ChatGPT answers, unedited

For a nonprofit that needs to sell event tickets and merchandise, I’d lean toward Wix as the most practical affordable all-in-one option.

My shortlist

Why I'd choose Wix

wix.com

Wix specifically supports nonprofit sites, ecommerce, event registration, ticket sales, donations, and merchandise, so you can avoid stitching together several different systems. wix.com wix.com

Its event system can handle different ticket types, limited quantities, pay-what-you-want tickets, seating maps, online payments, and ticket check-in. Wix Support wix.com

The important catch is ticket fees: Wix currently charges a 2.5% ticket service fee, separate from payment-processing fees. You can either pass that fee to the purchaser or absorb it. Wix Support

Wix also has a nonprofit program through TechSoup that may substantially reduce the website subscription cost for eligible organizations, although I'd verify the current eligibility/discount before budgeting around it. Charity Charge

When I'd choose Squarespace instead

squarespace.com

I'd pick Squarespace if your nonprofit's website is primarily about telling your story, showcasing your work, and looking polished, with events and merchandise being secondary. Squarespace currently lists nonprofit features including donations, events and ecommerce. Squarespace

Its newer Eventually ticketing option is also worth looking at if ticket sales are substantial; its current nonprofit pricing information says its paid Essentials tier is $19/month with no per-ticket fees, although normal payment-processing fees still apply. Eventually

What I'd do in your situation

If you're a small nonprofit with limited technical staff, I'd start with:

Wix website + Wix Events + Wix Stores

That gives you one place for:

• Your nonprofit's information and programs
• Event calendar
• Ticket sales
• Merchandise
• Donations
• Email/marketing
• Customer/order information
• Event check-in

It will generally be much easier for volunteers or staff to maintain than a WordPress site assembled from multiple plugins.

One thing I'd want to know before recommending the exact setup: roughly how many tickets do you expect to sell per event, and how many different merch products will you have? That can change which platform is cheapest because transaction/ticket fees become much more important at higher volume.

Wix specifically supports nonprofit sites, ecommerce, event registration, ticket sales, donations, and merchandise, so you can avoid stitching together several different systems. wix.com wix.com

Its event system can handle different ticket types, limited quantities, pay-what-you-want tickets, seating maps, online payments, and ticket check-in. Wix Support wix.com

The important catch is ticket fees: Wix currently charges a 2.5% ticket service fee, separate from payment-processing fees. You can either pass that fee to the purchaser or absorb it. Wix Support

Wix also has a nonprofit program through TechSoup that may substantially reduce the website subscription cost for eligible organizations, although I'd verify the current eligibility/discount before budgeting around it. Charity Charge

When I'd choose Squarespace instead

squarespace.com

I'd pick Squarespace if your nonprofit's website is primarily about telling your story, showcasing your work, and looking polished, with events and merchandise being secondary. Squarespace currently lists nonprofit features including donations, events and ecommerce.

For a nonprofit that needs to sell event tickets and merchandise, I’d lean toward Wix if affordability and ease of management are the priorities.

My shortlist

Why I'd pick Wix

Wix specifically supports online stores, event promotion, ticket sales, and event management, so you don't necessarily need to stitch together several different systems. wix.com

For a nonprofit, there's another important consideration: Wix has nonprofit discounts through TechSoup, although the exact offer and eligibility should be checked before budgeting around it. Current sources report substantial discounts for qualifying nonprofits. Jim Charity Charge

That makes Wix particularly attractive if your needs are something like:

• Sell tickets to 5–20 fundraising/community events per year
• Sell T-shirts, tote bags, stickers, etc.
• Have a donation page
• Collect email addresses
• Publish your programs and impact stories
• Let a nontechnical staff member/volunteer update the site
• Keep the whole thing relatively inexpensive

When I'd choose Squarespace instead

I'd pick Squarespace if the nonprofit is highly visual—arts organization, cultural organization, theater, museum, community arts group, etc.—and the website's appearance is a major priority. Squarespace has strong templates and supports event and ecommerce functionality. Squarespace

One important consideration: ticketing

I'd separate the question of "website builder" from "ticketing platform." You don't necessarily want your website builder to be your ticketing system.

For example, you could have:

Wix website → event/ticketing service → Stripe/payment processor

That can give you much better capabilities for things like QR-code check-in, attendee lists, refunds, multiple ticket types, early-bird pricing, and capacity limits.

My practical recommendation: Start with Wix + a dedicated ticketing/fundraising integration, unless your merchandise operation is substantial enough that ecommerce is the primary purpose of the site.

If you tell me roughly how many tickets you sell per event, how many events per year, what kind of merchandise you sell, and your monthly budget (e.g. <$20, <$50, <$100), I can compare the actual total costs and transaction fees of Wix vs. Squarespace vs. Shopify vs. WordPress for your nonprofit.

For a nonprofit selling event tickets + merchandise, I’d recommend Wix as the best affordable all-around choice.

My ranking

1. Wix — best overall

• Easy drag-and-drop editing; no developer needed.
• Built-in ecommerce for merch.
• Built-in event management and ticket sales.
• Supports one-time and recurring donations.
• Wix currently offers eligible nonprofits a 70% discount on a 2-year Premium plan through TechSoup. wix.com Wix Support
• Wix Events charges a 2.5% ticket service fee, separate from payment processing, and you can pass that fee to the ticket buyer. Wix Support

wix.com

2. Shopify — best if merch is a major part of your revenue

• Much stronger ecommerce than Wix.
• Excellent inventory, shipping, discounts, POS, and multichannel selling.
• You can add ticketing through apps.
• The tradeoff is that it's more expensive/complex if your main purpose is an organization's website rather than a store. Shopify's nonprofit plans can make it more attractive for eligible organizations. SiteBuilderReport

shopify.com

3. Squarespace — best-looking site

• Excellent templates and relatively easy to manage.
• Can sell physical merchandise and event/service products. Squarespace Help
• I'd choose it if branding/design is more important than having the strongest ticketing and ecommerce setup.
• It offers a 10% nonprofit discount on the first payment. Squarespace Help

squarespace.com

What I'd actually do

For a small-to-medium nonprofit, I'd start with:

Wix + Wix Events + Wix Stores

That gives you one place for:

Website → Events → Tickets → Merch → Donations → Email/marketing

rather than stitching together several systems. Wix specifically supports both event ticket sales and branded merchandise, which makes it unusually well suited to your use case. wix.com

One caveat: if you're selling a lot of merchandise (hundreds/thousands of orders) and the store is a major revenue source, I'd choose Shopify instead.

If you tell me roughly how many events/tickets you sell per year, how much merch you expect to sell, and your monthly budget, I can recommend the cheapest setup and estimate the transaction fees for each option.

For a nonprofit that needs to sell event tickets + merchandise, I’d recommend Wix as the best affordable all-around website builder.

My top picks

1. Wix — best overall

• Easy drag-and-drop site building, so you don't need a developer.
• Built-in event registration and ticket sales.
• Built-in e-commerce for merchandise, including inventory, payments, and shipping.
• Good nonprofit-specific tools and templates.
• Wix currently advertises nonprofit discounts through TechSoup in eligible cases. wix.com wix.com
• One downside: Wix charges a 2.5% ticket service fee on paid tickets, separate from payment processing. Wix Support

I'd choose this if: you want one reasonably simple system that handles the website, tickets, merch, and basic fundraising.

2. Givebutter + Wix — best if fundraising is the priority

• Use Wix for the actual website.
• Embed Givebutter for tickets, donations, fundraising campaigns, and event management.
• Givebutter's standard plan is $0/month when optional donor tips are enabled, and its ticketing system includes things like multiple ticket types, custom attendee fields, ticket bundles, and scanning. Givebutter Help Center Givebutter
• This is probably the combination I'd pick for a nonprofit that runs several fundraising events per year.
• Squarespace — best-looking option

• Excellent templates and relatively easy management.
• Supports selling physical merchandise and event/service products. Squarespace Help
• I'd choose it over Wix if visual presentation/branding is more important than having the most integrated event functionality.
• You'll need to pay closer attention to its commerce transaction fees and plan levels. Squarespace Help Squarespace Help
• WordPress — best for maximum flexibility

• Potentially very powerful with WooCommerce and nonprofit plugins.
• But I'd avoid it for a small nonprofit without someone technical. You'll be piecing together hosting, plugins, ticketing, payments, security, and maintenance. WordPress

What I'd do in your situation

Wix + Givebutter is the combination I'd seriously consider:

Website: Wix
→ About us
→ Programs
→ Events
→ Merchandise store
→ Donate
→ Contact

Fundraising/tickets: Givebutter
→ Event tickets
→ Donations
→ Fundraising campaigns
→ Attendee management

Merch: Wix e-commerce
→ T-shirts
→ Hats
→ Mugs
→ Other merchandise

That gives you a relatively inexpensive, non-technical setup without trying to force your website builder to also be your entire nonprofit fundraising system.

If you tell me roughly how many tickets you sell per event, how many events per year, and what kind of merch you sell, I can compare Wix vs. Squarespace vs. Givebutter vs. WordPress and estimate your actual annual cost including transaction fees.

For a nonprofit that sells event tickets and merchandise, I’d lean toward Wix + Givebutter rather than trying to make the website builder handle everything.

