Kickstarter, Indiegogo & GoFundMe: Which one is right for you?
Crowdfunding has gained widespread popularity as a means for entrepreneurs, artists, and creators to secure funding for their various endeavors and initiatives. Within the vast landscape of crowdfunding platforms, Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and GoFundMe stand out as prominent players. These platforms, although sharing common objectives, exhibit distinct characteristics that distinguish themselves from one another.
So What’s the Difference?
While they all fall under the umbrella of crowdfunding platforms, each possesses distinct terms and conditions that set them apart. Kickstarter primarily serves as a fundraising platform tailored towards creative ventures encompassing art, music, film, design, technology, gaming, and more. It adheres to an all-or-nothing funding model, meaning that if a campaign fails to meet its fundraising goal, no funds are received. Kickstarter enjoys a higher volume of traffic compared to both Indiegogo and GoFundMe, offering a wealth of campaigns for users to explore.
Indiegogo shares similarities with Kickstarter but distinguishes itself by providing flexible funding options, where campaigns receive all pledged funds regardless of whether they meet their target or not. Indiegogo’s scope extends to a broader range of projects, including personal causes, charitable initiatives, and technology ventures. Notably, Indiegogo streamlines the campaign process with a range of user-friendly in-house tools designed to enhance the chances of a successful fundraising effort. These tools include:
Campaign Editor: Indiegogo provides an intuitive campaign editor that allows creators to easily design and customize their campaign pages. This includes adding compelling visuals, videos, and descriptions to engage potential backers effectively.
Fundraising Analytics: Creators can access detailed fundraising analytics and insights, helping them track the progress of their campaign. This data allows for informed decision-making and the ability to adjust strategies as needed.
Perk Management: Indiegogo simplifies perk management, making it easy for campaign organizers to set up and offer perks to backers. They can also update perks or add new ones during the campaign to keep backers engaged.
Promotion Tools: The platform offers various promotion tools, such as social media integrations and email marketing features, to help creators reach a broader audience and encourage sharing.
InDemand Feature: After a successful campaign, creators can use Indiegogo’s InDemand feature to continue accepting contributions. This serves as a bridge between the campaign and transitioning to an e-commerce platform.
The platform’s InDemand feature serves as a valuable resource in the post-campaign phase, serving as an interim landing page before transitioning to an e-commerce platform.
GoFundMe, on the other hand, specializes in personal fundraising campaigns, making it a go-to choice for individuals seeking financial support for various personal and social causes. This platform is particularly well-suited for raising funds for medical expenses, educational pursuits, disaster relief, and charitable endeavors. GoFundMe’s intuitive interface and widespread use make it a popular choice for individuals looking to connect with a supportive community of donors.
Final Thoughts
These three platforms offer advantages and disadvantages depending on the nature of your fundraising project. It’s important to recognize that Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and GoFundMe are distinct crowdfunding platforms, each tailored to unique project types. While both Kickstarter and Indiegogo excel in hardware-related campaigns, Indiegogo shines when it comes to intangible projects like software development. On the other hand, GoFundMe specializes in fundraising campaigns for various personal and social causes.
If you want to delve deeper into their differences, Rainfactory has an informative blog post that offers a side-by-side comparison of Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
Crowdfunding presents a rapid pathway to transform your ideas into reality, but your campaign’s success primarily hinges on your strategic approach. Whether you opt for Indiegogo or Kickstarter, Rainfactory stands ready to guide you through a gradual and comprehensive campaign scaling process, optimizing every step along the way. Drawing from our extensive experience, we’ve crafted a Crowdfunding Handbook to provide an in-depth exploration of what it takes to orchestrate a highly successful crowdfunding campaign for your product launch.