Silent, live and sealed-bid auctions
Run all three formats from your guests’ phones, with outbid alerts, anti-snipe protection that pushes the close back when a late bid lands, and an auction clock the room can follow.
Free silent auction software
Free silent auction software, set up for you
Stop renting a platform that takes a cut of every lot. I build your charity a commission-free silent auction website in your own branding, loaded with your lots and ready to go, so 100% of every bid goes to your cause.
Or take the full software tour on Generosity Works.
- No commission
- No per-lot fees
- No app to download
- 0%commission. Nothing is skimmed from a single lot.
- 100%of every bid goes straight to your own Stripe account.
- 3 monthsthe platform stays live after the night, to settle up and say thank you.
- 0 appsto download. Guests bid in the browser on their own phone.
The problem
Why is most silent auction software not really free?
Most silent auction software is not free at all. The typical silent auction company rents you their platform for a single night, keeps control of your donor data, and takes a percentage of everything you raise. They also set reserve prices on their own consignment lots far above true value, so your charity only sees the money raised above those reserves, often a small slice of each lot.
I do it the other way round. Instead of renting you software for one night, I build your charity a professional silent auction website on WordPress and WooCommerce, designed in your branding and populated with every lot before the doors open. No commission, no forced lots and no inflated reserves. The platform is yours for the event and stays live for three months afterwards, and the donor data and every pound raised belong to your charity.
In short
- I build you a silent auction platform in your charity’s own branding, loaded with every lot and ready to go before the doors open.
- It runs the whole night: silent, live and sealed-bid auctions, a tiered pledge with Gift Aid, ticketing, check-in and a live gala screen for the room.
- 0% commission and direct Stripe payments, so every pound goes straight to your cause.
- Full mobile bidding with start, reserve and buy-now prices, proxy bidding and automatic winner charging.
- You set your own reserves, so inflated third-party mark-ups never siphon off your donors’ budgets.
- Ask for any functionality you need and I will build it in.
- It is included when you book me and stays live for three months after your event.
Side by side
A rented platform vs a site built for you
| What matters | Traditional silent auction company | Built for youThe Charity Auctioneer method |
|---|---|---|
| Fees | Rented platformCommission on every item | Built for you0% commission, you keep 100% |
| Platform | Rented platformRented for one night | Built for youBuilt for your charity, in your branding |
| Lots | Rented platformGeared to their consignment items | Built for youSourced in-house, you keep the margin |
| Reserves | Rented platformHigh reserves, low profit for you | Built for youYou set the price for maximum profit |
| After the event | Rented platformThe site is deleted the moment the night ends | Built for youStays live for three months after the night |
| Payments | Rented platformRouted through them as middleman | Built for youDirect Stripe, funds go straight to you |
What the software does
Everything your fundraising night needs, built in
It started as a silent auction run from your guests’ phones, and it now runs the whole night: silent, live and sealed-bid auctions, a tiered pledge with Gift Aid, ticketing and check-in, and a live gala screen for the room. No apps to download, no per-lot fees, and nothing deleted when the night ends. Try it for yourself on the live demo site. Every screen here is the real software.
Out of the box
Eight things it does before you ask for anything
Tiered pledge with Gift Aid
Run the live pledge in tiers, from a headline gift down to a level anyone can reach, with HMRC Gift Aid worked out automatically and regular or matched giving built in.
Ticketing and check-in
Sell tickets in tiers with a live counter, issue an individual e-ticket to every guest, and check them in on the door with a QR scan and an interactive table plan.
Live gala screen
Put a projector-ready screen in front of the room showing the lots, animated bid alerts, the running total and how far the pledge has climbed, so the whole night is visible.
Direct Stripe payments
Funds go straight to your own Stripe account with no middleman and no commission. Cards on file are charged when the auction closes, and Apple Pay and Google Pay are built in.
Run the whole event
Message guests by email, SMS or WhatsApp, run a raffle, hand out team tasks, open peer-to-peer fundraising pages and export every donor to your CRM afterwards.
Works without venue wifi
An on-site event server can run the whole room from its own network, so bidding, pledging and checkout keep working even when the venue internet does not.
Built around your event
Designed in your branding and loaded with every lot, ticket and anything else you are selling, ready before the doors open. Ask for any functionality you need and I will add it.
How it works
Nothing technical for you to do
- Tell me about your night
A free consultation about your event, your guests and what you are selling. The software is included when you book me.
- I build it in your branding
Designed around your charity and loaded with every lot, ticket and pledge tier, configured before your event.
- Doors open, guests bid
They register, add a card and bid from wherever they are sitting, while I work the room and drive the last-minute bids.
- It stays live for three months
Time to settle payments, thank your donors and follow up properly. The donor data and every pound raised are yours.
Taking payments on the night
Online through your own Stripe account. In the room, with a card reader or the phone in your pocket
Every bid, ticket and pledge is paid online, straight into your charity’s own Stripe account. But some of the money on a fundraising night changes hands in the room: raffle strips at the door, a wine wall, a heads-and-tails round, a guest who would rather settle a winning lot at the desk than on their phone. The platform is built on WooCommerce, so any card reader that works with WooCommerce works with it. These are the four I would put in front of you, and every one of them can turn a phone into the terminal.
- Tap, chip and PINContactless cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay, and chip and PIN for the bigger amounts.
- Sell anything at the deskRaffle strips, wine-wall tickets, merchandise or a game entry, rung up in seconds.
- Settle a lot in personTake payment for a winning lot from a guest who prefers the desk to their phone.
- Works without venue wifiReaders pair with a phone or carry their own SIM, so the desk keeps taking money when the wifi drops.
