All ActBlue Reviews
1-25 of 33 Reviews
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Sara
Verified reviewer
Marketing and Advertising, 11-50 employees
Used weekly for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
3
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed December 2022
ActBlue is a powerhouse for democratic & progressive campaigns
Overall, my experience with ActBlue is amazing! You can literally set up a free ActBlue account within minutes, and see for yourself how wonderful the platform is. Overall, I am thankful for the effort that goes into security, compliance and data integration, so I never have to put my political campaigns or nonprofit events in jeopardy.
PROSI like the fundraising tools that ActBlue offers to utilize the "people power" in order to successfully execute political campaigns and nonprofit events. Specifically, I appreciate that the contribution forms have an intuitive interface and are customizable whether you are an administrator or user. They are also mobile friendly, which is crucial to capturing grassroots contributions on the go! I also like that the data and analytics reporting is easy to understand.
CONSA/B testing can be a bit tricky for the platform to process at times. It can be quite difficult to obtain the desired conversation rates based on the organization's or campaign's pixel and objective. While the software's customer service is no doubt friendly and supportive to clients' and users troubleshooting issues, the response time does take a while and is slow to respond, especially during key digital fundraising moments (i.e. Giving Tuesday, Election Day) and rapid response actions (i.e. matching donations, events).
Robert
Verified reviewer
Information Technology and Services, 1,001-5,000 employees
Used more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed March 2019
Easy to use, easy to stop using. A fine way to donate to candidate(s) you support.
Very positive. A convenient way to donate to Democratic candidates. Really the only downside is an increase in email from other candidates, which is easily dealt with (by unsubscribing once from each such candidate.)
PROSI'm scratching my head over the negative reviews here. (I can't help wondering if they are legit, or if they are intended to inhibit fundraising for Democrats.) I've used ActBlue upteen times. Never had a problem cancelling a recurring donation (which I have done). Never had a problem with a donation becoming recurring when I had designated it as one-time (I've made both kind of donations). Never had a problem opting out of future emails from candidates (yes, you do get them; you're on the "will donate to Democrats" list. I unsubscribe once from each candidate and that's it - silence.)
CONSIt does make me feel guilty that it asks for a contribution to defray ActBlue's expenses (ActBlue is a non-profit that doesn't charge candidates up-front; the ActBlue FAQ says the charge a ~4% processing fee on donations.)
Sue
Accounting, 1 employee
Used less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
1
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
1
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
1
FUNCTIONALITY
2
Reviewed June 2019
You cannot trust these people.
I would NEVER donate money to a candidate via this organization.
PROSEase of you in doing donations. That is pretty much it.
CONSMy experience has been that ACTBLUE is unethical in their practice of getting on-line donations for candidates. My husband was very ill and not thinking clearly. He wanted to donate money to a candidate during last years elections. Because he was not clearly I was checking our credit card charges routinely and noticed repeated charges by ACTBLUE in ever increasing amounts. I talked to my husband who was not clear on things but was adamant that he did not do donations as frequently and as in large amounts as were being charged against our card. I reached out to ACTBLUE via email and phone in an effort to explain the situation going on with my husband and ask them to delete him from their mailing list. They repeatedly promised to do so and for a few months we would be fine. Then again I would see more and more charges in higher and higher amounts. At that point my husband was so ill he was hardly out of bed much less approving these amounts. I finally had to send ACTBLUE a threatening letter which included the me having power of attorney over my husband's affairs. I also told them that if they did this one more time I would go to Senator Lindsay Grahams office (I live in SC) and explain that ACTBLUE was actively abusing the elderly and disabled, and that I imagined Senator's Graham's office might find that interesting. That I am a lifelong democrat but my primarily was to protect my family. That did seem to stop it.
Noelle
Verified reviewer
Civic & Social Organization, 2-10 employees
Used daily for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed June 2021
Easy-to-use donation platform
Donors are familiar with ActBlue and comfortable using it for their contributions. Recurring donation options make it easy to get the most from donor visits to your campaign page and provide a sustainable income base for your campaign.
PROSEasy set-up and the customized campaign capabilities make it easy to track returns on specific fundraising drives. Their large existing database of donor information makes it easy for donors to send a quick contribution especially with the ActBlue Express feature. Their reporting options make it easy to keep your campaign compliant with FEC regulations.
CONSIt's mind-boggling that disbursements are only available as hard copy checks sent through snail mail. An electronic option is long overdue!
Anonymous
Used more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
1
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
1
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
1
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed January 2018
Act Blue profiled me as an easy mark
Initially I thought it eased my ability to contribute thoughtfully. Then, it became apparent that I was being targeted for support of specific campaigns that were outside my comfort zone. At that point, its drawbacks exceeded its utility.
