SchoolAuction.net vs Greater Giving

Silent Auction Pro

OneCause

GiveSmart

BiddingOwl.com

Handbid

ReadySetAuction

My overall experience has been very positive.  Everything the software does to make life easier is fantastic.   It was created by people who have worked in the trenches of the hellish auction so they totally understand.  The rep is also awesome about making himself available to help with event logistics.  We've had moments where we were having a hard time figuring out how to transition to a database-run event and [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] would spend time on the phone giving us pointers.

Simplified my life tremendously!

Thanks, Trish!  We appreciate the feedback and the continued opportunity to help you!

We used this software to process payments for our walkthrough registration day (so annual giving campaign, t-shirt and yearbook sales, etc. After processing payments we sent the users an email receipt. It was very frustrating that there is no acknowledgement that the email has been sent. We got acknowledgement that the payment had been processed but not that the email had gone through. Also, we have heard that for some reason a few Hotmail email addresses did not receive the emailed receipt. We confirmed the email addresses and hit send (multiple times in some cases) but they didn't get through to Hotmail (the users checked their spam folders too...they were not there either. 

We are generally very happy with this product, but have some suggestions for improvement. 

We've been very happy with School Auction Net.  We are a small school with a small staff and volunteer gala team.  School Auction Net is affordable, easy to use and meets our needs for managing ticket sale information, a silent auction, and a raise the paddle (aka fund a need). Customer service has been very responsive. The only thing holding me back from giving it 5 stars in all areas is that we run a fairly traditional operation (no online bidding and we print thank you letters and receipts, for example) and School Auction Net seems even stronger for those who want to do more electronically (e.g. email receipts, online and mobile bidding).  Perhaps one day we will have time and it will make sense for us to add some of those features - and then we can comment on the full range of School Auction Net.  In the meantime, we highly recommend the software to keep your ticket sales and auction running smoothly!

Versatile, Easy-to-Use Auction Software

While looking upgrade our silent auction event, I researched at least five online services.  I had a good idea of what I needed, though my research taught me about additional services available that were helpful.

A little background...my organization, until this year, had done nearly everything manually from recording reservations to checkout, and beyond.  Transitioning from manual to digital is not always easy especially when the technological capabilities of the volunteer base varies.  All of my volunteers found the software very easy to use.  Further, and almost more important, the guests repeatedly praised the ease of checkin and checkout.  Happy guests lead to better fundraising!

SchoolAuction.net stood out on several fronts.  It had all that I needed and then some (though most did).  However, SchoolAuction.net offered customer support that was amazing.  From rapid response to email questions, to giving me a lot of telephone time to walk me through the software from beginning to end.  It was a personal touch that was not only appreciated, but gave me confidence and an understanding of the software.  In addition, I knew that if I had another question, they would be there to talk to me on the phone.

Additionally, SchoolAuction.net was the only service I found to offer a subscription based service.  Not only did not my organization implement the technology for the initial event, we have used it since in a different way for fundraising, and hope to use it for a golf event in the spring.

Lastly, SchoolAuction.net allowed me to not only offer express checkout, but to allow my guests to checkin online in advance, an option many used.  Those guests who checked in in advance were able to provide their credit card number (securely), and receive their bid number before arriving at the event.  Once they did arrive, they did not need to stop at the table.  They were able to walk right in.

I would strongly recommend SchoolAuction.net and look forward to using them for the next event!

Wonderful product with outstanding support service

Compare SchoolAuction.net and Greater Giving based on features, pricing, verified reviews, integrations & more on GetApp. Find out which software is best for your business in 2025.

ReadySetAuction is a web-based auction software that empowers non-profit staff & volunteers to run silent, live, mobile, & online fundraiser auctions themselves

Handbid auction software enables auctions to be centrally managed and administered, while allowing users to place bids and pay directly from native mobile apps

GiveSmart is a mobile bidding and event management solution for fundraisers of all sizes, including foundations, nonprofits, and schools. GiveSmart’s key features include a ticketing portal, guest and event management, as well as online donations and silent auction tools.

