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10 Best Crowdfunding Sites for Smart Fundraising

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Published March 19, 2024 Reading Time: 9 minutes

Crowdfunding helps startups, nonprofits, researchers, and individuals raise millions yearly.

Once you’ve set and defined your project’s fundraising goal, look for the best crowdfunding website to serve and support your unique needs. The right tools can make the difference between a seamless giving experience and a headache for everyone involved.

Understanding that the crowdfunding platform selection process can feel overwhelming in its early stages, we’ve compiled a list of the top crowdfunding sites with the best success rates to guide your decision-making. Regardless of what types of crowdfunding your organization pursues, you’ll come away with a better understanding of each platform’s offerings.

Best Overall Crowdfunding Site: GoFundMe

Gofundme-platform

GoFundMe is the trusted leader in online fundraising, connecting more than 150 million people and organizations through its mission of helping people help each other. The popular crowdfunding site is available in 19 countries and counting. 

GoFundMe has enabled more than $30 billion of generosity with Classy since 2010. With no fee to sign up or start a fundraiser, hands-on customer support, and the GoFundMe Giving Guarantee, GoFundMe is the platform for individuals and organizations alike to mobilize global support.

More Reasons to Love GoFundMe for Online Fundraising

  • Start fundraising in just a few steps
  • Chosen by a collective community of 150 million people
  • Has everything you need to succeed, including the ability to share updates, thank donors, and get daily transfers to your bank
  • Free access to the GoFundMe mobile app to fundraise on the go
  • Easy donation transfers at any time
  • No time limit on fundraiser length
  • Keep what you raise payout model, enabling fundraisers to start receiving their money before reaching their total fundraising goal
  • Hosts a dedicated support team available around the clock to ensure global coverage

Fees and Pricing Plans

For individuals and businesses:

  • 0% platform fee to create a fundraiser
  • 2.9% + $0.30 transaction fee per donation

For charities:

  • 0% platform fee
  • 2.2% + $0.30 transaction fee per donation

Best Crowdfunding Platform for Nonprofits: Classy.org

classy-crowdfunding

Classy empowers thousands of the world’s top nonprofits to share their powerful stories and activate support with customizable, conversion-optimized nonprofit crowdfunding campaigns.

Our global giving platform provides the crowdfunding campaign formats and flexibility needed to connect people to the causes they care about through community-driven, intuitive giving experiences. 

We were able to build a simple, visually appealing crowdfunding campaign in Classy that is mission-focused, communicates our need, and makes it easy for donors to give.

Drew McGuffin

Development Systems and Relations Director at Atlanta Habitat for Humanity

Check Out This Crowdfunding Success Story

More Reasons to Love Classy for Crowdfunding

  • Customizable, mobile-optimized campaigns that allow you to keep your story at the forefront 
  • Access to deep data intelligence across over 150 million donors within the Classy and GoFundMe communities to inform platform innovations
  • Campaign activity wall to encourage real-time engagement 
  • Powerful reporting and analytics
  • Seamless nonprofit payment processing and flexible payment options available through Classy Pay, including digital wallets, ACH, Venmo, PayPal, and more
  • Thoughtful integrations and award-winning APIs
  • Secure transactions (Level 1 PCI compliance and SSL security protocol built on Amazon Web Services)

Fees and Pricing Plans

Explore Classy’s suite of digital fundraising tools to determine which package and pricing plan best suits your nonprofit’s performance and scalability demands.

Best Crowdfunding Site for Individuals: Fundly

Best Crowdfunding Site for Individuals: Fundly

Fundly is simple to use and scalable for fundraisers of any size, providing individuals with the tools they need for a successful campaign.

The donation platform is available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and the U.K. to help nonprofits reach more donors.

More Reasons to Love Fundly for Crowdfunding

  • No startup fees
  • Keep what you raisepayout model
  • Fundly mobile app to manage campaigns from anywhere
  • Easy withdrawals at any time
  • Giving-level donor incentives
  • Donor heat maps
  • Powerful integration with Facebook

Fees and Pricing Plans

  • 0% platform fee
  • 2.9% + $0.30 processing fee per transaction

Best Crowdfunding Site for Startups and Small Businesses: Indiegogo

indiegogo-crowdfunding

Indiegogo brands itself as the platform “where new launches,” which reflects its mission to fund clever innovations and groundbreaking products before mainstream availability.

