Crowdfunding platforms: fees, recourse, and where the money goes
Four different acts share the same checkout button: pre-ordering a product that does not exist yet, helping a person with a bill, funding a vetted charity project, and buying a stake in a young company. The fee is the smallest difference between them. The larger one is what happens when the money does not do what the page promised.
The short answer. Decide what kind of giving this is before you compare platforms. Kickstarter never charges your card if a campaign misses its goal, but nobody guarantees a funded project ships, and the FTC cases below were brought against the campaigners, not the platforms. Donation platforms differ mostly in who pays the fee: GoFundMe takes 2.9% + $0.30 per US donation and asks you for an optional tip, while Zeffy says the nonprofit receives every dollar. DonorsChoose buys and ships classroom materials itself, so the money cannot be redirected. Equity crowdfunding is investing, with a real chance of losing everything. There is no single best platform; each fits a different job.
What each platform says it will do if a campaign fails or misuses funds, in our data:
Four kinds of crowdfunding
| Kind | Examples | What your money buys | If it goes wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reward | Kickstarter, Indiegogo | A promised product or work | Kickstarter charges no card if the goal is missed; after funding, your claim is against the creator |
| Donation to a person | GoFundMe, FundRazr | Help with a stated purpose | GoFundMe offers a one-year guarantee; FundRazr pays organizers directly |
| Donation to a vetted project | GlobalGiving, DonorsChoose | A nonprofit project or classroom supplies | Vetting, or goods instead of cash |
| Equity | StartEngine | Shares in a company | Funds held by a bank or broker-dealer until the target is reached |
Where the fee is taken
| Platform | What it charges, per its own page |
|---|---|
| Kickstarter | 5% plus processing of 3% + $0.30 per pledge, only if funded |
| Indiegogo | 5%; its own example: a $10,000 raise pays $500 plus $320 processing, netting $9,180 |
| Patreon (monthly membership) | 10% for pages published after 4 August 2025, plus processing |
| GoFundMe | No fee to start; 2.9% + $0.30 per US donation; donor tip optional |
| JustGiving (UK) | No platform fee; 1.9% + £0.30 on charity donations, 2.9% + £0.35 on personal and crowdfunding pages |
| GlobalGiving | 5 to 12% support fee (5 to 7% for most donations) plus 3% processing |
| DonorsChoose | 1.5% processing plus a flat $30 per project; a 15% gift to DonorsChoose is suggested, not required |
| Givebutter | 0% when donors can tip; with tips off, 3% plus 2.9% + $0.30 on cards |
| Zeffy | Nothing to the nonprofit; Zeffy covers processing and asks donors for a voluntary contribution |
Low fees often move the cost onto you as a tip at checkout. Every tip here is optional; JustGiving's page shows how to set yours to zero.
When the money does not arrive
Reward campaigns carry creator risk. In its first crowdfunding case, in 2015, the FTC settled with Erik Chevalier, who raised over $122,000 from 1,246 Kickstarter backers for a board game and spent most of it on personal expenses. In 2020 it permanently banned Douglas Monahan from crowdfunding; it alleged he raised more than $800,000 on Indiegogo and Kickstarter and never delivered. Both orders ran against the individual, and both money judgments were suspended because the men could not pay.
Donation guarantees are discretionary. GoFundMe's Giving Guarantee covers gifts to an individual for one year against misuse or failure to reach the beneficiary, with refunds in 3 to 10 business days. The same page says GoFundMe decides in its "sole and absolute discretion" and that the policy is "not a warranty against fraud". FundRazr's FAQ says it does not hold funds at all; money goes straight to the organizer's Stripe or PayPal account.
Structure can protect you. DonorsChoose delivers "resources, not cash" to teachers. GlobalGiving vets every nonprofit before it can fundraise and monitors it afterward, while stating that "no platform can guarantee outcomes."
Equity crowdfunding is investing
Under SEC Regulation Crowdfunding, a funding portal must have investors send money to a bank or broker-dealer, which releases it to the company only after commitments reach the target and the cancellation period has passed. You can cancel for any reason until 48 hours before the deadline. The SEC's investor bulletin explains yearly limits: if your income or net worth is under $124,000, the greater of $2,500 or 5% of the larger figure. It says you should be prepared to lose your entire investment, and that resale is limited for the first year. We are not financial advisers and make no recommendation; read the bulletin and talk to a licensed professional.
If you care most about...
| Your priority | Kind of choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Most of the gift reaching a nonprofit | Zeffy, or Givebutter with tips on | They say the nonprofit keeps the full amount when donors cover costs |
| Money that cannot be redirected | DonorsChoose | It buys and ships the materials |
| A checked recipient | GlobalGiving | Due diligence before listing, monitoring after |
| Some recourse on a gift to a person | GoFundMe | A one-year guarantee, at its discretion |
| Backing a product | Kickstarter or Indiegogo, with money you can afford to lose | Kickstarter charges nothing if the goal is missed; no platform guarantees delivery |
| No platform cut at all | The charity's own donation page | See causes to support |
Giving time instead of money needs no platform fee: see volunteering.
What we are not telling you
Protection scores describe what each platform states, not how often it pays claims. Fees change: Patreon moved new pages to 10% in August 2025, and Indiegogo updated its fee page in November 2025. We do not rate individual campaigns, and nothing here is investment, tax or legal advice.
How we made this
Nobody paid to appear here. Every figure comes from a platform's or regulator's own page, opened on 29 September 2026. Corrections are welcome and get applied with their source.
Sources
- Kickstarter: fees, checked 2026-09
- Kickstarter: when is my card charged?, checked 2026-09
- Indiegogo: fees, checked 2026-09
- Patreon: creator fees overview, checked 2026-09
- GoFundMe: pricing, checked 2026-09
- GoFundMe: Giving Guarantee, checked 2026-09
- JustGiving: fees, checked 2026-09
- GlobalGiving: what is GlobalGiving's fee?, checked 2026-09
- GlobalGiving: how can I be sure a project is legitimate?, checked 2026-09
- DonorsChoose: additional project fees, checked 2026-09
- DonorsChoose: financials, checked 2026-09
- Givebutter: pricing, checked 2026-09
- Zeffy: how is Zeffy free?, checked 2026-09
- FundRazr: FAQ, checked 2026-09
- FTC: crowdfunding project creator settles charges of deception (2015), checked 2026-09
- FTC: crowdfunding scheme operator banned from future crowdfunding (2020), checked 2026-09
- 17 CFR 227.303: maintenance and transmission of funds, checked 2026-09
- 17 CFR 227.304: cancellations, checked 2026-09
- SEC investor bulletin: Regulation Crowdfunding for investors, checked 2026-09
- StartEngine: investor FAQ, checked 2026-09