The Best WordPress Donation Plugins for NonProfits & Charities

Are you looking to streamline your donation process, engage more effectively with your supporters, or simply make your website more user-friendly?

There are plugins out there that can help bridge the gap between a casual visitor and a lifelong donor. Many of these plugins are designed with nonprofits in mind, offering features like automated tax-deductible receipts and donor management systems that cater specifically to your unique needs.

Since 2017, I’ve run my own animal welfare NGO and I have personally experienced the frustration of lost revenue due to clunky checkout flows. Plus, as a WordPress expert, I’ve had the privilege of working with various nonprofits and charitable organizations, helping them maximize their online presence.

In that time, I’ve tried and tested countless WordPress plugins to find the absolute best tools for organizations like yours and mine. So this list is based on my own experience after extensively using these plugins.

In this post, we’ll explore only the top WordPress plugins that can take your nonprofit or charity website to the next level while keeping your PCI DSS compliance scope as low as possible.

I’ve picked 3 tools that aren’t just for established organizations – they’re perfect for anyone looking to make a difference, whether you’re running a global NGO or raising funds for a local cause close to your heart.

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How I Test and Review WordPress Donation Plugins

I want to help you find tools that will make your nonprofit’s website better and easier to run.

So I take plugin recommendations seriously, knowing that non-profits value every dollar and minute. That said, I make sure the plugins I suggest are really good for nonprofits in real life, not just on paper.

Here’s my general testing process:

• Does it work well and is it easy to use? I try out all the features to make sure they work right and are easy for beginners. The plugin has to help with things nonprofits need, like tracking offline donations or managing volunteers. I’ve found that if a plugin isn’t intuitive, you won’t use it – so simplicity is always a top priority for me!
• How does it affect your website? I use speed-testing tools to check if the plugin slows down your site or makes it hard to use on phones. One common ‘gotcha’ I look for is whether the plugin loads heavy CSS and JavaScript on pages where there are no forms. If a plugin slows down your site, you’ll lose donations, so speed checks are non-negotiable. I also make sure it works well with other plugins and WordPress themes nonprofits often use.
• Is it safe and compliant? I look at how secure the plugin is and how it handles sensitive data to ensure you meet PCI DSS compliance standards. I always recommend choosing plugins that have been updated in the last few months, as this proves the developers still maintain them. I also check if they have good customer support in case you need help.
• Is it worth the money? If the plugin costs money, I calculate the “real cost,” including necessary add-ons for features like recurring giving or transaction fee recovery. For free plugins, I check if they’ll still be good to use in the long run.
• What do other nonprofits think? I ask other nonprofits and clients what they think about the plugin. I also use the plugin on real websites for a while to see how it works over time, and monitor communities like Reddit and Quora to see real-world complaints about bugs or support

What to Look for in a WordPress Donation Plugin

Not every donation plugin is built for the same kind of organization, and making the wrong choice can quietly cost you valuable donors. With that in mind, here are the criteria I consider before adding a donation plugin to any site:

• Payment gateway support: A donation plugin is only as good as the payment processors it connects to. I always check whether a plugin supports each country’s preferred gateway, along with offering friction-free mobile options like Apple Pay and Google Pay. If you want a deeper comparison of processors, see our guide to how to accept payments in WordPress with Stripe, PayPal, and more.
• Recurring donations: Monthly giving is the single most reliable income stream a nonprofit can have. Ideally, the donation plugin should support recurring donations natively, rather than treat it as a clunky add-on that breaks with every plugin update.
• PCI DSS scope: Complying with PCI DSS (the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) becomes much easier when your plugin keeps sensitive credit card data completely off your server. Look for plugins that use tokenized checkout, where card details are sent straight to the secure gateway and never touch your site’s database.
• Donor management: A donor management system (a built-in database that tracks who gave, when, and how much) saves hours during every reporting cycle. Look for features like built-in donor profiles, automatic tax-receipt PDFs, and clean, exportable reports.
• Performance impact: Donation pages often experience sudden traffic spikes from email campaigns, meaning even a one-second page slowdown can severely hurt your conversion rates. Pairing the right WordPress hosting service with a lean, well-coded plugin makes the biggest difference here.
• Cost transparency: Some hosted donation platforms sneakily charge a per-transaction platform fee on top of your standard gateway processing fees. A self-hosted WordPress plugin with a flat annual license is almost always significantly cheaper once you start accepting more than a thousand dollars in annual donations.

Now let’s dive into the WordPress donation plugins that can help you change the world.

