Is GiveRadar an alternative to Pledge's Charity Database?

Yes, for many use cases. Pledge Charity Database is a paid B2B product with approximately 2 million verified nonprofits, sold under enterprise pricing through their sales team. GiveRadar covers 7 million+ charities across 65+ countries with a free public web interface, free API tier (100 requests per day), Pro at 99 USD per month for 10,000 daily requests, and full OpenAPI specification. Pledge's database is optimized for donation routing inside their fundraising infrastructure; GiveRadar's database is optimized for research, with an automatic Integrity Assessment, red flag detection, sanctions screening, and per-charity news context. For B2B donation routing specifically, Pledge's tight integration with payment infrastructure is hard to replicate. For research-grade access without sales-cycle friction, GiveRadar is open and free.

Does Pledge's database have more charities than GiveRadar?

Pledge claims approximately 2 million verified charities; GiveRadar covers 7 million+ charities. The numbers are roughly comparable for the active US 501(c) sector, but GiveRadar's database is significantly larger overall because we ingest registry data from 65+ countries' national regulators rather than relying on US-derived sources. Pledge's database emphasizes verification (vetted for donation routing); GiveRadar's emphasizes registry presence (every charity that exists in an official registry is included).

How does Pledge's API pricing compare to GiveRadar?

Pledge does not publish API pricing publicly; access requires going through their sales team for both the Charity Database API and the donation platform APIs. Custom enterprise pricing applies. GiveRadar publishes transparent pricing: free tier of 100 requests per day with self-service signup (no approval gate), Pro at 99 USD per month for 10,000 daily requests, and Enterprise pricing for unlimited use. The OpenAPI specification is publicly available without registration. For research budgets and developer self-service, GiveRadar removes friction Pledge maintains by design (their model is account-managed B2B sales).

Who runs Pledge.to and where is it based?

Pledge is led by CEO and co-founder James Citron, a serial entrepreneur whose previous companies include the mobile messaging firms Mogreet (acquired by Silver Lake portfolio) and Outspoken (acquired by Blackstone portfolio). Pledge has reported facilitating donations to over 25,000 nonprofits across 100+ countries, with the donation platform serving partners like Zoom (where Pledge built the first virtual-call donate button) and Shopify (the first round-up donation integration for the e-commerce platform).

Should I use Pledge or GiveRadar to embed donations on my platform?

Pledge, almost certainly. GiveRadar does not provide donation processing, donate buttons, payment routing, or fundraising widgets; we are research-only. Pledge has built specifically for the embedded-giving use case: their developer platform provides charity search, donation forms, payment routing, webhooks, and partner integrations like the Zoom donate button and Shopify round-up. If your goal is to add giving to your product, Pledge is purpose-built; GiveRadar would only be useful as a research layer for the charity-selection step in front of Pledge's donation rails.

Should I use GiveRadar or Pledge to research a charity?

GiveRadar. Pledge's verification layer confirms a charity is eligible to receive donations through their platform; that is a useful binary check for fundraising routing but does not produce per-charity research output (financials, integrity assessment, red flags, news context). GiveRadar surfaces registry-filed financial signals, an automatic Integrity Assessment from 0 to 100, automated red flag detection, sanctions screening, and per-charity news through GDELT integration, all free for browsing and via the public API.

Does Pledge cover non-US charities?

Yes, Pledge claims coverage of charities in over 100 countries with their global donation platform. Their database verification process cross-references international nonprofit registries alongside the IRS records that anchor US coverage. Donation routing through Pledge handles foreign-currency conversion and US tax-deductible structures where applicable. GiveRadar also covers international charities (65+ countries through their official government registries) but does not handle donation routing. For international donation infrastructure, Pledge has the operational rails that GiveRadar by design does not.

Can I research a Pledge-listed charity on GiveRadar?

Usually yes, especially for US 501(c)(3)s and major international charities. If a charity is listed on Pledge it has typically been registered with its national regulator, which means it should also appear in GiveRadar's database with its registry filings, financials, Integrity Assessment, and red flag detection. The honest workflow for a B2B platform building giving features: use Pledge for the donation rails, optionally use GiveRadar's API to surface a charity-quality signal alongside the donate button so users can make better-informed selections.

Why is Pledge's pricing not public when GiveRadar's is?

