Change.org vs iPetitions vs Petitions.com: An In-Depth Comparison
iPetitions has run free online petitions since 1999, Change.org is a well-known petition platform, and Petitions.com is built around organizer control. All three are free to start a petition, so the real differences are in who controls the supporter data, how signers are treated, and which professional and privacy tools you get.
| Feature | Petitions.com | iPetitions | Change.org |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access to Signer Emails | Yes, Full Access | No, Hidden | No, Hidden |
| Export Your Signatures | Yes (Excel, PDF or HTML, including any contact details you collected) | Limited (no signer email addresses) | Names and location only — no email addresses |
| Custom Consent Choices | You define each purpose; signers consent to each one separately | No | No |
| Donation Requests to Your Signers | No | Yes (donations go to iPetitions, not your cause) | Yes (asks signers to chip in to promote) |
| Petition-Specific Privacy Policy | Yes (auto-generated for each petition — or provide your own privacy policy URL) | No | No |
| Multilingual Petitions | Yes (one petition in many languages, sharing a single signature list) | No | No |
| Language-Specific Domains | Yes (an easy-to-remember address for each language version) | No (one global brand domain) | No (one global brand domain) |
| Multiple Images in the Petition | Yes (add several photos) | Limited | Cover image only |
| Embed Video (e.g. YouTube) | Yes | Not verified | No |
| Team Collaboration & Roles | Yes | No | No |
| AI Writing & Cover Image Assistant | Yes (drafts, translates and generates a cover image) | No | Yes |
| Combine Paper & Online Signatures | Yes | No | No |
| Embed on Your Own Website | Yes | No | No (widget discontinued in 2014) |
| Cost to Create a Petition | Free | Free (ad-supported, with donation requests) | Free, with paid promotion & membership upsells |
1. Who Gets Your Supporter Data?
Both platforms are free, so the most important question is what happens to the people who support you. On iPetitions, signer email addresses are not handed to you, the organizer. You can see that people signed, but you can't directly reach them again to mobilize a follow-up action, thank them, or invite them to your next campaign.
Petitions.com: Your Petition. Your Data. Your Rules.
If you choose to collect email addresses or phone numbers, you get full, direct access to that information and can export your whole signature list in Excel, PDF or HTML. This allows you to:
- Build an Independent Movement: Contact your supporters directly for future campaigns, without depending on any platform.
- Stay GDPR-Compliant: You define the specific purposes for collecting personal data, and signatories consent to each one individually.
- Communicate Directly: Send thank-you notes, organize local events, or survey your supporters.
2. Who Gets the Donations?
To stay free, iPetitions asks the people who sign your petition to make optional donations. Those contributions fund iPetitions, not your campaign. For a casual signer it can look as though they are supporting your cause, when the money is actually going to the platform.
Petitions.com does not solicit donations from your signers on your behalf. The signing experience stays focused on your cause, not on fundraising for the platform.
3. Professional & Privacy Features
iPetitions is a fast, minimal way to put a petition online. Petitions.com adds the tools that serious, long-term, or cross-border campaigns need:
- Multilingual Petitions: Run one petition in several languages that are cross-linked automatically and share a single signature list — ideal for international campaigns.
- Built-in GDPR Compliance: Every petition gets an automatically generated privacy policy based on your choices, and you decide how long signatories' personal data is stored.
- Team Collaboration: Grant different levels of access to translators, moderators, and co-organizers.
- AI Assistant & Rich Content: Let AI help draft your title, text and cover image, and tell your story with photos, video and formatted text — not just plain text.
- Offline & Online Integration: Collect signatures on paper at events and combine them with your online total for a single, unified count.
iPetitions vs Change.org: Which Free Platform Is Better?
iPetitions and Change.org are both free and both keep your signers' email addresses to themselves. The differences are mostly about scale and polish: Change.org is far larger and more visible, but funnels signers into its own promotion upsells, while iPetitions is a lean, long-running tool funded by ads and optional donations. Neither lets you own your supporter list, and neither offers per-petition GDPR controls.
If your priority is keeping your supporters and your data, Petitions.com is the alternative to both: full access to the contact details you collect, built-in GDPR tools, and professional features — without a paywall or a platform agenda.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does iPetitions give me my signers' email addresses?
No. iPetitions does not hand petition creators the email addresses of their signers. On Petitions.com, if you choose to collect email addresses, you get full, direct access to them and can export your whole list.
Is iPetitions really free?
Yes, it is free to create a petition. iPetitions is funded by advertising and by asking your signers for optional donations, which go to iPetitions rather than to your cause. Petitions.com is also free to create and run, without soliciting your signers for donations.
Can I run one petition in several languages?
On Petitions.com you can run one petition in many languages that share a single signature list — useful for international campaigns. iPetitions does not offer multilingual petitions in this way.
Which platform is better for GDPR compliance?
Petitions.com generates a privacy policy for each petition, lets you set data retention periods, and asks signers to consent to each data purpose individually. iPetitions does not provide these per-petition GDPR tools.
iPetitions vs Change.org — which should I choose?
Both are free and both hide your signers' email addresses from you. Change.org is larger and more visible but pushes paid promotion; iPetitions is leaner and funded by ads and optional donations. If owning your supporter data matters, Petitions.com is the alternative to both.
This is our own comparison, focused on the differences that matter to organizers who want control over their data and campaign. It doesn't cover every feature — each platform has strengths suited to different needs, so it's worth evaluating each option against what your campaign needs.
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