Cash registry sites compared: Honeyfund, Zola Cash, Hitched, Donum

Cash registries are now table stakes. Most couples want at least one fund (honeymoon, down payment, "first year of dinners out") alongside their physical gifts. The four most-asked-about options are Honeyfund, Zola Cash, Hitched, and Donum. Their fees range from 0% to 3.5%, and the differences matter more than the brands let on.

This post is the actual comparison.

What each platform charges on cash gifts

Setting aside marketing copy, here's the real rate card on cash contributions paid by card. Card is what guests pick; ACH exists on most platforms but is rarely chosen.

• Honeyfund: 2.9% + 30¢ via the PayPal rail (the default). Up to 3.5% on the credit-card rail without the premium tier; ~2.4% with it. Effective rate on a typical wedding: ~3%.
• Zola Cash: 2.5% flat on credit/debit. Sold as a "credit card processing fee" but it's a platform margin. Standard processing is 2.9% + 30¢; Zola pockets the spread.
• Hitched (Hitch'd): 2.5% on cash funds, mirroring the Zola/Joy/Knot bracket. Smaller user base, same rate.
• Donum: 0% platform fee. Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢ underlies every card payment, but it's offered to the guest to cover at checkout, default-on. Roughly 80% adoption industry-typical, so most gifts arrive at 100% to the couple.

Note that "0% platform fee" is doing real work. Card processing exists; somebody pays it. The question is whether the platform takes a cut on top of it. On Donum, no. On the other three, yes, and the spread between the platform's rate and the actual processor cost is the platform's margin.

What the fees cost at $4k, $8k, $20k

Assume all-card payment (close to reality):

| Platform | $4k cash | $8k cash | $20k cash | |---|---|---|---| | Honeyfund (PayPal rail) | ~$124 to PayPal | ~$244 | ~$604 | | Zola Cash | $100 to Zola | $200 | $500 | | Hitched | $100 to Hitched | $200 | $500 | | Donum | $0 platform fee; ~$23 absorbed by couple if 20% of guests decline fee-cover on a $4k pool, ~$46 at $8k, ~$115 at $20k. |

Honeyfund takes more in raw dollars because PayPal's fixed 30¢ per transaction adds up across many small gifts. Zola, Hitched, and other 2.5% platforms charge identically. Donum's "fee" line item is the residual processing cost on the slice of guests who decline fee-cover; there is no platform margin layered on top.

Payout speed

Cash registries don't all settle on the same schedule, and "when does the money hit the couple's account" matters more than couples expect.

• Honeyfund: PayPal balance is available immediately; transfer to bank takes 1–3 business days. Couple needs a verified PayPal account.
• Zola Cash: Couples can request payouts to bank; standard ACH payout is 3–5 business days from request. Zola can hold funds for fraud review on first payout.
• Hitched: ACH payout, typically 3–7 business days.
• Donum: Stripe Connect Express direct charges. Couples connect their own bank; Stripe pays out on a rolling 2-day schedule by default (configurable). The money never touches a Donum balance.

The Donum architecture matters in one specific scenario: cancelled or postponed weddings. Because contributions sit in the couple's connected Stripe account from the moment they arrive, refund logic runs on funds that are already in the couple's name, not against a platform balance.

Fund types and structure

How many funds, what kinds, and what guests see:

• Honeyfund: Strong on themed honeymoon funds with item-style framing ("snorkeling in Hawaii, $75"). Good guest UX. Fewer guard rails on what counts as a fund.
• Zola Cash: Single cash fund or a few categorized ones (honeymoon, home, etc.). Tightly integrated with Zola's website and registry; harder to use standalone.
• Hitched: Basic cash funds with simple goal amounts. Smaller feature surface.
• Donum: Unlimited custom funds. Goal amount optional. Group-giftable on every fund. Honeymoon funds can route to affiliate-supporting partners (Booking, Viator, Expedia) so the underlying spend earns commission that funds the platform. That's part of why we don't need to charge the couple.

If you want themed item-style cash funds, Honeyfund and Donum both do it cleanly. Zola's product is more "general purpose pool of money."

The gotchas to ask each one about

Three questions worth asking before committing to any cash registry:

1. Is the fee the same on every payment method? Most platforms waive on ACH and charge on cards. Cards are what guests use. The "ACH is free" disclaimer is mostly cosmetic.
2. Does the dashboard show net to the couple? If it shows gross only, the fee is hidden, not absent. Honeyfund's dashboard is the worst offender here: the cost lives on the PayPal receipt, not on the gift log.
3. What happens if the wedding is cancelled? On Donum, contributions are already in the couple's connected Stripe account, so refunds run normally. On platforms where the registry holds funds before payout, refund logic gets murky and slow.

Quick recommendation grid

• You already use PayPal heavily and don't care about a separate registry product: Honeyfund is fine. Budget ~3% on cash.
• You want one platform for registry + website + cash, and don't care about 2.5%: Zola is the cleanest of the 2.5% bracket.
• You want the cleanest possible cash flow with no platform fee: Donum. Cash gifts arrive in your bank via your connected Stripe account, with Donum's cut at exactly zero.

The bottom line

The four cash registries split into two groups: 2.5–3% platform fees (Honeyfund, Zola Cash, Hitched) and 0% (Donum). On $8,000 in cash gifts, the difference is $200 to $244 you keep or don't.

Related reading: Zola's 2.5% cash fund fee, explained and the best zero-fee wedding registries in 2026.

The takeaway: every cash registry charges 2.5–3% except the ones that don't. Pick accordingly.