Top 5 GoFundMe Alternatives Compared (2022 Updated)

GoFundMe has been a leading crowdfunding platform for over a decade, but depending on your personal fundraising needs, does opting for the popular choice mean you are going to have a more successful outcome?

We take a closer look at some GoFundMe alternatives and see how they stack up, but first, let’s take a look at a few factors.

GoFundMe is considered a ‘traditional fundraising platform’, so the focus of this article will be on platforms following the traditional crowdfunding model.

A traditional crowdfunding platform is donation-based, so is not usually suitable for fundraisers who may want an equity-based campaign, lending/financial rewards-based campaign, debt-based campaign and so on.

A traditional fundraising platform allows fundraisers to raise funds on their site through the power of crowdfunding. So, what does crowdfunding mean exactly?

Crowdfunding is when a fundraiser reaches out to everyone in their personal, social, business or community crowd to ask for donations. In other words, people they already know in some way.

As a campaign builds and gathers momentum, perhaps it will capture the attention of press, TV, social media influencers, celebrities and other sources that can elevate the campaign and spread wider and wider, faster and faster, potentially reaching what is well known as ‘going viral’. The truth is however, only a very tiny percentage of campaigns achieve this, and we will come back to this very important point a little later.

If crowdfunding relies on the fundraisers own input and their own crowd, what do fundraisers actually want or need from a crowdfunding platform?

Well, let us share a little of our experience of fundraisers.

We send a very short survey to all fundraisers at the end of their campaign asking about their experience, but also asking about other more general factors relating to crowdfunding.

Here is what we have discovered from over 10 years of feedback from fundraisers on our site.

Top requirements for choosing a fundraiser site (and in no particular order):

• Convenience

• Appealing, user-friendly interface with plenty of tools and features

• Cost

• Customer Support

• Donation methods

• Availability in a fundraiser’s country

• Able to raise funds in native currencies

• Ability to keep what is raised

• Ability to raise funds for a wide variety of causes

Of course there are many, many more considerations a fundraiser may want to think about when choosing their fundraising platform, such as:

• Previous experience

• Personal recommendation

• Brand awareness/brand trust/Independent reviews

• Perceived donor interest in their chosen fundraising platform

Finding the right platform for your fundraising campaign will require research. It is definitely not a one-size-fits-all arena. First ask yourself these questions:

1. Is my campaign for a personal, entrepreneurial, creative, educational, volunteer, charitable, business, equitable cause?

2. How quickly do I need access to funds?

3. Do I need to keep funds, even if I don’t raise the full amount needed?

4. How easy will it be for my donors to donate?

5. How strong is my network and what is my marketing networking strategy?

6. Will I have easy access to support if I need it?

Many platforms out there will be able to provide most of the above, to some degree or another, but how do they actually compare to GoFundMe and are they a better alternative to GoFundMe?

Here is a comparison table for 6 of the most established traditional crowdfunding platforms (including GoFundMe) to help you see direct differences between each one:

As you can see, there are subtle, but important differences. Let’s look at them in a little more detail:

Established in 2010 GoFundMe is one of the most well known traditional fundraising platforms and serves 19 countries. GoFundMe charges fundraisers a transaction fee of 2.9% + 30c per donation. In addition to this they also ask donors to pay a tip for donating, which is set to 15% by default.

GoFundMe has great fundraising features and is a well-established platform. It has earned significant brand awareness through a number of high profile viral campaigns, although they do seem to be getting an increasing amount of press highlighting GoFundMe unfairly shutting down or removing fundraising campaigns. This, and many other varied servicing issues, results in their 1.5/5 (Bad) Trustpilot rating.

One thing we mentioned earlier in the article was about campaigns going viral. It seems on the face of it that many campaigns that do go viral originate from GoFundMe. However, GoFundMe has one of the largest platforms, but in reality only a very tiny percentage (less than 1%) of campaigns will actually go viral. In relative terms a smaller platform achieves exactly the same, but as they may have less campaigns, will appear less often.

A viral campaign is not actually a sign of a successful platform, it is often a combination of luck, hard work by the organiser, timing and it just being ‘the one that won the public’s hearts’.

Established in 2011, we at GoGetFunding were one of the early crowdfunding platforms too. We charge a flat-rate platform fee of 4%, and we don’t ask your donors for tips on checkout. Payment processors also charge fees of around 2.9% (as a global crowdfunding platform, payment processing fees can vary slightly in some countries). We allow recurring donations, and multiple payment methods – including card payments, PayPal, & bank transfer.

As a strong all-round GoFundMe alternative, GoGetFunding has the most extensive range of tools and features for its fundraisers. From multiple team fundraising features, to innovative ways to share and have others get involved (beyond donating), and so much more.

We allow fundraising for any cause in almost any country, and we have a keep-it-all policy meaning any funds you raise are yours, even if you don’t hit your goal.

This together with services such as on-hand fundraising coaches are just some of the reasons why we score highest in independent customer review ratings: 4.5/5 (Excellent) on Trustpilot.

GoFundMe alternative, Kickstarter exploded on the scene as far back as 2009 as a site for creative endeavour and has continued its focus on creative campaigns ever since. It has a large community, particularly in the video, games, apps, tech fields with increasing appeal in other creative fields such as arts and food.

Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing site, meaning if you do not raise all the funds you need, donations are returned to donors, so you really do need to think hard about your marketing strategy. Kickstarter charges a 5% fee plus payment processing fees between 3% and 5%.

Fundly started in the same year as Kickstarter, but had a very different model. It allowed all types of campaigns and had a keep-it-all policy for donations. Fees for Fundly start at 4.9% plus payment processing fees of 2.9% +0.30c.

Fundly is currently only available in six countries – United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France and Mexico. This aside, Fundly is still an excellent GoFundMe alternative, in those countries.

Fundrazr is another platform that launched in 2009 and has grown into a popular GoFundMe alternative. Fundrazr offers tiered fees solutions where you can pass fees on to your donors, and only pay transaction fees of around 3%, or you can accept the additional 5% fee as part of your fundraising costs. It boasts a wide range of fundraising tools and features.

Fundrazr allows all types of campaigns, is a keep-it-all site and serves 35 countries. It is also one of the higher scoring platforms in independent reviews.

Indiegogo describes itself as the place where early adopters and innovation seekers find lively, imaginative tech before it hits the mainstream. Even though Indiegogo allows all types of campaigns, its focus is on entrepreneurs seeking backing at all stages of product development.

Indiegogo has always been a direct GoFundMe alternative for fundraisers seeking funding for concept and development right through to production and launch. It even has an experts directory, to help you find like-minded experts who may be interested in helping your campaign.

Fees for Indiegogo are 5% plus transaction fees of around 3%, they are a keep-it-all site, serving globally.

• Patreon

• Justgiving

• Mightycause

• Plumfund

• Crowdfunder

There are heaps of fantastic traditional fundraising platforms out there. Many have a strong core focus, and provide excellent, tailored features to provide the best possible campaign for you. Don’t just choose what you think you know. Take a second look at some very real GoFundMe alternatives – they are out there, and they are very ready and able to make your next campaign a success.

If you’re ready to get started, why not launch your fundraising campaign today?