My recommendation: Wix + Givebutter

Wix is probably the best balance of affordability, ease of use, and flexibility for your main website. It has drag-and-drop editing, ecommerce, event functionality, and lots of templates. Eligible nonprofits can also get a substantial Wix discount through TechSoup. Givebutter Givebutter

Then use Givebutter for your fundraising and ticketing. Givebutter supports event ticket sales, donations, donor management, and fundraising campaigns, and its core platform can be $0/month when optional donor tips are enabled. Givebutter

That gives you roughly this setup:

• Website: Wix — your organization's home page, About, programs, contact, calendar, etc.
• Tickets: Givebutter — event registration and ticket sales
• Donations: Givebutter
• Merch: Wix ecommerce — shirts, hats, mugs, etc.
• Email/marketing: Wix and/or Givebutter
• Payments: Integrated through the respective platforms

Other good choices

Squarespace is particularly attractive if you want a polished, professional-looking site, but you'll generally need a higher-tier plan for certain integrations. Givebutter Site Builder Report

Shopify becomes my first choice if you're expecting the merchandise side to become substantial—for example, dozens of products, frequent orders, inventory management, shipping, discounts, and potentially in-person sales. Shopify also has nonprofit-specific pricing options. Site Builder Report

What I'd choose

If you're a small or midsize nonprofit with a limited budget, I'd do:

Wix + Givebutter + Wix Stores

It's much less complicated than building a WordPress site with multiple plugins, while giving you a professional website and dedicated nonprofit ticketing/fundraising tools.

If you tell me approximately how many events you hold per year, how much merchandise you sell, and your monthly website budget (e.g. $10, $25, $50), I can narrow this down to the cheapest setup and estimate your annual fees, including ticket/payment fees.

For a nonprofit that needs to sell event tickets + merchandise, I’d recommend Wix as the best affordable all-in-one choice.

My ranking

• 🥇 Wix — best overall value

• Built-in ecommerce for merch and inventory.
• Built-in event management and ticket sales.
• Supports different ticket types, pricing tiers, limited quantities, and “pay what you want.” wix.com Wix Support
• Wix charges a 2.5% ticket service fee, in addition to payment-processing fees; you can either pass that fee to ticket buyers or absorb it. Wix Support
• Wix also has nonprofit-specific resources and offers eligible nonprofits a significant TechSoup discount, according to current nonprofit comparisons. Charity Charge
• Best if: you want one relatively simple system that staff/volunteers can manage without technical expertise.
• 🥈 Squarespace — best-looking site

• Excellent if your nonprofit is very design/brand focused.
• Supports merchandise, events, donations and marketing tools. Squarespace
• Squarespace advertises a 10% nonprofit discount on the first payment. Squarespace Help
• Its event/ticketing ecosystem is a little less straightforward than Wix for a nonprofit primarily focused on ticket sales.
• Best if: your website's visual presentation is more important than having the simplest event/ticket workflow.
• 🥉 WordPress + WooCommerce — best for flexibility, not simplicity

• Potentially inexpensive and extremely customizable.
• But you'll be assembling hosting, plugins, ticketing, ecommerce, security, updates, etc.
• Best if: you already have someone technical maintaining the site.
• Shopify — best if merch is the main business

• Excellent ecommerce platform, but I'd consider it overkill if your nonprofit primarily needs a website with occasional merchandise and fundraising events.
• Best if: you're selling lots of products year-round and inventory/shipping is a major operation.

What I'd actually do

For a typical small/midsize nonprofit, I'd choose:

Wix + Wix Events + Wix Stores

That gives you a single site where someone can go to:

Home → Upcoming Event → Buy Ticket → Shop Merch → Donate → Learn About Us

Wix specifically markets its nonprofit platform around combining events/ticket sales and branded merchandise, which is unusually well aligned with your use case. wix.com wix.com

One caveat: if you're selling a large number of tickets, ticketing fees can become more important than the website subscription. In that case, I'd consider a cheaper/fee-optimized ticketing service embedded into the website rather than automatically using the website builder's ticketing system.

If you tell me roughly how many events you run per year, typical ticket price/attendance, and how many merch items you sell, I can compare the actual costs of Wix vs. Squarespace vs. WordPress vs. Shopify for your nonprofit.

For a nonprofit that needs to sell event tickets + merchandise without spending a lot, I’d usually recommend one of these approaches:

Best overall: Wix + a nonprofit/event tool

Best for: small-to-medium nonprofits that want one attractive website they can manage themselves.

Why it fits:

• Easy drag-and-drop editing (good for volunteers/staff without web skills)
• Built-in ecommerce for merch
• Event pages and ticketing options
• Good templates for nonprofit storytelling
• Can add donation forms and email marketing tools The Retail Exec wix.com

Typical cost:

• Website: roughly $17–$30+/month depending on ecommerce needs
• Payment processing fees still apply SiteBuilderReport

My pick if you want: “a professional nonprofit website that also happens to sell things.”

Best budget option: Zeffy + a simple website

Best for: nonprofits where minimizing fees matters more than having the fanciest website.

Why it fits:

• Built specifically for nonprofits
• Can handle fundraising, event registrations, and online sales
• Designed around nonprofit workflows rather than traditional retail Zeffy

A common setup:

• Simple website on Wix/Squarespace/WordPress
• Ticket sales + merch through Zeffy

My pick if: you’re volunteer-run, selling modest quantities, and want to keep more revenue from each sale.

Best-looking nonprofit site: Squarespace

Best for: arts organizations, foundations, community groups, and nonprofits where branding matters.

Strengths:

• Beautiful templates
• Strong storytelling pages
• Built-in commerce
• Good for event promotion and merchandise Squarespace SiteBuilderReport

Weakness:

• Ticketing workflows may require integrations depending on how complex your events are.

Best if merch becomes a major revenue stream: Shopify

Best for: nonprofits selling lots of products.

Strengths:

• Excellent inventory management
• Strong ecommerce tools
• Good for scaling merchandise operations Hosted.com

Weakness:

• More expensive and more “retail store” oriented than “nonprofit website” oriented.

My recommendation by nonprofit size

If I were setting this up for a typical small nonprofit today, I’d choose Wix for the main website + Zeffy for tickets/merch/donations. It gives you a professional public-facing site without locking you into expensive ecommerce costs. Zeffy wix.com

A couple questions would change the recommendation:

1. About how many events do you run per year?
2. Are tickets for fundraising galas, performances, classes/workshops, or something else?
3. Roughly how many merch items/SKUs do you expect to sell?

For a nonprofit that needs to sell event tickets + merchandise, I’d recommend Wix as the best balance of affordability, ease of use, and built-in functionality.

My shortlist

🏆 Why I'd choose Wix

Wix has nonprofit-specific tools and can handle online merchandise, events/ticket sales, donations, and your regular website in one place. wix.com wix.com

The particularly attractive part for a nonprofit is its TechSoup nonprofit discount: eligible organizations can get a substantial discount on Premium plans. Current third-party nonprofit pricing guides report a 70% discount on a 2-year Premium plan for eligible nonprofits. Charity Charge Jim

For events, Wix supports different ticket types and pricing, including fixed-price and donation-based tickets. Wix Support One caveat: Wix currently charges a 2.5% ticket service fee, separate from payment processing, although you can choose whether to pass that fee to the ticket buyer. Wix Support

So you could have:

Your nonprofit website → Events → Buy Tickets → Merchandise Store → Donate → About Us

without stitching together several different systems.

When I'd choose something else

Choose Shopify if you're expecting the merchandise operation to become substantial—lots of products, inventory, shipping, discount codes, online/in-person sales, etc. Shopify is much more commerce-oriented than Wix. It also has nonprofit pricing options. SiteBuilderReport

Choose Squarespace if the website's appearance and storytelling are your highest priority and you only have a relatively small merchandise operation. Its templates are excellent, but paid event ticketing generally requires an additional solution rather than being as straightforward as Wix's native event tools. Eventually Squarespace

Choose WordPress if you have someone technical who can maintain the site. It's extremely flexible, but I'd avoid it for a small nonprofit that wants volunteers/staff to easily manage everything themselves.

One important money-saving option

If you run a lot of fundraising events, I'd actually consider Wix + a nonprofit-focused ticketing platform such as Zeffy, rather than necessarily using Wix's own ticket fees. Zeffy is designed for nonprofits and can eliminate platform fees on ticketing, with its model relying on optional supporter tips. Eventually Communal

Bottom line:
👉 Wix if you want the simplest affordable all-in-one solution.
👉 Shopify if merchandise is a major part of your fundraising.
👉 Wix + Zeffy if minimizing event-ticket fees is especially important.

If you tell me roughly how many events you run per year, average ticket price, and how many merch products you sell, I can work out which option would likely cost your nonprofit the least.

For a nonprofit that sells event tickets and merchandise, I’d recommend wix.com as the best affordable all-around choice.

My recommendation: Wix

Wix is particularly well suited to your use case because you can keep the website, event registration/ticketing, and merchandise store in one system. Wix specifically offers nonprofit tools for stores and events, including paid tickets and merchandise/e-commerce. wix.com wix.com

Why I’d choose it:

• Easy to manage: A nontechnical staff member or volunteer can update pages, events, and products.
• Event tickets: Wix Events supports different ticket prices, quantities, donation/pay-what-you-want tickets, etc. Wix Help Center Wix Help Center
• Merchandise: Built-in e-commerce handles products, orders, payments, and shipping. wix.com
• Nonprofit pricing: Eligible nonprofits may qualify for a substantial Wix discount through TechSoup; current nonprofit comparisons report a 70% discount on a 2-year Premium plan for qualifying 501(c)(3)s. Jim Charity Charge
• Good visual flexibility: You can make the site look like a professional nonprofit rather than a generic store.

