Comparison of crowdfunding services

Crowdfunding is a process in which individuals pool money and other resources to fund projects initiated by other people or organizations. Crowdfunded projects may include creative works, products, nonprofit organizations, supporting entrepreneurship, businesses, or donations for a specific purpose (e.g., to pay for a medical procedure). Crowdfunding usually takes place via an online portal that handles the financial transactions involved, and may also provide services such as media hosting, social networking, and facilitating contact with contributors.

Funding models

Crowdfunding is donation-based fundraising for businesses or creative projects, typically via an online funding portal. Some but not all crowdfunding projects offer contributors rewards, which may differ based on the amount of money donated. Rewards can include copies of a creative work, products created with the funding, special or personalized incentives (such as autographed works or promotional merchandise), or public recognition.

In equity crowdfunding, a crowdfunding approach is used to raise investment capital and contributors receive equity in the resulting business. Contributors may act as investors and receive shares directly, or the crowdfunding service may act as a nominated agent.

Donations and/or Rewards

There are two basic models provided for – some sites offer a choice between them:

• All or Nothing (AoN) – When the fund-raising period is over, money is only collected from the contributors if a pre-determined minimum amount of money has been pledged. If the goal is not met, no money is collected.
• Keep it All (KiA) – Whether the project goal is met or not, all of the funds collected (minus commission) are handed over to the entrepreneur. If he or she has insufficient funds to meet the objectives, then it is up to the recipient to refund them to the contributors.

Name	Funding model	Focus	Country	Notes
ArtistShare	KiA	Musicians	US	Has own record label.
CentUp	KiA	Ongoing transactions and Social Impact	US	Decentralized crowdfunding linked to specific pieces of content.
ClassWish	KiA	Education crowdfunding for school and teacher supplies	US	Allows tax-deductible support of any school and any teacher in the U.S.
CommonBond	KiA	Student loans	US	Funded by crowdsourcing and large investors.
Community Funded	KiA	Platform Creation for Universities, Nonprofits, and Faith-Based Organizations	US	Allows for white-labeled integration on existing websites
Fig (company)	Equity, Rewards	Video Games	US
FundAnything	KiA	Funding for any kind of project - business, creative, arts, personal, charitable.	US	Fundraising backed by major celebrities such as Donald Trump.
FundedByMe	AoN	Equity and rewards	Sweden, Finland, Norway, Italy, Germany, Denmark	Only platform offering equity and reward based crowdfunding in combination with European-wide cross-border investments.
FundRazr	KiA or AoN	Personal, charitable, entrepreneurial, creative, and political causes	Canada	Lets you embed your campaign on Facebook, blog or website using easy to use Widgets. Offers Live Chat and Personal Coaching.
Fundly	KiA	Personal, charitable, and political causes	US	Available as an app for a Facebook page. Charges a per credit card transaction fee.
GiveForward	KiA	Online fundraising website to raise money for medical expenses.	US	Provides personal fundraising coaches.
GlobalGiving	KiA	Nonprofit fundraising for registered organizations in 160+ countries	US, UK, Worldwide	Provides 501c3 equivalency for non-US organizations
GoFundMe	KiA or AoN	Non incentive-based crowdfunding website. Set up to allow for donations to personal causes and life events.	US	Provides 5-minute customer email support.
Headstart	AoN	Entrepreneurs	Israel
ICrowdFund	KiA or AoN	Donation and Reward	Ireland	Non-profit and individual crowdfunding with donation and reward options.
Indiegogo	KiA or AoN	Allows a broad range of projects	US
JustGiving	KiA	Social good causes and campaigns	UK	Non-profit and individual donation crowdfunding.
Ketto	KiA	Funding for any kind of project - business, creative, arts, personal, charitable.	India	Largest platform in India.
Kickstarter	AoN	Creative projects	US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg	Highest funded projects to date
LaunchGood	KiA or AoN	Allows a broad range of projects	US, Canada, France, Russia, Brazil, and 15 other countries	Largely faith-based, focused on the worldwide Muslim community
Mobcaster	AoN	TV shows	US
Myfreeimplants	AoN	Cosmetic surgery	US	Focused on breast augmentations. International
Offbeatr	AoN	Pornography	US	Inactive. Projects were to get enough votes from users before being open for funding
Peoplefund.it	AoN		UK	Attached to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Piggybackr	KiA	Young children, students, and teams	US	Young students may raise money. Compliant with Children's Online Privacy Protection Act
Planeta.ru	AoN or KiA	Allows a broad range of projects	Russia
PledgeMe	AoN	Allows a broad range of projects	New Zealand
PledgeMusic	AoN	Musicians	Spain, UK, US
Pozible	AoN	Creative	Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, US	Bitcoin can be used, Self-hosting can be used, One-on-One help
Rally.org	KiA	Medical, educational, charitable, creative, entrepreneurial, and political causes	US, Germany
RocketHub	KiA		US
Sellaband	AoN	Musicians	Germany
Sponsume	KiA		UK
Tilt.com	KiA or AoN	Any goal	US	Offers both a consumer product and enterprise solution for brands.
YouCaring	KiA	Medical expenses, memorials and other personal and charitable causes	US, UK, Western Europe	Does not charge any fees, other than payment processing
Weeve	KiA	Nonprofits	Canada	Inactive site once operated a "freemium" model without transaction fees

