CharityAuctions (formerly Charity Auctions Today) is for the volunteer or board member who runs a $1,000 to $75,000 event on top of a real job. $0 upfront. Nothing Out of Pocket is 5%. Prepay and Save starts at $499 plus 3%. No sales call. No tip prompt. Rated 4.9/5. Median 10 minutes to first item. BiddingOwl is free to set up for paper bid sheets, charges a 5% performance fee on online and mobile bids, and offers a Buyer's Premium of 1% to 15%.
BiddingOwl alternative
Create Your Free Account.
Rated 4.9/5. $0 upfront. No sales call. Median 10 minutes to first item. Test it together before you decide. Nothing public until you say so.
Create Your Free Account →Nothing Out of Pocket 5% · Prepay and Save $499+3% · No tip prompt
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You chair the fundraiser on top of a real job. CharityAuctions is built for that volunteer. Small and medium nonprofits and schools. About $1,000 to $75,000 per event.
BiddingOwl is also built for nonprofit auctions. The gap is checkout. CharityAuctions has no tip prompt. BiddingOwl charges a 5% performance fee on online and mobile bids and offers a Buyer's Premium.
| Compare | CharityAuctions | BiddingOwl |
|---|---|---|
| Who it's for | Volunteer-led small and medium nonprofits and schools | Nonprofit auction fundraising |
| Upfront | $0 | $0 to set up |
| You pay | 5% or $499+3% | 5% performance fee on online/mobile bids. Paper sheets free. Optional Buyer's Premium 1–15% |
| Sales call | No | No |
| App required | No | No |
| Tip prompt at checkout | No | Optional Buyer's Premium / supporter contribution |
Rated 4.9/5. Median 10 minutes to first item.
BiddingOwl positions itself as a nonprofit auction fundraising management tool. They offer online and mobile bidding, virtual and in-person auctions, BiddingOwl paddle raises, crowdfunding, tickets, and donations. Setup is free for traditional auctions with paper bid sheets. They charge a 5% performance fee on winning bids when you run online or mobile bidding. They offer a Buyer's Premium option of 1% to 15% so organizations can pass fees to supporters and keep 100%. Support is by phone Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm Eastern with 24/7 critical emergency support.
Contact BiddingOwl directly for current rates.
CharityAuctions is $0 upfront. Nothing Out of Pocket is 5%. Prepay and Save starts at $499 plus 3%. No sales call. No tip prompt. In-browser mobile bidding. You build a private demo for the team. Nothing public until you say so.
CharityAuctions uses three published plans and does not use a Buyer's Premium. See our charity auction platform pricing for a full breakdown.
CharityAuctions: In-browser mobile bidding. Guests open your auction link on their phone. No app download. Real-time bidding, outbid alerts, and checkout are built in.
BiddingOwl: Mobile-optimized bidding. Access from any device. SMS and email notifications. No app required. Supports watchlists and proxy bidding.
Both support in-browser mobile bidding without an app.
CharityAuctions provides text, phone, and live walk-through support at no extra cost. Support is included before, during, and after your event. Talk to our team to connect directly.
BiddingOwl: Human support only. No AI or bots. Phone support Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm Eastern, plus 24/7 critical emergency support. No extra charges for support or features.
Both platforms support online and mobile bidding, silent and live auctions, ticketing, raffles, donations, and custom event websites.
CharityAuctions focuses on the auction a volunteer chair can run on weeknights.
BiddingOwl is also built for charity auction fundraising. They offer crowdfunding, round-up donations at checkout, event duplication, and paper bid sheets.
Some fundraising platforms add a pre-checked tip at checkout. Donors think it helps the nonprofit. Then they feel deceived, and you own the angry email. Extra often goes to the platform. CharityAuctions.com platform data: these prompts can add 20% to 30% to a donor's intended payment. Buyer's Premium and supporter contribution prompts work the same way. Givebutter and GoFundMe are examples of platforms facing lawsuits over alleged tip prompts.
CharityAuctions does not use a tip prompt. Your organization chooses one of two options:
Either way, donors see one clear total before they pay.
See our charity auction platform pricing page for a full breakdown of how fees work.
Consider CharityAuctions if you want:
Build a private demo for the team. Test it together before you decide. Nothing public until you say so. Or talk to our team.
BiddingOwl is built for nonprofit auction fundraising. It offers free setup for traditional auctions with paper bid sheets, a 5% fee on online and mobile bids, and a Buyer's Premium option. It includes phone support with a 24/7 emergency line. Contact BiddingOwl directly for current pricing and features.
See our full comparison of charity auction platforms to evaluate all options.
CharityAuctions vs BiddingOwl is no tip prompt vs a 5% performance fee and optional Buyer's Premium. CharityAuctions is $0 upfront. 5% or $499+3%. No sales call. BiddingOwl is free to set up for paper sheets and charges 5% when bidding moves online.
Compare CharityAuctions to more platforms or build a private demo for the team. See our silent auction software guide for more context.
Try it first
Test it together before you decide. Nothing public until you say so. $0 upfront. Free 5%, prepaid $499 plus 3%.
Create Your Free Account →CharityAuctions vs BiddingOwl on price: CharityAuctions is $0 upfront. Nothing Out of Pocket is a 5% success fee. Prepay and Save starts at $499 plus 3%. No sales call. No tip prompt. BiddingOwl is free to set up for traditional auctions with paper bid sheets. They charge a 5% performance fee on winning bids when you run online or mobile bidding. BiddingOwl offers a Buyer's Premium of 1% to 15% so organizations can pass fees to supporters.
No. CharityAuctions does not use a tip prompt, Buyer's Premium, or optional checkout fee. Plans are 5% or $499 plus 3%. Donors see one clear total before they pay. BiddingOwl offers a Buyer's Premium of 1% to 15%. CharityAuctions.com platform data: tip and premium prompts can add 20% to 30% to a donor's intended payment. Extra often goes to the platform. The nonprofit owns the angry email.
Neither platform requires an app. CharityAuctions uses in-browser mobile bidding. Guests open a link on their phone and bid in real time. BiddingOwl offers mobile-optimized bidding from any device with SMS and email notifications. CharityAuctions is $0 upfront. Plans are 5% or $499 plus 3%.
Yes. Build a private demo for the team. Test it together before you decide. Nothing public until you say so. No credit card. CharityAuctions plans are 5% or $499 plus 3%. BiddingOwl also offers free setup.
CharityAuctions provides text, phone, and live walk-through support at no extra cost. Support is included before, during, and after your event. $0 upfront. Plans are 5% or $499 plus 3%. BiddingOwl offers phone support Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm Eastern, plus 24/7 critical emergency support.
BiddingOwl is built for nonprofit auction fundraising. It offers free paper-bid-sheet setup, a 5% performance fee on online and mobile bids, and an optional Buyer's Premium. CharityAuctions is for volunteer-led small and medium nonprofits and schools. $0 upfront. 5% or $499+3%. No sales call. No tip prompt.
Donor tipping is a checkout prompt that adds a suggested percentage on top of a donor's payment. Some platforms pre-check it. Donors think it helps the nonprofit. Then they feel deceived, and you own the angry email. Extra often goes to the platform. CharityAuctions.com platform data: these prompts can add 20% to 30% to a donor's intended payment. Buyer's Premium prompts work the same way. Givebutter and GoFundMe are examples of platforms facing lawsuits over alleged tip prompts. CharityAuctions does not use a tip prompt. Plans are 5% or $499 plus 3%.