One drawback: Wix charges a 2.5% ticket service fee on paid tickets, in addition to payment processing, although you can choose to pass that fee to the ticket buyer. Wix Help Center

How I'd rank the alternatives

Squarespace is a strong second choice if your organization cares heavily about design. It supports physical products and event/service products, but I'd lean Wix when ticket sales are an important part of the operation. Squarespace Help Squarespace Help

Shopify becomes more attractive if you're expecting a substantial merchandise operation—lots of products, inventory, shipping, discounts, etc. But for a nonprofit whose merch is one component of the website rather than the main business, I think it's more platform than you need.

One important consideration

If you're selling a lot of tickets, I'd actually consider separating the ticketing system from the website. Nonprofit-focused services such as Givebutter or Zeffy can potentially reduce ticketing fees substantially; current comparisons show some nonprofit event platforms operating with zero platform fees supported by donor tips. Communal

So my ideal setup for a small/midsize nonprofit would be:

Wix website → merchandise store + basic events
Dedicated nonprofit ticketing/fundraising platform → larger fundraising events

If you tell me roughly how many events/tickets you sell per year, how much merch you sell, and your approximate annual website budget (e.g. under $300/year, $500/year, etc.), I can recommend the cheapest setup and estimate the actual fees for you.

For a nonprofit that sells event tickets and merchandise, I’d narrow it to Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify—but my recommendation would depend on how important ticket/merch sales are to your operation.

My recommendation: Wix + a nonprofit ticketing platform

Wix is probably the best overall value for a small-to-medium nonprofit. It’s relatively easy for volunteers or staff to maintain, has strong event/e-commerce capabilities, and eligible nonprofits can get a substantial TechSoup discount. Current nonprofit comparisons report a 70% discount for eligible 501(c)(3)s. Jim Cybernews

For ticket sales, though, I wouldn't necessarily make Wix handle everything. A platform such as Zeffy or Givebutter can handle ticketing/fundraising while your Wix site serves as the organization's main home. Zeffy and Givebutter are particularly attractive for nonprofits because their models can avoid traditional ticketing fees, depending on how payments/tips are configured. Communal

How I'd rank the options

Squarespace is an especially good alternative if appearance matters. It starts around $16/month on annual billing according to current comparisons, has polished templates, and supports commerce and nonprofit-oriented fundraising features. Squarespace Site Builder Report

I would not choose Shopify unless merchandise is a major part of your revenue. It's excellent at inventory, checkout, shipping, and online stores, but nonprofit fundraising generally requires additional apps/integrations. Refact

The setup I'd choose

For a typical nonprofit running several events per year:

Wix website → Zeffy/Givebutter for tickets & donations → Wix store for simple merch

That gives you a relatively inexpensive, easy-to-manage website without forcing you into an expensive full e-commerce system.

If you tell me roughly how many events you have per year, average ticket price, and how much merch you sell, I can compare the actual costs of Wix vs. Squarespace vs. Shopify vs. a free/low-cost nonprofit setup and tell you which I'd pick.

For a nonprofit selling event tickets + merchandise, I’d recommend Wix as the best affordable all-in-one website builder.

My top choices

Why I'd pick Wix

Wix specifically supports online stores and physical merchandise, as well as event registration and ticket sales, so you don't have to stitch together several systems. wix.com wix.com

Its event system supports different ticket types, pricing levels, limited quantities, and even pay-what-you-want tickets. Wix Support

The catch is that Wix charges a 2.5% ticket service fee, in addition to payment-processing fees. You can either absorb that cost or pass it on to the ticket buyer. Wix Support

Wix also has a nonprofit discount program; Givebutter currently reports that eligible nonprofits can receive 70% off a two-year Premium plan through TechSoup. Givebutter

One alternative I'd seriously consider

If fundraising and events are more important than having the fanciest website, I'd actually consider:

Wix + Givebutter

Givebutter can handle donations, event fundraising, donor management, and embedded fundraising tools, while Wix handles the public-facing website and merchandise. Givebutter's basic fundraising platform is currently free when donor tips are enabled. Givebutter

That combination can be particularly attractive for a small nonprofit because you aren't paying for a sophisticated fundraising CRM just to sell tickets.

My recommendation: Start with Wix + Givebutter, unless merchandise sales are a major revenue stream—in that case, I'd compare Wix's ecommerce fees against a dedicated Shopify setup.

wix.com · givebutter.com

If you tell me roughly how many tickets you sell per year, how much merchandise you sell, and your monthly website budget, I can work out which option would actually cost your nonprofit the least.

For a nonprofit that needs to sell event tickets + merchandise, I’d recommend givebutter.com as the best affordable option.

My recommendation: Givebutter

It’s particularly well suited to nonprofits because it combines your website/fundraising presence, event ticketing, donations, and donor management rather than making you bolt several services together.

• Ticket sales: Create unlimited ticket types, promo codes, bundles, VIP/table packages, etc. Givebutter Givebutter Help Center
• Donations: Supporters can make a donation during the ticket-purchase process, and donor information can flow into the CRM. Givebutter
• Event check-in: QR-code scanning and mobile check-in are included. Givebutter
• Cost: The core platform is $0/month when optional donor tips are enabled. If you turn tips off, Givebutter currently charges a 3% platform fee plus processing. Givebutter Help Center Givebutter
• Merch: You can sell items through event campaigns, although if merchandise becomes a major part of your operation, I'd consider a dedicated ecommerce component.
• Your existing website: Givebutter lets you embed ticket checkout into your own website, so you don't necessarily need to make Givebutter itself your entire website. Givebutter Help Center

If you want a traditional website builder

I'd look at these:

Wix is particularly worth considering if the website itself is the priority. Its native event system supports ticketing, but it adds a 2.5% ticket service fee on top of payment processing. Wix Support

What I'd do for your nonprofit

I'd probably build it as:

Wix or Squarespace → main public website
Givebutter → tickets + donations + event registration
Givebutter or the website's ecommerce → merchandise

That gives you a polished website without forcing your website builder to handle every aspect of nonprofit event management.

If you tell me roughly (1) your annual website budget, (2) number of events per year, (3) typical ticket price/attendance, and (4) how much merch you expect to sell, I can compare Givebutter vs Wix vs Squarespace vs WordPress and tell you which will actually be cheapest for your situation.

If your nonprofit needs to sell event tickets, merchandise, and accept donations without spending a lot, I'd narrow it to these options:

My recommendation

For most nonprofits, I'd use:

• Wix as the website
• Givebutter for event registration, ticket sales, donations, and fundraising campaigns
• Wix's built-in store for merchandise (or Givebutter if you're selling simple fundraising items)

This combination is:

• Easy to manage without a developer
• Affordable
• Scalable as your organization grows
• Good for volunteers who may update the site

If merchandise is a major focus

If you'll be selling dozens or hundreds of products year-round (shirts, mugs, books, etc.), consider:

• shopify.com for the store
• Givebutter for fundraising and events
• Connect them together

Shopify has the strongest ecommerce tools but costs more than Wix.

If your budget is under $25/month

I'd choose:

1. Wix (using any nonprofit discount you qualify for)
2. Custom domain
3. Givebutter for tickets and donations

That setup covers:

• ✅ Event calendar
• ✅ Online ticket sales
• ✅ Merchandise
• ✅ Donations
• ✅ Volunteer signup
• ✅ Email capture
• ✅ Mobile-friendly website

If you tell me approximately:

• your annual budget,
• how many events you host each year,
• and whether merchandise or ticket sales are more important,

I can recommend the most cost-effective setup for your specific nonprofit.

For a nonprofit that sells event tickets and merchandise, I’d recommend Wix as the best affordable all-in-one option.

My pick: Wix

Wix is particularly well suited because it has native tools for both event ticketing and an online store, rather than requiring you to stitch together several systems. Wix specifically supports selling/managing events and selling products through its ecommerce tools. wix.com

The big advantage for a nonprofit: Wix offers eligible nonprofits a 70% discount on a two-year Premium plan through TechSoup, plus a one-year domain voucher. Wix Support

When I'd choose something else

Squarespace would be my second choice if the website's visual appearance/branding is especially important. It has excellent templates and nonprofit-oriented features, and its current plans support ecommerce. Squarespace Squarespace Help

WordPress makes more sense if you have someone technical maintaining the site. It's much more flexible, but the cost and complexity of plugins, hosting, maintenance, and ticketing can outweigh the savings for a small nonprofit.

Givebutter is worth considering if your primary goal is fundraising/event registration rather than running a full merchandise store. Recent nonprofit event comparisons find it particularly attractive for ticketed fundraising. Communal

What I'd do in your situation

I'd build:

Wix website → Events/ticket sales → Merchandise store → Donations → Email signup

That gives visitors one website and one recognizable brand instead of sending them to separate Eventbrite, Shopify, and donation pages.

If you tell me roughly how many events you sell tickets for per year, average ticket price, how many merch products you have, and your monthly website budget, I can recommend the cheapest setup and estimate your annual fees.

For a nonprofit selling event tickets + merchandise, I’d usually avoid choosing a website builder based only on looks. The best choice depends on whether you want an all-in-one fundraising system or just a polished website with sales added on.

My top recommendations:

1. Best overall value: Wix

wix.com

Best for: Small-to-medium nonprofits that need a professional site, ticket sales, merch store, and easy editing by staff/volunteers.