PROSExtremely simple for the recipient to process a contribution to a politician or a donation to a cause.
CONSOnce the software captures your identification and some contribution history, it plies the 'mark' with email upon email, ostensibly from candidates, soliciting money to be dispensed to Act Blue's account for further distribution. My attempts to be removed from their email lists have been fruitless. Thank goodness for spam blocking services. I am a loyal Democrat. The use of this type of software has soured me on the Democratic Party because it is so transparently manipulative. I will never contribute to a candidate or a cause that has Act Blue's fingerprints on it.
Rod
Used more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
3
EASE OF USE
3
VALUE FOR MONEY
1
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
1
FUNCTIONALITY
2
Reviewed July 2018
I used ActBlue to donate money to a political cause. It turned out to be a nightmare.
When things are working, they are a great idea to collecively service small donors so that they can have a collective voice in political and social causes.
CONSThey are known to turn your one time donation into a recurring donation without asking your permission. I had to cancel my credit card because there was no way for me to turn off the donation at their end. I tried to cancel my account with them and they refused to do it. There is really something wrong going on. Why politicans and social groups use ActBlue to manage their donation solicitations is beyond me. you cannot go online and stop or change your credit card that is being used for the last donation. Criminal behavior. Check out all the complaints online.
Christine
Verified reviewer
Political Organization, 1 employee
Used more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
1
EASE OF USE
1
VALUE FOR MONEY
1
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
1
FUNCTIONALITY
1
Reviewed November 2018
Rip off
You need to credit my accounts with all of the excessive transactions you have illegally removed from my account. You did it one year for Patty Murray, YEARS AGO, and are doing it again.
PROSThis is the second time they have taken repeated donations when I've authorized ONE.
CONSApparently, you have a little flaw, when it asks if you want a one time donation or repeated. Your flaw has gone on for years, which apparently a feature to you, not a flaw. Fix it.
Susan
Health, Wellness and Fitness, 2-10 employees
Used monthly for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
3
EASE OF USE
3
VALUE FOR MONEY
1
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
1
FUNCTIONALITY
1
Reviewed August 2019
Missing receipts, can't stop recurring payments
It's easy to use until you find a problem and want to stop using it automatically.
PROSEasy to use until you want to change how you use it. Always check your receipts against your payments.
CONS1. Several receipts are missing, though payment was taken; 2. After realizing the above, I opted to stop recurring monthly payments in favor of individual monthly payments, but they keep going through, 3. Had to cancel the card recurring payments were being made on to stop them.
Dan
Hospitality, 501-1,000 employees
Used monthly for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
2
EASE OF USE
3
VALUE FOR MONEY
1
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
1
FUNCTIONALITY
2
Reviewed April 2020
Help
I have tried to stop recurring payments that continue to come out of my account with no support or problem resolution.
PROSI liked this platform because it gave me an opportunity to support people/ideas I believe STRONGLY in
CONSThere is no customer support AT ALL. There is no accountability for where my money goes or mistakes in billing or donations.
Joan
Health, Wellness and Fitness, 1 employee
OVERALL RATING:
2
EASE OF USE
1
VALUE FOR MONEY
1
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
1
FUNCTIONALITY
1
Reviewed January 2022
No accountability what they do with my money.
When I make a donation I expect to be able to see what you’re doing for me bye newsletters magazines. For example I donate your auto bond and I received your monthly magazine what you’re doing with my money and how they’re helping wildlife. Again what does act blue gill nothing via email how I’m helping they just want to take the money and I’ve been trying to get out of actor
PROSNo accountability what they do with my money.
Anonymous
2-10 employees
Used daily for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed May 2019
ActBlue is the gold standard for receiving and making donations within the Democratic ecosystem
As I say in my title, ActBlue is the gold standard for receiving and making donations within the Democratic ecosystem. The ActBlue Express feature makes it easy for donors to make one-click donations in emails if they save their contact information. We've seen significantly higher conversion rates on their donation pages relative to other platforms.
CONSTheir events and merchant tools are subpar compared to other platforms. This wouldn't be a problem except they require exclusivity to use ActBlue Express which means you are locked in.
Barbara
Writing and Editing, 1 employee
Used more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
1
EASE OF USE
1
VALUE FOR MONEY
1
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
1
FUNCTIONALITY
1
Reviewed December 2020
Act Blue's Software has been bad for years
I did not think of Act Blue as a "product" but as a charity-- but it is a product with a very slick sales team.
PROSI have often donated small amounts to Act Blue because it offers to send money to candidates and causes I strongly support.
