While FreeFunder is quite popular regarding crowdfunding sites, the crowdfunding landscape is changing so often. Pop-up and dissipated platforms often arise here.
GadgetAny has recently created a buzz as the potential next strong player in crowdfunding, and especially for creative projects, it is now fully open to campaigns in most of the categories: Arts & Crafts, Comics, Dance, Design & Fashion, Film & Theater, Food, Games, Journalism, Music, Photography, Publishing, and Technology.
With that said, without any much ado, here are the five best alternatives for you at FreeFunder as well as some pros and cons of those websites that might be valuable to look for. This should help you give a better vision on how to launch your next successful crowdfunding.
1. Kickstarter
Pros
A fantastic brand reputation – One of the most prominent crowdfunding sites, Kickstarter holds a high reputation regarding successful campaigns.
All or Nothing-Model – This creates some positive pressure and motivation to spread among the followers.
Very high level of creative freedom while creating a project on Kickstarter
An incredible number of size and engagement – the kind of community potential backers have over Kickstarter for promoting a campaign to bring in like-minded people willing to contribute for the same.
History record – The track history with Kickstarter speaks for the perfect success stories of crowing millions of dollars with respect to creating projects in collaboration.
Downsides:
High level of Competition – Because it is so popular, Kickstarter can be pretty competitive, and you could easily get lost in the crowd.
Platform Fees: Kickstarter charges 5 per cent on all successfully funded campaigns.
All-or-Nothing Funding Model: The campaign will only fund if the fully amount is achieved, thereby posing a high risk, as you would have relied on that sum of funds.
2. Indiegogo
Pros:
Flexi Funding Model – Indiegogo uses a flexible as well as an all-or-nothing funding model to satisfy the needs of any different type of projects
There are many different types of project categories allowed in it, such as technology-related, social impact-related as well as creative ones.
International Reach – Indiegogo lets you reach a wide, international scope at accessing an international audience and your prospective funders
Marketing and Promotion Tools Available – Creating and managing perks about your rewards by offering an easier way around that task
Platform Fees – Indiegogo charges a platform fee that is also determined by the funding model and the selected payment processor.
Less Curated – The less curated nature of Indiegogo might mean that a pool of projects will be of a lower quality.
More Competition – Because Indiegogo is such a massive marketplace, you’ll have competition from every other campaign vying for people’s hearts.
3. GoFundMe
Benefits:
Very Easy to Use – The GoFundMe website is not very complicated, making it ideal for personal causes or charitable campaigns.
No Platform Fees – With GoFundMe, they don’t charge any sort of platform fees, hence you’ll be not charged an inch while using this particular service.
Emotional Appeal – It is, of course, a quite wonderful service for those sorts of projects which require just that-an appeal to sympathy as well as compassion.
Large User Base – GoFundMe has a large user base that may help you target a large audience.
Mobile-Friendly Platform – You can easily launch and manage the campaign using GoFundMe, as it is a mobile-friendly platform.
Less Creative Project-Related – Although GoFundMe can be used to fund creative projects, its main use has been with personal causes and charity fundraising.
Fewer Tools and Features – There are far fewer tools and features offered through GoFundMe than you would find elsewhere.
Fewer Conversions – It is common to have campaigns on GoFundMe end with fewer conversions, which requires you to collect more funds to meet the set targets.
4. Patreon
Pros:
Recurring Income – Patreon allows creators to earn recurring revenue from patrons.
Direct Relationship between Artists and Fans – Patreon lets artists engage with their backers directly.
Tiers for Memberships -You may present different membership tiers, complete with rewards and perks
Building a Community – With Patreon, you are better equipped to create a following of loyal fans who actually care about your work
Pays to Collect – Patreon ensures all payments are paid automatically.
Best suited for projects that can commit long-term with the patron.
Platform fees charged – Patreon works on a fee schedule whereby you pay as you take home revenue. These will depend on how much your earnings are, whether that be 8, or 12% from net gross.
5. GadgetAny
Advantages
GadgetAny is a global platform, which targets to work for creative and technical projects in which people can make proper use of tools and other aids from this community in case of support.
Well-Selected Projects: The selection of the projects made is also part of their selection process on this GadgetAny, so projects developed are quality-based products only.
Best Fees Available: The fee structure compared to others available on platforms; it has competitive fees as compared to others
Very User-Friendly Website: It’s a user-friendly website for a person to deal with this crowdfunding activity without knowing about crowdfunding.
Help is always readily available to answer questions or assist with any other issues from the dedicated support team on GadgetAny.
Disadvantages:
Fewer Marketing Tools: GadgetAny allows fewer marketing tools in comparison with some other similar platforms.
Selecting Your Crowdfunding Platform
As you’re choosing a platform for crowdfunding, consider these factors
The type of project: What are you going to launch? Some platforms are better for some types of projects.
The funding amount: How much fund are you going to raise?
Target audience: Who are the potential backers?
The fees you will pay in the platform: How much will it cost you in terms of platform fees?
Features that the platform will give you: What tools and features do you get in the platform?
Community: How responsive is the community of the platform?
With all these above-discussed elements and careful consideration, one may be able to choose a suitable crowdfunding platform for one’s project.