Pros

• Very easy drag-and-drop editing
• Built-in ecommerce for merch
• Event pages and ticketing options
• Lots of nonprofit-friendly templates
• Good balance of affordability and flexibility Cybernews RallyUp

Cons

• Ecommerce requires a paid plan
• Payment processing fees still apply

My take: This is probably the safest choice if you want your website to feel like a true nonprofit “home base” rather than just a store.

2. Best if keeping costs extremely low: Zeffy

zeffy.com

Best for: Small nonprofits where minimizing fees matters more than having a beautiful website.

Pros

• Built specifically for nonprofits
• Supports fundraising, event sales, and merch workflows
• No platform fees for eligible nonprofits (Zeffy uses optional donor tips to support the service) Zeffy

Cons

• Not as strong as Wix/Squarespace for a full branded website
• Less flexibility for custom design

My take: Use Zeffy as the ticket/merch engine and pair it with a simple website if you already have one.

3. Best-looking nonprofit website: Squarespace

squarespace.com

Best for: Arts organizations, foundations, museums, community groups, and nonprofits where storytelling and visuals matter.

Pros

• Excellent design templates
• Strong pages for campaigns, events, and impact stories
• Built-in commerce options for merchandise SiteBuilderReport Squarespace

Cons

• Less flexible than Wix for complex workflows
• Ticketing may require more setup depending on your needs

4. Best if merchandise becomes a major revenue stream: Shopify

shopify.com

Best for: Nonprofits selling lots of products (shirts, books, branded goods, multiple inventory items).

Pros

• Excellent inventory management
• Strong checkout experience
• Great for scaling merchandise sales

Cons

• More expensive
• Feels more like a store than a mission-driven website

My recommendation by scenario

If I were setting this up for a typical nonprofit selling a few events per year plus T-shirts/merch, I’d pick Wix as the main website and Zeffy (or a dedicated ticketing tool) for transactions. It keeps the site professional without locking you into expensive ecommerce infrastructure. Zeffy RallyUp

A couple of details would change the recommendation:

• How many tickets do you sell per year (hundreds vs. thousands)?
• Is merch mostly T-shirts/apparel or many different products?
• Do you already have a website/domain?
• Do you need donations on the same platform too?

For a nonprofit selling event tickets + merchandise, I’d prioritize a platform that can handle:

• ticket sales and check-in
• merch inventory/orders
• donations (if applicable)
• email collection for supporters
• low fees (because transaction costs add up)
• easy volunteer/staff management

My top recommendations:

1. Best overall value: zeffy.com + a simple website builder

Best for: small nonprofits, volunteer-run organizations, fundraising events

Why I like it:

• Built specifically for nonprofits
• Supports fundraising, ticketing, and merchandise sales
• Designed to reduce platform fees compared with many general ecommerce tools Zeffy
• Lets you keep your main website separate (for example, on Squarespace or Wix) while using Zeffy for transactions

Potential downside:

• It is not as polished as a full ecommerce website builder for a large merch catalog.

My pick if your organization is under ~$100k/year in online sales: this is probably the most cost-effective setup.

2. Best all-in-one website: wix.com

Best for: nonprofits that want one easy website with events, merch, and a nice design

Pros:

• Very easy drag-and-drop editor
• Good nonprofit templates
• Supports ecommerce and event features
• Lots of integrations
• Nonprofit discounts may be available through TechSoup for eligible organizations Cybernews

Cons:

• Ecommerce requires a paid plan
• Payment processing fees still apply
• Advanced nonprofit fundraising workflows may need add-ons Squarespace

Good fit: a community nonprofit, arts organization, school foundation, or annual fundraiser.

3. Best-looking website: squarespace.com

Best for: arts, cultural organizations, foundations, and nonprofits that care about branding

Pros:

• Excellent visual design
• Strong event pages
• Built-in commerce tools for merch
• Easier for a small team to maintain than WordPress Site Builder Report

Cons:

• Less flexible than Wix for complex workflows
• Ticketing may require integrations depending on your needs

4. Best if merch is a major revenue stream: shopify.com

Best for: nonprofits selling lots of products

Pros:

• Best inventory management
• Great shipping tools
• Strong ecommerce analytics
• Many nonprofit-friendly integrations

Cons:

• More expensive
• Can feel like overkill if you only sell a few shirts and tickets a year Zeffy

My recommendation by nonprofit size

If I were setting this up for a typical nonprofit today, I’d choose Wix for the public-facing website + Zeffy for tickets, donations, and merch checkout. It keeps the site professional while avoiding unnecessary software costs. Zeffy Cybernews

A couple details would change the recommendation:

1. Roughly how many ticket sales do you expect per event?
2. Is the merch mostly t-shirts/apparel, or a larger store?
3. Do you need donations + tax receipts through the same system?

For a nonprofit selling event tickets + merchandise, I’d usually recommend Wix as the best affordable all-rounder, with a couple of alternatives depending on how important ticketing and merch are. SimplyK Charity Charge

My top picks

1. Wix — Best overall for a small nonprofit

Best for: A charity/community group that needs a professional website, event pages, ticket sales, merch, donations, and easy editing.

Pros

• Very easy drag-and-drop editing (good if volunteers will manage it)
• Built-in ecommerce for shirts, books, gifts, etc.
• Event tools and integrations available
• Lots of nonprofit-friendly templates
• Eligible nonprofits may access discounts through programs such as TechSoup partnerships Charity Charge

Cons

• Ticketing is not as specialised as dedicated ticket platforms
• Ecommerce costs require a paid plan

Typical setup:

• Wix website
• Wix Events (or a ticketing integration)
• Wix Stores for merch
• Stripe/PayPal for payments

My recommendation: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for most small nonprofits.

2. Squarespace — Best-looking website

Best for: Arts organisations, foundations, cultural events, and nonprofits where branding matters.

Pros

• Beautiful templates
• Strong storytelling pages (mission, impact, campaigns)
• Good ecommerce basics
• Easy to maintain Squarespace

Cons

• Less flexible than Wix
• Event ticketing usually needs integrations

Recommendation: Great if your priority is a polished public-facing site.

3. Shopify — Best if merch is a major income stream

Best for: Nonprofits selling lots of merchandise (shirts, products, fundraising collections).

Pros

• Best-in-class online store tools
• Inventory management
• Shipping, discounts, product variants
• Scales well

Cons

• More expensive
• Not really a nonprofit website builder; you’ll often pair it with another platform or add apps for nonprofit needs Zeffy

Recommendation: Use this if merch revenue is significant, not if you sell a few items a year.

4. WordPress + WooCommerce — Best for flexibility

Best for: A nonprofit with someone technical who can maintain the site.

Pros

• Extremely customisable
• Can combine donations, events, memberships, and shops

Cons

• More maintenance
• Hosting, plugins, security, and updates become your responsibility Squarespace

A budget-friendly setup I’d choose

For a small nonprofit:

Website: Wix
Tickets: Wix Events or a specialist ticketing tool
Merch: Wix Stores
Donations: a nonprofit-focused donation platform embedded into the site (often better than relying only on ecommerce tools)

For very small organisations, you may also want to look at nonprofit-focused platforms such as Zeffy for fundraising and fee-saving options, while keeping your main website elsewhere. Zeffy

Quick decision guide

If you tell me your country (UK/US/etc.), approximate annual ticket sales, merch volume, and whether tickets need reserved seating or just simple admission tickets, I can narrow it down further.

For a nonprofit that needs to sell event tickets + merchandise, I’d usually avoid choosing a website builder alone. The most affordable setup is often a simple website builder + a nonprofit-friendly ticket/commerce tool. The best choice depends on how much you sell.

Here are my top recommendations:

Best overall value: Wix + Zeffy

Best for small nonprofits with limited staff

• Website: Wix (easy drag-and-drop, good nonprofit templates)
• Tickets/donations: Zeffy
• Merch: Wix Stores or Zeffy store features

Why I like it:

• Very easy for volunteers to maintain
• Professional-looking site without hiring a developer
• Zeffy is designed for nonprofits and has a $0 platform/processing fee model funded through optional supporter contributions. Communal Zeffy
• Good for annual galas, fundraisers, community events, shirts, calendars, etc.

Approximate cost:

• Website: often ~$17–$30/month depending on plan
• Ticketing/donations: potentially $0 platform cost with Zeffy Communal

Best if merch is a major revenue stream: Shopify

Best for nonprofits that sell lots of products

Good if you sell:

• Apparel
• Books
• Art
• Branded merchandise
• Seasonal campaigns

Pros:

• Excellent inventory management
• Shipping tools
• Discounts/coupons
• Strong ecommerce reporting

Cons:

• More expensive and more setup work
• Event ticketing usually requires an app or separate system

Shopify offers nonprofit-oriented pricing options for eligible organizations. Site Builder Report

Best “all-in-one nonprofit” option: Givebutter

Best if fundraising is as important as sales

Good for:

• Ticketed fundraisers
• Donations
• Auctions
• Peer-to-peer campaigns
• Managing supporter relationships

It is less of a full website builder, so you’d typically pair it with a website platform. Communal

Best simple website + occasional sales: Squarespace

Best for a polished nonprofit brand site

Great for:

• Museums
• Arts organizations
• Community groups
• Foundations

Pros:

• Beautiful templates
• Easy updates
• Built-in commerce options

Cons:

• Ticketing and nonprofit workflows may require integrations. Squarespace

My recommendation by nonprofit size

For most small nonprofits, I’d start with Wix + Zeffy because it keeps the monthly cost low while covering the two biggest needs: a public-facing website and low-cost ticket/donation transactions.