Donations only

Some services invite people to donate to projects for the pleasure of giving. Philanthropy based services usually have other benefits such as tax credits or rebates.

Name	Funding model	Focus	Country	Notes	Number of Donors	Donated Sum
DonorsChoose	AoN	Education	US		1,974,461
Experiment.com	AoN	Scientific research	US	Formerly called Microryza	19,266	$5 Million
Givology	AoN	Education in developing countries			22,443	$500,969
Kopernik	AoN	Distributing basic technologies in developing countries

Money for business ventures

Crowdfunding can be used to raise capital (equity) or borrow money. While organized informally, they typically involve large numbers of small investors or lenders:

• Equity crowdfunding – Investors receive equity in the company or entrepreneur that is raising funds.
• Debt crowdfunding – The entrepreneur or company borrows money and must repay it (typically, with interest).
• Property crowdfunding - Investors receive interest in the property from an owner who is raising funds.
• Other crowdfunding – There are a number of other schemes in use which are generally unique to particular services, e.g., perks, publication, or rewards.

Name	Funding model	Focus	Country	Notes	Number of Investors	Invested Sum
Angels Den	Equity, Debt, Donations	All businesses	UK
AngelList	Equity, Debt	Start-ups	US	Currently serves only accredited investors		$104 Million
BnkToTheFuture	Equity, Debt, Rewards	small businesses and new start-ups crowfunding	CYM
CircleUp	Equity	Consumer products and retail	US	Currently serves only accredited investors.		$50 Million
Companisto	Equity	European companies, Investors from all over the world; Crowd Investing + Venture Loan	Germany, Switzerland / Europe		55,000	€28.5 Million
Crowdfunder	Equity, Debt	Small and medium-sized businesses	US	Currently serves only accredited investors	12,000	$100 Million
CrowdCube	Equity, Rewards	start-ups, small businesses, growing businesses	UK		167,384	£80 Million
EarlyShares	Equity		US
Emerging Crowd	Equity, Debt	SMEs in emerging and frontier markets	UK
EquityNet	Equity, Debt	Startups and mature companies	US	Launched crowdfunding platform for Reg D offerings in 2005		$200 Million
Fig (company)	Equity, Rewards	Video Games	US
Fundable	Equity, Rewards	Seed stage businesses	US			$164 Million
FundedByMe	Equity, Rewards	Entrepreneurs	Sweden, Finland, Norway, Italy, Germany, Denmark		61,592	€16 Million
Funding Circle	Debt	Small businesses	UK, US, Spain, Netherlands, Germany		39,738	£1,000 Million
Gambitious	Equity	Game development	Netherlands
Innovestment GmbH	Equity auctions		Germany			€2 Million
Invesdor	Equity and debt	Startups and growth companies	Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and UK	First fully licensed and fully passportable (MiFID) equity crowdfunding platform in EEA		€10.6 Million
InvestedIn	Equity		USA			$47 Million
Invest Next Door	Equity	Small Businesses	US	Currently serves only accredited investors
Kiva	Debt	Entrepreneurship in developing countries		non-profit organization	1,286,412	$703 Million
Lendico	Debt	Small and medium-sized businesses	Germany
Lending Club	Debt		USA			$9 Million
LendingCrowd	Debt	Small and medium-sized businesses	UK	First Scottish peer-to-peer lending platform		£1.2 Million
LendInvest	Debt	Property Development Entrepreneurs/ Mortgages	UK	First live peer-to-peer lending platform specifically for residential and commercial mortgages		£308 Million
MicroVentures	Equity	Tech Startups & High Growth	US	Currently serves only accredited investors	28,000	$70 Million