The platform makes it easier to support entrepreneurs with business ideas and new technology from the earliest stages of development. Startups and small businesses gain the freedom to choose a fixed or flexible funding goal, making it possible to customize experiences as needed.

More Reasons to Love Indiegogo for Crowdfunding

  • Expert support and exclusive partnerships
  • Pre- and post-campaign tools
  • Integrated analytics
  • Donor perks options
  • Fulfillment and manufacturing support
  • Indiegogo mobile app to simplify the fundraising process

Fees and Pricing Plans

  • 5% platform fee
  • 3% + $0.30 transaction fee

Best Crowdfunding Site for Creators: Kickstarter 

kickstarter

Kickstarter is on a mission to help bring creative projects to life.

Since its launch in 2009, over 23 million people from every continent have backed a project on Kickstarter. The industry-leading platform leverages a rewards-based model that offers unique incentives to potential investors to make them feel like they get something in return.

Kickstarter has processed a total donation volume of over $7.8 billion and has tallied over 254,097 successfully funded projects. The platform is well on its way to bridging the gap between creators, backers, and the community.

More Reasons to Love Kickstarter for Crowdfunding

  • Only platform fully dedicated to building a community around creative projects
  • All-or-nothing payout model to incentivize backers
  • Flexible campaign duration of 1 to 60 days
  • Detailed creator resources, including a Creator Handbook

Fees and Pricing Plans

If a project reaches its fundraising goal:

  • 5% platform fee
  • 3% + $0.20 payment processing fee per pledge

If a project doesn’t reach its fundraising goal, the creator pays no fees.

Best Crowdfunding Site for Raising Funds from Investors: StartEngine

startengine

StartEngine is a platform that helps early-stage startups find accredited investors with help at every step of the process. Advised by Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary, inventors and founders can apply for help to craft their stories, prepare legal documents, and launch a funding round.

StartEngine‘s acquisition of SeedInvest in 2022 has expanded its investor community to 1.8 million, making it a crowdfunding option that maximizes funding potential. If you’re interested in becoming an investor, you can also use the platform to seek opportunities to fund startups.

More Reasons to Love StartEngine for Crowdfunding

  • Raise up to $5 million annually 
  • Launch in 4-6 weeks
  • Dedicated team to file with the SEC, set up campaign pages, market your raise, and disburse funds

Fees and Pricing Plans

    • For investors: Securities fees up to 3.5% based on the dollar amount of securities purchased in each investment
  • For startups: You will establish your funding terms as you get started to reach your maximum raise and collaborate with an outside CPA if applicable

Additional Crowdfunding Sites to Explore

The best fundraising efforts come from a deep understanding of the available technology. We’ve added bonus crowdfunding websites to explore to support a well-rounded selection process.

Great for Individuals: FundRazr

fundrazr

FundRazr is a multipurpose crowdfunding platform that offers advanced technology for effective organizational and individual fundraising.

Reach more potential donors with the platform’s one-click social sharing tool, and ensure a smooth donation experience with up-to-date payment tools like PayPal, Stripe, Apple Pay, and more.

Fees and Pricing Plans

Select from three pricing models, including:

  • 0% platform fee + 2.9% + $0.30 payment processing fees per transaction

There are no setup fees, monthly subscription fees, or contracts. Users can assign different pricing models to multiple campaigns for convenience and flexibility.

Great for Startups and Small Businesses: Fundable

fundable

Fundable exclusively helps companies raise capital from investors, customers, and friends. This online fundraising platform has received over $700 million in funding commitments with a determination to help great companies succeed.

Entrepreneurs can create a profile, choose between a reward or equity-based fundraising campaign, and tell the world about their goals. It’s free to set up, and campaign owners can defer payment until they’re ready to launch.

Fees and Pricing Plans

  • $179 per month

Great for Creators: Patreon

patreon

Patreon has changed how we value art. By inviting their most passionate fans to support their creative work, artists can continue their craft.

On Patreon, creators let their fans become active participants in their projects by offering them a monthly membership. In exchange, supporters gain exclusive access to content, community, and insight into their creative process. 

This membership model helps establish stronger connections with fans and gives individuals the resources they need to fully embrace their talents.

Fees and Pricing Plans

It’s free to get started, with only a small monthly fee on earned revenue. Creators have the ability to choose from two different plans, including:

  • Pro: Everything needed to build a thriving membership for 8% of creators’ monthly income
  • Premium: Dedicated coaching, support, and advanced features for 12% of creators’ monthly income

However, keep in mind there’s an industry-standard payment processing rate included.

