Competitive parity, in one page

FreedomRaise vs WinRed vs ActBlue.

What we match. What we deliberately skip. What we defer to v2. And the seven things neither platform does that we will.

A working document. Updated 2026-05-13. Share freely. Tell us what we got wrong at the bottom.

$122M

refunded in the dominant platform's 2020 cycle due to pre-checked recurring (NYT, April 2021)

3.94%

WinRed standard credit-card take rate

3.95%

ActBlue platform fee charged to the committee, plus a pre-populated donor tip on top

$0.30

Stripe flat fee per donation that everyone pays; we show it explicitly on every receipt

2 to 4

business days for ActBlue payouts via Stripe; we match WinRed's same-day cadence

pre-checked recurring boxes anywhere on FreedomRaise

Side by side

The matrix, no narrative.

Scan once. The FreedomRaise column is what we're committing to. Rows in green say we win that row, red says we deliberately don't compete, gray says neutral.

Feature	FreedomRaise us	WinRed incumbent	ActBlue opposing rail
Pricing & trust
Platform take rate	0% to 1.04%, campaign sets	3.94% (3.2% on $500+)	3.95% + donor tip
Donor tip layer	Never charged	Optional cover-fees	Pre-populated default
Pre-checked recurring	Banned at platform level	Campaigns can enable	Removed post-2021
Itemized receipt (donor sees Stripe / platform / committee split)	Always	Bundled into one number	Bundled
Payout speed to committee	Same day	Same day	2 to 4 business days
Campaign-controlled fee dial	Each committee picks 0% to 1.04%	Fixed by platform	Fixed by platform
Donor experience
Apple Pay / Google Pay	✓	✓	✓
ACH bank transfer	✓ (0.8% capped at $5)	✓	✓ limited
Mobile-first checkout (<30s)	✓	✓	✓
One-click recurring cancellation from email	✓ signed link, no login	Multi-step	Login required
Express donor account (one-click across committees)	✓ opt-in only	✓	Auto-enrolled by default
Donor self-service refund	7 days self-service from donor portal	Committee-initiated	Committee-initiated
Donation surfaces
Embeddable widget (script tag on any site)	✓	✓	✓
Hosted donation page with custom URL	✓ /c/<committee-slug>	✓	✓
Petition page (capture email before ask)	✓	✓	✗
Peer-to-peer / team pages	✓ no approval required	✓	Tandem only
Slates / split donations	✓ donor picks split	✓	Tandem
Auto-generated QR per page	✓	✓	✓
Compliance & trust
FEC + state CSV exports	✓ matches treasurer format	✓	✓
FEC contribution-limit enforcement at checkout	✓ blocks before charge	Filed downstream	Filed downstream
OFAC sanctions screening	✓ at donation time	Via Stripe	Via Stripe
Row-level security per committee in DB	✓ Postgres RLS	Opaque	Opaque
Pentest before launch + annually	Committed (S11)	Unknown	Unknown
Beyond the rails (Phase 2)
Field organizing (P2P texting, phone bank, canvass)	Phase 2	✗	✓ ActBlue Field Tools
Website builder for committees	Skip (use Webflow / Wix)	✗	✓ ~$40/mo
Merchandise / on-demand storefront	Skip	✓ zero-touch	✗
AI talking points (daily push)	Phase 2 Supergod tier	✗	✗
AI speech writing	Phase 2 Supergod tier	✗	✗
Per-donor enrichment + audience trend dashboards	Phase 2 Supergod tier	Limited	Limited
Native iOS / Android app for managers	Phase 2 (PWA in v1.5)	✗	✗

WinLose or skipParityRed bar on the left flags the FreedomRaise column.

Matching parity in v1

What we ship that they also ship.

If they have it and it serves donors, we have it. No daylight on the table-stakes feature list.