If you tell me:

1. approximate annual ticket sales ($5k, $50k, $500k+),
2. how many events per year, and
3. whether merch is occasional or a major fundraiser,

I can narrow it down to the best fit.

For a nonprofit that needs to sell event tickets + merchandise without spending a lot, my first choice would be Wix.

My recommendation: Wix

Wix is probably the best balance of price, simplicity, and built-in selling tools for your situation.

• Website: Drag-and-drop, so staff/volunteers can maintain it without a developer.
• Merch: Wix has a built-in online store for products, payments, orders, and shipping. wix.com
• Tickets: Wix Events supports paid tickets, multiple ticket types, limited quantities, free tickets, and even "pay what you want." Wix Support
• Ticket fee: Wix currently charges a 2.5% ticket service fee, which you can either pass to the buyer or absorb. Wix Support
• Nonprofit discount: Eligible nonprofits can reportedly get 70% off a two-year Wix Premium plan through TechSoup, which could make Wix particularly attractive. Givebutter

How I'd rank the options

Givebutter is especially interesting if you're doing a lot of fundraising alongside ticket sales. Its core fundraising platform can be $0/month when optional donor tips are enabled, and it includes events, fundraising, payment processing, donor management, and embeddable widgets. Givebutter Help Center Givebutter

For Squarespace, all paid plans can sell products, and it has nonprofit-oriented templates and tools, but I'd choose it over Wix mainly if having a particularly polished-looking site is more important than having a flexible event/ticketing setup. Squarespace Squarespace

What I'd actually build

For a small-to-medium nonprofit, I'd probably do:

Wix website + Wix Events + Wix Stores

That keeps everything in one dashboard and avoids stitching together several systems.

If your nonprofit has lots of events, donations, peer-to-peer fundraising, or donor management, I'd instead consider:

Wix or Squarespace website + Givebutter for fundraising/events

That separation can actually be cheaper and more capable than trying to make the website builder do everything. Givebutter

If you tell me roughly (1) annual website budget, (2) number of events per year, (3) typical ticket price/volume, and (4) how many merch items you sell, I can compare the actual yearly cost of Wix vs. Squarespace vs. Givebutter for your nonprofit.

For a nonprofit that needs to sell event tickets + merchandise without spending a lot, I’d recommend Wix + Givebutter as the best overall setup.

My top picks

Why Wix + Givebutter: Wix is relatively inexpensive and easy for a volunteer/nontechnical team to maintain. Eligible nonprofits can get a substantial Wix discount through TechSoup. Givebutter Charity Charge

Then I'd use givebutter.com for ticketing and fundraising. Givebutter specifically supports event ticket sales, fundraising events, donor management, payments, and website widgets, and its free plan can have $0 platform fees when optional donor tips are enabled. Givebutter

If merch is a significant part of what you sell

I'd actually lean toward Wix because you can make the website itself your storefront—shirts, hats, posters, etc.—while Givebutter handles tickets and fundraising.

A typical setup would be:

Your nonprofit website
→ About / Mission
→ Events
→ Buy Tickets → Givebutter
→ Shop → Wix store
→ Donate → Givebutter
→ Volunteer / Contact

That gives you one professional-looking website without forcing your ticketing, donations, and merchandise into one expensive platform.

When I'd choose something else

• Squarespace: Choose this if having a beautiful, polished website is more important than squeezing out the absolute lowest cost. Its nonprofit offering is also quite strong, and it supports ecommerce and event functionality. Squarespace
• Weebly/Square: Good if you want very simple, inexpensive merchandise sales and don't care as much about sophisticated design. Weebly has built-in ecommerce and Square payment tools. Givebutter
• WordPress: I'd avoid it unless someone on your team is comfortable managing plugins, hosting, updates, and occasional technical issues. It's much more flexible, but that flexibility comes with complexity. Givebutter

My recommendation for a small-to-medium nonprofit: Wix for the website/store + Givebutter for tickets, donations, and event management. It keeps the recurring cost relatively low while giving you a setup that can grow with the organization.

If you tell me roughly how many tickets you sell per year, what kind of merch you sell, and your monthly website budget (e.g. <$20, <$50, <$100), I can compare the actual costs of Wix, Squarespace, Shopify, Givebutter, and Square for your specific situation.

If merch is a significant part of what you sell

I'd actually lean toward Wix because you can make the website itself your storefront—shirts, hats, posters, etc.—while Givebutter handles tickets and fundraising.

A typical setup would be:

Your nonprofit website
→ About / Mission
→ Events
→ Buy Tickets → Givebutter
→ Shop → Wix store
→ Donate → Givebutter
→ Volunteer / Contact

That gives you one professional-looking website without forcing your ticketing, donations, and merchandise into one expensive platform.

When I'd choose something else

For a nonprofit selling event tickets + merchandise, I’d usually avoid a basic website builder alone and choose a setup that handles payments, inventory, ticketing, and donor/supporter data. My top recommendation depends on your size and how much you want to manage.

Best overall value: zeffy.com + a simple website builder

Best for: small nonprofits, volunteer-run organizations, community events

• Cost: Free for eligible nonprofits (with Zeffy’s optional donor tipping model)
• Good for: event tickets, merch stores, donations, receipts, supporter records
• Pros: - Designed specifically for nonprofits
• Avoids many platform fees that can eat into fundraising revenue
• Easier for volunteers than stitching together several tools
• Cons: - Not as polished visually as a full website builder
• You may still want a separate “home base” website for your mission, blog, and programs

Zeffy Zeffy## Best all-in-one website: wix.com

Best for: nonprofits that want a beautiful website plus selling tools

• Cost: Starts around the low monthly range for paid plans; nonprofit discounts may be available through partners such as TechSoup. RallyUp
• Good for: - Branded nonprofit website
• Event pages
• Merchandise store
• Email marketing
• Volunteer/member forms
• Pros: - Very easy drag-and-drop editing
• Strong design flexibility
• Less technical maintenance
• Cons: - Ticketing and nonprofit fundraising features may require apps or higher tiers

RallyUp## Best if merch is a major revenue stream: shopify.com

Best for: nonprofits running a real online store

• Good for: - Lots of products
• Apparel sizes/colors
• Inventory tracking
• Shipping workflows
• Repeat buyers
• Pros: - Best-in-class ecommerce
• Scales well
• Cons: - More expensive and more complex than most nonprofits need

SiteBuilderReport## Best simple website + occasional sales: squarespace.com

Best for: arts organizations, foundations, and nonprofits where storytelling matters

• Beautiful templates
• Good for campaigns, newsletters, and event promotion
• Ecommerce is adequate for smaller merch catalogs
• Less ideal if you sell many ticket types or products

Squarespace## My recommendation by scenario

A practical low-cost stack I’d pick for many nonprofits:

1. Wix (main website and branding)
2. Zeffy (tickets, donations, merch checkout)
3. Email tool like mailchimp.com or your website builder’s email system

That gives you a professional website without paying ecommerce fees on every small fundraiser.

If you tell me your approximate annual ticket/merch revenue, number of events per year, and whether you need physical shipping or just pickup, I can narrow it down further.

For a nonprofit selling event tickets + merchandise, I’d usually recommend choosing a platform that can handle payments, ticketing, donations, and simple website updates without requiring a developer.

My top picks:

1. Best overall value: Wix + a nonprofit ticketing tool

Best for: small-to-medium nonprofits that want a polished website they can manage themselves.

Why I’d pick it:

• Very easy drag-and-drop editing
• Good-looking nonprofit templates
• Can sell merch through Wix eCommerce
• Can create event pages and integrate ticketing tools
• Good for storytelling (mission pages, impact stories, volunteer pages) Cybernews RallyUp

Typical setup:

• Wix = main website + merch store
• Event platform (or Wix Events) = ticket sales/check-in

Cost: often around $20–$40/month depending on features and promotions. SiteBuilderReport

2. Best for keeping more revenue: Zeffy + a simple website

Best for: nonprofits where minimizing fees matters most.

Why I’d consider it:

• Built specifically for nonprofits
• Supports fundraising, ticketing, and merchandise sales
• Designed to avoid many platform fees that other ecommerce tools charge Zeffy

Tradeoff:

• It is more of a fundraising/sales platform than a full “beautiful website builder,” so you may still want a separate site (Wix, Squarespace, WordPress, etc.).

3. Best-looking nonprofit website: Squarespace

Best for: arts organizations, foundations, museums, community organizations, and nonprofits where branding matters.

Pros:

• Excellent design templates
• Strong storytelling pages
• Built-in commerce options for merch
• Good event promotion tools Squarespace

Cons:

• Ticketing workflows may require integrations depending on complexity.

4. Best if merchandise is a major revenue stream: Shopify

Best for: nonprofits selling lots of products.

Pros:

• Best-in-class ecommerce
• Inventory management
• Shipping tools
• Discounts and promotions

Cons:

• More expensive and more “store-focused” than “mission website-focused.”

My recommendation by nonprofit type

If I were setting up a typical community nonprofit today, I’d probably do Wix for the main website + Zeffy for ticketing/donations/merch, because it keeps the site professional while reducing fundraising fees. Zeffy Cybernews

A few details could change the recommendation:

• approximate annual ticket sales ($5k vs. $500k makes a big difference)
• number of events per year
• whether you ship merch or sell it only at events
• whether you need donor receipts/tax tracking built in

For a nonprofit that needs to sell event tickets and merchandise, I’d recommend Wix + Givebutter rather than trying to make the website builder handle everything.

