The phrase to look for is not "fee". It is "of funds raised".
Percentage pricing rarely appears in the headline number on an auction platform's website. It shows up in a footnote, in the checkout flow, or in the difference between a "free" plan and what your organization actually nets at the end of the night.
The four forms it takes
A stated platform percentage. The honest version: a clear "we charge X% of auction revenue". Easy to compare, easy to budget, and at least you know.
A payment processing markup. Card processing costs roughly 2.9% plus 30 cents almost everywhere. If a platform quotes you meaningfully more than that for processing, the gap is a platform fee wearing a different hat. Ask what the underlying processor rate is.
A bidder-facing donation prompt. Some free platforms cover costs by asking your bidders to add a voluntary contribution at checkout. Your organization pays nothing directly, which is genuinely appealing, but your guests are being solicited a second time on top of their winning bid, using your event's goodwill.
A tip or service line on the invoice. A pre-filled amount added to what winners owe, sometimes defaulted on. Check whether your winners can see and change it, because they will notice.
Why it matters more than the headline price
A percentage fee has a property no flat fee has: it punishes a good night. If your committee lands a great donated vacation package and the bidding runs hot, the platform's cut goes up with it. The better the volunteers do, the more the software costs.
It also makes budgeting genuinely hard. A treasurer cannot put a percentage of an unknown number in a budget line, which means the auction's true cost is not knowable until after it is over.
Questions that surface it
- What is our total cost if we raise $30,000 instead of $10,000?
- What is the exact payment processing rate, and who is the processor?
- Will my bidders be asked for anything beyond their winning bid?
- Is any tip or contribution defaulted on at checkout?
A vendor that answers all four plainly is one you can budget around. Confirm the specifics on their current pricing page, since these terms change.
What flat pricing looks like
One number, known before the event, unchanged by how well you do. Your card processing stays between you and your processor at the standard rate, or you skip cards entirely and collect with Venmo, checks, and cash the way most school auctions already do.
MyGiveKit charges a flat annual fee and takes no percentage of what you raise. When an organization connects Stripe, the money goes to that organization's own Stripe account and MyGiveKit adds no application fee on top. You can run a full trial auction free first.