Indiegogo vs Kickstarter: which is better for tech and hardware?

In our experience, Indiegogo often has the edge for tech and hardware. It accepts creators from more countries than Kickstarter's 25, supports about 20 payment methods for international backers, and offers Late Pledge so orders keep coming after the deadline. Kickstarter still wins on organic discovery and brand recognition, so the trade is reach on the platform against flexibility off it. If your traffic comes from your own ads and email list rather than platform browsing, Indiegogo's flexibility usually matters more.

Kickstarter vs Indiegogo fees: what does each platform charge?

The headline fees are the same. Both take a 5% platform fee, and payment processing adds roughly 3% plus a small fixed fee per pledge, so budget 8 to 10% of what you raise. Sales after the campaign (Kickstarter Late Pledges, Indiegogo Late Pledge) follow each platform's own fee terms, so check them when you plan the months after funding. Fees are rarely the deciding factor between the two platforms.

How much does Indiegogo take?

Indiegogo takes a 5% platform fee on the money you collect, plus payment processing of 3% and 0.20 in your project currency on each payment. On a $10,000 campaign with 100 backers, that leaves about $9,180 in your account. If your campaign does not reach its goal, you pay nothing, processing included.

What happens if an Indiegogo campaign does not reach its goal?

Nobody is charged and you receive nothing, because a regular Indiegogo campaign is all-or-nothing and backers' cards are only charged once the goal is met. Backers who paid up front with an instant payment get a full refund, and you owe no fees. Flexible funding, where you kept whatever you raised, ended with the October 2025 platform upgrade; the closest option now is Express Crowdfunding, which has no goal and pays out during the campaign.

Can you run a campaign on Kickstarter and Indiegogo at the same time?

In practice you should not. Running the same product on both at once splits your traffic across two pages, so neither builds the momentum the platforms reward. The usual sequence is one campaign on your chosen platform, then late pledges (Kickstarter Late Pledges or Indiegogo Late Pledge) to keep selling after the deadline. Check each platform's current terms before planning a multi-platform launch.

Kickstarter vs Indiegogo vs GoFundMe: which one is for product launches?

Kickstarter and Indiegogo are reward-based platforms built for product launches, where backers pledge in exchange for the product itself. GoFundMe is donation-based and built for personal and charitable causes, with no reward tiers and no pre-order mechanic. If you are launching a physical product, GoFundMe is not a comparable option and the real choice is between Kickstarter and Indiegogo.

What is Indiegogo actually like to use?

Indiegogo moved to a new platform, built on Gamefound's technology, in October 2025: all-or-nothing funding, about 20 payment methods so international backers rarely hit a wall at checkout, and Late Pledge after the deadline. Launching includes a platform review and an identity check. The trade against Kickstarter is discovery. Indiegogo sends less browse traffic than Kickstarter, so more of your funding has to come from traffic you bring yourself through ads, email, and press. Founders who expect the platform to find backers for them are the ones who come away disappointed, on either platform.

Is Indiegogo legit and safe to use?

Yes. Indiegogo has operated since 2008 and, since October 2025, runs on Gamefound's platform, with payments processed by a mainstream provider. The real risk on any reward-based platform is not the platform itself, it is individual campaigns that fail to deliver, because you are pre-ordering something that does not exist yet rather than buying finished stock. That risk is the same on Kickstarter. Judge the creator, not the logo: look for a working prototype, a named team, a realistic timeline, and clear answers on manufacturing and shipping.

Does Kickstarter or Indiegogo have a higher success rate?

Nobody can answer this honestly, and be careful with anyone who does. Neither platform currently publishes a comparable overall success rate, so any head-to-head number you see is built on incomplete data. The comparison would be misleading even with both figures, because the platforms attract different projects in different categories at different funding goals. What actually predicts the outcome is your product, your pre-launch audience, and your execution, not which platform you list on.

Should I choose Kickstarter or Indiegogo?

Choose Kickstarter if you have a creative, design, or games product and want the platform's organic discovery and brand credibility. Choose Indiegogo if you have a tech or hardware product, need wider country eligibility or international payment methods, or want Late Pledge to keep selling after the campaign. If you are genuinely torn after weighing those, the platform is not your constraint: your product, strategy, execution, and audience decide the outcome far more than the logo on the page.

Platform Comparison

Kickstarter vs Indiegogo: Which Platform is Right for Your Product?

Whether you search it as Kickstarter vs Indiegogo or Indiegogo vs Kickstarter, the question is the same: which platform gives your product the best shot. Both charge a 5% platform fee and roughly 3% processing, and both run all-or-nothing campaigns (Indiegogo also offers Express, with no goal). The real differences are organic traffic, country eligibility, payment methods, and what happens after the deadline. Here is the full comparison, based on $9M+ raised across both.

