PawPlacer is rescue software with no per-adoption fees. Every adoption, signed contract and donation runs through the platform at no cost to your rescue, and there is no subscription, tier or user limit. The only fees you will see are your payment processor's standard charges when adopters pay online.
Per-adoption pricing can look small, a couple of dollars at a time. But it adds up fastest in the moments rescues work hardest: kitten season, fee-waived events and clear-the-shelter weekends, when every extra adoption also adds to the software bill.
This guide from the PawPlacer team explains how per-adoption fees work, what they cost over a year, and how PawPlacer handles adoptions for free.
At a Glance
- The answer: PawPlacer, free rescue and shelter management software.
- Adoption fees: none. PawPlacer charges $0 per adoption and $0 per signed contract.
- Payments: Stripe or Square charge their standard processing fees on online payments; PawPlacer takes no cut.
- Adoption tools: online applications, an applicant inbox, meet and greets, QR checkout, digital contracts, receipts and follow-up plans.
- Everything else: fosters, medical suite, volunteers, transports, donors and listings, all free.
How Per-Adoption Fees Work
Per-adoption pricing charges your rescue a set amount every time an adoption is completed. Some tools also count signed contracts. These are the questions to ask:
- Rate: how much each adoption or contract costs.
- Billing: whether charges are billed monthly.
- Scope: which outcomes count and which are free.
- Processing: whether card fees are charged on top.
Per-Adoption Pricing Compared
| Software | Features | Pricing | Differences |
|---|---|---|---|
| PawPlacer | Adoption applications, QR checkout, digital contracts, fosters, medical suite, volunteers, transports, donors, reports, listings and website widgets | Free, with no per-adoption or per-contract fees | Processor fees only on online payments |
| Shelterluv | Shelter and rescue management with phone-based adoption checkout | $2 per adoption, billed monthly; 3.4% + 30 cents per checkout transaction | Other outcomes, such as transfers, are free |
| Pawlytics | Rescue management designed for foster-based rescues | $1 per adoption and $1 per signed e-contract during its first three months, then monthly tiers from $29 | Tiers based on adoptions and contracts |
Competitor pricing is based on each vendor's public pricing information at the time of writing and can change.
1. What Per-Adoption Fees Cost Over a Year
At $2 per adoption, a rescue placing 150 animals pays $300 a year, and one placing 600 pays $1,200, before card processing. When contracts are counted too, each adoption can generate more than one charge.
With PawPlacer, both numbers are $0. The cost does not scale with adoptions, contracts, users or animals in care.
2. Fee-Waived Adoptions Stay Truly Free
Fee-waived and reduced-fee adoption events are a proven way to move animals into homes quickly. With per-adoption software pricing, a waived adoption still creates a software charge.
PawPlacer lets you set a $0 adoption fee for any pet, or apply waivers through fee rules, without creating any cost on the software side.
Flexible fee rules
Adoption fees can be set by species and age, with discounts for health, sex and size, plus per-pet overrides for sponsored or special-needs animals.
3. Digital Checkout Without the Per-Adoption Charge
PawPlacer handles adoptions digitally at no cost. Staff start the adoption and PawPlacer shows a QR code. The adopter scans it, reads and signs the contract, sees the fee, can add an optional donation and pays.
The signed contract, receipt and follow-up plan are saved automatically, and confirmation emails go to the adopter and your team.
4. Payments Without a Cut
When adopters pay online, PawPlacer uses Stripe or Square, which charge their own standard processing fees. PawPlacer adds nothing on top and takes no share of adoption fees or donations. Cash, check, PayPal, Venmo, Cash App and Zelle can be recorded as manual payments.
5. Applications and Matching Included
Adoption applications land in an applicant inbox that keeps every submission and email for a person together. Staff approve or decline, schedule meet and greets and use AI matching for compatibility insights, while making every final decision.
6. The Whole Rescue, Not Just Adoptions
Removing per-adoption fees does not mean removing features. PawPlacer includes foster capacity and transfers, a Medical Suite with dose schedules and reminders, volunteer schedules and hours, transports, donor records, reports, website widgets and syndication to Petfinder, Adopt-a-Pet and GetBuddy.
7. Free to Switch
The PawPlacer team offers free white-glove migration, and the Data Uploader imports records from CSV or Excel with a full preview. Full CSV exports are available at any time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does PawPlacer charge for completed adoptions?
No. PawPlacer charges nothing per adoption, per contract or per user.
Are there any fees at all?
Only your payment processor's standard fees when adopters or donors pay online through Stripe or Square. PawPlacer adds nothing on top.
How does PawPlacer make money?
PawPlacer is self-funded, shows no ads and never sells or brokers organization data.
Switch to PawPlacer
PawPlacer is rescue software with no per-adoption fees, no contract fees and no subscription. Your busiest adoption month costs the same as your quietest: nothing.
Create your free PawPlacer account today and let every adoption fee go to the animals.