Different go-to-market strategies. Pledge sells primarily to B2B partners (platforms, e-commerce companies, livestream services) with custom integration scope and per-deal pricing; the sales-led model is conventional for embedded-infrastructure SaaS. GiveRadar's go-to-market is product-led: free tier with self-service signup, transparent published Pro and Enterprise pricing, and an open OpenAPI specification anyone can read before deciding to integrate. Both models are legitimate; they suit different buyer types. Researchers, journalists, academics, and small developers self-serve more easily on GiveRadar; enterprise platforms with revenue-sharing partnership models work more naturally with Pledge.

Comparison

GiveRadar vs Pledge (pledge.to): an honest comparison

Q: What is the difference between GiveRadar and Pledge?

Different products. Pledge (pledge.to), founded by James Citron, runs a B2B charitable donation platform that powers embedded giving inside partner products: the first donate button on Zoom, the first donation round-up integration for Shopify, donation widgets for Evite and Legacy.com, and similar fundraising integrations. Alongside the donation platform, Pledge sells a Charity Database API product with approximately 2 million verified nonprofits worldwide. GiveRadar is a free global research database covering 7 million+ charities across 65+ countries from 50+ official government registries; we do not process donations. For platforms building embedded fundraising features, Pledge is purpose-built. For nonprofit research, programmatic access, or international coverage at zero cost, GiveRadar fits.

Pledge runs two products: a B2B donation platform (the first donate button on Zoom, round-up donations on Shopify) and a paid Charity Database API with about 2 million verified nonprofits. GiveRadar is a free global research database covering 7 million+ charities across 65+ countries with a public API. The two are best at different things.

Skip to verdict See full comparison

GiveRadar in one paragraph

A free global charity research database launched in 2026. Aggregates 7 million+ charities across 65+ countries from 50+ official government registries. Computes an Integrity Assessment from 0 to 100 automatically from registry-filed data, plus automated red flags, sanctions screening, and news context. Free public web interface, free API tier (100 req/day), Pro at 99 USD/month, transparent pricing, public OpenAPI spec. Research-only; we do not process donations.

Pledge in one paragraph

A B2B charitable donation infrastructure company founded by James Citron (formerly CEO of Mogreet and Outspoken). Runs the leading platform for embedded giving on partner products: first donate button on Zoom, first donation round-up for Shopify, plus integrations with Evite, Legacy.com, Price.com, and others. Also sells a Charity Database API product with approximately 2 million verified nonprofits across 100+ countries, vetted by an in-house trust and safety team. Pricing through enterprise sales; not publicly disclosed.

The 30-second verdict

If you are a B2B platform building embedded giving features (donate button on a video call, round-up at checkout, fundraising widget on a livestream), Pledge is purpose-built and we cannot match its donation infrastructure. If you want a free public research database, transparent self-service API pricing, broader international registry coverage, or per-charity Integrity Assessment plus news and sanctions context, GiveRadar fits. The two tools complement each other for B2B platforms wanting a research layer alongside Pledge's donation rails.

What you are actually comparing

Pledge runs two products that are sometimes confused. Both are relevant to a comparison with GiveRadar, but they serve different needs.

Charity Database API

Pledge's B2B nonprofit database

Approximately 2 million verified charities globally, accessible via API for B2B partners. Daily updates cross-reference IRS records, US state registrations, and international nonprofit registries; an in-house trust and safety team adds, edits, and removes organizations to maintain a 100 percent verified set. Searchable by mission area, geography, and cause categories. Used for charity selection inside donation flows, employee giving programs, and partner platforms.

This is the Pledge product that competes most directly with GiveRadar on a feature-for-feature basis: both are nonprofit databases with API access. The differences are in pricing transparency, geographic depth (registry-sourced versus aggregated), and whether the API is research-oriented or donation-routing-oriented.

Donation platform

Pledge's embedded giving infrastructure

A B2B fundraising platform that powers giving features inside other companies' products. Notable firsts include the donate button on Zoom calls, donation round-up at Shopify checkout, and fundraising widgets across Evite, Legacy.com, and other partners. Donation routing handles payment processing, foreign-currency conversion, US tax receipting, and post-donation reporting. Over 25,000 nonprofits have received donations through the platform.

This product does not directly compete with GiveRadar; we are not a donation processor. For platforms building embedded giving, Pledge is the obvious choice. The natural pairing is to use Pledge's donation rails alongside an independent research layer (GiveRadar's API) so users can see charity quality signals before clicking donate.

Side-by-side comparison

Three columns: GiveRadar, Pledge's Charity Database, and Pledge's donation platform. Last reviewed June 2026.