Optimize Capital Markets	Equity		Canada
OurCrowd	Equity		Israel
PledgeMe	Equity		New Zealand
Prosper Marketplace	Debt		USA		2,200,000	$3,000 Million
rebuildingsociety.com	Debt	All businesses	UK
Return on Change	Equity	Early and growth stage startups in critical industries	USA
SecondMarket	Equity, Debt	Late stage start-ups and privately held companies at a pre-IPO or pre-acquisition stage	USA
SeedInvest	Equity	Early stage technology startups	USA	Currently serves accredited investors and Regulation A public rounds.	100,000	$50 Million
StartEngine	Equity	Early stage technology startups	USA	Currently serves accredited investors and Regulation A public rounds.		$17 Million
Seedrs	Equity	Seed-stage businesses, Investments from £10+	UK & Europe	First equity crowd funding platform to be approved by the FSA in the UK.	30,000	£100 Million
Seedups	Equity	Early stage tech startups	UK, Ireland, USA & Canada
Symbid	Equity, Rewards	Start ups and business ideas, entrepreneurs, small businesses, accelerators, incubators, crowd investors, angel investors	Netherlands	Responsible for one third of the Dutch crowdfunding market in 2012	33,500	€321 Million
SyndicateRoom	Equity	Growth businesses	UK			£37 million
TenPages.com	Revenue sharing	Books	Netherlands
ThinCats	Debt	Small businesses	UK			£110 Million
Trillion Fund	Equity	environmental and social projects	UK		7,000
TrustLeaf	Debt	Small businesses	US	Friends and family crowdfunding	1,600	$41 Million
TubeStart	Equity	Video production	US
Unbound	Rewards	Books	UK	Acts as both a crowdfunding platform and a publisher. Launched Terry Jones' Evil Machines, the first book to be financed by crowd funding.
Upstart	Debt	Loans for recent college graduates	US	Currently serves only accredited investors
Wahooly	Equity	Tech startups	US	Rebranded to chasm.io in May 2013, closed in September 2014
Wefunder	Equity	Startups	US		45,000	$13 Million
Zencap	Debt	Small and medium-sized businesses	Germany, Spain, Netherlands
Zopa	Debt		UK

Continuous funding

Some services allow for a continuous funding model as opposed to a one-time donation. These tend to apply to, but are not limited to, art projects such as music, YouTube videos, podcasts, web-comics, etc. — anyone who makes content on a regular basis. They differ mainly in the frequency in which payments are charged to the funders.

Name	Frequency	Focus	Notes
Bountysource	Monthly or one-time donations	Open-source software developers	Money can be withdrawn via PayPal, Check, Bitcoin, and Ripple or used to post software bounties within Bountysource.
Patreon	Monthly or every time new content is released	Musicians, Podcasts, Vloggers, Youtubers, Webcomics	Subscribing to a project allows to view and post on its content stream. Patreon allows to set a monthly maximum to avoid going over a set budget.
Subbable	Monthly or one-time donations	Web series (both entertainment- and education-oriented)	The money that users spend goes into a "perk bank" and can be redeemed for creator-determined perks. Free subscriptions are available.
Sprked	Monthly or everytime content is released	Modders (mod creators), Indie gamers, Live streaming, Gaming related	The site uses a subscription-based model but the actual mods are not allowed to be sold.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Post-creation services

Some services invite people to reward creators after they already published their work.

Name	Method	Focus	Notes
Flattr	Flattr button display along the content	Content creators

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

See also

• Peer-to-peer lending