Do Keela and Zeffy both issue Canadian tax receipts?

Yes. Both are Canadian companies and both issue automated receipts that satisfy CRA and IRS requirements. Zeffy serves US and Canadian nonprofits only; Keela also lists Australia and New Zealand.

Which is better for events, Keela or Zeffy?

Zeffy. It has native event ticketing, raffles, auctions and peer-to-peer fundraising in its free product. Keela's event registration runs through an Eventbrite integration rather than a native ticketing module.

Does either one handle memberships?

Both, lightly. Zeffy has membership forms with auto-renewal and free scannable digital membership cards. Keela includes membership management but auto-renewal is partial and there are no member cards or member portal. Neither has resident pricing, family memberships or a member directory; a membership-first tool such as Communal fits better if dues are your main revenue.

Does Keela or Zeffy offer a free trial?

Zeffy is free outright, so there is nothing to trial. Keela lists no free trial or free plan on its site. Communal, for comparison, has a 30-day self-serve trial with no credit card.

Head to head · 2026

Keela vs Zeffy: donor CRM or free forms, and when you need neither

Zeffy is free to the nonprofit, funded by optional donor tips, and bundles donation forms, ticketing, raffles, auctions, basic memberships and automated tax receipts; it is the right pick for a small US or Canadian charity that needs forms more than a database.

Keela is a real donor CRM with donor profiles, Smart Ask, unlimited email and automation, and CRA and IRS receipting. Member-driven groups that run programs, rent space or schedule volunteers usually need a third option.

Keela

Canadian donor CRM with email automation and CRA/IRS receipting.

Memberships
Donations

Best for: Small to mid-size fundraising-led nonprofits in Canada, the US, Australia, or New Zealand that want a donor CRM with email automation
Watch out for: Events rely on the Eventbrite integration rather than a full native ticketing and registration module; Volunteer management is forms and tagging, not shift scheduling or hours tracking; no digital membership cards, website builder, or facility booking

Zeffy

Free fundraising and membership forms funded by optional donor tips.

Memberships
Events
Donations

Best for: Small US or Canadian nonprofits that want donation forms, ticketing, and basic memberships with zero software cost
Watch out for: Volunteer workaround only: volunteer signups use the Event form type; no shift scheduling or hours tracking (Zeffy itself recommends POINT or SignUpGenius); No website builder; forms are embeds or Zeffy-hosted campaign pages, and no facility or room booking

Side by side

Keela vs Zeffy, plus the option most comparisons skip.

Communal is listed as a third column because organizations comparing these two usually need the same things it was built for: memberships, programs and facilities in one database.

Feature	Keela	Zeffy	Communal
Membership management	Included	Included	IncludedTiers, custom fields, segments
Automated renewals	Partial	Included	IncludedReminders and auto-renew
Digital membership cards (Apple / Google Wallet)	Not offered	Included	IncludedIncluded in every plan
Event registration & ticketing	PartialEventbrite integration	Included	Add-onPrograms & events add-on
Program & class registration	Not listed	Not listed	Add-onWaitlists, capacity, attendance, rosters
Facility booking & rentals	Not offered	Not offered	Add-onApprovals, invoices, agreements, iCal
Volunteer shifts & hour tracking	Partial	Partial	IncludedShifts, hours, auto volunteer discounts
Donations & fundraising	Included	Included	IncludedIncluded; donor covers fees option
Automatic tax receipts	IncludedCRA and IRS	Included	IncludedAutomatic
Member self-service portal	Not offered	Partial	Included
Email campaigns	Included	Partial	IncludedCampaigns and segments
Website builder	Not offered	Not offered	Not offeredWorks beside your site
Public API	Not listed	Partial	IncludedREST API, Zapier webhooks, MCP server

The detail

The short version

Pick Zeffy if you are a small US or Canadian charity that needs donation forms, tickets, a raffle or auction and automatic receipts, and you want to spend nothing on software. Pick Keela if fundraising is your main job and you need a donor database with email automation, Smart Ask and segmentation behind the forms. Pick neither if most of your revenue is dues, program fees or rentals; both are fundraising tools first.

Disclosure: Communal is our product. We cover it at the end for the member-driven case.

Where Keela wins

Donor CRM depth. Donor profiles, Smart Ask, segmentation, project management and reporting in every plan, with donor pipelines, texting and wealth screening as add-ons. Zeffy stores records behind its forms but is not a CRM in this sense.
Email. Unlimited email marketing and automation are included in every Keela tier. Zeffy's email marketing is partial.
Integrations. QuickBooks, Xero, Mailchimp, Zapier and DonorSearch. Zeffy syncs QuickBooks and Zapier, and its public API is read-only.
No donor-facing tip. Your donors never see an ask from the software vendor. Zeffy's checkout shows an optional contribution to Zeffy.

Where Zeffy wins

It is free. Zeffy charges the nonprofit nothing; your organization receives the full amount of each payment.
Events and fundraising formats. Native ticketing, raffles, auctions, peer-to-peer, e-commerce and Tap to Pay. Keela relies on an Eventbrite integration for events.
Membership cards. Free branded scannable digital cards emailed on signup. Keela has no member cards and no member portal.
Zero friction. Free plan, no contract, nothing to trial. Keela offers no trial and has reviewer complaints about the learning curve.

Who should pick which

If you are...	Lean towards
A small charity that needs forms and receipts	Zeffy
A group that runs galas, raffles or auctions	Zeffy
A fundraising-led nonprofit that wants donor segmentation and email automation	Keela
An organization that does not want a tip prompt in front of donors	Keela
A nonprofit in Australia or New Zealand	Keela (Zeffy is US/Canada only)
A member-driven league, club or center with programs or rentals	Neither; see below

The third option

If dues, registrations and rentals matter as much as donations, neither tool is built around the member record. Communal is: memberships with automated renewals, family plans and Apple and Google Wallet cards, program registration with waitlists and attendance, facility booking with approvals and invoices, and donations with automatic numbered CRA and US receipts and volunteer shifts included. No contract, free migration, 30-day trial. It does not have auctions, peer-to-peer pages, texting or wealth screening, so a fundraising-first shop should still pick between the two above.

Questions people ask about Keela vs Zeffy

Short answers.

Not at Keela's depth. Zeffy keeps donor and member records behind its forms with reporting and a QuickBooks sync, and its public API is read-only. Keela is built as a fundraising CRM: donor profiles, Smart Ask, segmentation, unlimited email with automation, and add-ons for donor pipelines, texting and wealth screening.