Prepare comparable inputs
This worksheet compares two fictional or quoted arrangements over one year. Enter the same annual donation volume and completed transaction count, then supply each option’s monthly software charge, additional annual fixed costs, one-time transition costs, platform percentage, processing percentage and per-transaction charge. All inputs must use one currency. Leave personal and donor information out. If an annual subscription is prepaid, divide that subscription by twelve for the monthly field and do not include the same subscription again under annual extras.
Read the formula before the total
For each option, the model adds twelve monthly software charges, annual extras, one-time costs, donation volume multiplied by the combined percentages, and transaction count multiplied by the flat charge. The ongoing-year illustration removes only the one-time cost. It assumes both percentages apply to the same volume. Tiered charges, caps, minimums, different payment methods, taxes, disputes, refunds and currency conversion may require a separate calculation. The worksheet cannot discover these terms and deliberately does not invent them for either merchant.
Work through a fictional example
The example button supplies made-up figures, not current 4aGoodCause or Donorbox prices. At 60,000 units of annual volume and 1,200 transactions, an option with a 100-unit monthly subscription, 500-unit one-time cost, 2% processing and 0.20 per transaction totals 3,140 units for year one. A second option with no fixed cost, 3% platform and 2% processing totals 3,240 units at the same flat charge. That 100-unit difference is arithmetic under these assumptions, not evidence that either real platform saves money.
Turn the result into a question
Change the volume and transaction count separately. A few large gifts and many small gifts can produce different flat-fee totals even when annual volume matches. If the options are close, focus on the unanswered operational requirements rather than precision to the last decimal. Confirm the billing basis using the total-cost guide and record unresolved charges beside the result in your own approved notes. Inputs stay on this page and clear on reload; nothing is saved or sent by the worksheet. Do not enter live account balances or donor records.
Sources used for this page
These records support the facts and comparisons above. Merchant-controlled records are labelled so you can separate product claims from independent evidence.
- 4aGoodCause pricing and billing basis — Merchant documentation · 4agoodcause.com · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-30
- Donorbox pricing — Merchant documentation · donorbox.org · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-30