Kickstarter vs IndiegogoBy Lewis LeongHead of Content at Crowdtoolz

Which Crowdfunding Platform Should You Choose?• Kickstarter and Indiegogo may look similar, but they have a

variety of differences.• Questions to ask yourself

• Who is your target demographic?• What service are they using?• Where is your company based?• Do you need fixed for flexible funding?

Kickstarter vs Indiegogo: Platform Size• Kickstarter is bigger• Kickstarter has a better success rate• Indiegogo is the go-to platform for

artists• Kickstarter: 25 to 27 million uniques• Indiegogo: 9 million uniques • Infographic credit: pandodaily

Why should you choose Indiegogo?• Indiegogo is a great place for artists and filmmakers

• Examples: Dear White People, Lazer Team, Last Days in Vietnam

• Indiegogo is a more open platform• New, inexperienced companies flock to Indiegogo, fail, and drive

down the platform’s success rate.• Indiegogo offers more options for international campaigns

• Kickstarter requires companies to use the currency where they are based, which creates confusion (something we’ve seen with our clients).

• Indiegogo is available in over 200 countries (Kickstarter is only in 18)

• Option for flexible funding (receiving funds immediately)

Why should you choose Kickstarter?• Kickstarter has a higher success rate

• This is due in part to Kickstarter’s more stringent vetting process• You have access to 25 to 27 million users • Kickstarter offers its own video hosting service

• You won’t need to worry about uploading videos to YouTube or Vimeo

• Fixed funding minimizes risks (money will only get distributed if a campaign successfully hits its goal)

What about fees?Both Kickstarter and Indiegogo share the same 5% flat rate for campaigns, whether or not they get funded. Don’t forget to factor in the credit card and PayPal fees!

Kickstarter vs Indiegogo: Payment Options • Kickstarter is currently limited to only one payment option:

Stripe• Support for credit cards• No support for mobile payments like Android Pay or Apple Pay

• Indiegogo lets backers pay with: • Credit cards• PayPal• ApplePay• By offering both PayPal and credit card payments, Indiegogo observed a

28% increase in contributions

Kickstarter vs Indiegogo: Analytics• Kickstarter integrates with Google Analytics• Indiegogo lets you track Facebook and Google ads, which

Kickstarter doesn’t let you do currently• Indiegogo gives access to your backers list immediately.

Kickstarter only gives you this data once your campaign is successfully funded.

• Indiegogo’s inclusion of Facebook Pixel and Google Adwords tracking is invaluable for your ad spend. Both platforms need work integrating more data, but the edge goes to Indiegogo for now

Conclusion• Both Kickstarter and Indiegogo have their pros and cons, and

ultimately, it’s up to you to decide which pros and cons matter to you most. Kickstarter is the bigger crowdfunding platform and gets more press, but its fixed funding and limited product categories may limit your campaign. Indiegogo offers more product categories and ad analytics, but you’ll have to be careful when deciding whether or not to go with flexible funding.

•Have more questions about crowdfunding? Visit Crowdtoolz to get more industry news and insights.