- Receipts and one set of numbersEmail receipts on the spot, and stock that updates as it sells.
WooPayments
Phone as readerThe closest thing to a native setup, and my pick if you want the desk and the online totals in one place.
Works with the WisePad 3 card reader, or with no hardware at all: Tap to Pay on an iPhone or Android phone, through the WooCommerce app, takes contactless payments on the phone you already own. Every payment is recorded against a real order in the platform, so the desk and the website are one set of numbers at the end of the night.
- In person
- 1.4% + 20p
- Online
- 1.5% + 25p
- Reader
- £5 a month
Worth knowing. WooPayments runs on Stripe underneath, so if your aim is to avoid Stripe as the processor, this does not do it. Tap to Pay in the UK is capped at £100 a transaction, so keep a reader to hand for the big lots.
Square
Phone as readerWooCommerce’s own preferred point-of-sale partner, with the widest choice of hardware.
Anything from a pocket reader to a full terminal, register or tablet stand, plus Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android. The Square for WooCommerce plugin keeps products and stock in step both ways, so a raffle strip sold at the door comes off the online count too.
- In person
- 1.75%
- Online
- 1.4% + 25p
- Monthly fee
- None
Worth knowing. You are ringing sales up in Square’s own app rather than as orders in the platform, so the desk total lives in Square and the online total lives with us. Two reports, not one.
Zettle by PayPal
Phone as readerThe sensible choice if your charity already banks through PayPal.
The PayPal Zettle POS plugin sends your catalogue and stock to the Zettle app, and sales on the reader update stock in the platform. A reader is £29 + VAT, or skip it and use Tap to Pay on an iPhone.
- In person
- 1.75%
- Monthly fee
- None
- Reader
- £29 + VAT
Worth knowing. The money settles into your PayPal account rather than Stripe, so there are two places to reconcile afterwards. Fine if PayPal is where you already live.
SumUp
Phone as readerThe cheapest rate and the simplest reader. Ideal for a raffle table.
1.69% on every tap, no monthly fee, no contract, readers from about £25 + VAT, and Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android when you would rather not carry a reader at all. SumUp’s WooCommerce plugin is for online checkout, not the terminal.
- In person
- 1.69%
- Monthly fee
- None
- Reader
- From £25 + VAT
Worth knowing. The reader is not tied to orders or stock in the platform, so you reconcile the desk against the software by hand afterwards. For a raffle table, that is five minutes.
My honest steer. If you want the desk and the online totals in one place, WooPayments. If you just need to take raffle money cheaply, SumUp. With any of the four you can be taking contactless payments on your own phone before you have bought a single piece of hardware, and I set whichever you choose up as part of building your platform. Tell me which way you are leaning.
The hidden cost
How do inflated reserves quietly cost you thousands?
Inflated reserves cost you thousands because they spend your donors’ budgets before your real fundraising even begins. Picture a guest, call him Dave, who arrives ready to give £2,000. He spots a villa in the silent auction brochure with a £2,000 reserve, when its true cost is closer to £995. He bids, feels good, and is now emotionally spent.
When the live auction and pledge come round, Dave is out. He has already given his £2,000. And if he wins that villa, the silent auction company keeps most of the difference while your charity is left with a few pounds. Multiply that across a room and the cost is enormous.
Owning your platform removes the middleman entirely. You source lots in-house, set honest reserves, and keep every pound above cost. I also work the room on the night, driving last-minute bids and keeping guests engaged for the live auction and pledge drive too.
Rented platform£2,000 reserve on their consignment lot
Your charity only sees what is bid above the reserve: a few pounds.
Your own platformThe same villa, sourced in-house at its true cost
You keep every pound above cost: £1,005.
An illustration using the figures in the example, not a quote.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Something I have not covered?
Ask me directly. I built the software, so you get the answer from the person who wrote it.
Ask KevinIs the silent auction software really free?
There is no commission and no per-lot fee, so your charity keeps 100% of every bid. I build the platform for you as part of working together, and it stays live for three months after your event, so there is no ongoing licence cost to a software company.
How long do I have the platform for?
The platform is included when you book me, and it stays live for three months after your event, so you have time to settle payments, thank your donors and follow up properly.
Is the platform branded and set up for my charity?
Yes, that is the whole point. It is designed in your branding, populated with all your auction lots, tickets and anything else you are selling, and configured before your event so there is nothing technical for you to do. Tell me what functionality you want adding and I will build it in.
How do guests pay for winning lots?
Payments run through your own Stripe account, so funds go straight to your charity with no middleman. Winners receive a direct checkout link, and cards can be charged automatically when the auction closes to reduce unpaid bids.
Can I take card payments in person on the night?
Yes. Online payments run through your own Stripe account, and for the desk the platform works with WooPayments, Square, Zettle by PayPal and SumUp card readers. All four also let you take contactless payments on an iPhone or Android phone with no separate hardware, so raffle strips, a wine wall and in-person lot payments can be tapped rather than handled in cash. I set up whichever you choose as part of building your platform.
Do guests need to download an app to bid?
No. The whole silent auction runs in a normal web browser on your guests’ phones. They register, add a card and bid from wherever they are sitting.
Do I have to use your auction lots?
No. Unlike a consignment model, you source lots in-house and keep the full margin. I help you choose items and set honest reserves, so more of every bid reaches your cause.
Can I run a live auction and pledge on the same night?
Yes, and most events do. The silent auction warms the room up, while the live auction and pledge drive are usually where the biggest totals are made. I run all three so they work together.
Let’s talk
See the software in action
Ask for a free, no-obligation demo and see how easy it is to run your own commission-free silent auction.