Givebutter vs Little Green Light (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Givebutter grades higher than Little Green Light: 3.0 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Givebutter grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Givebutter
Free fundraising platform with a built-in nonprofit CRM
Little Green Light
Donor management database for small and mid-size nonprofits
Which one is for you
Pick Givebutter if
- Fits if you are a small nonprofit that wants fundraising pages and a CRM at no fee
- Works for event and auction fundraising with one tool
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: free depends on optional donor tips; without them a 3% fee applies on top of card fees
- Tight if you want automation, reporting or texting, which need Plus
- Pricey if your list grows: Plus is $129 a month at 2,500 contacts
- Skip it if you want to avoid fee talks with donors
Pick Little Green Light if
- Fits if you run a small nonprofit and want every feature at one price per record count
- Works for teams of any size, since users are unlimited
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if your organization is in the EU, UK or Switzerland, as the vendor does not sell there
- Pricey if your list is large: $135 a month at 50,000 records and $15 more per extra 10,000
- Watch out: online gifts also pay processor fees of 2.2% plus $0.30 and up
- Skip it if you want phone apps, as none are listed
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAGivebutterVery good | 2.4GPALittle Green LightFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree with unlimited users and contacts, against a category middle of $29. Plus starts at $29 a month for 250 contacts, so the free part is substantial for a small nonprofit. | C$45 a month for up to 2,500 records, rising to $135 at 50,000, against a category middle of $29. Unlimited users and every feature are on every tier. |
| Free plan and trial | BA free plan with the CRM, forms, events, auctions and email blasts. It is funded by tips; without them a 3% fee plus card processing applies. | C30-day free trial on every new account with no card required. After that there is no free plan. |
| Features | BDonor CRM, forms and pages, events, auctions, email, text and direct mail, and Tap to Pay. Nothing in the listing is missing from the fundraising core, but automation and texting need Plus. | BConstituent and gift records, acknowledgments and receipts, email and appeals, online donation forms and reports for major gifts. Nothing in the listing is missing from a donor database's core job. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. A web app where you build your campaign pages and forms. | CNo store rating on record. You import and set up your records and forms before it pays off. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with PayPal, Venmo, QuickBooks Online and Meta. No desktop app is listed. | BWeb only, with Mailchimp, Constant Contact, Stripe, PayPal, QuickBooks Online and Zapier. No desktop or phone apps are listed. |
| Best for | free fundraising pages with a built-in donor CRM | donor records for small and mid-size nonprofits |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Givebutter and Little Green Light. How we grade
Price against what you get
Givebutter starts at $29 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Little Green Light starts at $45 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Givebutter starts $16 a month lower. Of the other CRM tools on the chart, 6 score higher than Givebutter for less, and 7 score higher than Little Green Light for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Givebutter also covers workflow automation, sMS marketing and ticketing.
- Little Green Light also covers tasks.
At a glance
| Givebutter | Little Green Light | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $29 per month for up to 250 contacts, billed annually ($33.80 billed monthly) | $45 per month for up to 2,500 constituents, billed monthly |
| Free plan | Free: unlimited users, contacts, email blasts and campaigns, with donation forms, events, auctions and the CRM. Funded by optional donor tips. | None |
| Free trial | 30-day commitment-free test of Givebutter Plus | 30 days free on every new account, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Givebutter | Little Green Light, LLC |
| Price read from | givebutter.com | littlegreenlight.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Givebutter
- Free use depends on optional donor tips; turning tips off adds a 3% platform fee and standard processing fees.
- Automation, reporting, texting and phone support need Plus, priced by contacts from $29 a month billed annually.
- Plus tiers above 2,500 contacts are chosen on a slider and a 50,000+ tier goes through sales.
- Plus prices are higher billed monthly: $33.80, $92.90 and $150.50 at the first three tiers.
Little Green Light
- The vendor says it does not offer Little Green Light to organizations in the EU, UK or Switzerland.
- Online donations carry processor fees of 2.2% plus $0.30 per transaction and up, paid to the processor.
- Cost rises with record count: $135 a month at 50,000 constituents and $15 more per further 10,000.
- Platform is web only; the pages list no desktop or mobile apps.
Key features
Givebutter
- Donor management CRM
- Tracks every transaction and donor activity, with shareable reports. Unlimited contacts in the free CRM.
- Donation forms and fundraising pages
- Forms, donate buttons, pledge donations, peer-to-peer fundraising pages and text-to-donate.
- Events and auctions
- Fundraising events with ticketing and auctions run on the same platform as donations.
- Email, text and direct mail
- Email blasts are free; texting, fundraising blocks in emails and discounted direct mail are Plus features.
- Wallet and Tap to Pay
- Givebutter Wallet holds settled funds and has spend cards, and the mobile app supports Tap to Pay.
- Givebutter Magic
- AI tools aimed at helping nonprofits draft and plan fundraising work.
Little Green Light
- Constituent and gift records
- Keeps donors, volunteers and members in one database with every gift, tags, documents and a log of mailings, emails, meetings and tasks.
- Acknowledgments and receipts
- Produces thank-you letters and receipts by mail or email from inside the system, plus mail-merge letters, labels and envelopes.
- Email and appeals
- Builds, schedules and sends emails for acknowledgments, appeals and event invitations, with segmented lists for solicitations.
- LGL Forms for online donations
- Donation forms that sync gifts into constituent records; payments are processed through Stripe or PayPal.
- Reports and major gifts
- Built-in and custom reports, scheduled reports, a dashboard of fundraising totals, and task series for managing major gift prospects.
Plans
Givebutter
Free$0
No platform fee with tips on; a 3% platform fee plus standard 2.9% + 30¢ processing applies if tips are off.
Plus, up to 250 contacts$29
per month, billed annually ($33.80 billed monthly)
Automated workflows, tasks, reporting, texting, video messages, QuickBooks Online and priority phone support.
Plus, up to 1,000 contacts$79
per month, billed annually ($92.90 billed monthly)
Same Plus features. Larger tiers (2,500, 5,000, 10,000, 50,000+) are on the page's slider.
Plus, up to 2,500 contacts$129
per month, billed annually ($150.50 billed monthly)
Same Plus features. Over the limit you pay for extra contacts in increments of 100.
Little Green Light
Up to 2,500 constituents$45
per month for up to 2,500 constituents, billed monthly
Every feature and unlimited users on every tier; the price follows the record count.
Up to 5,000 constituents$60
per month for up to 5,000 constituents, billed monthly
Same features. The price rises with the record count: $75 at 10,000 and $90 at 20,000.
Up to 50,000 constituents$135
per month for up to 50,000 constituents, billed monthly
Above 50,000 records it adds $15 a month per 10,000; accounts top out at 200,000 records.
Ways to pay less
Givebutter
- Annual discount
Annual billing on Givebutter Plus
Annual billing lowers Plus to $29, $79 and $129 a month at the first three tiers, against $33.80, $92.90 and $150.50 billed monthly.
Little Green Light
- Annual discount
10% off for prepaying 12 months
Prepaying 12 months takes 10% off the monthly price; 6 months gets 5% and 3 months gets 2.5%.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Givebutter or Little Green Light?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Givebutter is cheaper to start with: $29 a month, against $45 a month for Little Green Light. Givebutter starts at $29 per month for up to 250 contacts, billed annually ($33.80 billed monthly), and Little Green Light starts at $45 per month for up to 2,500 constituents, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, Givebutter or Little Green Light?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Givebutter has a free plan. Little Green Light does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Givebutter and Little Green Light run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Givebutter lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.