✓Mobile-optimized contribution forms
Sub-30-second checkout on phone.
✓Recurring donations (sustainers)
Donor-controlled, off by default.
✓Express donor accounts (one-click giving across committees)
Donor opt-in only. Never auto-enrolled.
✓Custom donation pages
Six surfaces: hosted page, embed widget, slate, petition, peer-to-peer, QR.
✓Embeddable widget
One script tag drops on any campaign site.
✓Apple Pay / Google Pay / ACH
Native at checkout. ACH for high-dollar.
✓QR codes per page
Auto-generated. Print on yard signs and mailers.
✓Slates / split donations
Donor picks split via sliders. Joint fundraisers supported.
✓Petition pages
Capture name and email before the donation ask.
✓Peer-to-peer (team) pages
Supporters spin up their own pages raising for the candidate.
✓Donor option to cover fees
Off by default. Donor opts in via clear toggle.
✓A/B testing on amounts and copy
Built into pages.
✓Real-time donor profiles and reporting
Live feed in the manager dashboard.
✓FEC and state CSV exports
Format matches what your treasurer files. We don't file for you.
✓Refund processing
Donor self-service within 7 days. Committee after.
✓Compliance transfers (payouts)
Stripe Connect Express handles the regulated pieces.

Deliberately skipped

What we won't ship, on principle.

These aren't features we lack. They're features we'd reject if a partner asked for them. The pitch falls apart without this list.

✗ Pre-checked recurring boxes
The WinRed scandal. $122M refunded in 2020 cycle. We hard-ban it at the platform level.
✗ Pre-checked money-bomb multipliers
Same family of dark pattern. Same ban.
✗ Exit-intent / countdown urgency popups
Often fake urgency. Conflicts with the honest-defaults pitch.
✗ Aggressive multi-step upsell chains in checkout
Known friction point. We allow at most ONE optional ask post-confirmation.
✗ Dynamic amount auto-bumping based on donor history
Reads as manipulative.
✗ Pre-populated donor tip (ActBlue style)
Wired in code, never shown in UI. Locked off in v1.

Phase 2

What we defer until pilot signs are real.

These aren't gaps. They're explicit second-release work. The Supergod AI tier is where the long-term margin lives.

Field organizing toolkit
P2P texting, phone banking, canvassing, voter registration. ActBlue ate Impactive for this. Phase 2.
Website builder for committees
ActBlue offers at ~$40/mo. Different product. Webflow / Wix already exist.
Merchandise / on-demand storefront
WinRed differentiator. Adds fulfillment logistics. Phase 2.
Money pledges (pledge now, pay if goal hit)
Useful for momentum campaigns. Phase 2.
AI tools (talking points, speech writing, donor enrichment, audience trends, ad targeting)
Phase 2 Supergod tier. Our premium upsell. Neither platform has it.

Our edge

Seven things neither platform does.

Match parity. Then beat them where it actually matters: donor trust, campaign control, and the AI layer above the rails.

01
Sub-3% take, posted in plain English
WinRed 3.94%. ActBlue 3.95% + donor tip on top. We publish the math.
02
Per-donation receipt with itemized fee split
Donor sees: total → Stripe → platform → committee. They bundle into one opaque number.
03
Campaign-controlled platform fee dial
Each committee sets their own platform fee 0% to 1.04%. They each force one rate on everyone.
04
One-click recurring cancellation from any receipt
WinRed makes this hard. We make it trivial.
05
Same-day payouts via Stripe Connect
Match WinRed. Beat ActBlue's 2 to 4 business days.
06
Pick-your-pricing model per committee
Switch between per-tx and (future) flat SaaS. They lock you in.
07
Phase 2 AI Supergod tier
Speech writing, donor enrichment, daily intel. Neither has it. Hard for them to copy without rebuilding their core.

Have a take

Tell us what we got wrong.

This page is a draft. If you spot a parity feature we missed, a 'skip' you'd actually want, or a Phase 2 ordering call you disagree with, leave a note. Goes straight to the founding team.