Best Memorial Fundraising Sites in 2026: Fees Compared, 0% Platform Fee First
The average American funeral runs into the thousands, the bill arrives within days, and most families have not budgeted for it. That is why memorial fundraising pages exist, and why the question "which one keeps the least of what people give" is not a small one. On $8,000 raised, a two-percent difference is $160 β roughly the cost of the flowers.
This article orders the options by what the platform itself keeps, lowest first, with card processing stated separately for every entry. That is a rule you can check line by line, which is the only kind of ranking worth publishing.
Two definitions first, because platforms blur them deliberately:
- Platform fee β what the company takes for running the service.
- Processing fee β what the card network and payment processor take. Roughly 2.9% plus 30 cents per donation is the industry-standard rate, and almost nobody escapes it.
A site advertising "0% fees" nearly always means zero platform fee. The processing fee is still there.
A Note on What We Are and Are Not
GetMemorial does not run fundraisers. There is no donate button on our memorial pages and no plan to add one this year, so we are not in the table below and we are not the answer to this question.
We wrote this because roughly half the families who build a memorial page are also running a fundraiser somewhere else that week, and nobody had laid the fees out honestly in one place. Where our product is relevant is the last section, on linking the two.
The Seven, Ordered by Platform Fee
1. Ever Loved β 0% platform fee, memorial-first
Ever Loved charges no platform fee on funeral fundraising. You pay standard card processing β 2.9% plus 30 cents per contribution β and nothing else. The fundraiser sits on the same page as the service details and the obituary, so donors are not bounced to a separate site.
The catch, and it is worth understanding. A free service with no platform fee is funded somehow. Ever Loved's answer is selling to the people who visit the page: flower arrangements, printed keepsakes, and an optional tip prompt at checkout. Nothing is hidden, but your grandmother will be offered things.
Best for: a family that wants one link to send β service details, obituary and donations together. Our full Ever Loved comparison covers the rest of the platform.
2. GoFundMe β 0% platform fee on personal fundraisers, largest reach
GoFundMe removed the platform fee from personal fundraisers in the United States years ago and has kept it off. You pay the same 2.9% plus 30 cents per donation. On a $50 gift that means $48.25 arrives.
Its real advantage is not price, it is distribution. It is the platform people already trust enough to enter a card number into without thinking about it, and that matters more than two percent when you are asking a hundred acquaintances for money.
The catch. GoFundMe prompts every donor for a voluntary tip to GoFundMe on top of their gift, pre-set to a suggested amount. Donors can change it to zero; many do not notice. And the page is a campaign, not a memorial β there is nowhere for the story to keep growing after the goal is met.
Best for: raising the most money in the shortest time from the widest circle.
3. GiveSendGo β advertises 0% platform fee, faith-oriented
Runs a no-platform-fee model funded by optional donor tips, with a Christian framing throughout β prayer requests alongside donations, and campaign language to match.
The catch. Smaller audience, and the framing is not neutral. If the family is not religious, it will read oddly to the people you send it to.
4. Fundly β advertises 0% platform fee, flexible campaigns
A general-purpose crowdfunding site with no platform fee on the current published schedule, processing fees on top. Fewer memorial-specific features than the first two; it does not know what a funeral is.
5. Spotfund β advertises 0% platform fee, micro-donation model
Built around small donations from a phone in a few taps. Good for spreading a link on social media where the ask is $5 rather than $100.
The catch. Least established of the group, and the least likely to be recognised by an older donor.
6. Facebook fundraisers β fees vary, reach is already built in
The advantage is that it lives where the people already are: nobody has to click out to a site they do not know. Fee treatment has changed more than once and differs between personal and nonprofit fundraisers and between countries, so check the current terms on the fundraiser setup screen before you launch rather than trusting any article, including this one.
The catch. Anyone without a Facebook account is excluded, and the fundraiser disappears into a feed within about two days.
7. A memorial fund at a community foundation β a percentage, and worth it sometimes
Not a website, and not free: community foundations typically take an administrative percentage. What you get for it is a properly constituted fund that can make tax-deductible grants and outlive the family's attention, which none of the six above can do.
Best for: a scholarship or an ongoing fund in someone's name, rather than covering this month's bill. We cover the mechanics in memorial donations and in-memory funds.
Side by Side
| Platform fee | Processing | Reach | Memorial-shaped | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ever Loved | 0% | 2.9% + $0.30 | Moderate | Yes |
| GoFundMe | 0% (personal, US) | 2.9% + $0.30 | Highest | No |
| GiveSendGo | 0% advertised | Standard | Low | Partly |
| Fundly | 0% advertised | Standard | Low | No |
| Spotfund | 0% advertised | Standard | Low | No |
| Varies β check | Varies | High, but gated | No | |
| Community foundation | Admin % | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Fee schedules change. Every number above is what the platform published at the time of writing; the fee page at the moment you set up the campaign is the one that governs your money.
Four Things That Matter More Than the Fee
Name who receives the money, in the first two lines. Donors hesitate when it is unclear whether funds go to the funeral home, the spouse, or a charity. Say it plainly: "Funds go to Sarah, David's daughter, and will cover the funeral bill and the outstanding medical costs."
Set a real number. A goal of $10,000 with no breakdown reads as a guess. A goal of $7,400 with three lines explaining it reads as a bill, because it is one. If you do not know what a funeral costs yet, the cost breakdown is here.
Say what happens to any surplus before you launch. Families are routinely surprised by raising more than they asked for, and deciding afterwards is when it gets awkward. One sentence β "anything above the goal goes to the hospice" β prevents it entirely.
Know that it may be taxable. Personal gifts usually are not income, but the rules depend on how the fundraiser is structured and where you live, and a large sum is worth twenty minutes with an accountant. This article is not tax advice.
Where the Memorial Page Fits
A fundraiser and a memorial are two different objects with two different lifespans. The fundraiser is urgent, has a number on it, and is finished in three weeks. The memorial is the opposite: it matters most in the years after everyone else has moved on.
Trying to make one page do both is why families end up dissatisfied. A campaign page with a progress bar is a strange place to leave a message on someone's birthday four years later, and a memorial page with a donation total across the top asks visitors for money every time they come to remember someone.
The arrangement that works is boring and takes two minutes: run the fundraiser where the reach is, keep the memorial where the family is, and link each to the other. Put the fundraiser link in the obituary and at the top of the memorial page while it is live, then remove it when the goal closes. What remains is the page you actually wanted.
If donations are going to a charity rather than to the family, what to write in a memorial donation card covers the wording donors ask for most.
FAQ
Which memorial fundraising site has the lowest fees? Ever Loved and GoFundMe both charge no platform fee on personal fundraisers, leaving only card processing of roughly 2.9% plus 30 cents. At that point the deciding factor is reach and page shape, not price.
Is GoFundMe free for funerals? There is no platform fee on personal fundraisers in the United States. Card processing still applies, and donors are prompted to add a voluntary tip to GoFundMe, which they can set to zero.
How much does a funeral fundraiser usually raise? There is no reliable published average, and any figure you see quoted should be treated sceptically. What consistently matters is the size of the circle you can reach in the first 72 hours, which is why distribution beats fee rate.
Can I run a fundraiser and a memorial page on different sites? Yes, and most families should. Link them in both directions and remove the fundraiser link when it closes.
Do I pay tax on money raised for a funeral? Usually personal gifts are not treated as income, but it depends on the structure and your jurisdiction. Ask an accountant before spending a large sum.
GetMemorial helps families build beautiful, lasting online memorials in minutes β a permanent home for tributes, photos, and stories. Start a free online memorial website of your own.