My pick: Wix + Givebutter

Wix is a good affordable website builder because it’s easy for a nontechnical staff member to maintain, has good templates, and can handle your basic website, pages, blog/news, forms, and merchandise storefront. Wix also has nonprofit discounts available to eligible organizations. www.charitycharge.com

Then use Givebutter for the money-moving stuff:

• 🎟️ Event ticket sales and registration
• 👥 Attendee management/check-in
• 💳 Online payments
• 🛍️ Merchandise sales
• 💰 Donations
• 📧 Donor communications
• 📊 Donor CRM

Givebutter's core platform is $0/month when optional donor tips are enabled, and it specifically supports event ticketing and fundraising. If you turn tips off, it charges a 3% platform fee plus processing. help.givebutter.com

How I'd structure it

Yourdomain.org → Wix

• Home
• About Us
• Programs
• Upcoming Events
• Get Involved
• Contact
• Shop
• Tickets / Register

The Tickets and Donate buttons can send people to Givebutter, or Givebutter widgets can be embedded directly into the Wix site.

Other options

One important distinction: I wouldn't choose the website builder based primarily on ticketing. Let the website builder make the organization look good and provide information; let a nonprofit-focused platform such as Givebutter handle ticketing, donations, attendees, and fundraising. Givebutter currently offers those event tools natively. givebutter.com

If your nonprofit has a very small budget, I'd start with Wix + the free Givebutter tier. That gives you a professional website without committing to an expensive all-in-one system.

If you tell me roughly how many tickets you sell per event, how much merchandise you sell, and your monthly website budget (e.g. under $25/$50/$100), I can narrow it down to the cheapest setup that makes sense.

For a nonprofit that needs to sell event tickets and merchandise, I’d usually recommend Wix as the best affordable all-around choice, with Squarespace as the prettier alternative and WordPress as the long-term flexible option. www.wix.comwww.squarespace.com

My top picks

My recommendation by scenario

If you sell tickets a few times per year and have a volunteer/non-technical team:
→ Wix
It’s probably the easiest balance of cost, event sales, merch, and maintenance. www.wix.comrefact.co

If your nonprofit is arts/culture/community-focused and visuals matter:
→ Squarespace + a ticketing integration
It tends to produce a more polished “mission/story” website with less design effort. www.wix.comwww.squarespace.com

If you run many events, memberships, donations, and campaigns:
→ WordPress
It takes more setup, but you’ll have more options as you grow. www.arcstone.com

A budget-friendly setup I’d consider

• Website: Wix or Squarespace
• Tickets: built-in event tools or an external ticketing platform
• Merch: website store (Wix/Squarespace) or Shopify if sales grow
• Donations: embed a nonprofit-focused tool such as Donorbox or similar

One question would change my recommendation: How many events do you sell tickets for each year, and is merch a small fundraiser (shirts/totes occasionally) or a major revenue stream?

For a nonprofit that needs to sell event tickets and merchandise, I’d avoid choosing a website builder based only on design. The key is keeping fees low and making it easy for volunteers to manage orders, attendees, and supporter data.

My recommendations:

Best overall value: zeffy.com + a simple website builder

Best for: small-to-mid nonprofits trying to maximize every dollar.

• Pros

• Built specifically for nonprofits
• Supports fundraising, event registration/tickets, and merchandise sales
• No platform fees (Zeffy’s model relies on optional supporter contributions) Zeffy
• Good if you have limited staff or volunteers
• Cons

• Website design flexibility is more limited than full website builders
• You may still want a separate “main” website for storytelling and branding

A common setup:

• Website: Squarespace or Wix
• Tickets + merch + donations: Zeffy

Best all-in-one website: wix.com

Best for: nonprofits that want one attractive website with fewer integrations.

• Drag-and-drop editor
• Event pages and ticket sales
• Ecommerce for merchandise
• Donation tools and nonprofit templates available wix.com
• Good for a team without a web developer

Estimated cost: usually around $30/month or more once ecommerce features are needed. SiteBuilderReport

Best for a polished, professional nonprofit site: squarespace.com

Best for: arts organizations, foundations, museums, community groups, and nonprofits where brand presentation matters.

• Excellent templates
• Strong storytelling/blog/news features
• Ecommerce for merch and ticket-related sales
• Easier to maintain than WordPress Squarespace

Tradeoff: less flexible than Wix for unusual workflows.

Best if merchandise is a major revenue stream: shopify.com

Best for: nonprofits selling lots of products.

• Excellent inventory, shipping, and checkout tools
• Great if you sell dozens of SKUs or run regular merch campaigns
• Less ideal if your main goal is donations and community engagement

My shortlist by nonprofit type

For most nonprofits, I’d choose Squarespace + Zeffy (best balance of credibility, simplicity, and cost) or Wix alone (simplest single-platform approach). Zeffy Squarespace

If you tell me:

1. approximate annual ticket/merch sales,
2. whether you need donations too, and
3. whether you have volunteers or a paid staff member managing the site,

I can narrow it down to one choice.

For a nonprofit selling event tickets + merchandise, I’d usually recommend one of these three setups depending on your priorities:

My recommendation for most small nonprofits:

Use Wix as your main website + Zeffy (or another nonprofit ticketing/fundraising tool) for transactions.

That gives you:

• A professional homepage explaining your mission
• Event pages with photos, schedules, sponsors, and impact stories
• A merch store
• Ticket sales without forcing your website to do everything
• Easier accounting separation between donations, tickets, and merchandise

If you want everything under one roof:

Choose Zeffy if:

• You’re a small organization
• Volunteers manage the site
• You sell a few products (shirts, hats, stickers, etc.)
• You run occasional fundraisers/events

www.zeffy.com

If you expect to grow:

Choose Wix or Squarespace if you need:

• Lots of event pages
• Sponsor recognition pages
• Blogs/news updates
• Volunteer forms
• More control over branding

www.sitebuilderreport.comwebsite-builders.cybernews.com

I would not start with Shopify unless merchandise becomes a major revenue stream (hundreds of orders/month), because the monthly cost and ecommerce complexity are often unnecessary for a small nonprofit. www.zeffy.com

If you tell me:

1. your approximate annual budget for the website,
2. how many events you run per year, and
3. whether merch is occasional fundraising or a major income source,

I can narrow it down to one choice.

For a nonprofit that needs to sell event tickets and merchandise, I’d recommend Wix as the best affordable all-in-one option.

My pick: Wix

Wix is particularly well suited to your use case because you can handle the website, ticketed events, and merch store in one place. Wix specifically supports nonprofit sites, event registration/ticket sales, and ecommerce. wix.com wix.com

A big bonus: eligible nonprofits can get a 70% discount on a 2-year Wix Premium plan through TechSoup, which can make Wix substantially cheaper than its standard pricing. Wix Support

One thing to budget for: Wix Events charges a 2.5% ticket service fee, separate from payment-processing fees. You can either absorb it or pass it to ticket buyers. Wix Support

How I'd rank the options

Squarespace is my second choice if having a particularly polished, professional-looking website is important. It supports ecommerce and nonprofit-oriented features, and nonprofits can get 10% off their first payment. Squarespace Help Squarespace Its current commerce plans can also reduce the platform transaction fee to 0%, depending on the plan. Squarespace Help

Bottom line: If you're a small-to-medium nonprofit and don't have a dedicated web developer, I'd start with Wix + its nonprofit discount. It's likely the easiest combination of low cost + ticketing + merchandise + easy volunteer/admin maintenance.

If you tell me roughly how many events/tickets you sell per year and how many merch items you have, I can compare the actual costs of Wix vs. Squarespace vs. Shopify for your nonprofit.

For a nonprofit that needs to sell event tickets and merchandise, I’d generally recommend Wix as the best balance of affordability, ease of use, and nonprofit-friendly features. www.wix.com

My shortlist:

My recommendation by nonprofit size

Small volunteer-run nonprofit (most common case):
→ Wix + a ticketing/payment integration
You’ll likely be able to manage updates yourselves: new events, sponsor pages, merch listings, photo galleries, newsletters, etc. www.wix.com

Arts organization, festival, school group, or community event nonprofit:
→ Wix or Squarespace + dedicated ticketing tool
A dedicated ticketing platform can often handle QR codes, check-in, refunds, attendee lists, and reporting better than a website builder alone.

Growing nonprofit with lots of programs, memberships, donations, and volunteers:
→ WordPress (with the right setup)
It takes more work upfront but gives you the most control. www.arcstone.com

A few features I’d prioritize:

• Event pages with ticket checkout
• Merchandise store with inventory tracking
• Donation forms
• Email list integration
• Discount codes (members, early bird, sponsors)
• Mobile-friendly editing (so volunteers can update things)
• Ability to export customer/donor data

If you tell me:

1. roughly how many tickets you sell per event,
2. whether you need donations + tickets + merch all in one system, and
3. whether you have a volunteer or staff person managing the site,

I can narrow it down to the best setup.

For a nonprofit that needs both event ticket sales and merchandise, I’d recommend Wix + Givebutter, rather than trying to make the website builder handle everything.