SchoolAuction.net is a web-based service designed to manage volunteer-driven auctions and other fundraising events for public, private and parochial schools

Absentee Bidding

Alerts/Notifications

Attendance Management

Bid Management

Billing & Invoicing

Buy Now Option

Campaign Management

Catalog Management

Credit Card Processing

Customizable Branding

Electronic Payments

Event Management

Event Ticketing

Event Tracking

Image Library

Inventory Management

Live Auction

Membership Management

Mobile Access

Mobile Alerts

Online Auction

Online Bidding

Payment Processing

Proxy Bidding

Real-Time Monitoring

Real-Time Notifications

Receipt Management

Registration Management

Reporting & Statistics

Reverse Bidding

Search/Filter

Silent Auction

Social Media Integration

Watch List

Website Management

SchoolAuction.net

Web-based

Executive Director

As we began last year, the committee asked "Are we using the auction software again. I stopped them dead in their tracks when my reply was, "I refuse to participate if we DON'T.

Director of Special Events

There was a learning curve, especially for those team members who aren't especially tech-savvy , but the majority found it very easy to use and were thrilled that we made the switch.

Auction Chair

ALL of our events yielded higher revenue than in past years as a result of their great tools and we saved money over the other packages we evaluated.

Communications

The integration for the business side of the auction was fantastic.

Development Director

Check-in/out feature was outstanding, facilitated quick, easy, accurate check-out processing even though we used the "basic" model.

Some team members struggled with the lack of phone support.

Easy to contact support team if needs arise. I also appreciate the helpful bidding sheets that print directly from the software.

Dinner and Auction Co-Chair

I love so much about SA - the ease of putting things in, the on-line catalog, etc. This product helped us so much with our dinner & auction.

Development Coordinator

In 2021, they introduced a live streaming life video with chat board. We used it and was very successful.

So when you call or reach out to [SENSITIVE CONTENT], a knowledgable, kind, and patient person ALWAYS picks up quickly.

PTA Volunteer

We loved using SchoolAuction.net and have already made plans to use it for our next event.

A little restricted on the type of reporting/reports we could run. Had to run a couple different ones to get the info I needed.

Board Member

He did the training for me and it turned out to be a 1-on-1 session since the others didn't show up. He was extremely helpful and I will never look to another software system for our auctions.

Worth the learning curve. Switched from software we had been using for the past 20.

Spectacular Product with Superior Customer Service.

Auction Co-chair

This software is easy to use, once you invest the time into learning it.

Volunteer - IT

Intuitive, very little training for volunteers. Very easy to integrate credit card processing connection.

You can change the colors but the layout options are limited.

SchoolAuction.net screenshot: Print materials can be generated with a single click

SchoolAuction.net screenshot: The auction catalog can be made available for online bidding

SchoolAuction.net screenshot: Attendees can register and purchase event tickets online

SchoolAuction.net screenshot: Mobile check-in and check-out is supported

SchoolAuction.net screenshot: Credit card information can be stored to streamline the check-out process

Freelancers

Large Enterprises

Mid Size Business

Non Profit

Small Business

OneCause has helped 14,000+ nonprofits raise more than $8 billion through 90,000+ fundraising events & campaigns. Our software helps manage all types of fundraising: events, auctions, appeals, raffles, peer-to-peer, online giving, tributes & memorials, giving days, and awareness campaigns. 

BiddingOwl helps organizations design personalized websites with custom logos, colors, themes, images, and event information to run and manage online auctions. Users can sell raffle tickets, print bid sheets and catalogs, preview auction items, promote sponsors, and accept online donations.

Online event management software for charitable fundraising, with all the tools you need from start to finish. Great for an auction event, gala, dinner, giving campaign, golf tournament and so much more!

Greater Giving works exclusively with registered 501c3 schools and nonprofits - offering integrated solutions to help simplify your auction gala or fundraising event, streamline check-in and check-out, stay organized and raise more funds.

