GiveSmart is the best mobile bidding software for charity auctions for most large nonprofits, because it pairs mobile bidding with ticketing, donor management and 24/7 support, while Auctria is the best low-cost pick for a small auction with a fixed annual license. The cheapest way to start is not always the cheapest way to finish, because a 5% fee on funds raised costs $2,500 on $50,000 raised, while a $375 annual license costs $375 before card processing. BiddingOwl charges its 5% fee only on winning online or mobile bids, not on tickets, donations, fund-a-need gifts or paddle raises, so the fee base is narrower than on platforms that charge a percentage of all funds raised.
Pick by fee model first. A flat annual license suits a team that runs several auctions a year, while a percentage fee suits a one-off event. The tools below all offer mobile bidding, outbid alerts and checkout, and they differ mainly in what they charge and what they cap.
On this page
Best mobile bidding software for charity auctions: comparison table
Swipe the table sideways on a phone to see every column.
| # | Name | Best for | Starting price | Free plan / trial | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GiveSmart | Large nonprofits running a full event program | $0 to get started | No | Visit |
| 2 | OneCause | Large galas with live auctions and on-site help | $200 per event | No | Visit |
| 3 | Handbid | In-room galas that need a native bidding app | quote only | No | Visit |
| 4 | Auctria | Small nonprofits on a fixed annual license | $375 per year | Yes | Visit |
| 5 | CharityAuctions | Schools and small nonprofits with no upfront cost | $0 to start, 5% of funds raised | Yes | Visit |
| 6 | ClickBid | Hybrid auctions with unlimited events | quote only | No | Visit |
| 7 | BiddingOwl | Auction-first events with no monthly fee | 5% of winning online/mobile bids | Yes | Visit |
| 8 | 32auctions | Simple online silent auctions with few items | Free for up to 20 items | Yes | Visit |
The 8 best best mobile bidding software for charity auctions, in detail
GiveSmart
Best for: Large nonprofits running a full event program
GiveSmart offers two pricing models on its own mobile bidding page, opened on 2026-11-12. Pay-As-You-Go starts at $0, with no annual upfront subscription fee, and you pay only as you raise. The Annual Fee Subscription is a fixed annual fee with no per-transaction fees, and it includes the full platform, unlimited events and campaigns, implementation support, 24/7 support and a client success manager.
- The same inclusions are listed for Pay-As-You-Go, so the choice is about how you pay.
- Mobile bidding lets guests browse items, set max bids and get instant outbid alerts from their phones, with self-checkout and winning bidder receipts
- The platform also covers item management, ticket and guest management, text-to-give and a live leaderboard.
- One limit: neither the annual fee nor the Pay-As-You-Go rate is published, so get both figures in writing before you sign.
Pros
- Mobile bidding with max bids and outbid texts
- unlimited events and campaigns on both pricing models
- 24/7 support and a client success manager
Cons
- Annual subscription fee is not published
- Pay-As-You-Go transaction rate is disclosed at signup, not on the public page
OneCause
Best for: Large galas with live auctions and on-site help
OneCause publishes its entry pricing on its Plans and Pricing page, opened on 2026-11-12. Pay-As-You-Go starts at $200 and applies a 5% fee to funds raised, with a cap whose amount is not published. The Professional Auction and Event package is published at $2,995 per year for a flat annual subscription with no percentage fee.
- Pay-As-You-Go is positioned for organizations raising about $50,000 or less a year.
- The platform covers mobile bidding, live and silent auctions, online giving, text-to-give, ticketing, table management, express check-in and peer-to-p
- Mobile bidding includes outbid notifications, max bids, Buy Now options and real-time scoreboards for the room.
- One limit: card processing sits on top of either route, and on-site staffing is quoted separately, so the $200 or $2,995 headline is not the full cost
Pros
- Pay-As-You-Go starts at $200 with a capped 5% fee
- Professional Auction and Event package published at $2,995 per year
- mobile bidding with max bids, Buy Now and live auction tools
Cons
- Cap amount on the Pay-As-You-Go fee is not published
- Enterprise and Nationals packages are quote only
Handbid
Best for: In-room galas that need a native bidding app
Handbid sells a flat annual license quoted after a short conversation, and it does not charge a percentage of funds raised. Its own pricing page, opened on 2026-11-12, publishes card rates instead of the license price: 3.5% plus $0.30 for Visa, Mastercard and Discover, 3.95% plus $0.30 for American Express, and 1.5% flat for ACH. A one-year license is standard, and a $100 settlement fee applies if Handbid processes payments instead of your own Stripe account.
- The native app is the reason teams pick Handbid.
- Guests bid from their phones, get instant outbid alerts, and see leaderboards and countdown timers on venue screens.
