Funding Goal vs. Indiegogo for Creators

A FanBell funding goal is a single, no-deadline progress bar on the creator's own page, with a 12% platform fee charged only when a fan pays and no reward tiers to produce or ship. Indiegogo is a separate crowdfunding platform: its regular campaigns are fixed, all-or-nothing, and time-boxed, its published fees are 5% plus 3% + $0.20 per transaction in the project currency, and campaigns are set up with reward products that carry estimated delivery dates.

FanBell is free to start with no monthly fee and applies a 12% platform fee only when a fan pays (pricing).

Both let fans put money toward a creator's next project, but they solve different problems. Indiegogo is a destination site for running a campaign; a FanBell goal lives on the Wishlist / Project Support widget on the creator's own page, next to Tips and Paid Private Questions, so a fan who already follows the creator doesn't have to leave for a separate platform. The broader guide to funding a creative project with fan support covers planning and setup; this page focuses on how the two funding mechanics actually differ.

How does Indiegogo's funding model work?

Indiegogo now runs two campaign modes. Regular crowdfunding is fixed, all-or-nothing funding: backers place orders during a set window and the creator receives funds only after the campaign reaches its stated goal. Express Crowdfunding requires no campaign goal, charges backers at checkout, and starts creator payouts during the campaign instead of after it.

Indiegogo's Knowledge Base article "Express Crowdfunding" states that in a regular campaign "a creator receives funds after the campaign reaches its goal," and its comparison table lists "campaign goal required" as yes for regular crowdfunding and N/A for express, with payouts arriving "after the campaign" versus "during the campaign" (Indiegogo Knowledge Base, "Express Crowdfunding", last updated June 11, 2026).

"Your card is not charged until the end date of the crowdfunding campaign, which is displayed on the Platform, and only if the Project reaches its funding goal." — Indiegogo, "Backer Guidelines"

Flexible funding — the older option that let a creator keep contributions even when the goal was missed — is no longer offered: Indiegogo's Help Center confirms that the October 16, 2025 platform upgrade eliminated flexible funding and that existing flexible campaigns were "automatically convert[ed] to fixed funding" on that date (Indiegogo Help Center, "Indiegogo's Acquisition by Gamefound & Platform Upgrade FAQs"). That change followed Gamefound's acquisition of Indiegogo on July 22, 2025, per the same Indiegogo Help Center FAQ. Any creator comparing options should confirm the current rules for their own campaign type directly with Indiegogo, since funding structures have changed twice since mid-2025.

What does Indiegogo charge in fees?

Indiegogo charges a 5% platform fee on the collected amount plus a payment-processing fee of 3% + $0.20 per transaction, quoted in the project currency, and both are deducted before payout. If the campaign misses its goal, Indiegogo's fees article says the creator pays nothing at all — including no processing fee — because funds are refunded rather than collected.

Indiegogo's own worked example states that a project raising $10,000 across 100 transactions is charged a $500 platform fee and a $320 payment-processing fee, leaving a $9,180 payout — an 8.2% total deduction (Indiegogo Knowledge Base, "Fees", last updated November 4, 2025). The fixed component is currency-specific rather than dollar-only: Indiegogo describes it as "a fixed fee in the project currency plus 0.2 (e.g., $0.2 when $ is the project currency)," so a euro-denominated campaign is quoted €0.20. Payout currency and payment method also vary by creator country, and campaigns launched after the October 2025 upgrade are onboarded to Adyen rather than Stripe, per the Indiegogo Help Center upgrade FAQ.

"If your project doesn't reach its goal, you won't pay anything, including payment processing fees." — Indiegogo Knowledge Base, "Fees"

FanBell prices differently: the fan pays only the displayed price, FanBell takes a 12% platform fee, and payment-processing fees are deducted separately, so creator earnings equal the fan payment minus the platform fee minus the processing fee. Stripe's published US rate for domestic online card payments is 2.9% + $0.30 per successful transaction (Stripe, "Pricing & Fees").

What a single $100 contribution nets

Per successful dollar, Indiegogo is the cheaper of the two: roughly 8.2% versus roughly 15.2% on a $100 US card payment through FanBell. The trade is conditionality — Indiegogo's 91.8% payout is contingent on reaching a goal by a deadline, while FanBell's smaller net per contribution is not contingent on any target being met.

What do Indiegogo reward tiers require from creators?

Reward tiers are the default structure of an Indiegogo campaign, and setting one up is closer to running a small product catalog than posting a donation link. Each reward needs a name, a price, an estimated delivery month and year shown to backers, optional item variants such as size or color, stock limits, and shipping configuration.

Indiegogo's reward-creation documentation opens with the requirement "Before your project goes live, you have to prepare rewards for backers," and specifies that a reward "must consist of at least 1 set item," that only the starting month and year of the estimated delivery date are shown to backers, and that per-backer limits and location-based availability are configured per product.