CONSAgain and again, over many years, Act Blue has enrolled me in monthly donations after I specifically specified "once only," popped up the donate window again after I successfully completed a one-time donation, so I couldn't tell if it went through, then charged me for two donations. I have begun to suspect and question Act Blue's "overhead"-- how much money goes to the issue or candidate I support, and how much goes to payroll of Act Blue tecchies and employees, who very likely have a larger income than I.
Michael
Law Practice, 1 employee
Used monthly for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
1
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed November 2020
Non-existent customer support for correcting errors
I have been using them for as long as they have been around and this is the first year that I have had this problem. Are they getting too big to focus on customer complaints? If they are making what I think they are making, they need to hire people to respond and take care of these issues.
PROSEase of use. Very easy to make donations
CONSThey have absolutely the worst record I've ever encountered in correcting charging errors. On two occasions their system doubled my donation and I let it go the first time because it was small, but the second time I went to their website and logged in and wrote THREE TIMES asking to have it corrected. NO ONE responded. Considering the algorithms available to financial websites today, there is no excuse for this double billing. They should have an automatic response whenever this happens and ask the donor if that was what they intended. Instead, they make inadvertent double billings EASY to happen and then WON'T CORRECT IT even when you complain! What is going on with these people?
C. Renee
Recreational Facilities and Services, 2-10 employees
Used less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
1
EASE OF USE
1
VALUE FOR MONEY
1
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
1
FUNCTIONALITY
1
Reviewed October 2020
Possible fraudulent
Aweful. I think they are a scam and their unscrupulous activity reflects poorly on legitimate campaign funding.
PROSNot a single solitary thing. I think they are an outright scam organization
CONSI signed an online petition regarding Supreme Court Justice nominee and agreed to the MINIMUM donation of $3 paid via Paypal. When taken to the act blue page to create an act it said I was selected to have my contribution increased/matched if I contributed again. I declined. Then another page gave an option to opt-in for recurring donation or additional one-time donation AGAIN I declined. However, when I received the email to verify my account and clicked the link, my Act blue profile says I donated $25! I logged onto my Paypal and sure enough, $25 had been deducted instead of the $3 I agreed to! Now I'm seeing complaints regarding reoccurring charges being added on others accounts. Thankfully I used PayPal and I can end any further transactions and dispute this one and get a refund without having to shut down my bank cards. Several correspondence to the company via response to text updates, emails and contact us console on website and nothing more than canned "we have received your message and will get back with you soon" type responses is all I receive.
Keith
Hospital & Health Care, 10,000+ employees
Used weekly for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
1
EASE OF USE
1
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
1
FUNCTIONALITY
1
Reviewed March 2024
ActBlue does not respect customers
Horrible, very frustrating. They are clearly incapable of managing their database. Do not trust them.
PROSUnfortunately, I am unable to provide any positive feedback.
CONSThey will not remove customers who have closed their account, despite multiple requests. Incessant texting will never end.
Sandi
Telecommunications, 1 employee
Used more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed April 2021
Never Had a problem donating or cancelling a recurring donation
Excellent way to donate. Easier than trying to locate an address to mail a check to.
PROSThe tool makes it easy to find specific persons or organizations for my donations. It even cancelled a recurring donation automatically when my favorite person dropped out of the race.
CONSNervous about it at first as I was not sure of the legitimacy. Good now though.
Paula
Biotechnology, 1 employee
Used less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
1
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
1
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
1
FUNCTIONALITY
1
Reviewed November 2019
Act Blue overcharged me
On Oct 19th 2019 I made a $50 contribution through Act Blue. There was no need, or intent, to make any additional payments as the campaign was coming to an end (election took place on Nov 5th). However, on Nov. 19th 2019 I was charged again ($50). I realized Act Blue had, without my knowledge or authorization, made a recurrent contribution. All I could do was cancel future payments, but the money was already taken. As directed, I left a phone message and sent several emails. Their phone number is only answered by a message service. Act Blue has not acknowledge my complaint. Act Blue takes 3% of contributions so they are, in my opinion, to gain by processing unauthorized payments. As a political campaign fundraiser, I find Act Blue's practices deceiving and against what candidates stands for. I realized that this has happened repeatedly to other donors and they have failed to correct the practice.
PROSeasy to use, free, donate directly to campaign
CONSdeceiving, unclear, non-existent customer service
Vendor Response
Hi there! Sorry to hear about this. We can confirm that the refund has been issued and the donation has been canceled going forward, so you will not be charged again. We also reached out over email, so please let us know if we can do anything more to help.
Replied November 2019
david
Biotechnology, 2-10 employees
Used monthly for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
1
EASE OF USE
1
VALUE FOR MONEY
1
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
1
FUNCTIONALITY
1
Reviewed March 2023
This Company should not exist
I think it should be illegal.
PROSI believe it began with good intentions... to help Democrats raise money.