- The platform also covers ticketing, live auctions, paddle raises, QR check-in and tap to pay, and a BidPad option lets guests without a phone bid from
- One limit: the license price is quote only, so you cannot compare it with a $375 annual license until you have the quote in writing.
Pros
- Native iOS and Android bidding app with instant outbid push alerts
- no percentage of funds raised
- card rates published at 3.5% plus $0.30
Cons
- License price is not published and needs a quote
- on-site staff is a separate line in the quote
Auctria
Best for: Small nonprofits on a fixed annual license
Auctria prices by total tracked income, not by event count, which is the detail most roundups skip. Its pricing page, opened on 2026-11-12, lists three plans. Explorer is free for up to $10,000 tracked per year, with 250 guests per event.
- Emerald is $375 per year for $10,000 to $50,000 tracked per year, with 750 guests per event.
- Diamond is $750 per year for over $50,000 tracked per year, with 1,000 guests per event.
- All three include unlimited events during the 12-month license period.
- The Auctria card fee sits on top of processor fees: 1% on Explorer, 0.5% on Emerald and 0.25% on Diamond, plus Stripe at about 2.9% plus $0.30 per tra
Pros
- Explorer plan is free for up to $10,000 tracked per year
- Emerald at $375 per year covers up to $50,000
- unlimited events on one license
Cons
- Explorer stops accepting bids if tracked income passes $10,000
- text alerts cost extra once the included block runs out
CharityAuctions
Best for: Schools and small nonprofits with no upfront cost
CharityAuctions, formerly CharityAuctionsToday, publishes two fee plans on its own pricing page, opened on 2026-11-12. Nothing Out of Pocket costs $0 to start and 5% of funds raised, with the fee capped at $100 per item and no fee on items that do not sell. Prepay and Save starts at $499 plus 3%, with the fee capped at $75 per item.
- A free account takes under 30 minutes to set up, and you can pass the fee to bidders at checkout.
- Guests bid in the browser from a link, with no app to download, and the same account covers online, silent and live auctions, ticket sales, paddle rai
- One limit: 5% of $50,000 is $2,500, while a $375 annual license plus processing would cost far less at that total.
- Choose CharityAuctions for a first auction with no budget before the night.
Pros
- $0 to start with no sales call
- Nothing Out of Pocket fee is 5% with a $100 cap per item
- guests bid in the browser with no app to download
Cons
- 5% fee applies to funds raised, so a large event pays far more than a flat license
- Prepay and Save needs $499 upfront
ClickBid
Best for: Hybrid auctions with unlimited events
ClickBid has run fundraising events since 2002, and its capabilities page, opened on 2026-11-12, lists unlimited events and campaigns, online donations, peer-to-peer fundraising, mobile bidding, online auctions, custom event pages, QR codes, real-time displays and reporting. A 3.5% fee applies to credit card transactions on US plans, or 3.59% on Canadian plans. The page states there are no per-event fees and no platform percentage cuts.
- Guests bid from their phones without downloading an app, and the higher tier adds online ticket and supporter package sales, guest and table managemen
- Onboarding includes 90 minutes of one-on-one training, a setup review before the event, and day-of-event phone support.
- One limit: the license price is quote only, so you need a written quote to compare it with the $375 Auctria license.
Pros
- Unlimited events and campaigns
- mobile bidding with no app required for guests
- day-of-event phone support on every event
Cons
- License price is not published on the public capabilities page
- ticket and supporter package sales need a higher tier
BiddingOwl
Best for: Auction-first events with no monthly fee
BiddingOwl charges no standard monthly subscription or setup fee for core auction use, and a 5% performance fee applies when an item receives a winning online or mobile bid. Its own pricing pages, opened on 2026-11-12, give the same example: a $100 winning online bid creates a $5 fee, and a $1,000 winning bid creates a $50 fee. The fee does not apply to traditional silent and live tools, paper bid sheets, donations, tickets, fund-a-need gifts or paddle raises.
- That narrow fee base is the key difference from a flat 5% of funds raised.
- If your night raises $20,000 in total but only $8,000 comes from winning online or mobile bids, the BiddingOwl fee is $400, not $1,000.
- The platform supports online, mobile, paper, live and hybrid auctions, with pre-bidding, proxy bidding and watchlists.
- One limit: the 5% fee is based on the winning online bid, regardless of whether the winner later pays online or outside the system, and processing is
Pros
- No standard monthly or setup fee for core auction use
- 5% fee applies only to winning online/mobile bids
- traditional silent and live tools carry no 5% fee
Cons
- 5% fee is charged on the winning online bid even if the winner pays outside the system
- Stripe or PayPal processing sits on top
32auctions
Best for: Simple online silent auctions with few items
32auctions does one job on purpose: online silent auctions. Its pricing page, opened on 2026-11-12, states that the base auction is free, with up to 20 items, one image per item, unlimited bidders, a custom link, exact and proxy bids, Buy Now, outbid emails and extended bidding. The free tier shows third-party ads.
- Upgrades are charged per auction, and the Most Popular package is about $170 per event for a branded, ad-free page with more items.
- Online payment collection adds 2.9% plus $0.40 per payment on top of the processor fee, while payments you collect yourself carry no 32auctions fee.
- There is no annual contract and no percentage taken from what you raise.
- One limit: the scope is narrow, with no ticketing, no table assignments and no donor CRM, so a gala that needs those tools will need a second system.
Pros
- Base auction is free with no time limit and no credit card
- no annual contract and no percentage of funds raised
- unlimited bidders on the free tier
Cons
- Free tier shows third-party ads and allows only one image per item
- no ticketing, table assignments or donor CRM
How we chose
We included only platforms with real mobile bidding for charity auctions, a working official site, and a price or fee model we could read on an official page opened on 2026-11-12. We ranked nothing by customer counts, awards or review scores, and we did not test any tool hands-on. Where a vendor hid the license price we wrote quote only. The unique angle here is the fee base: Auctria charges by total tracked income, BiddingOwl charges only on winning online or mobile bids, and OneCause and CharityAuctions charge a percentage of funds raised, so two platforms with the same 5% headline can cost very different amounts on the same night.
Which platform fits your event size and budget
| Event size | Best pick | Why it fits | Cost at that size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $10,000 raised, 20 items or fewer | 32auctions | Free base auction with no annual contract | $0, plus 2.9% plus $0.40 per online payment if you collect online |
| Under $10,000 raised, full auction tools | Auctria Explorer | Free plan with mobile bidding and unlimited events | $0 license, plus 1% Auctria card fee and about 2.9% plus $0.30 Stripe |
| $10,000 to $50,000 raised | Auctria Emerald | Fixed $375 license beats a 5% fee | $375 per year, plus 0.5% Auctria card fee and processing |
| $50,000 raised, one event, no upfront budget | CharityAuctions | $0 to start, fee only when items sell | 5% of funds raised, capped at $100 per item, so $2,500 on $50,000 |
| Large gala with live auction | OneCause | Live auction tools, scoreboards and on-site help | $200 plus capped 5%, or $2,995 per year flat |
| Large gala, year-round program | GiveSmart | Full event program with donor management | $0 to start on Pay-As-You-Go, annual fee not published |
Frequently asked questions
What is the best mobile bidding software for charity auctions?
GiveSmart is the best pick for most large nonprofits, because it pairs mobile bidding with ticketing, donor management and 24/7 support. Auctria is the best low-cost pick for a small nonprofit, with a free Explorer plan under $10,000 tracked per year and Emerald at $375 per year.
How much does mobile bidding software for charity auctions cost?
It ranges from $0 to start to $2,995 per year. Auctria Emerald is $375 per year, OneCause Professional is $2,995 per year, and CharityAuctions and BiddingOwl both charge 5%, though on different bases. Handbid and ClickBid are quote only, so get a written quote before you budget.
Which platform is best for a small school auction?
CharityAuctions or 32auctions fit a small school auction best, because both start at $0 with no sales call. CharityAuctions covers tickets, raffles and paddle raises in one account, while 32auctions is a simpler silent-auction-only tool with a free tier for up to 20 items.
Do guests need to download an app to bid?
No, not on most platforms in this list. GiveSmart, OneCause, CharityAuctions, ClickBid, BiddingOwl and 32auctions all let guests bid from a mobile browser link. Handbid leans on a native app, though it also offers web bidding, and Auctria offers an optional bidder app alongside browser bidding.
What is the difference between a 5% fee on funds raised and a 5% fee on winning bids?
A 5% fee on funds raised applies to the whole night, so 5% of $50,000 is $2,500. A 5% fee on winning online or mobile bids, as BiddingOwl charges, applies only to that slice, so if only $8,000 of a $20,000 night comes from winning online bids, the fee is $400.
Sources
- https://www.givesmart.com/
- https://www.givesmart.com/solutions/mobile-bidding-silent-auction/
- https://www.onecause.com/
- https://www.onecause.com/plans/
- https://www.handbid.com/
- https://www.handbid.com/pricing
- https://www.auctria.com/
- https://www.auctria.com/pricing/
- https://charityauctions.com/
- https://charityauctions.com/charity-auction-software
- https://try.cbo.io/
- https://try.cbo.io/capabilities/
- https://www.biddingowl.com/
- https://www.biddingowl.com/en-us/learning-center/biddingowl-vs-auctria
- https://www.32auctions.com/
- http://www.32Auctions.com/pages/pricing.html
Prices and features were read on each company’s own website in November 2026. They change often, so confirm the current offer on the official site before you sign up or buy.