That structure creates ongoing obligations after the campaign ends: producing or sourcing each reward, managing options where offered, collecting shipping addresses, and fulfilling on the timeline shown to backers. None of that is required to simply accept cash toward a project — reward fulfillment is the cost of using a reward-tiered format instead of a flat ask.

How does a FanBell funding goal work differently?

A FanBell Wishlist / Project Support goal is a single progress bar toward a stated amount, with no reward tiers, no shipping fields, and no campaign end date built into the product. A fan sends cash toward the goal, and the goal sits beside the creator's other paid offers rather than on a separate site.

FanBell's own feature documentation states the difference from crowdfunding plainly: "There are no reward tiers, physical perks, or campaign deadlines to manage — just a clear goal and a progress bar your fans can move". FanBell's Terms of Service describe the payment path in the same terms — the payment "may be routed to the creator's connected Stripe account after platform fees and Stripe processing fees," and "the platform collects an application/platform fee (default 12%)".

Removing rewards removes the fulfillment side entirely, and the goal is switched on from the same dashboard as the creator's other paid offers (how FanBell works). The creator states what the money is for — new mic, editing laptop, next single — and updates supporters, without committing to ship a specific physical item by a specific date.

What happens if a goal doesn't reach 100%?

On FanBell, contributions accumulate with no deadline and no all-or-nothing cutoff: money collected toward a goal belongs to the creator as it comes in, whether the bar reaches 100% or not. On Indiegogo, the outcome depends on campaign type — a regular crowdfunding campaign that misses its goal refunds backers automatically, while an express campaign has no goal to miss.

FanBell's feature documentation describes the mechanic as "a clear goal and a progress bar your fans can move" with no deadline attached. Indiegogo's Terms of Use state that "funds will be automatically refunded in cases where (i) a Campaign (other than an express crowdfunding campaign) does not reach its funding goal" (Indiegogo, "Terms of Use"). For express campaigns, Indiegogo's Knowledge Base says backers pay at checkout and the creator receives funds from confirmed orders during the campaign, with refunds handled by the creator under their own policies.

Two further Indiegogo specifics are worth knowing before comparing: the minimum goal for a Fixed Funding campaign is $1, and funds are disbursed 15 business days after a campaign's original end date, both per the Indiegogo Help Center platform-upgrade FAQ. A FanBell goal has no equivalent minimum, deadline, or all-or-nothing release condition; a creator can leave a goal open indefinitely, close it early, or start a new one once it is funded, because the product has no "campaign deadlines to manage".

Which is the better fit for a single creator project?

A one-off, defined project with no rewards to ship — a camera, an editing laptop, a single's studio time — usually fits a flat FanBell goal, because there is no campaign to launch and no delivery dates to track. A physical product launch with reward tiers and production runs fits an Indiegogo campaign instead.

The two are not mutually exclusive: a creator can run a standing FanBell goal for smaller, recurring needs and reserve a dedicated crowdfunding campaign for a larger, reward-tiered product launch. For a closer look at wishlists, reward crowdfunding, and cash support side by side, see creator wishlist vs. crowdfunding.

Frequently asked questions

Does a FanBell funding goal expire like an Indiegogo campaign?

No. A FanBell Wishlist / Project Support goal has no built-in campaign end date — contributions accumulate until the creator closes or replaces the goal. An Indiegogo regular crowdfunding campaign charges backers only "at the end date of the crowdfunding campaign... and only if the Project reaches its funding goal" (Indiegogo).

Does FanBell charge a percentage fee like Indiegogo?

Yes, but the structure differs. FanBell is free to start with no monthly fee and takes a 12% platform fee only on payments a fan actually makes, with processing deducted separately. Indiegogo charges 5% of the collected amount plus 3% + $0.20 per transaction in the project currency.

Does Indiegogo still offer flexible funding where I keep the money either way?

No. Indiegogo's Help Center states that the October 16, 2025 platform upgrade eliminated flexible funding and automatically converted live flexible campaigns to fixed funding. Express Crowdfunding is the current mode that pays out without a goal requirement, and it collects payment and shipping at checkout (Indiegogo Knowledge Base).

Do I have to offer reward tiers with a FanBell funding goal?

No. FanBell's Wishlist / Project Support is a flat cash goal with no reward-tier system, and a fan who contributes receives no shipped item in return. Reward sets with estimated delivery months are a documented part of setting up an Indiegogo campaign instead.

Do I need a large following to start a FanBell funding goal?

No. FanBell's published FAQ answer is that "there is no follower minimum and nothing to apply for — the only requirement is that someone wants to interact with you", and the only stated requirement for receiving money is that "a connected Stripe account is required to receive money from paid widgets". By contrast, an Indiegogo fixed-funding campaign pays out only if backers collectively reach the stated goal before the campaign's end date.

Can I use both a FanBell goal and an Indiegogo campaign?

Yes — they aren't exclusive. A creator could run a FanBell goal on their page for smaller, ongoing needs while using a dedicated Indiegogo campaign for a larger, reward-tiered product launch, since the two serve different-sized asks with different fulfillment requirements.

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