Reviewing the Best Donation Plugins for WordPress

1. The Top Donation Plugin Without Platform Fees: WP Charitable

Charitable is a fantastic WordPress donation plugin that simplifies the process of accepting online donations for nonprofits and charities. In my opinion, it is the most well-rounded Donor Management System (DMS) for WordPress. What I love most about it is how it streamlines the entire donation process, from setting up campaigns to managing donors.

And the best part is that they never charge you any platform fees. You can use the free version for free! The only charges you may incur are from your payment gateway. There’s a premium plugin available too that gives you access to advanced fundraising features like Gift Aid and Peer-to-Peer fundraising. You pay for the plugin and you can start raising funds that are 100% yours to keep.

When I first installed Charitable, I was immediately impressed by its setup wizard. This feature really sets it apart from other plugins I’ve used. The wizard walks you through the essential steps to get your donation system up and running quickly.

I remember setting up a similar donation system years ago, and it took me hours just to get a shortcode to display! Charitable’s wizard saved me that entire headache.

I also love how easy it is to create multiple campaigns. For one of my clients, a local animal shelter, we set up Charitable so that they could run fundraisers for different rescue cases.

You can choose premade designs inside the template library. They’re neatly categorized by popular causes so you can find what you’re looking for easily. You can also start from scratch using simple columns.

To give you a glimpse at how good these templates are, check out this template that comes with a progress bar, goal, number of days left, and a strong call-to-action ‘Donate Now’ button.

You just have to change the content and images and you’re ready to publish your fundraiser.

That’s easy to do as Charitable comes with a visual drag and drop builder. You can add new elements by dragging and dropping them where you want them to appear.

If you click on any text in the campaign, you can edit it and change it to match your cause.

It’s also simple to configure the settings of your campaigns, so you never have to touch any code.

You can add recurring giving tiers (suggested donation amounts) or allow your donors to enter their own.

While this is a premium feature, I’ve found recurring donations to be invaluable for organizations looking to establish a steady income stream. Charitable makes it as easy as clicking a button to enable recurring donation options.

I find that you set it up once and then Charitable takes care of the rest, making sure your donation comes in on time every time. I always recommend setting up recurring donations to secure a stable income for the future, which is key for long-term planning. Plus, you can toggle the ‘Donor Covered Fees’ feature so you don’t lose any portion of the donation to payment processor fees, either.

Other standout features include:

• Peer-to-peer fundraising
• Crowdfunding
• Donor covered fees
• Donation management
• Email integrations
• Donor comments and leaderboards
• Anonymous donations

You can connect to payment gateways like Stripe, PayPal, Braintree, Mollie, Authorize.net, and so many more.

Need to accept donations in different currencies? Charitable has you covered there too. So you can reach a global audience to support your cause.

Once a donation is made, receipts are automatically generated and sent to the donor. This saves so much time. Donors get immediate confirmation of their contribution, which builds trust.

You also get built-in fundraising reports that shows you how your campaigns are performing. Plus, it includes a donation database to view, track, and export your donation data.

In my experience, Charitable strikes a great balance between simplicity and functionality. It’s been my go-to recommendation for nonprofits just starting out with online donations, as well as for more established organizations looking for a user-friendly solution.

WP Charitable Pros and Cons

After running WP Charitable on several live non-profit sites, here is my honest breakdown of where it shines and where it has limits.

Pros:

• Zero platform fees on paid plans, so 100% of donations (minus gateway costs) reach your cause
• Built-in donor portal where supporters can manage their own recurring gifts
• Campaign templates with progress bars, goal trackers, and countdowns out of the box
• Peer-to-peer and crowdfunding modules included on the Pro plan
• Visual drag-and-drop builder that doesn’t require any code

Cons:

• The most useful features (recurring donations, Gift Aid, peer-to-peer) sit behind paid tiers
• The free lite version applies a 3% Charitable fee on transactions
• A bit more setup time than a single-purpose checkout plugin like WP Simple Pay

Why I Recommend WP Charitable: This plugin is perfect for nonprofits because it helps you avoid paying additional platform fees. That said, you can donate more of those funds directly to your good cause.

Get started with WP Charitable »

2. The Best All-Purpose Form Builder with Donation Capabilities: WPForms

WPForms is the best WordPress form builder out there! I’ve set up complex forms in minutes, which is a huge time-saver. Even clients with limited tech skills find it easy to use.

WPForms comes with a variety of pre-built templates. I’ve used the donation form template for smaller nonprofits, and it works great as a simple solution for accepting donations. In fact, I always start with a WPForms template because you don’t have to build the required fields from scratch.