CONSThe same function could be provided by the party for a fraction of the cost. As it is, Actblue exists through pure inertia. The net result is that it costs the Democratic Party millions of dollars, making it harder for Democratic candidates to win seats, while lining its pockets with profit. It's repulsive.
Liam
Business Supplies and Equipment, 5,001-10,000 employees
OVERALL RATING:
1
EASE OF USE
1
VALUE FOR MONEY
1
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
1
FUNCTIONALITY
1
Reviewed November 2019
NEVER RESPOND TO CALLS OR EMAILS
HORRIBLE. I have a problem with my donation. I have called and emailed every day for the past week and I have not had one response. Even the Sanders campaign told me that I should be able to get my money back and gave ActBlue's, apparently useless, contact information to reach out to ActBlue's customer support which I guess just does not exist. Find a way to donate directly to campaign. DO NOT USE THIS FRAUDULENT SITE OR SOFTWARE
PROSI got to donate to the amazing and incredible Bernie Sanders
CONSSupport Team is horrible, if they even exist.
Vendor Response
Hi Liam, we're sorry to hear about this experience! It looks like our team issued this refund, but please let us know if we can do anything else to help.
Replied November 2019
Kelly
Education Management, 201-500 employees
Used less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
1
EASE OF USE
2
VALUE FOR MONEY
1
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
1
FUNCTIONALITY
1
Reviewed June 2019
unethical- their system reflects poorly on DEMS
Poor. Do not trust them at all! Am currently contacting my bank to block them from my account.
PROSEase of use. That’s what makes them dangerous!
CONSThey overcharged my account $50! I donated $25 towards Elizabeth Warren’s campaign, and they added two more unauthorized $25 charges to my account. I used them a few years ago to donate to Bernie Sanders campaign and it happened then too! I will never donate through this app again!!
Fredric
Higher Education, 1 employee
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
4
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed January 2020
Problems for US citizens residing in other countries.
As described above, prior to the requirement that overseas Americans provide their Passport Number, my experience with Act Blue has been positive. It is easy to use and covers a multiplicity of political organizations that I wanted to contribute too without providing the same information over and over again.
PROSIn the past it has been easy to use and when it erroneously listed my contribution as monthly, quickly corrected it and refunded the contributions that I had not intended to use.
CONSAct Blue now requires US citizens living abroad to provide their US Passport Number. While I understand their need to document that overseas contributors are US citizens, I will not put my passport number on-line no matter what the security features are in place. I simply don't trust them. Act Blue needs to find a less intrusive way of legitimating US citizenship.
Marian
Verified reviewer
Photography, 1 employee
Used less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
1
EASE OF USE
1
VALUE FOR MONEY
1
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
1
FUNCTIONALITY
1
Reviewed August 2018
ActBlue Scams Another Loyal Dem
DISGUSTING, SCAMMER
PROSIt’s the most faulty software I’ve ever encountered. Comparable to “phone but more insidious because they make unauthorized deductions from your bank account.
CONSIts inability to accept entries to its own questions or, it accepts entry but goes directly to an unrelated page.
Anonymous
501-1,000 employees
Used less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
4
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed November 2018
easy to send a contribution
This program makes it easy to contribute. You can opt to keep your contact information in so you don't need to re-enter it again and again.
PROSThe ease with which I was able to send a contribution. Then, the next time I wanted to send one, my contact information was there so I didn't need to re-enter everything.
CONSI didn't realize it was the software used by the person I was contributing to. So, I was skeptical at first.
Thelma
Non-Profit Organization Management, 2-10 employees
Used less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed August 2019
Trusted choice of Contribution Selection and Participation
I have had very positive experiences. I appreciate having the ability to share my personal experiences of its use and overall satisfaction.
PROSWhat I liked most of all regarding this software have been the features offered to its users. After a donor makes a payment, an email confirmation is sent. Donors who have multiple organizations they are in support of, have the option at a single transaction to make more than one donation. If at any time, a charge that was not authorized, i.e. recurring donation have the option of canceling or managing donations. In the age of cyber crimes, their security measures give both the organization and contributors a greater sense of security.
CONSI have no negative thoughts or concerns regarding the use of this software application.
Andrea
Civic & Social Organization, 5,001-10,000 employees
Used monthly for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed January 2022
Easy ro start, easy to make it monthly, easy to stop, easy to contribute optional tips or not.
I have been donating through this platform for years, one time donations, repeated donations, and tips
PROSEasy ro start, easy to make it monthly, easy to stop, easy to contribute optional tips or not. Easy to keep records required to demonstrate that all donors are eligible and not foreign nationals or otherwise ineligible.
CONSAll the features that I use work perfectly. No complaints.