My top picks

🥇 What I'd choose: Wix + Givebutter

Wix is a good affordable website builder for the public-facing site: your mission, programs, staff, news, sponsors, photo galleries, contact information, etc. It also has built-in ecommerce and event functionality. Wix says nonprofit sites can use its templates, SEO tools and donation features, and its event system supports ticket sales. www.wix.com

I'd then use Givebutter for the actual fundraising/event side. It's particularly attractive for nonprofits because its core platform is free when optional donor tips are enabled, and it includes event ticketing, fundraising, donor management and related tools. help.givebutter.com

Givebutter can also handle things like VIP packages, table sales, ticket bundles and sponsorships, which can become important for nonprofit events. help.givebutter.com

Givebutter

When I'd use Wix by itself

If you want one login and minimal complexity, Wix is probably the easiest choice. You can have:

• Main nonprofit website
• Event pages
• Ticket sales
• Online store
• Shirts, hats, merchandise, etc.
• Donation forms
• Email/contact forms

The downside is that Wix charges a 2.5% ticket service fee on ticket sales, in addition to payment-processing fees. You can either absorb that or pass it to the ticket buyer. support.wix.com

Wix Nonprofit Websites

What about Squarespace?

I'd choose Squarespace if appearance/design is the highest priority. It's excellent for a polished nonprofit site and can sell physical products. But its current plans can impose transaction fees depending on the plan—currently 3% on the legacy Business plan and 0% on Commerce plans for physical products/donations. support.squarespace.com

So for a small nonprofit watching every dollar, I think Wix/Givebutter is generally a better fit.

My recommended setup

Website: Wix
↓
"Buy Tickets" button: Givebutter
↓
"Donate" button: Givebutter
↓
"Shop" button: Wix Store
↓
Email/newsletter: Wix or Givebutter

That gives you a professional website without forcing the website builder to also be your entire fundraising system.

If your nonprofit is relatively small and your budget is, say, under $500/year, this is the setup I'd investigate first. If you tell me roughly how many tickets you sell per year, how much merch you sell, and your annual website budget, I can compare the actual costs of Wix, Squarespace, Givebutter, and a couple of other options for your situation.

For a nonprofit that sells event tickets and merchandise, I’d recommend Wix as the best affordable all-in-one option.

Wix for nonprofits

My ranking

Why I'd pick Wix

Wix lets you keep the website, event ticketing, and merch store in one place, rather than stitching together several services. Its nonprofit offering specifically supports online stores and event ticket sales. www.wix.com

For tickets, Wix Events supports multiple ticket types, different prices, limited quantities, free tickets, pay-what-you-want tickets, and PDF ticket confirmations. support.wix.com

The main catch is the 2.5% Wix ticket service fee, on top of payment-processing fees. You can either pass that fee to the ticket buyer or absorb it yourself. support.wix.com

For merchandise, Wix gives you a conventional online store where you can manage products, payments, orders, and shipping. www.wix.comsupport.wix.comwww.charitycharge.com

When I'd choose Squarespace instead

Squarespace

If the nonprofit's brand/design is especially important—for example, an arts organization, cultural nonprofit, or foundation—I'd seriously consider Squarespace. It has excellent templates and supports both physical products and events/services. support.squarespace.com

But for your specific combination of tickets + merch + nonprofit + affordability, I think Wix is the more practical choice.

One important money-saving tip

Before paying for Wix, check whether your nonprofit qualifies for a nonprofit/TechSoup discount. Current third-party nonprofit pricing guides report substantial Wix discounts for eligible 501(c)(3)s, though I'd verify the exact offer when you're ready to purchase. www.charitycharge.com

Bottom line:
Wix + its built-in Events + Wix Stores would be my first choice for a small nonprofit that wants staff/volunteers to be able to manage the site without a developer.

If you tell me roughly how many tickets you sell per event, how much merch you sell per month, and your monthly website budget (e.g. under $20, $30, $50), I can compare the actual costs of Wix vs. Squarespace vs. a cheaper setup.

For a nonprofit that needs to sell event tickets and merchandise, I’d recommend Wix as the best balance of affordability, simplicity, and built-in functionality.

My ranking

🥇 I'd choose Wix

Wix nonprofit website builder is particularly well suited to your use case because you can keep the website, event registration/ticketing, and merchandise store in one place. Wix specifically supports nonprofit sites with online stores and event ticket sales. www.wix.com

Its nonprofit pricing is especially attractive if you're eligible: Wix currently offers qualifying charities/nonprofits a 70% discount on a 2-year Premium plan through TechSoup, plus a one-year domain registration voucher. support.wix.com

For ticketed events, Wix Events supports different ticket types, including fixed-price, tiered/price-option, pay-what-you-want, and free tickets. support.wix.com There is a 2.5% Wix ticket service fee, separate from payment processing, although you can choose to pass that fee to the ticket buyer. www.wix.comsupport.wix.comsupport.wix.comsupport.squarespace.comsupport.squarespace.comgivebutter.com

🥈 Squarespace if appearance matters most

Squarespace nonprofit resources would be my second choice. It's arguably better if you want a beautiful, polished organization website and the merch store is relatively straightforward.

It supports physical products and event/service products, although its event-ticketing functionality isn't as purpose-built as Wix's. support.squarespace.com Squarespace also offers nonprofits a 10% discount on the first payment. support.squarespace.com

One alternative I'd seriously consider: Givebutter

If your organization is primarily doing fundraising events, rather than operating a substantial online store, I'd consider using Givebutter for the tickets/fundraising and a simple website builder for the main website. Givebutter is designed specifically around nonprofit fundraising and events. givebutter.com

My recommendation by scenario:

• Small nonprofit + occasional events + T-shirts/merch → Wix
• Nonprofit where the website's visual presentation is very important → Squarespace
• Lots of merchandise/inventory → Shopify
• Frequent fundraising events + donations are the priority → Givebutter + Wix/Squarespace
• You have someone technical maintaining the site → WordPress

If you tell me roughly how many tickets you sell per event, how many events per year, and what kind of merch you sell, I can compare the actual annual cost + transaction fees for Wix vs. Squarespace vs. Givebutter and tell you which would be cheapest for your nonprofit.

For a nonprofit selling event tickets + merchandise, I’d usually avoid choosing a website builder based only on the website. The bigger question is: how much fundraising infrastructure do you need built in?

My top recommendations:

My practical picks:

• Volunteer-run nonprofit, fewer than a few thousand transactions/year:

Zeffy + a simple website (Wix or Squarespace). This keeps costs low and avoids paying a percentage on every fundraiser. www.squarespace.comwww.zeffy.com

• You host galas, festivals, auctions, or many paid events:

Use Wix/Squarespace for the main site + dedicated ticketing software.

• You sell lots of shirts, hats, products, etc.:

Use Shopify, especially if inventory and shipping are becoming a real operation. www.sitebuilderreport.com

A setup I’d recommend for many small nonprofits:

1. Website: Wix or Squarespace
2. Tickets: Zeffy/Event ticketing tool
3. Merch: Zeffy store, Shopify, or a print-on-demand service
4. Donations: integrated with your nonprofit CRM if you have one

If you tell me roughly (1) annual budget, (2) number of events per year, (3) whether you need donations too, and (4) how much merch you sell, I can narrow it to one choice.

For a nonprofit that needs to sell event tickets and merchandise, I’d recommend Wix as the best all-around affordable choice.

My ranking

🥇 I'd choose Wix

Wix for Nonprofits

Wix is particularly well suited to your situation because events and an online store are both native features. You can create different ticket types, set quantities, offer pay-what-you-want tickets, and even use seating maps. www.wix.com

For merchandise, Wix gives you a conventional online store where you can manage products, orders, payments and shipping. www.wix.com

The big thing to watch is ticket fees: Wix charges a 2.5% ticket service fee, separate from payment-processing fees. You can either absorb it or pass it on to ticket buyers. support.wix.comwww.charitycharge.comsupport.squarespace.com

Bonus: eligible nonprofits may be able to get a substantial Wix discount through TechSoup, which can make it particularly attractive on a tight budget. www.charitycharge.com

🥈 Givebutter if fundraising is the bigger priority

Givebutter

If you're primarily a fundraising organization that happens to sell tickets and some merchandise, I'd seriously consider Givebutter instead. Its event-ticketing system is designed specifically for nonprofits and includes ticket types, bundles, upsells, QR-code scanning, and custom attendee information. givebutter.com

Its free plan is particularly compelling: $0/month, with 0% platform fees when optional tips are enabled. givebutter.com

The downside is that I prefer Wix for a nonprofit that wants a real public-facing website + substantial merch store + events all under one roof.

🥉 Squarespace if appearance matters most

Squarespace

Squarespace is my pick if you want the website to look especially polished and modern. It supports selling products, donations and memberships, and it has nonprofit-specific templates. It also currently offers a 10% discount on the first payment with the code NONPROFIT. support.squarespace.com

However, for a nonprofit where ticket sales are a major part of the operation, I'd favor Wix or Givebutter.

Bottom line:

• Tickets + merch + normal nonprofit website → Wix
• Fundraising + events → Givebutter
• Beautiful website + merch → Squarespace

If you tell me roughly how many tickets you sell per year, how many merch products you have, and your monthly website budget, I can compare the actual fees and tell you which one would likely cost your nonprofit the least.

For a nonprofit that needs to sell event tickets and merchandise, I’d recommend Wix as the best balance of affordability, simplicity, and built-in functionality.