Learn how to use WPForms with step-by-step tutorials »

The plugin integrates with payment gateways like Stripe, PayPal, Square, and Authorize.Net. So you can accept donations securely.

The process is simple, with no coding involved. So it’s pretty straightforward to create order forms or donation forms that process payments directly. I especially appreciate its support for Apple Pay and Google Pay, which significantly reduces friction for mobile donors.

Now there’s a feature I love about WPForms and that’s smart conditional logic. This feature has made a real difference for many of my nonprofit clients. For example, I created a form where donors can sponsor a meal. If the donor chooses 1 meal, we gave them the option to add a collar for a dog at just 50 cents.

This helped boost the average donation received by just prompting supporters with add-ons.

One thing to keep in mind when using forms on your site is the endless spam that can come from spam bots and hackers. WPForms comes with built-in spam protection. You can also add country and keyword filters as well as CAPTCHA protection.

Once a donor makes a contribution, you can display a thank you message, or redirect them to a URL.

You can also send automatic emails with the donation receipt.

All forms created with WPForms are mobile-friendly out of the box, which is crucial for reaching donors and volunteers on all devices.

I always test my forms on my own phone before making them live, just to make sure all the buttons are easy to click. That said, WPForms has performed perfectly, every time.

WPForms also gives you access to built-in analytics and a donor list that you can manage right inside your WordPress dashboard.

See our Full WPForms Review »

The main downside I’ve encountered is that while WPForms is great for general form needs, it doesn’t have the specialized nonprofit features that dedicated plugins like Charitable offer. For instance, it lacks built-in campaign management or donor walls.

Overall, I’ve found WPForms to be an excellent all-purpose form solution. For nonprofits with diverse form needs beyond just donations – like volunteer applications, event registrations, or contact forms – it’s a solid choice.

However, for organizations focusing primarily on fundraising, I often recommend using it together with a dedicated donation plugin for the best results.

WPForms Pros and Cons:

Here’s the strengths and weaknesses I’ve noticed in WPForms, after using it across dozens of nonprofit, volunteer, and event signup builds:

Pros:

• One license covers donation forms, volunteer applications, event RSVPs, and contact forms
• Smart conditional logic adds upsell-style prompts (think ‘sponsor an extra meal’) without having to write code
• Native Stripe support is included even on the free, lite version
• Built-in spam protection, CAPTCHA, and country filters

Cons:

• No campaign pages, donor walls, or peer-to-peer fundraising features
• Stripe is the only gateway available on the free plan (you’ll need to upgrade to a premium plan, in order to access PayPal, Square, or Authorize.Net).
• The free lite version applies a 3% platform fee

Why I Recommend WPForms: This form builder is incredibly versatile and user-friendly, so you can create donation forms without having to write a single line of code. During my testing, I found that its payment integrations made it easy to process both one-time and recurring donations without the bloat of a larger fundraising suite.

Get started with WPForms »

3. The Best Simple Stripe Payment Solution For WordPress Donations: WP Simple Pay

WP Simple Pay is the best donation solution if you want a simple way to accept donations on your site. One of the things I love most about WP Simple Pay is how quick and easy it is to set up. I’ve had it up and running on sites in less than 10 minutes. The setup wizard walks you through connecting your Stripe account, which is really user-friendly.

WP Simple Pay is built specifically for Stripe, which I’ve found to be a reliable payment processor. Since it uses Stripe, the plugin is PCI-compliant. It doesn’t store sensitive card data on your website, which is a big plus for security.

Since WP Simple Pay keeps sensitive data off your server, I always recommend it for organizations who are worried about managing complex security rules.

I’ve used WP Simple Pay to make straightforward donation forms for nonprofits, and the process is intuitive. You can easily set up one-time or recurring payment options using ready-made templates.

You can customize the forms to match your site’s branding.

For example, you can adjust colors, add custom fields, and even use custom CSS if needed.

 

If you want to run special campaigns for specific time periods, WP Simple Pay lets you do this by scheduling the time and date.

This is great for flash promotions, sales, and special campaigns such as Christmas. You can schedule these to run during periods when you know giving is higher.

If you want to offer recurring donations, the subscription management feature is really good. Donors can manage their own subscriptions, which reduces admin work for you.

I find that giving donors the power to manage their own subscriptions drastically cuts down on the number of support emails I have to answer every month.

WP Simple Pay Pros and Cons

Here is what I have found after deploying WP Simple Pay on smaller nonprofit and personal-cause sites.