Dimension	GiveRadar	Pledge Charity Database	Pledge donation platform
Primary function	Free public charity research database	Paid B2B nonprofit database API	Embedded donation infrastructure
Records	7 million+ charities, registry-sourced	~2 million verified nonprofits	25,000+ active recipient nonprofits
Geographic reach	65+ countries	100+ countries	100+ countries
Pricing	Free web + free 100 req/day API; Pro 99 USD/month for 10,000 req/day	Custom, sales-led; not publicly disclosed	Custom partnership pricing
Public API	REST + OpenAPI spec, self-service signup	REST API; sales-cycle gated	Donation API + widgets; partner approval
Vetting model	Trust the official registry; auto-score signals	In-house trust and safety team; daily verification updates	Same trust and safety verification as the database
Per-charity scoring	Integrity Assessment 0-100 (5 components)	Verification status only	Eligibility flag for donation routing
Red flags / news	Yes (auto red flags + GDELT news + Open Sanctions)	Compliance review per record; not exposed as data fields	Same as database
Donations processed	No (research-only)	Not the database product itself	Yes; embedded payment + tax receipts
Notable partner integrations	Independent platform; no embedded partnerships	Powers giving features for partners (Zoom, Shopify, Evite, Legacy.com)	Same partner ecosystem (database serves donation routing)
Methodology published	Yes, openly under CC-BY 4.0	Verification process described at high level; full methodology proprietary	Donation flow documented in developer guides
Founder	Matt Timmermans	James Citron (also CEO; previously Mogreet, Outspoken)	Same: James Citron

When to use which

Each product has a clear best-fit use case.

Use GiveRadar when

• You want a free public research database with transparent pricing
• You need an automated Integrity Assessment, red flags, news, and sanctions screening
• You are doing journalistic, academic, or grantmaking research
• You want a self-service API without a sales cycle
• Open methodology and OpenAPI specification matter to you

Use Pledge Charity Database when

• You are building a B2B product that needs a verified-only nonprofit list with daily updates
• Compliance-grade vetting and an in-house trust and safety review matter to procurement
• You are integrating the database alongside Pledge's donation rails (single-vendor convenience)
• You have budget for enterprise pricing and prefer account-managed support
• Pledge's existing partner ecosystem (Zoom, Shopify) integrates well with your stack

Use Pledge donation platform when

• You are embedding giving features into a product (call platform, e-commerce, livestream)
• You need donation processing, payment routing, and US tax receipting handled for you
• You want to ship round-up donations, donate buttons, or peer-to-peer fundraising quickly
• Cross-border donation handling (currency conversion, tax structures) is in scope
• Your business model includes revenue-sharing or partner economics on giving features

The natural pairing

For B2B platforms building giving features: use Pledge's donation rails for the actual transaction (they have the integrations, the payment infrastructure, the partner ecosystem) and add GiveRadar as a research layer to surface charity-quality signals (Integrity Assessment, red flags, sanctions screening) before users click donate. Each tool stays in its lane and the donor gets both verified payment routing and research-grade context.

Honest about the limits

Where each platform is not the right tool. We try to be plain about ours.

Where Pledge is weaker than GiveRadar

• Pricing is opaque; requires sales engagement to evaluate either product
• No free public research interface; the database is purely B2B
• No published per-charity scoring (verification is binary; no Integrity Assessment equivalent)
• No automated red flag detection, sanctions screening output, or news monitoring exposed as data fields
• Methodology and OpenAPI spec not publicly published in detail; verification process described only at high level
• Database optimized for donation routing rather than research; less rich registry-sourced field detail per record

Where GiveRadar is weaker than Pledge

• No donation processing or embedded giving infrastructure; we are research-only
• No integrations with platforms like Zoom, Shopify, or Evite
• No payment routing, foreign currency conversion, or US tax receipt generation
• No partnership economics or revenue-sharing model for B2B platforms
• No human trust and safety team performing daily compliance review per record
• Smaller B2B partner ecosystem; we are newer and product-led rather than sales-led

Free, open, and global

Search any of 7 million+ charities across 65+ countries, or pull the same records via our public REST API. No sales cycle, no NDA, no minimum spend.

Search charities API plans Methodology

Primary sources

All figures sourced from each platform's own published documentation. GiveRadar figures are live counts from this platform.

This page is written and maintained by GiveRadar. We make no claim to neutrality: we built GiveRadar and we believe in it. We have tried to represent Pledge fairly. Pledge is the established leader in embedded B2B donation infrastructure, and we recommend it without reservation for platforms building giving features. The two tools answer different questions and combine well; this page exists to help platforms and developers choose the right tool for their use case. If you spot an inaccuracy, email [email protected] and we will correct it.