GoFundMe alternatives
The best GoFundMe alternatives, compared
The best GoFundMe alternatives are Rallee, Spotfund and Help Hope Live. Rallee is the most complete care option: you can add other ways to help including meals, rides and childcare, with the same donation fees as GoFundMe. Spotfund is a simple standalone fundraiser, and Help Hope Live is good for specific medical expenses.
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Side by side
How the top GoFundMe alternatives compare
Six places people raise money for someone they love, side by side.Comparison verified October 1, 2026 against each provider's own website.
| Feature | Rallee | GoFundMe | Help Hope Live |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free to start a fundraiser | Free | Free | Free |
| Total fee on each online donation | 2.9% + $0.30 | 2.9% + $0.30 | 5.65% |
| Built for | Donations plus meals, support and updates | Fundraisers of any size | Transplant, catastrophic injury or illness |
| Multiple ways to support (meals, rides, & more) | Yes | No | No |
| Embedded gift card marketplace | Yes | No | No |
Fees are what comes out of each online card donation in the US before it reaches the recipient. Help Hope Live states a total fee of 5.65% on online donations, including a 2.65% third-party processing fee; MealTrain's 7.9% + $0.30 is one combined platform and processing fee. Rallee, GoFundMe and GiveSendGo also offer donors an optional tip at checkout, added on top of the gift. "Embedded gift card marketplace" means supporters can buy a gift card for the family, such as DoorDash or Target, on the page itself. MealTrain hands off to a partner's site instead; its help centre states it "does not actually sell gift cards". "No" on multiple ways to support or on gift cards means the provider's own site listed no such feature when we checked in October 2026.
The short answer
Which GoFundMe alternative is right for you?
Compare which fundraising tool is best for your situation.
Best if the family needs more than money
Rallee
The donation fund sits next to other support you add like meals, rides, errands and updates all on one page. Same fees as GoFundMe.
Best if you want a simple standalone fundraiser
Spotfund
A free fundraiser with a 0% platform fee and a 2.9% + $0.30 card fee, with categories for medical, emergency and memorial causes.
Best for specific medical expenses
Help Hope Live
A nonprofit holds the money and pays medical bills directly. 5.65% fee for online donations.
Do the math
What $1,000 from friends nets on each platform
Twenty friends giving $50 each leaves the family between $915 and $967, depending on the platform. Rallee and GoFundMe land on exactly the same number. What changes is everything else the page can do.
| Platform | Fee per donation | Fees on $1,000 | The family receives | Other benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rallee | 2.9% + $0.30 | $35.00 | $965.00 | Meals, rides, errands, childcare, gift cards, updates and messages, all on the same page |
| GoFundMe | 2.9% + $0.30 | $35.00 | $965.00 | Updates, emailed to subscribed supporters |
| GiveSendGo | 2.7% + $0.30 | $33.00 | $967.00 | A Pray button |
| Spotfund | 2.9% + $0.30 | $35.00 | $965.00 | Quick and easy donations |
| Help Hope Live | 5.65% | $56.50 | $943.50 | Medical bills paid or reimbursed by the nonprofit |
| MealTrain | 7.9% + $0.30 | $85.00 | $915.00 | A meal calendar; rides, errands and childcare with the $10 upgrade |
How we worked it out: twenty US card donations of $50, each charged the provider's published fee: 2.9% + $0.30 on Rallee, GoFundMe and Spotfund, 2.7% + $0.30 on GiveSendGo, 5.65% on Help Hope Live and 7.9% + $0.30 on MealTrain. That is $1.75, $1.65, about $2.83 and $4.25 per gift, times twenty. It assumes no donor chooses to cover the fee, which Help Hope Live and some others allow. Optional tips are left out because they are added on top of a gift and do not come out of it. Rallee, GoFundMe and GiveSendGo all offer donors a tip at checkout. Help Hope Live holds the money and pays medical bills rather than paying the family directly.
Money or meals
GoFundMe or a meal train?
Many families need donations and help with meals or cleaning, childcare, and errands. Instead of having multiple links, you can do everything on Rallee.
GoFundMe
Only for donations
- 2.9% + $0.30 per donation, with a 0% platform fee.
- No meal calendar, rides or errands, so you need a second site for those.
MealTrain
Schedules meals, add donations with high fees, pay for upgrades
- Donations carry a 7.9% + $0.30 platform and processing fee.
- Adding rides, errands and childcare need the $10 MealTrain Plus upgrade.
Rallee is an all-in-one care platform
Choose donations and 16 optional support types, plus custom support for whatever you need. Friends who can't cook can give. Friends who live nearby can bring dinner or drive.
- Donations: 0% platform fee, only 2.9% plus $0.30 card processing, the same as GoFundMe.
- An easy to use meal calendar and gift cards
- Add rides, errands, childcare, and updates, with no upgrade to pay for.
Fair is fair
Where GoFundMe is the better choice
If you want your fundraiser searchable on Google or allow for strangers to donate to you from finding your page on GoFundMe, then GoFundMe is the right choice.
Reach
Millions of people turn to it in times of need, and a fundraiser can be shown in its search, discovery and communities. If you need strangers to find you, start there.
International payouts
GoFundMe allows for payouts for beneficiaries from multiple countries. Rallee requires a US bank account for payouts.
Faster payouts
GoFundMe says bank transfers take 2 to 5 business days. Rallee uses Pledge to process donations. Payouts arrive 7 to 10 business days after the first donation.
Ways to help
More than a donate button
A Rallee page has a fundraiser and 16 optional support types, plus custom support for whatever you need. Every one is optional, so turn on only what the family needs:
Share updates
Deliver a meal
Donate
Give coffee/tea
Give a gift
Provide transportation
Help with kids
Give flowers
Help with pets
Help clean
Visit
Check in
Run an errand
Unlimited custom support
DonationsThe fundraiser, with a goal and recent gifts.
Meal calendarOn the same page as the money.
Rides and errandsFriends claim what they can do.
Gift cardsFor friends who live too far away to cook.
UpdatesPost once. Everyone following is notified.
MessagesNotes of encouragement in one place.
Setting up the fund? See how donations, payouts and refunds work on Rallee, or how to start a meal train on the same page.
“It was so great to have a central place where I could update all my friends and family. It would have been exhausting doing this via text and calls.”
FAQ
GoFundMe alternatives: common questions
The best GoFundMe alternatives are Rallee, Spotfund and Help Hope Live. Rallee is the best fit when the family needs more than money: the donation fund sits beside meals, rides, errands and updates, with 16 support types, plus custom support for whatever you need. Spotfund is easy to use and has the same credit card processing fees. Help Hope Live suits transplant and catastrophic injury or illness, where a nonprofit holds the funds.
Only slightly. GiveSendGo charges 2.7% + $0.30 per US donation against GoFundMe's 2.9% + $0.30, which is about $2 less on twenty $50 gifts. Rallee and Spotfund charge the same as GoFundMe. Help Hope Live (5.65% online) and MealTrain (7.9% + $0.30) cost more. Several of them, Rallee and GoFundMe included, also offer donors an optional tip at checkout.
GoFundMe is built for reach, and its site says millions of people turn to it in times of need. Help Hope Live is built for transplant and catastrophic injury or illness, and pays providers directly or reimburses you for eligible expenses. Rallee works best when the person also needs rides to treatment, meals and someone to post updates, so the money and the help live on one page.
Yes. On GoFundMe you can turn off the setting that shows a fundraiser in search, discovery and communities, though anyone with the link can still open it. Rallee pages are not indexed by search engines, so only people you share the link with can find the page, and you can require approval before anyone joins.
Keep reading
More resources
The best meal train apps, comparedSix free meal train apps and sites: meal calendars, help beyond meals, and what each charges on donations.
The best CaringBridge alternatives, comparedHealth updates plus practical help on one page, and where donations go on each site.
The best Lotsa Helping Hands alternatives, comparedCare calendars for meals, rides and tasks, with updates, gift cards and donations.
How to set up a meal trainStep by step, with what to include, an invite you can copy, and how long a meal train should last.
Share health updates with family and friendsA free, private page for updates and messages, with meals, rides and donations when you need them.
Free, no ads
Let people help in more ways than one.
Start a free Rallee in under 1 minute, turn on donations and anything else you need, and share one link.
Start a free RalleeBy Kevin Holst, Co-Founder, Rallee · Published · Updated
How we compared these tools. Every claim in the table was checked against the provider's own website on October 1, 2026, and every source is linked below.
The fee math assumes US card donations with no fee covered by the donor.
If you find something here that is wrong or out of date, tell us and we will fix it.
Sources (16)
- MealTrain — “MealTrain.com does not actually sell gift cards. The buttons on MealTrain.com take participants to partner companies”
- GoFundMe — pricing: no fee to start or manage, 2.9% + $0.30 per donation, optional donor contributions
- GoFundMe — the GoFundMe Giving Guarantee
- GoFundMe — “Millions of people turn to GoFundMe in times of need”
- GoFundMe — common questions, including bank transfer timing
- GoFundMe Help Center — making your fundraiser private
- GoFundMe Help Center — how to post a GoFundMe update
- Help Hope Live — FAQs: fees and fund requests
- GiveSendGo Help Center — understanding fees on GiveSendGo
- GiveSendGo — homepage, including the Pray button
- Spotfund — homepage: 0% platform fees, features and categories
- Spotfund — comparison page listing its credit card fee of 2.9% + $0.30
- MealTrain — “a standard 7.9% + $0.30 platform and processing fee”
- MealTrain Plus — what the $10 upgrade adds
- Pledge Help Center — the costs of personal fundraisers on Rallee's donation partner
- Pledge Help Center — when payouts arrive
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