Pros:

• One of the fastest donation plugins to set up (under 10 minutes in my tests)
• Card data never touches your server, which keeps PCI DSS scope minimal
• Built-in support for ACH, Apple Pay, Google Pay, SEPA, and buy-now-pay-later methods
• Donors can manage their own recurring subscriptions through a self-service portal
• Lighter footprint than full fundraising suites, so donation pages stay fast

Cons:

• Stripe-only (no PayPal, Square, or Authorize.Net options)
• No campaign pages, donor walls, or peer-to-peer fundraising
• Free lite version applies a 3% additional fee unless you upgrade to a paid license

Why I Recommend WP Simple Pay: This plugin is ideal for nonprofits who need a quick and straightforward way to accept Stripe payments without the overhead of a full eCommerce setup. It’s built with simplicity in mind, making it the perfect choice for smaller organizations or those new to online donations.

You’ll find that WP Simple Pay’s direct integration with Stripe means you don’t need a separate form builder license just to accept money on your site.

Learn How to Use WP Simple Pay »

Get started with WP Simple Pay »

What Is the Best WordPress Plugin for Nonprofits?

Every website or business has unique needs, so the best plugin for your nonprofit organization will vary based on your specific goals. Despite this, I generally suggest Charitable as the best option for nonprofit donation management.

This plugin is my top choice because it helps you avoid paying additional platform fees. I always tell my clients that this makes a massive difference over a year of fundraising.

If you need alternatives for specific use cases, consider these options:

• If you want to create advanced donation forms, WPForms is perfect. It offers an intuitive drag-and-drop builder, so you can create all kinds of forms with ease. You can also use WPForms to create other, miscellaneous forms, such as volunteer application forms.
• For a straightforward and secure payment processing plugin, WP Simple Pay is ideal. It integrates with Stripe without the complexity of a full eCommerce solution. This makes it ideal for smaller organizations or those just starting with online donations. If you do install WP Simple Pay, then I recommend setting up recurring donations straight away, as it’s the best way to ensure predictable support.

How to Set Up Your First Donation Form (Step by Step)

If you’ve never built a donation form before, the actual workflow is simpler than you might expect. I follow the same general process whether I’m using WP Charitable, WPForms, or WP Simple Pay, and it usually takes under an hour from a blank site to a live, working donation page.

• Step 1: Pick the right plugin for your goal. Use WP Charitable if you need dedicated campaign pages and an active donor portal. Alternatively, pick WPForms if donations are just one of several form types your site needs, or choose WP Simple Pay if you only want a lightning-fast, Stripe-powered checkout experience.
• Step 2: Install and activate the plugin. From your WordPress dashboard, head to Plugins » Add New, search for your chosen tool, and click ‘Install.’ Once active, run through the built-in setup wizard. If this is your first time handling this step, our quick walkthrough on how to install a WordPress plugin covers everything you need to know.
• Step 3: Connect your payment gateway. Stripe is easily the best option to start with because the entire integration process takes just a single click via Stripe Connect. PayPal is a fantastic second backup option. Important Note: Before connecting a gateway, make sure your WordPress site has an active SSL certificate, or payment processors will block your transactions.
• Step 4: Build your form or campaign. Save time by starting from a pre-made donation template instead of a blank canvas. From there, adjust the suggested donation amounts, enable recurring giving toggles, and adjust the branding colors to match your cause. For a deeper look into designing the form itself, check out our full tutorial on how to create a WordPress donation form.
• Step 5: Embed the form on a dedicated page. Most modern plugins automatically generate a shortcode or a dedicated block that you can drop directly onto your Donation page. Publish the page, and then always run a real $1 transaction test to confirm money flows correctly before sharing this page with the public.
• Step 6: Set up automated confirmation emails and receipts. Configure your settings to ensure donors receive an immediate, automated thank-you email containing a clean, tax-deductible receipt. In my experience, this immediate validation is the single highest-impact step for long-term donor retention.

Free vs Paid Donation Plugins: Which Is Right for You?

A common question I hear from new nonprofit founders is whether the free version of a donation plugin is enough. The honest answer is that it depends on how much you raise and which features you need.

