The final chunk of research (after virtual exhibitions and printed publications) is crowdfunding. I am planning to raise most of the costs of the printed publication component via a fairly modest crowdfunding campaign with a target of £300.

I narrowed it down to Kickstarter and Indiegogo.

This is a fairly short post as there are many comparisons available online already on the key differences between the two platforms.

Note that the fee structure is identical: 5% platform fee and 3-5% payment processing fee dependent on payment value.

Kickstarter

The first successful ‘big name’ crowdfunding platform, started in 2009 and to date funded over $4bn worth of projects.

  • Pro:
    • Bigger user base
    • Bigger brand recognition
    • Higher success rate
  • Con:
    • Stricter approval standards
    • Fixed funding only i.e. all or nothing… unsuccessful campaigns get nothing
    • Fewer user payment options

Indiegogo

Actually started a year earlier but took longer to get established in the market; started out specialising in film production but soon expanded into other creative products and services.

  • Pro:
    • Covers more countries
    • More user payment options
    • Allows flexible funding (miss your target, you still get the money raised up to that point)
  • Con:
    • Lower success rate
    • Lesser brand recognition

Conclusion

Based on this I plan to go with Kickstarter.

Sources

https://blog.thecrowdfundingformula.com/2015-11-13-kickstarter-vs-indiegogo-2/ (accessed 02/09/2020)

https://www.funded.today/blog/kickstarter-vs-indiegogo-which-is-better (accessed 02/09/2020)