their own fundraisers?
Peer-to-peer fundraising, ambassadors and crowdfunding are included from the Pro plan upwards.
Last updated 13 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit.