13 Top Charity Online Auction Sites: Compare, Contrast, Decide

CharityAuctionsToday is widely reviewed as a top online auction site, but it’s not the only one with strong user approval. We encourage you to explore other top online auction sites to ensure you select the one best suited to achieve your fundraising goals.

Why Take Your Charity Auction Event Online?

The magical thing about online auction sites is the ability to reach bidders from all over the country, increasing the bidding pool—and profits. Physical limitations of traditional auctions, such as geographical or timing issues, are past worries, thanks to online auction sites.  

There are dozens of online auction sites for your fundraiser. Almost any platform you choose to host your online charity auction will work. However some will work better for your needs than others, which is why we have reviewed 13 of today’s top rated online auction sites for you.  

What makes one online auction site better than another? 

It depends on your goals or what’s important to your organization. Cost may be a crucial factor. Others may want to work with a partner who is a charity auction expert.

Browse the top 13 online auction sites below to get a feel for what’s available. You’ll find that everyone on this list of online auction websites will “do,” but the hard part is determining how to differentiate them to select the best charity auction site for your fundraiser.

This is a piece about auction platforms: explore our pieces detailing the 10 best general fundraising platforms and the 10 best fundraising platforms for nonprofits.

Be wary of “free” auction software

Beware of auction software that claims to be “free.” More specifically, a free charity auction site or free online bidding site. As the saying goes, there are no free lunches, even in the fundraising auction business. No auction site is truly free. There are costs required to run auction software or apps.

• Those costs may be explicit or implicit. Think about the added time you need to spend to work with a poorly maintained piece of software, one that doesn’t have the budget for the talent necessary to maintain it. “Free” auction software will not be quality software.
• Think about security and privacy laws – do you want your bidders’ contact details (and payment details) sold to a third party, be available to a determined hacker, or simply not comply with current regulations in the first place? Free online auctions might cost you in other ways.
• Think about availability and reliability: will the free auction software be operational when you host your auction? Ask to see their uptime percentage. An ideal uptime percentage is 99.999.

We recommend an online auction platform that has no up-front costs, which is different than free. In fact, no costs until your auction is over, like CharityAuctionsToday. This way, you never have to spend any money until you have money to spend. No up-front costs, plus a long list of benefits to support your auction’s success, are features that our clients trust. 

Learn more about why there’s no such thing as a free online auction site.

If you don’t want to take the time to review the top 13 online auction sites that we have researched below, then jump right in and take a test drive of our easy-to-use online auction platform, CharityAuctionsToday.

Questions to Ask Charity Auction Sites

You might have your own list of questions of course, but here are a few you should consider asking about each platform you consider. Below, we’ve picked out a few of the most important questions to highlight for each of the 13 auction sites we’ve detailed.

• How high are performance fees, transaction fees and/or one-time fees?
• Ask about other/hidden fees!
• Is it customizable in such a way that the auction fits your organization or goal? Or does it just work out of the box?
• Can it integrate with other software? If so, is it plug-and-play?
• Does the software not only allow me to bring my own bidders but also boost (not replace!) my efforts by bringing in people browsing auctions, too?
• Is live support available, or is it an online knowledge base only? Is support free or paid? Do I only get support when I ask for it, or does a trained, experienced customer success team help me raise as much money as possible?
• Is a credit card needed to take a test drive?
• Ask them what their server uptime is. It should be “up or live” 99.99% or 99.999% of the time, which is as close to a guarantee that it will be live as you can get.  

Those are the top considerations. If you have specific needs such as event tickets, customized invoices, or popcorn bidding—just ask the auction site if their platform has these customizations.

PRO TIP: If you want to go a step further, read their Google reviews to learn what users like and don’t like. Read ours!

Shortcut: Compare CharityAuctionsToday and Four More Top Auction Sites

Top 13 Charity Auction Sites to Consider

CharityAuctionsToday

Let’s start with us as the benchmark: A versatile online charity auction site, CharityAuctionsToday supports individuals, nonprofits, schools, and businesses in their fundraising experience so that they can raise even more funds for the causes they care so much about. We are proud of our stellar reviews and are continually improving our platform.

The top two features that users love are our incredible live support, and that event set-up takes less than five minutes!  If you want to run a smaller auction, our flex plans are for you: they don’t require any money upfront, as you will be charged a commission on the amount of money raised as payment.

If you set your sights on a bigger auction, opt for a prepaid plan (starting at a low $297), which varies in price depending on the size of your event. These allow a lot of flexibility in how much you pay. Whichever way you choose to go, our Auction Success Managers will be there to support you every step of the way.

Key Features:

• Preconfigured: Our default fundraising auction asks you for a title, a beneficiary, and an item. It’s easy to do—anyone can do it and there is no technical experience needed. 
• Online, mobile, and live in-person bidding to enable hybrid and remote fundraising auctions: Reach bidders online, at home, and at your event.
• Manage your auction and items (and add risk-free consignment items provided by our partners), and collect payments in one platform. Spend time promoting your auction instead of configuring it.
• Fast and friendly support included: Our Auction Success Managers have helped thousands of fundraisers make the most for their charity.

Not only are our charity auctions easy to set up, but CharityAuctionsToday offers seamless functionality across all devices and auction types. This simplifies the management process and bidding for the users, making it easier to raise money and capture donor information. 

Decision-maker checklist:

• What are this auction site’s fees?
  • We have two plans: On our Flex plan, our platform fee is 5%, processing is 3% + $0.30 per transaction, and is free to start. Our Pre-Paid plan costs a subscription fee of $297-$1500, platform fees of 0% to 3%, and the same processing fee of 3% + $0.30 per transaction. The Pre-Paid plan is best for very large events with lots of items and bidders: we can help you understand whether it’s right for your needs.
• Is this auction platform customizable? 
  • Yes, you can create custom event pages and opt into flexible features like popcorn bidding, staggered start and end times, donation buttons and more.
• Does this site integrate with other software?
  • Yes, CharityAuctionsToday offers integrations with Classy, Kindful, Constant Contact, as well as a number of payment processors like Stripe.
• Is live support available, and if so, does it cost more?
  • Yes, your Auction Success Manager is available to help you throughout the duration of your event. Our staff will help you with questions and troubleshooting from set-up, invoicing, and receiving your payout, all at no extra charge.
• Does this auction site help expand my reach?
  • Yes! Not only can you opt-in to our public Marketplace, allowing anyone with an account to bid on your items, but we enjoy spreading the word about great causes and their fundraising. 

OneCause

OneCause is a pioneer of the online auction, alongside CharityAuctionsToday. They are a great choice if you are looking for more than just auction features, as they offer mobile campaigns, fundraising pages, and peer-to-peer solutions in addition to auctions.

OneCause does not offer free trials. Per G2, OneCause’s prices start at $495. Be aware that their first auction/event pricing tier (these are combined features in their pricing plans), the Essentials plan, does not include silent auctions or live auctions at all.

Decision-maker checklist:

• What are this auction platform’s fees?
  • OneCause is a subscription-based platform that starts at $495, however their basic plan does not include silent or live auctions, but other fundraising features.
• Is this auction platform customizable?
  • Yes, OneCause offers a variety of fundraising options outside of auctions.
• Does this auction site integrate with other software?
  • Yes, OneCause integrates with Salesforce, MailChimp and other third-parties.
• Is live support available, and if so, does it cost more?
  • All of OneCause’s price tiers include phone and email support.
• Does this auction site help expand my reach?
  • No, OneCause does not have a public Marketplace option where anyone with a login can bid, though they also love to highlight fundraiser successes on their channels.

Read our in-depth comparison of CharityAuctionsToday vs. OneCause

BiddingForGood

BiddingForGood is now owned by Frontstream, a digital fundraising platform that can help you organize peer-to-peer fundraisers (like walks, runs, rides, etc.) in addition to charity auctions, donor management and even corporate sponsorships. 

Although this “all-in-one” digital platform does not make its prices publicly available, it offers yearly subscriptions that are sure to be on the higher end due to its comprehensive nature. 

Decision-maker checklist:

• What are this platform’s fees?
  • BiddingForGood’s parent company, Frontstream, doesn’t make its prices public. As a yearly subscription service, their prices are likely to be on the higher side of the auction site spectrum.
• Is this auction platform customizable?
  • Yes, BiddingForGood offers not just auctions but a number of other fundraising tools and features.
• Does this site integrate with other software?
  • BiddingForGood integrates with payment processors but notably not with any CRMs.
• Is live support available, and if so, does it cost more?
  • BiddingForGood offers phone and email support at no extra cost.
• Does this auction site help expand my reach?
  • Yes, BiddingForGood makes its auctions public, allowing anyone to search them by category.

Read our in-depth comparison of CharityAuctionsToday vs. BiddingforGood

GalaBid

GalaBid allows you to set up events that host silent auctions, raffles, accept donations, and more. This platform can help you crowdfund for your cause and host either in-person or purely online auctions and events for your convenience. 

GalaBid pricing plans start at “Free” plus processing fees that you can choose to pass on to your event participants. At this level, your participants will also be asked to tip the platform itself, a feature that GalaBid allows you to turn off at its higher price tiers. This “free” auction website tier however does not include customizable mass communications, consultation calls before your event launches, text-to-register, or the ability to mark invoices as paid in person, to name just a few that we think are the most important. Its next tier offers a slightly less limited range of features starting at a 4.9% software fee plus processing fees, and the option to pass all fees onto participants.

Decision-maker checklist:

• What are this platform’s fees?
  • As we outlined above, GalaBid offers three pricing tiers, starting at “Free” plus processing fees and a request for tips from your bidders. Their second tier has a 4.9% platform fee, and their third tier starts at $1,250 USD.
• Is this auction platform customizable?
  • Yes, GalaBid offers a variety of auction and fundraising features, though some features are not available at their “Free” tier.
• Does this auction site integrate with other software?
  • Although GalaBid integrates with some payment processors, it does not offer CRM or many other third party integrations.
• Is live support available, and if so, does it cost more?
  • GalaBid offers support via chat, WhatsApp, and email at all tiers.
• Does this auction site help expand my reach?
  • No, GalaBid does not offer a public auction marketplace.

Read our in-depth comparison of CharityAuctionsToday vs. GalaBid

Charitybuzz

Charitybuzz helps connect big spenders with charities that can benefit from them. Nonprofits can net big profits when they can auction off big ticket entertainment, luxury travel, and other experiences on this platform. Charitybuzz requires a minimum estimated value of $1,000 for each item, to ensure that it will appeal to their pool of affluent bidders. It’s also important to note that Charitybuzz is not a self-serve auction site: you must hire them to administer your auction, for which they charge a premium. Though this tool might be out of reach for some nonprofits, it is free to get started, and you will net roughly 80% of your auction total.

Decision-maker checklist:

• What are this platform’s fees?
  • Charitybuzz takes roughly 20% of every auction’s total.
• Is this auction platform customizable?
  • Not exactly: when you sign up for Charitybuzz you’re agreeing to let them set up your event and administer it for you. They have a variety of auction features but you won’t be in the driver’s seat to activate them or not.
• Does this auction site integrate with other software?
  • No, Charitybuzz does not integrate with other software.
• Is live support available, and if so, does it cost more?
  • You shouldn’t need much support since Charitybuzz is the one running your auction, however your auction manager is available to you at no extra cost.
• Does this auction site help expand my reach?
  • Yes, the nature of Charitybuzz is that your auction is presented to the big spenders that frequent their platform.

Read our in-depth comparison of CharityAuctionsToday vs. CharityBuzz

Auctria

Auctria is a charity auction software company dedicated to providing affordable tools to help nonprofits of any size run successful fundraising auctions. Their charity auction site was born out of the need to simplify real-time fundraising efforts by offering an affordable solution that provided their customer with a reliable, efficient fundraising tool. 

Auctria offers a powerful, easy-to-use auction with your choice of affordable silent, live, or virtual auctions. Users enjoy real-time monitoring, streamlined inventory management, detailed donor tracking, and the option for bidders to “buy now.”

While Auctria starts at a “Free” plan for unlimited events, these events are limited to 250 bidders, include a 1% credit card fee, and, most notably, do not include chat or email support if you run into issues.

Decision-maker checklist:

• What are this platform’s fees?
  • Auctria starts at a “Free” Explorer plan for unlimited events, however these events are limited to 250 bidders and this plan includes a 1% credit card fee. Their Emerald tier starts at $350/year and offers 750 bidders per event, while their Diamond tier starts at $700/year and offers 1,000.
• Is this auction platform customizable?
  • Yes, Auctria’s auction pages are customizable even at their “Free” tier.
• Does this auction site integrate with other software?
  • Auctria only offers integrations with some payment processors.
• Is live support available, and if so, does it cost more?
  • Auctria offers chat and email support, but not at its “Free” pricing tier.
• Does this auction site help expand my reach?
  • Not really, Auctria does not offer a public Marketplace for its auctions.

Compare CharityAuctionsToday with Auctria features, prices, and reviews.

ClickBid

ClickBid is one of the charity auction sites that allow schools and nonprofits to raise funds through hybrid events. Using their live auction and video services, organizations can run a variety of fundraising events through a mobile bidding app. A basic annual event license runs $795 for unlimited events. However, some features, such as mass texting/emailing are only available in their higher tiers. 

Decision-maker checklist:

• What are this platform’s fees?
  • ClickBid’s basic annual event license runs $795 for unlimited events. 
• Is this auction platform customizable?
  • Yes, ClickBid offers custom event pages, and most of its auction features are available at its lowest pricing tier.
• Does this site integrate with other software?
  • Yes, ClickBid integrates with Salesforce, Classy, Bloomerang and a number of other software partners.
• Is live support available, and if so, does it cost more?
  • Though ClickBid offers general support, this platform only offers a Dedicated Customer Advisor at their highest pricing tier, which starts at $2,295.

Get more details on how CharityAuctionsToday and Clickbid features, prices, and reviews stack up against each other.

SilentAuctionPro

SilentAuctionPro is a web-based, multi-user team environment designed to allow for the creation of an online, hybrid, or in-person auction event. The platform ranges in both pricing and offerings, their services varying from branded receipts to bid sheets and much more.

SilentAuctionPro only offers annual subscription plans, starting at $449 plus 2.0% of event proceeds, however this plan only offers in-person, “paper-based,” auctions. Their virtual/hybrid auction plan starts at $749 per year. There is no one-time auction plan on offer.

Decision-maker checklist:

• What are this platform’s fees?
  • SilentAuctionPro offers several yearly subscription plans, starting at $449 plus 2.0% of event proceeds and topping out at $899 plus 2.0% of event proceeds.
• Is this auction platform customizable?
  • Yes, but these customizable features are not available at every pricing tier. For example, custom color branding and custom banners are not available at SilentAuctionPro’s most affordable price.
• Does this site integrate with other software?
  • SilentAuctionPro integrates with some payment processors but not with other software.
• Is live support available, and if so, does it cost more?
  • SilentAuctionPro offers general support but not necessarily a dedicated auction manager, across all plans.
• Does this auction site help expand my reach?
  • SilentAuctionPro does not have a public Marketplace option.

Take an in-depth look at how CharityAuctionsToday and SilentAuctionPro stack up against each other.

ReadySetAuction

ReadySetAuction provides solutions for organizing fundraisers, keeping track of bid sheets, and everything in between. This platform can help keep track of your auction items so that you can focus on other important aspects of the auction organizing.

ReadySetAuction only offers yearly subscription plans, there is no one-off auction option available. Also important to know: ReadySetAuction’s lowest pricing tier only accommodates in-person auctions with no online item catalogue or bidding options. Starting at $1,099 per year for access to only a few of their features, this is one of the pricier online auction sites.

Decision-maker checklist:

• What are this platform’s fees?
  • ReadySetAuction plans start at $1,099 per year and top out at $1,999 per year. While this is more expensive than many auction platforms, ReadySetAuction guarantees that you’ll keep 100% of your auction proceeds.
• Is this auction platform customizable?
  • Yes, but not at its lowest pricing tier. Customizable auction pages with banners, logos, a donation button, and more are only available at ReadySetAuction’s second and third level pricing plans.
• Does this site integrate with other software?
  • ReadySetAuction integrates with some payment processors but not other software.
• Is live support available, and if so, does it cost more?
  • Live support is available at all ReadySetAuction plan levels.
• Does this auction site help expand my reach?
  • ReadySetAuction does not offer a public marketplace option nor does it offer a robust social presence that can be used to share the word about your event.

32auctions

One thing that 32auctions has that other charity auction sites don’t is the ability to restrict access to your auction event, eliminating the hassle of uninvited bidders. Some users will never use this feature, but it may come in handy to others. At CharityAuctionsToday, we offer the option to keep your bidding pool private, accessible only to people you give the link to, or to open it to our market of bidders.

As with many other free online auction sites, 32auctions offers tiered pricing from free to $370 for each auction. An a la carte menu allows users to select only the options they want.

Keep an eye out for transaction fees.* There are two sets of transaction fees, not performance fees, added. The first set is 2.9% + $0.40 per online payment or donation. The second set is from your payment processor, PayPal or Stripe. The charge depends on the payment account connected to the auction but is typically 3.49% + $0.49 per transaction for PayPal and 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction for Stripe, or lower if their non-profit discount is applied.  There are no transaction fees if you collect the payments in person instead of doing it online.

Additionally, the third-party ads on 32auctions’ free plan have been reported as confusing to bidders, unsure whether they were part of the auction or not. We feel that the only thing on your event page should be your organization and your sponsors’ information.

*This information on transaction fees can be found in the Payment & Donation section of the 32auctions pricing page.

Decision-maker checklist:

• What are this platform’s fees?
  • 32auctions offers tiered pricing from free to $370 for each auction along with transaction fees (see above). However, their free plan caps the number of items at 20, number of images per item at one, and includes 3rd party ads, which can be confusing to bidders.
• Is this auction platform customizable?
  • Yes, you can customize your auction URL, however other features like custom color schemes, a banner, and logo are not available at 32Auctions’ free pricing tier.
• Does this site integrate with other software?
  • You can link your 32Auctions account with your Google Analytics account, however we couldn’t find any other third party integrations besides payment processors PayPal and Stripe.
• Is live support available, and if so, does it cost more?
  • Email support is available on all 32Auctions’ pricing plans.
• Does this auction site help expand my reach?
  • 32Auctions makes it possible to restrict access to your auction or to open it to anyone.

GiveSmart

GiveSmart is invested in an auction, from brainstorming to training to ending the auction ahead of goal. They consider themselves a partner with skin in the game.

GiveSmart’s  reporting tools are robust and provide actionable insights to make their next auction even better. Moreover, their bookkeeping processes, integrations with nonprofit CRMs, and donor insights help streamline more than just auctions.  

Some users report that GiveSmart’s wide variety of tools and features can have a little bit of a learning curve, meaning setup might take longer than on other platforms. 

GiveSmart does not charge transaction or ticketing fees. However, although its prices are not publicly available, this likely means that their prices are on the higher end of the auction site spectrum.

Decision-maker checklist:

• What are this platform’s fees?
  • GiveSmart doesn’t make its pricing plans publicly available, you’ll have to get in touch with them for a quote. However, given the breadth of their services and their lack of transaction fees, it’s likely that they are one of the more expensive charity auction solutions on the market.
• Is this auction platform customizable?
  • Yes, GiveSmart offers a variety of auction features including customizable donation forms, text messages, and more.
• Does this site integrate with other software?
  • GiveSmart integrates with a wide variety of payment processors, communications software like Constant Contact, and CRMs like Bloomerang, Kindful, and Salesforce, to name just a few. However, some of these integrations are only available at their Expert plan level rather than what we can assume is their lowest tier, Champion.
• Is live support available, and if so, does it cost more?
  • GiveSmart offers 24/7 support at all pricing levels as well as a dedicated consultant for each event.
• Does this auction site help expand my reach?
  • GiveSmart does not have a marketplace option.

Take a close look at how CharityAuctionsToday and GiveSmart compare.

BiddingOwl

BiddingOwl is one of the classic charity auction sites. You get a comprehensive auction management system that caters to all your needs, whether planning a silent auction, live, or online auctions. They offer auction management software with a 5% performance fee paid at the close of the auction.

BiddingOwl doesn’t offer as many features as other charity auction sites, for example there is no donor management or reporting option. For small nonprofits or one-off events it is a quick option.

Decision-maker checklist:

• What are this platform’s fees?
  • BiddingOwl charges one rate, a 5% performance fee, for access to all of its features.
• Is this auction platform customizable?
  • BiddingOwl offers a customizable URL and event page as well as features like donations, paddle raise, etc.
• Does this site integrate with other software?
  • BiddingOwl integrates with payment processors but not other software.
• Is live support available, and if so, does it cost more?
  • BiddingOwl offers phone and email support as well as 24/7 emergency support services.
• Does this auction site help expand my reach?
  • BiddingOwl doesn’t offer a public marketplace option for your auction.

Take an in-depth look at how CharityAuctionsToday and BiddingOwl measure against each other.