Great for Growing an Existing Business: WeFunder

wefunder

Wefunder is a crowdfunding site for startups to raise money. Founders can connect with investors who want to receive a small stake in a startup. Wefunder is a particularly great option for community-led founders, helping them raise $703 million through emotionally-invested funding.

With Wefunder, founders gain evangelists who can refer customers, join their teams, and increase brand awareness and perception.

Fees and Pricing Plans

The fee structure on this crowdfunding platform includes:

  • No upfront fees
  • $395,000 flat fee if the raise is successful (7.9% on a $5 million raise)

Crowdfunding FAQ

What are the success rates of crowdfunding campaigns?

Mobile-ready, customizable crowdfunding pages have proven successful for nonprofit organizations. Crowdfunding helps bring a story to life for donors to connect with and take action to support.

Here are a few success stories from nonprofits who use Classy’s crowdfunding: 

  • Classy’s crowdfunding campaigns have an average conversion rate of 20%
  • SeaLegacy raised 178% of its goal with an average donation size of $92.57 using Classy’s crowdfunding websites on Giving Tuesday
  • Atlanta Habitat had an average donation of $670 and exceeded a $100,000 goal with a single crowdfunding campaign

4 Examples of Successful Crowdfunding Campaigns

What’s the best crowdfunding site?

The best crowdfunding site depends on what you hope to raise money for, the scale you want to achieve, and your goals. The answer may differ for nonprofits and organizations like startups, schools, or scientists. 

Our list of the best crowdfunding sites for smart fundraising is a great place to begin your search and start to think about what features matter most to you.

What are the advantages of crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding can facilitate everything from personal fundraising and venture capital to financial support for business owners in early-stage startups with a new product

Most importantly, crowdfunding puts your cause in the spotlight and gives you the opportunity to tell your story in a way that activates new and existing supporters to take action. Whether looking to power giving days, collect recurring donations, or support a timely need, crowdfunding gives your donors a choice to become a part of your mission. 

Wonderful crowdfunding use cases include:

  • Creating a social media giving campaign that’s easy to share 
  • Sharing a link to feature on podcasts or in live streams
  • Providing organizations or corporate sponsors with a simple way to collect donations among employees
  • Calling on supporters in the wake of crisis and high demand for help
  • Raising awareness and funding for a specific project 

How does crowdfunding work?

The potential of crowdfunding relies on the experience supporters have when engaging with your campaign. That’s why crowdfunding sites should be evergreen, with microsites that bring your story to life through videos, images, and clean copywriting. 

Crowdfunding sites also give donors the power to select how much they’d like to contribute with a clear picture of what different gift sizes mean for your work. From there, they can access an online donation form on various devices and complete the transaction with a few clicks for the most flexible funding experience.

How do you set up a crowdfunding site?

The key to a successful crowdfunding site is experience. You want to think about how someone who’s never heard of your organization will navigate the fundraising page at every step. 

Here are a few points to consider for an excellent donor experience:

  • Greeting new supporters with your brand and a relatable story 
  • Hooking them with visuals and words that explain the importance of giving
  • Showing the impact of a donation clearly (for example, $50 feeds three families this month)
  • Including a clear call-to-action button that people can’t help but click
  • Giving donors a donation form with minimal fields and helpful instructions
  • Offering payment methods people trust, from credit cards to PayPal to Venmo
  • Wrapping it up with a thank-you email that celebrates their decision to donate

Can you use more than one crowdfunding site?

That decision is up to you. However, remember the importance of delivering a consistent experience and streamlining your reporting to maintain clean data. More power to you if you can do that through multiple platforms, but we recommend simplifying your back-end management and ensuring a consistent experience for your donors by keeping everything on one site. 

Select Your Crowdfunding Site to Get Started 

Whether looking to fund a scientific breakthrough, introduce a new electric vehicle to the world, or provide aid and relief to natural disaster victims, knowing how each unique crowdfunding platform can support your efforts is critical.

Start your selection process by solidifying your fundraising goals, defining your budget, conducting thorough research on the functionality of each site, and doing your due diligence to confirm each donation platform’s track record and fee structure

Dedicating the time upfront to weigh your options will set you up for success in the long run.

Copy Editor: Ayanna Julien

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