ScanRaise vs Cheddar Up
Cheddar Up is a general collections tool; ScanRaise is fundraising software with a flat 2.5% and two payment modes.
The short version
Cheddar Up may fit general collections such as dues and field trips. ScanRaise may fit fundraising campaigns that need athons and QR donation cards, with connected Stripe or approved monthly platform payouts. Many organizations can reasonably evaluate both for different jobs.
The biggest difference comes down to who holds your money and what you are trying to do. With ScanRaise, your organization connects its own Stripe account and donations flow straight to your own bank via Stripe Connect; ScanRaise does not hold or disburse those funds when Stripe is connected. Cheddar Up, as of mid-2026, is the merchant of record and holds the funds until an organizer withdraws them (free standard withdrawals in 1 to 3 days, or a small fee for instant transfer).
Cheddar Up is a genuinely good general-purpose group-collections and forms tool. If your job is collecting any kind of money (dues, field-trip payments, spirit wear, signups, ACH/eCheck, in-person POS), its customizable payment pages and form builder are built for exactly that. Its pricing is public freemium: a free Basic tier, Pro around $15/mo and Team around $35/mo (billed annually, as of mid-2026), with card fees of 3.95% + $0.95 on Basic and 3.59% + $0.59 on Pro/Team.
ScanRaise is built specifically for running fundraising campaigns rather than general collections. It charges a flat 2.5% platform fee with no setup fee, no monthly subscription, and no contract (Stripe's standard processing of 2.9% + $0.30 applies separately, as on any online payment, and a donor-cover-fees checkbox is available). It adds fundraising-specific tools like GPS-verified athons, printable per-person QR donation cards, live leaderboards, and K-12 SSO that a general collections tool does not.
| Area | ScanRaise | Cheddar Up |
|---|---|---|
| Cost (fees + subscription) | Flat 2.5% platform fee, no monthly fee or contract (Stripe 2.9% + $0.30 applies separately) | Free to ~$35/mo tiers; card fees 3.95% + $0.95 (Basic) to 3.59% + $0.59 (Pro/Team), as of mid-2026 |
| Who holds the funds | Your org's own Stripe account; money goes straight to your bank. ScanRaise does not hold those funds when Stripe is connected. | Cheddar Up is merchant of record and holds funds until you withdraw (free 1-3 day, fee for instant) |
| Purpose (fundraising vs collections) | Purpose-built fundraising campaigns: donations, P2P, recurring, events, auctions, raffles | General group collections and forms: dues, signups, field trips, spirit wear, ACH/POS |
| Athons & QR cards | Phone-browser GPS distance tracking, a browser step counter, per-unit pledges, and printable QR cards. Participants can optionally connect Fitbit, select a day, review the daily summary of steps, distance, and active minutes, and choose whether to import it. | No GPS athons or physical QR donation cards (as of mid-2026) |
| SSO and K-12 controls | an SDPC resource listing, controls designed to support COPPA and FERPA obligations, Clever and ClassLink SSO, full Spanish site | No documented Clever/ClassLink SSO, SDPC, or full Spanish site (as of mid-2026) |
Comparison based on publicly available information as of mid-2026. Pricing and features on other platforms change often, and some vendors do not publish pricing; please confirm current details on Cheddar Up’s own website before deciding.
Where Cheddar Up fits
- When the job is collecting money rather than running a fundraiser: dues, field-trip payments, spirit wear, club signups, HOA fees, and similar recurring collections.
- When you need a flexible forms and signups builder with payment, eCheck/ACH, cash tracking, and in-person POS all in one place.
- When ACH/eCheck is important for larger payments (available on Pro/Team tiers) and you want everything tracked on one collection page.
- When you prefer a single vendor to hold and reconcile funds for you rather than connecting your own Stripe account.
Why schools pick ScanRaise
- Lower all-in cost for fundraising: a flat 2.5% platform fee with no monthly subscription and no contract (Stripe processing applies separately, with an optional donor-cover-fees checkbox).
- Connected Stripe campaigns send donations through the organization's Stripe account. Approved platform campaigns receive monthly payouts by check or ACH.
- Purpose-built for campaigns: athons with phone-browser GPS distance tracking, a browser step counter, and per-unit pledges, plus printable per-person QR donation cards, live leaderboards, and text-to-give. Participants can optionally connect Fitbit, select a day, review the daily summary of steps, distance, and active minutes, and choose whether to import it.
- K-12 ready: an SDPC resource listing, controls designed to support COPPA and FERPA obligations, Clever and ClassLink SSO for teachers, plus a full Spanish site.
- Donor-friendly and self-serve: donors scan a QR code and pay with Apple Pay, Google Pay, or any card in about 30 seconds with no app or account, and you can launch a campaign free in about 2 minutes.
ScanRaise vs Cheddar Up: FAQ
How do the fees compare between ScanRaise and Cheddar Up?
ScanRaise charges a flat 2.5% platform fee with no monthly subscription or contract; Stripe's standard processing (2.9% + $0.30) applies separately, and donors can opt to cover fees via a checkbox (donors may opt in). Cheddar Up, as of mid-2026, uses public freemium pricing: free Basic, Pro around $15/mo and Team around $35/mo (billed annually), with card fees of 3.95% + $0.95 on Basic and 3.59% + $0.59 on Pro/Team, and the fee is added to the payer by default. Compare your expected volume against both models.
Who holds the money and how do payouts work?
With ScanRaise, your organization connects its own Stripe account and donations flow straight to your own bank via Stripe Connect destination charges; ScanRaise does not hold or disburse those funds when Stripe is connected. With Cheddar Up, the platform is the merchant of record and holds the funds until an organizer withdraws them, with free standard withdrawals in 1 to 3 days or a small fee for instant transfer (as of mid-2026).
We mostly collect dues and field-trip money, not run fundraisers. Which is better?
Cheddar Up is likely the better fit. It is a general-purpose group-collections and forms tool built for dues, signups, field trips, spirit wear, ACH/eCheck, and in-person POS. ScanRaise is purpose-built for fundraising campaigns (donations, P2P, athons, events, auctions, raffles), so if your job is collecting any money rather than running a campaign, Cheddar Up's collection pages and form builder are designed for exactly that.
What K-12 controls do ScanRaise and Cheddar Up document?
ScanRaise is listed in the SDPC resource registry and provides controls designed to support COPPA and FERPA obligations. It also supports Clever and ClassLink SSO for teachers, plus a full Spanish site. Cheddar Up serves schools and PTAs but does not document Clever/ClassLink SSO, SDPC registration, or a full Spanish site as of mid-2026. Schools still must evaluate agreements, notices, configuration, and legal requirements for their use of student-linked data in ScanRaise.
How hard is it to switch from Cheddar Up to ScanRaise?
ScanRaise is self-serve software, so you can set up a campaign free in about 2 minutes with no credit card required. The main change is payments: instead of a vendor holding your funds, you connect your organization's own Stripe account so money goes straight to your bank. You can keep using Cheddar Up for general collections like dues while using ScanRaise for fundraising campaigns; they do not have to be either/or.
Try ScanRaise free
Set up your first campaign in about 2 minutes. Flat 2.5%, no contract, no app. Connected Stripe campaigns receive funds through the organization's Stripe account; approved platform campaigns receive monthly payouts.
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