Donorbox vs.
Sponsor A Purpose
Discover why nonprofits choose Sponsor A Purpose
Donorbox alternatives: where the money actually goes
Donorbox and Sponsor A Purpose both have a free plan, but they are free in different ways. Donorbox Standard costs nothing per month and takes 2.95% to 3.95% of every gift. Sponsor A Purpose takes 0% platform fees and passes through Stripe processing at 2.2% + $0.30, with the CRM, donation widget, forms and reporting included. Email, giving metrics and grant discovery are paid add-ons, and website design, Google Ad Grant management and growth consulting are separate services. Most nonprofits looking at Donorbox alternatives are looking at the per-gift cut. Ours is 0% in platform fees, with Stripe passed through at 2.2% + $0.30.
What SAPu offers
No platform fee
0% platform fees with donor tips on, 3% with them off
Unlimited staff users
Donorbox caps its free plan at five team members
It replaces your whole stack, not just Donorbox
A CRM here, a donation form there, email somewhere else. Sponsor A Purpose brings all of it into one connected platform.
Cost and what you get free
Donorbox takes 2.95% to 3.95% of each gift on its free plan, falling to 1.75% to 2% on the $150 a month Pro plan, both on top of card processing. Sponsor A Purpose takes 0% in platform fees, passes Stripe through at 2.2% + $0.30, and does not cap staff users.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | Donorbox |
|---|---|---|
| 0% platform fees on donation processing | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: no |
| Free plan with no monthly fee | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: yes |
| Donor covers fees option | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: yes |
| Unlimited staff users | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: no |
Donor CRM
Donorbox records donors and their giving history and supports segmentation and custom fields. Households and organization linking, tasks and follow-up reminders, giving metrics and donor scoring, stewardship prompts and board-ready reporting are ours.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | Donorbox |
|---|---|---|
| Donor records with full giving history | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: yes |
| Segmentation and custom fields | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: yes |
| Household and organization linking | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: no |
| Notes on contact records | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: yes |
| Tasks and follow-up reminders | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: no |
| Giving metrics and donor scoring | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: no |
| Stewardship ask recommendations | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: no |
| Board-ready reporting | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: no |
Giving and payments
Checkout matches on Apple Pay, Google Pay, ACH, recurring giving, DAF giving and employer matching gifts. Donorbox adds event ticketing, crowdfunding campaigns and crypto and stock donations, none of which we offer today.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | Donorbox |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Pay, Google Pay and ACH | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: yes |
| Recurring giving | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: yes |
| Event ticketing | Sponsor A Purpose: no | Donorbox: yes |
| Crowdfunding campaigns | Sponsor A Purpose: no | Donorbox: yes |
| Crypto and stock donations | Sponsor A Purpose: no | Donorbox: yes |
| Corporate matching gifts | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: yes |
| DAF giving built into the widget | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: yes |
Communication and automation
Donorbox has no native email campaigns; you connect Mailchimp or a similar tool and manage the list there. Ours are built into the CRM and priced by email contacts, with prebuilt donor journeys. Text-to-give is theirs.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | Donorbox |
|---|---|---|
| Native email campaigns | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: no |
| Prebuilt donor journeys | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: no |
| Text-to-give | Sponsor A Purpose: no | Donorbox: yes |
Grants
Donorbox does no grant work. Grant discovery on IRS 990 funder filings, deadline and pipeline tracking and AI-assisted writing are add-ons here.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | Donorbox |
|---|---|---|
| Grant discovery on IRS 990 data | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: no |
| AI grant writing | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: no |
Volunteers
Donorbox has no volunteer side. Volunteers, fosters and partners sit on the same record set as donors with us, with volunteer management as a $29 a month add-on.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | Donorbox |
|---|---|---|
| Volunteer, foster and partner records | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: no |
| Volunteer management | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: no |
Services and support
Both platforms are nonprofit-focused. Donorbox adds a fundraising coach and account manager on its custom-priced Premium plan; website design, hosting, growth consulting and appointment scheduling are what we add, as paid services.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | Donorbox |
|---|---|---|
| Appointment scheduling | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: no |
| Website design and hosting (service) | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: no |
| Growth consulting (service) | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: no |
| Nonprofit-only focus | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Donorbox: yes |
Sponsor A Purpose vs. Donorbox: common questions
The smarter choice for nonprofits watching costs
Donorbox Standard takes 2.95% to 3.95% of every gift. Sponsor A Purpose takes 0% platform fees and passes through Stripe at 2.2% + $0.30, with the CRM, donations, forms and reporting included and no monthly fee.