March 11, 2021 5 min read
This story originally appeared on ValueWalk
Gone are the days when you had to make endless trips to the bank to raise money for your business. In this digital era, it has become much easier to raise funds. If you believe you have a good business idea, all you need to do is register on an online crowdfunding platform. This way of raising funds is both cost-effective and time-saving. However, not all crowdfunding platforms can offer you these benefits. If you are planning to raise money and need help, then detailed below are the top ten crowdfunding platforms.
We have used several parameters to come up with the top ten crowdfunding platforms. These parameters include the platform’s popularity, reviews, charges, ease of use, and more. Following are the top ten crowdfunding platforms:
10. Experiment
Founded in 2012, this New York City-based platform helps to discover, fund, and share scientific research. You can register a project for free on this platform, but once you get all the funds, Experiment charges an 8% platform fee. Its payment processing fee is between 3 to 5%. So far, it has funded almost 1,000 projects.
9. CircleUp
Founded in 2012, this San Francisco-based company assists early-stage consumer brands with capital and resources. Moreover, it offers both equity capital and credit financing. This crowdfunding platform is backed by Canaan Partners, Collaborative Fund, QED Advisors, Union Square Ventures, GV, as well as former leaders of Goldman Sachs, Capital One and Stanford Endowment. The platform determines charges on a case-by-case basis.
8. LendingClub
Founded in 2006, this San Francisco-based company offers up to $40,000 in personal loans and up to $300,000 in business loans. Unlike some other equity crowdfunding, this company doesn’t require things such as business visits or plans and projects. A company interested in getting a loan from LendingClub should be in business for at least one year, annual sales of $50,000, no recent bankruptcies, and ownership of at least 20% of the business.
7. SeedInvest Technology
Founded in 2012, this New York based crowdfunding platform is regarded as the best way for early-stage startups to raise funds. Since its inception, the platform has attracted more than 300,000 investors. It has helped more than 200 startups to raise over $200 million in funds. SeedInvest has a 7.5% placement fee on the amount raised through the platform, as well as a 5% equity fee.
6. GoFundMe
Founded in 2010, this crowdfunding platform helps people raise funds for almost everything from personal healthcare expenses to keeping local businesses alive. It is not an all-or-nothing fundraising site, meaning users keep the funds they raise. GoFundMe collects a 2.9% processing fee and 30 cents for every donation. Some of its successful campaigns include $11.8 million for the Las Vegas Victims Fund and $24.2 million for the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund.
5. Patreon
Founded in 2013, this crowdfunding site was the idea of YouTube musician Jack Conte. As can be expected, this platform is popular among digital creatives, such as bloggers, YouTubers and podcasters. Unlike other platforms that collect one-off campaign donations, this platform has a subscription model. The users (patrons) need to regularly donate a set amount every month or per creation. It charges a fee of 2.9% and 30 cents from each pledge.
4. Crowdfunder
Founded in 2012, this Los Angeles, California based company is an equity crowdfunding platform that helps to fund high-growth ventures. It has a network of more than 130,000 entrepreneurs and investors. The company claims to have a community of 12,000 individual and institutional investors. So far this crowdfunding platform has funded about 60 deals with an average deal size of $1.8 million. Crowdfunder offers three pricing plans: Free, Starter ($299/month), and Premium ($499/month).
3. Crowd Supply
Founded in 2012, this Portland based platform claims to be the launchpad for “hardware, hackables and high end goods.” It was founded by a team of product engineers from MIT Media Lab. Some of the notable product launches on the platform are Novena laptop by bunnie & xobs, Circuit Stickers by Chibitronics and Purism’s Librem laptop. In terms of pricing, Crowd Supply offers many plans, including a Standard plan with 5% of gross campaign sales.
2. Indiegogo
Founded in 2008, this crowdfunding platform has helped to fund over 800,000 ideas since its inception. The platform gets about 10 million visitors a month and about 19,000 campaigns list on Indiegogo on a monthly basis. Indiegogo allows users to promote their campaign on other platforms, such as Facebook and Google. Its charges are a 5% platform fee and third-party processing fee of 3% to 5%.
1. Kickstarter
Founded in 2009, this crowdfunding platform helps tech and creative entrepreneurs to fund their projects initially. As of January 2021, the company has raised more than $5.6 billion with over 197,425 projects. Those interested in raising money through this platform need to set up their goal along with a time period to complete it. It is an all-or-nothing platform, meaning you need to meet the set goal within the allotted time, or else the money goes back. Kickstarter charges a 5% fee in addition to the processing payment charges.
