Pricing

3% per successful transaction. Nothing else from us.

Clerestory costs 3% of each successful payment, taken on your own Stripe account, plus Stripe's processing: 2.2% + $0.30 at Stripe's non-profit rate, or 2.9% + $0.30 without it. There is no license fee, no seats, no modules, no setup fee, no contract and no minimum.

Request a demo See everything that's included

Processing a high volume? We adjust the per-transaction rate for high-volume accounts, and price will never be the reason you can't switch to Clerestory. Talk to us about your volume

What's included

Everything is included, for every organization

There are no tiers, modules or add-ons, so every organization gets the whole product from the first day. The price does not change with how many staff log in or how many records you keep, because the 3% is the only thing we charge.

No modules or tiers. Memberships, events, auctions and the gift shop are not priced separately, and there is no premium plan to upgrade to.
No seats. Add every staff member and volunteer who needs a login at no extra cost.
No setup fee and no bill. The 3% comes out at the moment of each payment, so you never receive an invoice from us.
No contract and no minimum. There is no term, no auto-renewal and no monthly floor. If nothing is sold in a quiet month, you owe us nothing that month.

See every feature in detail →

Area	What's in it
Memberships and dues	Tiers with monthly or annual terms, rolling or fixed shared expiry, grace periods, gift memberships, auto-renewal and renewal reminders you can switch on; dues billed by tier with proration
Donations	One-time and recurring gifts, multi-year pledges with automatic installments, donor fee coverage, and tax receipts sent automatically
Admission, events and classes	Walk-up admission by price tier, event tickets and sponsorships, event series with capacity, class registration with required waivers, offer codes and automatic member pricing
Auctions and raffles	Silent auction bidding from guests' own phones, live auction and paddle raise by bidder number, raffle tickets in singles or bundles, and a recorded random draw
Retail and gift shop	Inventory that decrements on each sale, member discounts at checkout and sales tax on retail items
In person	Kiosk mode on a tablet and Stripe card readers: admission, shop items, event tickets, raffle tickets and a donation in one sale, and memberships and classes at the same kiosk
Donor records and reporting	Donor search by name, email or phone, lifetime giving history, more than 30 ready-made reports including LYBUNT and SYBUNT, exports and QuickBooks Online
Online forms	Donation, membership, event and shop forms embedded on your own website
More than one entity	Separate payment accounts for a club and its foundation, or an organization and a fund, each with its own bank account, EIN and tax receipt

How the math works

What a $100 membership costs

On a $100 membership, your organization keeps $94.50, or all $100 if the member chooses to cover the fees. Here is every cent.

Our 3%. $3.00 on a $100 payment.
Stripe's processing. $2.50 at Stripe's non-profit rate: 2.2% of $100 is $2.20, plus $0.30.
When the member covers the fees. Checkout adds $5.81, the member pays $105.81, and your organization receives exactly $100.00.
Why coverage is $5.81 and not $5.50. Both fees are charged on the amount actually paid, so covering them adds a little fee on the fee: 3% of $105.81 is $3.18 and Stripe's share is $2.63. We round up so you never come out short.
The choice is the member's. Fee coverage is a checkbox at checkout, and it starts unticked.

A Clerestory membership checkout with auto-renewal switched on and a one-time gift added, showing separate fee coverage for the membership and the gift in the order summary — Clerestory: fee coverage offered on the membership and again, separately, on an added gift. Both are the member's choice, and the order summary shows exactly what each costs.

$100 membership	Organization pays the fees	Member covers the fees
Member pays	$100.00	$105.81
Clerestory's 3%	$3.00	$3.18
Stripe processing (2.2% + $0.30)	$2.50	$2.63
Your organization receives	$94.50	$100.00

How the math works

What $50,000 a year costs

On $50,000 a year at Stripe's non-profit rate, the most you would pay is $2,750, and every gift where the donor covers the fees costs you nothing. The example assumes 500 payments of $100 each. The number of payments matters because Stripe adds a flat $0.30 to every payment, on top of its 2.2%.

Our 3%. 3% of $50,000 is $1,500.
Stripe's processing. 2.2% of $50,000 is $1,100, plus $0.30 on each of 500 payments, $150: $1,250 in total.
If nobody covers the fees. $2,750 in total, or 5.5% of what you raised, and you receive $47,250.
If every donor covers the fees. Donors pay $105.81 per gift, $52,905 in total, and you receive the full $50,000.
If half of donors cover the fees. Your cost falls to $1,375, or 2.75%, and you receive $48,625.
Larger gifts cost less per dollar. Stripe's $0.30 is charged once per payment, whatever its size. Raise the same $50,000 as 100 gifts of $500 and that part falls from $150 to $30, so if nobody covers the fees you pay $2,630, or 5.26%.