Access Controls/Permissions

Accounting

Activity Dashboard

Attendee Management

Auction Management

Campaign Analytics

Committee Management

Contact Management

Contribution Tracking

Customizable Fields

Customizable Forms

Customizable Reports

Dashboard

Data Import/Export

Donation Tracking

Donor Discovery

Donor Management

Email Management

Event Scheduling

For Nonprofits

Fundraising Management

Gift Matching Management

Goal Setting/Tracking

Member Database

Mobile Giving

Online Forms

Online Giving

Pledge Management

Recurring Giving

Recurring/Subscription Billing

Reporting/Analytics

Volunteer Management

Website Integration

Greater Giving

Android

Linux

Windows

iPad

iPhone

And for those rare times when I can't figure it out myself, chat support is fabulous. I have recommended this software to several colleagues and will continue to do so.

I would highly recommend Greater Giving to any non- profit interested in experiencing a great event management tool. This is one fantastic organization.

Donor Relations Coordinator

We always use greater giving for our 5+ events a year. It's great for checking people in, and just about all the steps necessary to take when running events, before, during, and after.

Fundraising Chair

Everything we need is included in Greater Giving. I have helped with fundraising events for multiple organizations that used Greater Giving and I found it intuitive and easy to use.

We had a committee and a vetting process - it is definitely worth every penny. No platform is perfect and all will have some features that are cumbersome or not exactly the way you would want.

IT Director

Nice set of features for the cost. Online auctions have been a tremendous benefit for our organization.

Director of Donor Relations

My questions are always answered very quickly and there is always someone willing to walk me through what I'm doing. The team is wonderful over there.

Auction Consultant 

Integration of Greater Giving was very user friendly and met all our needs.

president

My biggest complaint is the software takes some time to learn. We are a volunteer organization and it can be difficult to have people learn the software in the time frame needed.

Development Manager

Each year improvements are made and functionality is added. We have received excellent customer service starting with our sales rep, to the event rep and finally the help desk.

Easy to use and it is a good value for your money.

Artist and Audience Services Manager

It made us realize that we needed another product. I know this sounds harsh but it was not a match, we needed something simpler moving forward.

Admin Assistant 

I do like that you can view multiple records by clicking next, rather than going back to the list and selecting a new one.

Development Associate

When the website gets updated and things move around or there are different ways to do them. No manual updates when that happens.

System Admin

My organization is a PTA and the data structure for managing "Households" (individual parents, children, etc) is clunky and difficult to integrate with other systems data.

Systems Engineer

It can sometime time out when your are in a conference center wifi. Logging in can be confusing for volunteers.

Advancement Admin

We use Greater Giving for our online and in person auction. Auction software is such a niche market, we had to purchase this for fundraising purposes.

We are a very small non-profit, so for us, that is a deal breaker. We would rather have a not-so-robust program and work with it than pay more for a program.

Greater Giving screenshot: Greater Giving Event Software will help you easily track all the details related to an event. Use these solutions to turn your tablet or laptop into a register anywhere at your event, processing transactions, pulling reports, and more.

Greater Giving screenshot: Online Bidding introduces the best facets of the mobile bidding experience—ease of use and heightened competition—to your gala auction, adding new enthusiasm to your fundraiser and a way to raise more funds.

Greater Giving screenshot: The Greater Giving Event package is an all-in-one solution from our online platform, to manage all the steps of your auction & year-round fundraisers, including charity Golf Tournaments.

Greater Giving screenshot: Text to Donate is a solution provided by Greater Giving that allows Supporters to text a phone number, and make a donation to your organization.

Greater Giving screenshot: Generate and send Letters & Emails through the RSVP Dashboard to sponsors, table hosts, admission purchasers, and RSVP contacts.

SchoolAuction.net vs Greater Giving Comparison (2025)

SchoolAuction.net

Greater Giving

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives