Guide for small nonprofits
The short answer
Compare the installation, maintenance and donor-management work behind each approach. With DonatoTomato, the plugin embeds a hosted giving form, and donor records, receipts and donation accounting live in your dashboard.
Your choice affects both your website and the people managing donations. Compare how forms are placed, where donor records live, and who maintains the donation platform and the website.
Updated October 1, 2026
Start with the work your team needs to do: accept one-time and monthly gifts, organize donor history, send receipts and review donation accounting. Then compare the installation and ongoing website responsibilities for each setup.
A self-hosted WordPress donation plugin is capable, but it is software you host and maintain on your own WordPress site, and several of the features nonprofits rely on most, like recurring donations and fee recovery, often live in paid add-on bundles. You also own the updates, the backups, and keeping the card flow secure on your own hosting.
With DonatoTomato, the giving form, donor records and receipts run on the hosted platform. The WordPress plugin embeds the form, and Stripe handles the payment fields. You manage your website and install or update the plugin as part of that work. See our GiveWP comparison for a specific alternative.
| What matters | Self-hosted plugin | Hosted widget (DonatoTomato) |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting and updates | You install, update, and keep it secure | Donation platform hosted by DonatoTomato; you maintain the site and plugin |
| Recurring and fee recovery | Often paid add-on bundles | Included in our flat 1% platform fee |
| Card security | Depends on your site and hosting security | Card data never touches your site (Stripe-hosted fields) |
| WordPress placement | WordPress-native | WordPress plugin: site-wide floating button or inline form |
| Where donations go | Your own gateway, which you configure and maintain | Straight into your own Stripe, you are the merchant of record |
Use the WordPress plugin for a floating Donate button or an inline form. Monthly giving, receipts after gifts complete, donor management and donation accounting are included in our 1% platform fee, and we charge no monthly fee and no setup fee. Stripe processing fees are additional. A monthly gift also carries Stripe's own fee for running the repeating charge, billed to your Stripe account. Stripe handles payment fields, and donations land directly in your own Stripe account, so you are the merchant of record. You maintain your WordPress site and plugin; we host the donation platform.
Yes. DonatoTomato supports US bank account gifts (ACH), both one-time and new monthly gifts. Email hello@donatotomato.com to enable bank gifts for your organization. We will help you confirm the required Stripe bank-email setting before switching them on. Existing recurring gifts are not automatically moved to a bank account.
Compare the giving features, donor records, reporting and maintenance responsibilities your team needs. DonatoTomato hosts the giving platform and includes monthly giving, receipts, donor management and donation accounting in its 1% platform fee. Stripe processing fees are additional. A monthly gift also carries Stripe's own fee for running the repeating charge, billed to your Stripe account. You maintain your website and the WordPress plugin.
DonatoTomato hosts and maintains the giving platform. You manage your WordPress website and install or update the plugin as part of that work.
Stripe handles the payment fields inside the embedded giving flow. The DonatoTomato plugin adds no donor or payment records to the WordPress database. Your website still needs its usual maintenance and security work.
GiveWP is a self-hosted WordPress plugin: free core, with paid annual add-on bundles for features like recurring giving and fee recovery, and you install, update, and keep it secure. DonatoTomato hosts the giving platform, with monthly giving, receipts, donor management and donation accounting included and no add-on bundles to buy. You maintain your website and plugin. See our GiveWP alternative comparison for the full side by side, including fees.
DonatoTomato is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by GiveWP. Product names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are used here only for comparison and identification. Comparisons reflect published information as of September 2026 and may change, please verify current pricing and details on each provider's website.