• When the free version is enough: If you only need a single donation form, one-time payments through Stripe or PayPal, and basic email receipts, every plugin on this list will work fine on its free tier. This is usually true for personal causes, very small charities, and one-off campaigns.
• When you should pay: The moment you want recurring donations, peer-to-peer fundraising, multiple campaign pages, or Authorize.Net or Square integration, you’ll typically need a paid plan. Recurring donations alone usually pay for the license in the first month, because monthly giving roughly doubles the average annual gift in my own data.
• The hidden cost of staying free: Both WP Charitable Lite and WPForms Lite and WP Simple Pay Lite apply a 3% platform fee on transactions. On $20,000 of annual donations, that 3% is $600 a year, which is more than every plan’s first-year price.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Accepting Donations on WordPress

After auditing donation pages for dozens of different nonprofits, I see the exact same mistakes hurting conversion rates again and again.

If you want to maximize your fundraising, here are the critical errors I would fix first:

• Asking for too many form fields: As a general rule, every extra field you add to your form drops your conversion rate. For that reason, it’s important to keep things strictly limited to name, email address, donation amount, and payment method.
• Forgetting prominent recurring donation toggles: Monthly giving is the single most predictable revenue stream your nonprofit can have. If your recurring option is buried deep inside a dropdown or hidden at the bottom of the page, almost no one will select it.
• Hiding the SSL padlock icon: Modern donors instinctively check for the secure lock icon in their browser bar before entering financial information. Make sure your site enforces HTTPS site-wide using a current SSL certificate, which is the core encryption setup that protects sensitive data sent between your site and the donor. Our comprehensive WordPress security checklist walks you through the exact steps to lock your site down securely.
• Ignoring the mobile user experience: A large portion of people will visit your site using a smartphone or tablet. If your donation form doesn’t look right or function correctly on a smaller screen, you’ll almost certainly miss out on donations.
• Not testing the end-to-end checkout flow: Never assume a form works just because it looks nice. Always run a real $1 donation across every single active payment gateway before your official launch. Once the payment clears, confirm that the thank-you receipt actually arrives in your inbox and that the donation registers properly inside your reporting dashboard.

FAQs on WordPress Donation Plugins

Setting up an online donation system can raise a lot of questions, especially when you’re trying to figure out which plugin is right for your cause.

To help you out, here’s answers to all the most common questions I get from people setting up donation features on their WordPress sites.

Which plugin is best for accepting donations?

If your primary focus is donations, Charitable is likely your best bet. It’s built specifically for nonprofits and offers features like campaign management and donor walls.

I always suggest using a dedicated donation plugin because those features are key to running a professional fundraising effort.

What’s the main difference between Charitable, WPForms, and WP Simple Pay?

The biggest difference is their purpose. Charitable is focused on nonprofit donations, while WPForms is a versatile form builder that can handle donations among other things.

Meanwhile, WP Simple Pay is focused on simple payment processing, primarily through Stripe.

Are there any free donation plugins for WordPress?

Yes, several donation plugins offer free versions with basic features. Charitable, Give, and PayPal Donations all have free versions.

However, keep in mind that premium features often require paid upgrades. While free versions are great for starting out, I’ve found you’ll usually need the paid version to unlock recurring donations, which are vital for a steady income.

Which plugin is best for recurring donations?

I’ve found Charitable to be particularly effective. They offer robust recurring donation features that are easy to set up and the rest is automated. Donors get their own accounts that they can log into to manage, adjust, or cancel their recurring donations.

I find that giving donors control over their subscriptions saves me from having to handle cancellations manually.

How do I ensure my donation forms are PCI Compliant?

I always advise using plugins that integrate with Stripe or PayPal. These tools ensure that sensitive credit card data never touches your WordPress server. WP Simple Pay and WPForms are excellent for this, as they offload the security burden to the payment processor.

Can I use these plugins together?

Absolutely! I’ve often used WPForms alongside Charitable or WP Simple Pay on the same site. For example, you might use Charitable for donations and WPForms for volunteer sign-ups.

Using different plugins for different jobs ensures each task is handled by the best tool available, and these plugins work together just fine.

Will using a donation plugin slow down my site?

I have noticed that some heavy plugins load their scripts globally. To avoid this, I recommend using an optimization plugin to only load your donation scripts on the Donate page. WPForms is generally very light compared to full fundraising suite

Can I use WPForms for donations?

Yes, WPForms can be used for donations. It has a donation form template and can integrate with payment gateways. However, it lacks some nonprofit-specific features that Charitable offers.

That’s all. If you haven’t set up your website yet, check out our complete step-by-step tutorial: How to Create a Website from Scratch Using WordPress.

Next, you’ll also want to read:

• How to Create a Donation Form in WordPress (With Secure Payments)
• 7+ Best WordPress Membership Plugins
• 6 Best WordPress Support Agencies

I’ve handpicked these guides to help you set up your donation form, add membership options, and get WordPress support if you need it.