Which donation processor is right for your race?
Electbase builds your website, but donations run through a processor you choose — ActBlue, Anedot, Donorbox, and others. Here's which one fits your race, what they charge, and how your site connects to it.
The short version: Electbase builds your website, but the money never touches us. Donations go through a processor — a company like ActBlue, Anedot, or Donorbox that takes the card payment, handles the receipt, and deposits the funds into your committee's bank account. You pick the processor; we connect your site to it. Which one fits depends on what kind of race you're running.
Start with your situation
You're a Democrat running for federal office (Congress, Senate). ActBlue is the ecosystem standard — donors recognize it, and their saved-payment "express" accounts make giving nearly frictionless. Fee: 3.95% per donation.
You're a Democrat running for state or local office. ActBlue still works well, through a donate button that opens your hosted ActBlue page. (That's the standard pattern, not a downgrade — see our ActBlue article, which also covers Raise by ActBlue, ActBlue's plan for state and local campaigns.) ActBlue isn't available to state and local candidates in Connecticut. Anedot and Donorbox are also strong choices here. Numero is a Democrats-only option that uses hosted donation pages you link out to.
You're in a truly nonpartisan race (many school board and municipal races), or you want a processor with no partisan vetting. ActBlue and Numero serve Democrats and progressives only, so look at:
- Anedot — nonpartisan, serves every race level. Political rate: 4% + 30¢ per donation.
- Donorbox — explicitly supports political campaigns and PACs, with a "Political Campaign or Committee" organization type and FEC-compliant report templates. Donorbox charges a tiered platform fee that depends on your plan, on top of payment-processing fees — check their current pricing page for exact rates.
- Raise the Money — nonpartisan. Fee: 4.9% + 25¢ per donation.
Anedot and Raise the Money are widely used across the political spectrum, including by Republican campaigns. For a nonpartisan race that's usually irrelevant; if your supporters would care, factor it in.
You're a PAC. Donorbox supports PACs explicitly. ActBlue serves Democratic and progressive committees. Anedot and Raise the Money serve committees without partisan vetting. Confirm your committee type is supported during signup — every processor asks.
Fees at a glance
| Processor | Fee (political) | Who they serve |
|---|---|---|
| ActBlue | 3.95% | Democrats & progressives (not state or local races in CT) |
| Anedot | 4% + 30¢ | Nonpartisan |
| Donorbox | Tiered platform fee + processing | Nonpartisan; explicit political/PAC support |
| Raise the Money | 4.9% + 25¢ | Nonpartisan |
| Numero | Not published — contribution forms come with its platform subscription; confirm the current processing rate with Numero directly | Democrats only |
Fees shift over time; treat this table as a starting point and confirm on the processor's own pricing page.
Whichever you pick, your Electbase donate button opens the processor's hosted donation page. Electbase doesn't offer embedded donation forms yet, for any processor.
What Electbase does — and doesn't do
Electbase never processes, holds, or touches donation money. We add the donate button to your site, make sure your "Paid for by" disclaimer appears on the page (the page that asks for money is exactly the page regulators care about), and — where the processor supports it — sync donation records back into your supporter list. The financial relationship is entirely between your committee and the processor.
The bottom line
Federal Dem: ActBlue. State/local Dem: ActBlue (linked), Anedot, or Donorbox. Nonpartisan race: Anedot, Donorbox, or Raise the Money. PAC: Donorbox or ActBlue, depending on your alignment. Whichever you choose, your Electbase site connects to it — see our setup guides for ActBlue and Anedot and Donorbox.