Most teams searching for SecureGive alternatives have already identified the friction: a report that doesn't reconcile, a donor journey that loses people, a receipt that goes out late, or an in-person giving setup that doesn't connect to online records. The alternative search is really a search for whatever fixes that specific breakdown.
Givebear is worth putting on the shortlist when the problem involves in-person giving, donation kiosks, event registration, fund-level routing, or managing online and physical gifts under the same donor record. This page covers where Givebear fits, what to look for in any alternative, and how to test options without wasting weeks on demos that don't match the real workflow.
Feature Comparison
| Capability | Givebear | SecureGive |
|---|---|---|
| Kiosk hardware | $699 to $899 one-time | $1,199 to $5,799 per kiosk |
| Monthly kiosk software fee | None | $149/mo Basic or $299/mo Premium |
| Add-on modules | Features included on every plan | $49 to $300/mo on top |
| Kiosk card processing | Stripe in-person rate, no markup | 2% + $0.30 (1.5% on Premium) |
| Audience | All nonprofits and faith communities | Christian churches |
Who this is for
- A church finance committee chair comparing giving kiosk vendors because the lobby needs a modern tap-to-donate device and every quote arrives with a monthly software plan attached who have hit a specific workflow ceiling with their current setup.
- Teams whose biggest post-campaign cost is reconciling data from separate donation, event, receipt, and reporting systems.
- Organizations that want to reduce platform sprawl without losing donor trust or disrupting active recurring gifts and donation links.
Why teams look for SecureGive alternatives
The search for a SecureGive alternative usually starts with a recurring operational cost, not a features checklist. The trigger is often that donor records don't match across payment runs, event attendees are not connecting to giving records, receipts require manual follow-up, or in-person giving at events and lobby kiosks is completely separate from the online system.
A useful alternative should solve the operational problem that started the search, not just offer a different interface for the same workflow. If the root cause is disconnected systems, switching to another siloed platform doesn't fix it.
Where Givebear fits in the shortlist
Givebear is a stronger fit when the kiosk should be a one-time hardware purchase instead of a hardware-plus-subscription contract: no monthly kiosk software fee, online giving, events, receipts, and donor records included rather than sold as add-on modules, and a platform built for every kind of nonprofit, not only Christian churches.
Givebear belongs on the shortlist when the team wants donation pages, lobby kiosks, event registration, fund routing, and donor records to share the same data. That matters most for community organizations where donors may give online, at an event, through a kiosk, and later through a recurring gift, and the treasurer expects one clean view of each donor's history.
When to keep using SecureGive
SecureGive may fit large or multi-campus churches that want the 20-year incumbent in church giving kiosks: a range of kiosk models at several price points ($1,199 to $5,799), church-specific onboarding, and enough kiosk card volume to justify Premium's 1.5% rate, with budget already set aside for $149 to $299 a month in software.
If that matches the organization's current workflow, keep SecureGive. The migration cost of moving donors, recurring gifts, receipt history, and public donation links is real. Only switch when the operational friction from the current platform exceeds that migration cost.
How to evaluate alternatives without wasting weeks
Pick one complete donor workflow and run it through each platform you're seriously considering. A useful test scenario: a donor gives to a specific restricted fund at a live event using a card, receives an instant receipt, comes back later to set up a monthly gift, and attends a registration event where the platform should recognize them as an existing donor.
Running this scenario in two or three systems takes a day and reveals where each platform creates friction. Comparing feature lists and marketing pages takes weeks and reveals nothing about how the system handles your actual data.
What to preserve when you migrate
Confirm your SecureGive plan's renewal date before planning the cutover, export donor records and gift history, re-enroll recurring donors on the new processor, repoint giving links printed in bulletins and lobby signage, and decide what happens to the existing kiosk units once the subscription ends.
Also inventory every location where donors find your giving links: website navigation, email footers, social media bios, printed flyers, QR codes at your location, and partner websites. Each link is a donor touchpoint that needs a redirect plan before the new platform goes live.
The three-year math on SecureGive's cheapest kiosk
SecureGive publishes exact numbers, which makes the comparison straightforward. Per securegive.com/pricing, verified June 2026, kiosks run $1,199 to $5,799 per device and the software plans behind them cost $149/mo (Basic) or $299/mo (Premium). Take the cheapest possible configuration: one $1,199 kiosk on the Basic plan. Over 36 months the software adds $5,364 ($149 x 36), bringing the three-year total to $6,563 for a single device, before kiosk card processing at 2% + $0.30 and before any add-on modules, which run $49 to $300/mo on top per the same page. The subscription alone costs more than four times the kiosk's hardware price over those three years.
Givebear prices the same job the other way around: the kiosk is a one-time purchase of $699 to $899 (wall mount or floor stand) with no monthly kiosk software fee, and the platform behind it starts at $0/month with a 0% platform fee when donors tip (4.9% when a donor declines, one flat rate online, at kiosks, and on memberships), plus Stripe card processing at cost. Over the same 36 months the hardware receipt is the whole hardware-and-software bill, and a second or third kiosk repeats the one-time price instead of stacking another per-month plan. A finance committee should put both numbers on the same line of the spreadsheet: $6,563 over three years on SecureGive's cheapest path, against a single one-time purchase.
Practical use cases
Replace SecureGive when the current setup no longer handles the full donor journey without manual reconciliation steps.
Consolidate donation portals, campaign pages, event registrations, kiosk gifts, and receipts into one system.
Build a migration plan that preserves active recurring donors, public donation URLs, and year-to-date receipt history before switching.
Common questions
What is the best SecureGive alternative?
The best alternative depends on which workflow is breaking. Givebear is worth evaluating when you need donation kiosks, fund routing, event registration, and donor records connected in one system. If the problem is purely online donation conversion and you don't need in-person giving, other platforms may fit better. Start by naming the specific operational gap before comparing options.
How long does it take to switch from SecureGive to Givebear?
The technical setup for Givebear can be completed in hours. The migration work, including exporting donor records, mapping fund names, transitioning recurring gifts, and redirecting active donation links, typically takes one to three weeks depending on data volume and the number of active campaigns.
Will my donors lose their giving history when I switch from SecureGive?
Donor giving history can be imported from a SecureGive CSV export. Recurring gift setups need careful handling: donors should be notified before their existing recurring charges stop and the new platform takes over. The Givebear team can advise on the migration sequence to minimize disruption.
How much does a SecureGive kiosk cost?
Per securegive.com/pricing, verified June 2026: $1,199 to $5,799 per kiosk depending on the model, plus the software plan that runs it at $149/mo (Basic) or $299/mo (Premium), with add-on modules at $49 to $300/mo on top. Kiosk card gifts process at 2% + $0.30 on Basic or 1.5% on Premium. The cheapest single-kiosk setup totals $6,563 over three years before processing and add-ons.
Does SecureGive charge a monthly fee?
Yes. SecureGive's published plans are $149/mo Basic and $299/mo Premium, with add-on modules at $49 to $300/mo on top, per securegive.com/pricing, verified June 2026. That recurring line is the main cost difference against Givebear, where the kiosk is a one-time purchase of $699 to $899 with no monthly kiosk software fee and the platform starts at $0/month with a 0% platform fee when donors tip (4.9% when a donor declines, one flat rate online, at kiosks, and on memberships), plus Stripe card processing at cost.