🥇 My recommendation: Wix

Why I’d choose it:

• Tickets: Wix Events supports multiple ticket types, discounts, pay-what-you-want pricing, seating maps, and PDF tickets. support.wix.com
• Merch: You can run an online store directly on the site, including products, payments, orders, and shipping. www.wix.com
• Nonprofit-friendly: Wix has dedicated nonprofit templates and fundraising/donation functionality. www.wix.com
• Easy to maintain: A staff member or volunteer can make changes without knowing HTML or having to manage WordPress plugins.
• Ticket fees: Wix currently charges a 2.5% ticket service fee, separate from payment processing, and you can either absorb it or pass it to the ticket buyer. support.wix.comsupport.wix.comwww.charitycharge.comsupport.squarespace.com
• Nonprofit discount: There are nonprofit discounts available through TechSoup for eligible organizations, so I'd check that before paying the standard price. www.charitycharge.com

How I'd compare the main options

Squarespace is a particularly good alternative if visual presentation and storytelling are more important than sophisticated ticketing. It offers nonprofit templates and a 10% first-payment nonprofit discount, and its current plans support selling products and donations. support.squarespace.com

For your specific situation, I'd start with Wix, especially if you're a small nonprofit and want one person to be able to manage the website, ticket sales, store, events, and basic fundraising without hiring a web developer.

One important caveat: if you sell a lot of merchandise (hundreds/thousands of orders) or run complex ticketed events, I'd look at Shopify or a dedicated ticketing platform alongside the website rather than forcing everything through a website builder.

If you tell me roughly how many events you have per year, typical ticket price, how much merch you sell, and your monthly website budget, I can recommend the most cost-effective setup and estimate the fees.

For a nonprofit that needs to sell event tickets + merchandise, I’d recommend Wix as the best affordable all-in-one option.

My ranking

🥇 Why I'd choose Wix

Wix nonprofit website builder

Wix is unusually well suited to your combination of needs. It has nonprofit templates, online stores, event management, ticket sales, donations, and memberships in the same ecosystem. www.wix.com

For events, Wix lets you create different ticket types, pricing tiers, limited quantities, "pay what you want" tickets, and even seating maps. Customers receive printable PDF tickets after purchasing. support.wix.com

The important cost to watch is Wix's 2.5% ticket service fee, which is separate from your payment processor's fee. You can either pass that fee to the ticket buyer or absorb it yourself. www.wix.comsupport.wix.comsupport.wix.comsupport.squarespace.com

For merchandise, you can set up a conventional online store with products, payments, orders and shipping. www.wix.com

🥈 When I'd choose Squarespace instead

Squarespace nonprofit solutions

I'd pick Squarespace if your priority is a particularly attractive, professional-looking website and your ticketing needs are relatively simple.

Squarespace supports physical merchandise and in-person events, but its event functionality isn't as ticket-centric as Wix's. support.squarespace.com It also currently advertises a 10% nonprofit discount on the first payment. support.squarespace.com

One thing I'd consider before choosing

If you're selling hundreds/thousands of tickets for major fundraising events, I wouldn't automatically put ticketing directly on the website builder. A dedicated ticketing/fundraising platform can sometimes give you better check-in, attendee management, QR codes, reporting, and donor management.

But if you're talking about something like:

• Annual fundraiser
• Charity gala
• Concert/show
• Community festival
• 100–1,000-ish attendees
• T-shirts, hats, mugs, etc.
• Donations
• A few events per year

Wix is probably the sweet spot.

If you tell me roughly how many tickets you sell per event, how many events per year, what kind of merch you sell, and your monthly budget, I can recommend the specific Wix/Squarespace/WordPress setup and estimate your annual cost, including transaction fees.

For a nonprofit that sells event tickets and merchandise, I’d recommend Wix as the best affordable all-around choice.

My ranking

🥇 Wix — my recommendation

Wix for nonprofits

Wix is particularly well suited to your situation because events/ticketing and an online store are both built into the ecosystem. You can create different ticket types, set quantities, offer free or paid tickets, and even use "pay what you want" pricing. www.wix.com

For merchandise, Wix provides a full online store with products, payments, orders and shipping. www.wix.com

One thing I'd pay attention to: Wix Events charges a 2.5% ticket service fee, separate from payment-processing fees. You can either pass that fee to the ticket buyer or absorb it. support.wix.com

There's also a potentially significant nonprofit discount: Wix says eligible nonprofits can get a 70% discount on a 2-year Premium plan through TechSoup. www.wix.comwww.charitycharge.comsupport.squarespace.com

I'd choose Wix if you want:

• Event ticket sales
• Merchandise store
• Donations
• Volunteer/contact forms
• Email/newsletter capability
• A site staff or volunteers can maintain without technical skills
• Everything under one roof

🥈 Squarespace

Squarespace nonprofit solutions

I'd choose Squarespace instead if the appearance of the website is especially important—for example, an arts organization, cultural nonprofit, museum, or community organization where photography and storytelling are central.

It supports physical merchandise and event/service products, and Squarespace currently offers nonprofits a 10% discount on the first payment. support.squarespace.com

The downside is that I think Wix is a better fit when ticket sales are a major part of the organization's fundraising, because Wix's event/ticketing functionality is more directly integrated.

🥉 WordPress

WordPress can ultimately give you the most flexibility, especially if you eventually want sophisticated fundraising, memberships, ticketing, donor management, etc.

But I'd only choose it if someone on your team is comfortable managing plugins, updates, hosting and occasional technical problems. The lower advertised price can become misleading once you add the various plugins and services you need.

What I'd actually do

If you're a small or medium nonprofit with a limited budget, I'd start with:

Wix + nonprofit discount + Wix Events + Wix Stores

That gives you one website where someone can:

Visit site → learn about your nonprofit → buy event ticket → buy T-shirt/merch → donate → sign up for updates

without having to stitch together several different systems.

If you tell me roughly how many tickets you sell per year, how much merch you sell, and whether you already use something like Eventbrite, PayPal, Square, or Stripe, I can also compare the actual annual cost and transaction fees of Wix vs. Squarespace vs. WordPress for your nonprofit.

For a nonprofit selling event tickets + merchandise, I’d recommend Wix as the best overall affordable option—especially if you want staff/volunteers to be able to manage the site without technical skills.

My ranking

Why I'd pick Wix

Wix gives you one place to manage the nonprofit's website, event pages, ticket sales, online store, payments, email/marketing, and basic donor/customer information. Its event system supports different ticket prices, limited quantities, free tickets, and pay-what-you-want tickets. support.wix.com

The important catch is that Wix charges a 2.5% ticket service fee, separate from payment-processing fees. You can either absorb that or pass it along to ticket buyers. support.wix.com

Wix's current Core plan is around $30/month on annual billing in the U.S. pricing structure and includes accepting payments and basic e-commerce. www.wix.com

One thing I'd definitely investigate before paying: eligible 501(c)(3) nonprofits may be able to get a substantial Wix discount through TechSoup. www.charitycharge.com

An even better nonprofit setup

If the organization does significant fundraising, I'd actually consider:

Wix + Givebutter

Use Wix for the public-facing website and merchandise, and Givebutter for donations, fundraising campaigns, and potentially events/ticketing. Givebutter currently offers its core fundraising platform at $0 platform fees when optional donor tips are enabled, and includes fundraising events and ticket sales. help.givebutter.com

That can be particularly attractive for a nonprofit because you don't necessarily want to pay website/e-commerce fees on every donation.

When I'd choose Squarespace instead

I'd pick Squarespace if the organization is particularly image/brand driven—arts organizations, museums, cultural events, foundations, etc. It has excellent templates and supports physical products and event/service products. support.squarespace.com

Its current commerce plans can have 0% Squarespace transaction fees, depending on the plan, although payment-processing fees still apply. support.squarespace.com

Bottom line:
👉 Wix if you want the easiest all-in-one solution.
👉 Wix + Givebutter if fundraising is a major part of what you do.
👉 Squarespace if having a beautiful, polished site is the priority.

If you tell me roughly how many events/tickets you sell per year and how much merch you expect to sell, I can compare the actual annual cost of Wix vs. Squarespace vs. WordPress + WooCommerce for your nonprofit.

For a nonprofit that needs to sell event tickets + merchandise, I’d recommend Wix as the best affordable all-in-one option.

My ranking

🥇 I'd pick Wix

Wix nonprofit website builder

Wix is particularly well suited to your situation because events, ticketing, ecommerce, and nonprofit features can live on the same site. Wix lets you create multiple ticket types, price tiers, limited quantities, pay-what-you-want tickets, seating maps, and downloadable tickets. www.wix.com

For merch, you can have a normal online store for things like T-shirts, hoodies, hats, bags, etc., with payments, orders, and shipping managed through the site. www.wix.com

One important cost: Wix charges a 2.5% ticket service fee on paid tickets, in addition to payment-processing fees. You can either pass that fee to the ticket buyer or absorb it yourself. www.wix.comsupport.wix.comwww.squarespace.com

Wix also has a potential TechSoup nonprofit discount that can make it considerably cheaper for eligible 501(c)(3)s. www.charitycharge.com

🥈 Squarespace if appearance matters most

Squarespace nonprofit websites

I'd choose Squarespace instead if you want a particularly polished, professional-looking site and the ticketing isn't extremely complicated. It supports events, donations, merchandise, and marketing tools, and Squarespace currently advertises a 10% nonprofit discount on the first payment. www.squarespace.com

💰 What I'd do for a small nonprofit

If your organization is relatively small and you're trying to keep costs down:

Wix + built-in Wix Events + Wix Store

That gives you one website, one admin login, one place for your staff/volunteers to manage things, and less technical maintenance.

If minimizing fees on fundraising/ticket sales is more important than having everything integrated, I'd consider Wix/Squarespace for the website + Zeffy for fundraising/ticketing instead.

If you tell me roughly (1) how many events you run per year, (2) typical ticket price/attendance, and (3) what kind of merch you sell, I can compare the actual annual cost of Wix vs. Squarespace vs. a low-cost combination and tell you which I'd choose.