Quick Answer

The Quick Answer

Choose Kickstarter If:

Creative/design product
Want Kickstarter's active backer community
Want Kickstarter brand credibility
Categories KS is known for (design, games, tech)
Higher organic traffic potential
Want Pledge Over Time payment flexibility

Choose Indiegogo If:

Want Late Pledge to keep selling after the campaign
Need about 20 payment methods for global reach
Want Stretch Pay instalments for backers
Tech/hardware products
Wider country eligibility
Faster approval process

Details

Kickstarter vs Indiegogo: Fees, Traffic and Features Compared

Funding Models

Indiegogo

Kickstarter: Fixed (all-or-nothing)
Indiegogo: Fixed (all-or-nothing), or Express with no goal

Platform Fee

Tie

Kickstarter: 5%
Indiegogo: 5%

Payment Processing

Tie

Kickstarter: ~3% + fixed fee
Indiegogo: 3% + 0.20 per payment

Organic Traffic

Kickstarter

Kickstarter: High (strong discovery)
Indiegogo: Moderate

Post-Campaign Sales

Tie

Kickstarter: Late Pledges
Indiegogo: Late Pledge

Payment Methods

Indiegogo

Kickstarter: Cards and digital wallets
Indiegogo: About 20 methods

Payment Flexibility

Tie

Kickstarter: Pledge Over Time (3 payments)
Indiegogo: Stretch Pay (2 to 10 payments)

Countries Eligible to Launch

Indiegogo

Kickstarter: 25
Indiegogo: 37

Review Process

Tie

Kickstarter: Up to 3 business days
Indiegogo: Platform review + identity check

Brand Recognition

Kickstarter

Kickstarter: High
Indiegogo: Good

Best Categories

Depends

Kickstarter: Creative, Design, Games
Indiegogo: Tech, Hardware

Factor	Kickstarter	Indiegogo	Winner
Funding Models	Fixed (all-or-nothing)	Fixed (all-or-nothing), or Express with no goal	Indiegogo
Platform Fee	5%	5%	Tie
Payment Processing	~3% + fixed fee	3% + 0.20 per payment	Tie
Organic Traffic	High (strong discovery)	Moderate	Kickstarter
Post-Campaign Sales	Late Pledges	Late Pledge	Tie
Payment Methods	Cards and digital wallets	About 20 methods	Indiegogo
Payment Flexibility	Pledge Over Time (3 payments)	Stretch Pay (2 to 10 payments)	Tie
Countries Eligible to Launch	25	37	Indiegogo
Review Process	Up to 3 business days	Platform review + identity check	Tie
Brand Recognition	High	Good	Kickstarter
Best Categories	Creative, Design, Games	Tech, Hardware	Depends

Key Difference

Post-Campaign: The Key Difference

Kickstarter: Late Pledges

Campaign ends at deadline
Late Pledges feature available
Can continue accepting orders
Growing post-campaign sales option

Indiegogo: Late Pledge

Keeps taking orders after the deadline
Open to campaigns that ran elsewhere
Part of the October 2025 platform
Plan it before you launch

Both platforms now offer late pledges after the campaign. Choose based on your product and timeline.

Payment

Indiegogo vs Kickstarter: Payment Methods & Flexibility

Kickstarter

Streamlined payment process
Pledge Over Time (installments)
Strong fraud protection
Trusted by millions of backers

Indiegogo

About 20 payment methods
Wide international payment support
Stretch Pay instalments
Better for global audiences

In Practice

What Each Platform Is Actually Like to Run

Feature tables tell you what each platform offers. They do not tell you what the month feels like, and that is usually what founders are really asking. Here is the part that does not show up in a comparison grid.

Neither platform is a traffic source.

This is the expectation that costs campaigns the most. Kickstarter genuinely does send more browse traffic than Indiegogo, and on a well-performing campaign that discovery traffic is real. But on most campaigns the majority of pledges come from people the creator brought: an email list built before launch, paid ads, press, and community. Choosing the platform with better discovery does not remove the need to bring an audience. It changes how much the platform adds on top of one you already have.

Getting live feels different on each.

Kickstarter reviews manually, so budget a few days and expect the possibility of changes. Indiegogo approves faster and interferes less. If your launch date is fixed and tight, that difference matters more than any line in the fee table.

The deadline is not the end any more.

Both platforms now keep selling after the campaign closes, through Kickstarter Late Pledges or Indiegogo Late Pledge. Plan for this phase before you launch rather than treating it as a bonus, because it is where a lot of campaigns earn a meaningful share of their total.

The platform is rarely what went wrong.

When a campaign underperforms, the cause is almost always the product, the pre-launch audience, or the execution. We have seen strong campaigns on both platforms and weak ones on both. If you are stuck choosing, that is a sign the decision is not your bottleneck.

FAQ

Kickstarter vs Indiegogo: Common Questions

The core difference is what happens around the campaign, not the campaign itself. Both charge a 5% platform fee plus payment processing (about 3% plus a small fixed fee per pledge), and both run all-or-nothing funding. Kickstarter brings more organic discovery traffic and stronger brand recognition. Indiegogo, which runs on Gamefound's platform since October 2025, brings about 20 payment methods, creators from more countries, and Late Pledge for sales after the campaign. In our experience Kickstarter suits creative, design and games categories, and Indiegogo suits tech and hardware.

Our Honest Recommendation

After raising $9M+ on both platforms, here's the truth: Both platforms can work brilliantly for the right product with the right strategy. The platform choice matters, but it's not the most important factor.

What Matters More:

Your Product - Is it innovative and does it solve a real problem?
Your Strategy - Do you have a solid plan?
Your Execution - Can you execute well within tight deadlines?
Your Audience - Does it resonate with customers ready to buy?

Don't overthink it. If you're truly unsure after reading this, book a consultation. We'll analyze your specific situation and give you a clear recommendation.

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