Square and Stripe are payment processors: the lowest-cost way to take a card and accept a donation, with a page you assemble yourself. Read-A-Thon is a finished reading fundraiser — the activity, incentives, materials, and coaching included. Square and Stripe fit organizers who want cheap checkout and will build everything around it. Read-A-Thon fits schools that want the event, not just the payment button.
Square/Stripe vs. Read-A-Thon at a glance
This is the widest gap on the list: raw payment infrastructure versus a complete program. Square figures below are as published on squareup.com (captured August 2026); Stripe's standard rate is comparable.
| Square / Stripe | Read-A-Thon | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Payment processing + a page you build | A finished reading fundraiser |
| Fees | ~2.6% + $0.10 per online card payment (no nonprofit discount) | Keep 75% (prize store) or 80% (self-run rewards) |
| You provide | The campaign, the activity, the outreach — everything | Your community and a goal |
| Fundraising features | None beyond taking payment | Reading logs, prize store, materials, coaching |
On processing cost, Square and Stripe are about as cheap as it gets. But they are a cash register, not a fundraiser — everything that makes people want to give is on you.
When Square or Stripe is the right choice
For some organizers, raw payment rails are exactly the right tool.
- You already have your own site and campaign. If you have a web presence and just need to accept payments cheaply, Square or Stripe drops in cleanly.
- You have technical help. Stripe in particular rewards someone comfortable wiring up a checkout or donation form.
- You want the lowest possible processing cost. With no platform layer, you pay only the processor — hard to beat on fees alone.
If you want cheap checkout and will build the rest, these are excellent, no-frills rails.
What you would have to build yourself
The low fee reflects how little you get. To turn a payment page into a school fundraiser, you would supply:
- The activity and the reason to give. A checkout does not create demand. A Read-A-Thon gives every student a reason for sponsors to donate.
- Participant pages and tracking. Per-student pages, minute logging, and a live leaderboard are the engine of a school event — none of which a processor provides.
- Incentives and fulfilment. A prize store that motivates readers with nothing for you to ship.
- Materials and a plan. Kickoff messaging, reminders, and a proven cadence — plus a coach to call.
Add all of that up and you have rebuilt, by hand, what a Read-A-Thon includes out of the box. The few points of processing you save rarely cover the hours it takes.
How to choose
- Do you want to build a fundraiser or run one? Payment rails are for builders; a finished program is for everyone else.
- Do you have the time and technical help? If not, assembling a campaign around a checkout is a large hidden cost.
- Is the activity important? Only a purpose-built program brings the reading event that drives participation.
If you want the fundraiser rather than the cash register, a Read-A-Thon sets up free in about ten minutes. Start for free or read how a Read-A-Thon works.