$50,000 a year (500 payments of $100)	Nobody covers	Half cover	Everyone covers
Donors pay	$50,000	$51,452.50	$52,905
Clerestory's 3%	$1,500	$1,545	$1,590
Stripe processing (2.2% + $0.30)	$1,250	$1,282.50	$1,315
Cost to your organization	$2,750 (5.5%)	$1,375 (2.75%)	$0
Your organization receives	$47,250	$48,625	$50,000

Real numbers from our customers

What our customers actually paid: 3.148% all-in

Measured across every payment through August 2026, the all-in cost to our customers, software and card processing together, was 3.148%. That is lower than 3% plus Stripe because donors chose to cover the fees on many of those payments.

3.148% all-in. The total of our 3% and Stripe's processing, divided by everything paid, across every payment processed through August 2026.
44% of payers cover the fees. Across every payment through September 2026, 44% of people paying chose to cover the fees, which paid 41% of all processing fees.
Less than card processing alone. Bare Stripe at its standard 2.9% + $0.30, with no software at all, would have cost 3.177% on the very same payments.
A number you can check. Ask any vendor for its all-in cost per dollar raised: license, platform fee and card processing combined. Ours is above, to three decimal places.

Read how ten fundraising platforms price, and what each leaves out →

Refunds

Refund a payment and our 3% comes back

When you refund a payment, the 3% we took on it is returned with the refund. We charge only on successful payments, and not on the money you give back.

Example. Refund a $100 membership and the $3.00 comes back with it.
Nothing to claim. The fee is returned as part of the refund itself; there is no form and no credit to chase.
Not every platform does this. Eventbrite's help center says its ticketing fees are nonrefundable, except for a canceled event or a duplicate charge reported within seven days, as of 30 September 2026.

Compare refunds and payouts with Eventbrite →

Who pays for what

Two charges, two companies, one payment

Every payment carries exactly two charges: our 3%, and Stripe's processing on your own Stripe account. The money goes straight to your bank from Stripe, never through us.

Clerestory's 3%. The whole of our price, for the software, support and every feature, taken at the moment of each successful payment.
Stripe's processing. Stripe's rate, charged by Stripe. Customers with Stripe's non-profit rate pay 2.2% + $0.30 on online card payments; without it, Stripe's standard 2.9% + $0.30 applies.
Your organization is the merchant of record. Payments run as direct charges on your own Stripe account, so the charges, the dispute history and the payout schedule are yours.
Payouts to your bank. Stripe pays out to your bank account on your account's schedule, and ticket money arrives whether or not the event has happened yet.
One bank account or several. A club and its foundation, or an organization and a fund, can each have their own payment account, bank account and EIN.

Clerestory's Payment Accounts settings, with two legal entities on one organization, each with its own tax classification — Clerestory: two payment accounts on one organization, each with its own bank account and tax classification.

How Clerestory compares

What other non-profit platforms publish about price

Most platforms publish half the price: the software or the card processing, rarely both. Every figure below was read on the vendor's own website on the date shown, and each links to our full comparison.

Read the whole row. A published processing rate is what the card costs; what the software costs sits on top of it.
Look for the all-in number. License, platform fee and card processing combined, per dollar raised, is the only figure that compares like with like.
More comparisons. We also compare Clerestory with Greater Giving, which published no price as of 29 September 2026, Eventbrite and DACdb.
Prices change. Each figure is quoted as it stood on the date given. If one is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.

Read the full pricing comparison, with every source quoted →

Platform	What the software costs	What card processing costs	Checked	Full comparison
Clerestory	3% per successful transaction. No license, seats, modules, setup fee, minimum or contract	Stripe, on your own account: 2.2% + $0.30 at the non-profit rate	Current	Features
Zeffy	$0 to the organization. Funded by a voluntary donor contribution, set to a suggested amount by default; Zeffy publishes an average of roughly 4%	Covered by Zeffy; you cannot connect your own Stripe account	3 September 2026	Clerestory vs Zeffy
Givebutter	0% platform fee with optional donor tips on; 3% with tips off. Givebutter Plus from $29 a month, billed annually, by contact count	With tips off, 2.9% + $0.30 (1.9% + $0.30 ACH). With tips on, the donor is asked to cover processing and Givebutter covers it when they decline	3 September 2026	Clerestory vs Givebutter
Funraise	Free plan for organizations raising under $1 million a year, with a 5% platform fee. Premium plans 0–3%, price not published	2.9% + $0.60; American Express 1% more	3 September 2026	Clerestory vs Funraise
Little Green Light	$45 to $135 a month for 2,500 to 50,000 constituents, then $15 a month per extra 10,000; 10% off for annual prepay	From 2.2% + $0.30, paid to the processor, no fee to LGL	3 September 2026	Clerestory vs Little Green Light
Bloomerang	Giving Platform from $242 a month, billed annually; CRM from $125 a month. Auctions and Peer-to-Peer add-ons $259 a month each; membership add-on price not published	Bloomerang Fundraising 3.95% + $0.30 (American Express 4.95% + $0.30); Bloomerang CRM 3.2% + $0.30	3 September 2026	Clerestory vs Bloomerang
Neon CRM	From $99 a month, rising with revenue. Memberships +10%, Events +20%, Volunteers +10% of the subscription. 12-month term that renews automatically	Card rate not published; $6.99 a month merchant account fee	4 September 2026	Clerestory vs Neon CRM
Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT and Altru	No published price; a personalized quote. Contracts renew on a standard 3-year term	2.99% + $0.30 (American Express 3.5% + $0.30); Raiser's Edge NXT online forms add a 1.5% platform fee	3 September 2026	Clerestory vs Raiser's Edge NXT and Clerestory vs Altru

What Clerestory does not do

A free plan. There is no free tier; every payment carries the 3%.
Tap to pay on iPhone. In-person card payments use a Stripe card reader or the kiosk.
QR scan at the door. Check-in is by searching for the guest's name.
Offline mode. There is no offline mode for taking payments.
Reserved seating. Clerestory does not assign seats.
Timed-entry time slots. Walk-up admission is sold by price tier, not by time slot; timed sessions with a capacity can be sold as an event series.
Collections management, reciprocal membership networks, text-message alerts, or Rotary meeting attendance and district reporting. Keep a specialist tool for those.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Clerestory cost?

3% per successful transaction, on your own Stripe account, plus Stripe's processing at 2.2% + $0.30 for customers with Stripe's non-profit rate. There is no license fee, no per-seat pricing, no modules, no setup fee, no minimum and no contract. Measured across every payment through August 2026, the all-in cost to our customers, software and card processing together, was 3.148%.

Is there a monthly fee, a setup fee or a contract?

No. The 3% is the whole of our price and it comes out at the moment of each payment, so you never receive a bill from us. There is no term, no auto-renewal and no minimum.

Do we pay more for more staff, more records or more features?

No. There are no seats, tiers or modules. Every organization gets every feature, and the only thing that changes what you pay is how much money moves through Clerestory.

Can the 3% ever be lower?

Yes. 3% is a ceiling, not a floor. We adjust the per-transaction rate for high-volume accounts, and price will never be the reason an organization can't switch to Clerestory. Our Terms of Service say that at higher processing volumes, the platform fee may be adjusted or capped at a mutually agreed rate.

Do cash and check payments cost anything?

No. The 3% is taken from payments processed on your Stripe account. A cash or check payment you record by hand against a donor's record is not processed through Stripe, so there is nothing to take a fee from.

Can donors cover the fees?

Yes. The offer is a checkbox at checkout that starts unticked. On a $100 membership, a member who covers the fees pays $105.81 and your organization receives the full $100. Across every payment through September 2026, 44% of people paying chose to cover the fees.

What happens to the 3% if we refund a payment?

It comes back. When you refund a payment, the 3% we took on it is returned with the refund.

Can we take card payments in person?

Yes. Clerestory works with Stripe card readers and runs as a kiosk on a tablet, so admission, gift shop items, event and raffle tickets and a donation can go through as one sale, and memberships can be sold at the same kiosk. The 3% is the same in person. Clerestory does not support tap to pay on iPhone.

What happens if we leave?

There is no contract to end and no cancellation fee. Payments run on your own Stripe account, so if you ever leave us, the account and its history stay with you, and you can export your donor, membership and payment records.

See what Clerestory would cost you

Bring last year's numbers to a 20-minute demo and we will work out your all-in cost with you, to the cent.

Request a demo