Alternatives
Givebacks (formerly MemberHub) alternatives: PTA and PTO platforms compared
Givebacks, the platform formerly called MemberHub, is the default for many state PTA units because dues remittance is built in. Boards look at alternatives when the Pro subscription renews, when the store and fundraising fees add up, or when they are a PTO rather than a PTA and never needed the remittance.
The short answer
The main alternatives to Givebacks are PTBoard (cheapest full platform), Membership Toolkit (strongest website and membership tooling), Konstella (communication first), Cheddar Up (payments without accounts), and PTO Homeroom (no subscription, no parent logins, bookkeeping built in, a 3% checkout fee covered by the payer). PTA units should check their state PTA's dues rules before moving dues off Givebacks.
Rates below are each vendor's own published figures, last checked 9 September 2026. Anything unpublished is marked as such rather than estimated.
Every option, side by side
| Platform | Best for | Subscription | Fee on payments | Fee on fundraisers | Card processing | Fee can be passed to payer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Givebacksthe one you have | State-PTA-affiliated units that need PTA dues remittance built in, and boards that want a store, website and fundraising in one paid platform. | $499 – $599 / year | 1.05% + 65¢ | 7.5% | Stripe 2.9% + 30¢ | Yes — absorb, pass on to the donor, or split |
| PTBoard | Boards that want the most features for the least subscription and are comfortable with a 5% fee on fundraising campaigns. | $64.99 – $399.99 / year | 0.7% + 20¢ | 5% | Your own PayPal or Stripe | Yes — three documented options, including purchaser-covers-all |
| Membership Toolkit | Larger PTAs that want a polished public website, deep membership tooling and are willing to pay a subscription of several hundred dollars a year. | $550 – $1,150 / year | 0% on dues and store payments | 3% of each donation, up to $50,000 | LumaPay 2.89% + 30¢ (as published Aug 2026; the PaySimple partner card now lists interchange-plus pricing) | Not published |
| PTO Homeroomthis site | Boards that want the roster, dues, fundraisers, signups, announcements and the treasurer's books in one place, free, with no parent logins. | $0 | 3% | 3% | Stripe 2.9% + 30¢ | Yes — shown at checkout and covered by the payer by default |
| Konstella | Schools where parent-to-parent communication and classroom groups matter more than payments or the treasurer's books. | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Cheddar Up | Groups that mainly need to collect money — dues, spirit wear, tickets — with no parent accounts, and are happy to keep communication elsewhere. | $0 – $420 / year | Blended into the card rate | Blended into the card rate | 3.95% + 95¢ free · 3.59% + 59¢ paid | Yes — and it is the default |
| SignUpGenius | Anyone whose real need is a volunteer slot sheet; it is the easiest signup tool there is and free for organizers on its basic plan. | $0 – $539.89 / year | 5% + 50¢ on collected payments | 5% + 50¢ (no fundraiser product; payments on sign-ups) | Included in the 5% + 50¢ | Yes — the organizer chooses whether the buyer or the seller pays the fee |
Each vendor name links to the head-to-head page with sources. Homeroom's own row is on the same terms as everyone else's.
The state PTA question first
If your state PTA requires dues to flow through Givebacks, run dues there and everything else wherever it works best; several boards run Givebacks for dues and Homeroom for fundraisers, signups and the books. A PTO with no state affiliation has no such constraint.
What changes on cost
Givebacks Pro is a paid annual plan plus per-payment fees. PTBoard is the cheapest paid platform. Homeroom has no subscription and its 3% is paid by the payer at checkout, so the PTO receives the full amount; a board can also absorb it.
Where Givebacks still wins
Dues remittance and the state PTA integrations, an established store, and a track record under two names. Homeroom does not yet offer auctions or texting.
Questions boards ask
Is MemberHub the same as Givebacks?
Yes. MemberHub was renamed Givebacks; the product and the PTA integrations continued under the new name.
Can a PTA use Homeroom?
Yes, for everything except where a state PTA mandates a specific dues platform; in that case dues stay there and the rest of the year runs on Homeroom.
See Homeroom in two minutes, or set it up in about the same
Free, no card, no call. If it isn't the right fit, the comparison pages above will say so.
- Free for the PTO, no subscription
- 3% at checkout, paid by the payer
- No parent logins, ever
Givebacks sources: Pricing Store credit-card fees Tip model vs percent pricing