European Alternatives to Kickstarter
Looking for a European alternative to Kickstarter? Its help center states that Kickstarter collects a 5% fee on funds from successful projects, that Stripe collects a further payment processing fee of roughly 3-5%, and that Kickstarter has been a Public Benefit Corporation since 2015. Creators must verify with ID and a bank account in a supported country, and the help center suggests establishing a US business if your country is not supported.
The European platforms below run reward, donation and investment campaigns through companies in France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the UK, Switzerland and the Netherlands, with published commissions and euro payouts. Kickstarter's own site, terms and legal address were blocked for our checks, so only its help center was read.
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Category fit and hands-on review
What the tool actually does, who it suits, and where it falls short — checked against the vendor’s own documentation, changelog and pricing page rather than its marketing copy.
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12 European Alternatives to Kickstarter
Ulule
Paris reward and donation platform with tiered commissions
Startnext
Dresden B Corp with Basis, Pro and Premium plans
Verkami
Catalan creative crowdfunding with 5% fee and presales
Produzioni dal Basso
Italian platform with Keep it all, All or nothing and Donation
wemakeit
Zurich platform for projects and community funding
voordekunst
Amsterdam foundation crowdfunding for the arts
Spacehive
UK community fundraising for local projects
Companisto
Berlin equity crowdinvesting from EUR 250
Spreds
Brussels start-up and SME investment platform
Conda
Swiss crowdinvesting for start-ups and real estate
Lita
AMF-authorised French investment crowdfunding
Lendahand
Dutch impact lending to emerging-market businesses
Key takeaways
- Kickstarter, PBC is a US Public Benefit Corporation, and its help center says it collects 5% on successful projects plus roughly 3-5% in Stripe payment processing fees.
- Kickstarter's help center requires an ID and a bank account in a supported country and suggests a US business for creators elsewhere, which Ulule, Startnext, Verkami and Produzioni dal Basso avoid by contracting through EU companies.
- Verkami charges 5% plus 1.5% for card payments on success, and Produzioni dal Basso charges 5% for Keep it all and All or nothing and 3% for Donation projects, both with fee percentages published in their terms.
- Ulule's card commission starts at 6.67% excluding VAT and falls to 4.17% above €500,000, so it costs more than Kickstarter's headline 5% for campaigns under €250,000.
- Companisto, Spreds, Lita, Conda and Lendahand are investment platforms, not rewards sites, and none of them replaces a Kickstarter product launch.
Why people leave Kickstarter
Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform run by Kickstarter, PBC, a United States company. Its help center says it has been a Public Benefit Corporation since 2015. Creators publish a project page, backers pledge money, and the platform keeps a share of what a successful project collects. That is the model most people mean when they say "crowdfunding", and it is the reference point every European platform on this page gets measured against.
The help center sets out the cost in two parts. Kickstarter collects 5% of the funds from a successful project, and Stripe collects a payment processing fee of roughly 3-5% on top. A creator who raises €20,000 therefore plans for a combined deduction somewhere between 8% and 10% before taxes, which is the number to put next to the European fee tables below.
The harder question for a European creator is the onboarding. The help center says creators must verify with an ID and a bank account in a supported country, and for creators in an unsupported country it suggests establishing a US business. Our checks could not open Kickstarter's terms or legal pages, so we cannot say which law governs the contract, and we say so rather than guess.
- The payout route runs through a supported country and Stripe Kickstarter's help center asks creators to verify with an ID and a bank account in a supported country. If your country is not on the list, the help center points to setting up a US business as the way round it. For a European association or a small studio, a second legal entity in another jurisdiction is a heavy price for one campaign.
- The fee has two layers, and only one of them is Kickstarter's Kickstarter takes 5% from successful projects, and Stripe adds a payment processing fee the help center puts at roughly 3-5%. The European platforms split the same cost differently. Verkami writes 5% plus 1.5% for cards into its terms, and Startnext's Basis plan is 5% plus payment costs, so the gap to Kickstarter is smaller than the headline numbers suggest.
- The contracting party, the tax paperwork and the language are all foreign A Kickstarter campaign is a contract with Kickstarter, PBC, a US company. A campaign on Ulule, Startnext, Verkami or Produzioni dal Basso is a contract with a company registered in France, Germany, Spain or Italy, under the consumer and tax rules of that country. Support and legal text arrive in the language of the creator, not only in English.
- Rewards are only one of the models Europeans ask for Kickstarter is the reference point for reward campaigns. A project that wants investors, a neighbourhood fund, an impact loan or a donation page needs a different product. Companisto, Spreds, Lita, Lendahand, Conda and Spacehive each cover one of those models, and some of them operate under a financial regulator that a rewards site never faces.
What you have to replace, not just match
Replacing Kickstarter starts with the project page itself: the video, the reward tiers, the stretch goals, the updates feed and the comment thread. Every European rewards platform here rebuilds those from scratch. Nothing moves across automatically, so allow a few evenings to rewrite the page in the platform's own format and to re-upload the images at the sizes it asks for.
The second thing to replace is the money flow. Kickstarter pays out through Stripe to a bank account in a supported country. Ulule runs euro payments through Mangopay SA, Produzioni dal Basso through Lemonway SAS, Startnext through Stripe and PayPal, and Spacehive through Stripe Payments Europe Limited. Each of those providers runs its own identity check, and it is the step most likely to delay a launch.
The third thing is the audience, and no tool can replace it. The Kickstarter help pages we read give no backer numbers, so we cannot compare reach, and the European platforms publish only self-reported totals. Plan to bring your own list: a newsletter, a community, a local press contact. A campaign page on any platform converts the people you send to it far better than it finds new ones.
The alternatives compared
| Position | Tool | Headquarters | Pricing | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Ulule | Paris, France | Commission in euros, excluding VAT, by band of funds collected: 6.67% on card payments up to EUR 100,000, 5.83% up to EUR 250,000, 5.00% up to EUR 500,000, 4.17% above that. Cheque and transfer contributions are cheaper (4.17% falling to 1.67%). | EU (France) |
| #2 | Startnext | Dresden, Germany | Success commission by plan: Basis 5%, Pro 11%, Premium 14% for classic crowdfunding (4%, 10%, 13% for non-profits; 3%, 7%, 10% for private projects), plus payment costs; no running costs. | EU (Germany) |
| #3 | Verkami | Mataró (Barcelona), Spain | Starting a project is free. On success: 5% (excluding taxes) plus 1.5% for card payments; flat EUR 65 for projects raising under EUR 1,000. Presales: 5% plus 1.5%, flat EUR 35 under EUR 500. | EU (Spain) |
| #4 | Produzioni dal Basso | not stated on the pages we read (Italy), Italy | PdB fee including VAT: 5% for Keep it all, 5% for All or nothing (charged only if the goal is met), 3% for Donation projects, plus payment processing fees. | EU (Italy) |
| #5 | wemakeit | Zurich, Switzerland | not shown on the pages we read | Switzerland (adequacy decision, outside the EEA) |
| #6 | voordekunst | Amsterdam, Netherlands | not shown on the pages we read | EU (Netherlands) |
| #7 | Spacehive | England (address cut in extract), United Kingdom | A fee stated as a percentage (+VAT) of the project target, added to the campaign target before fundraising; the exact percentage is not clearly legible in our extract. | United Kingdom (adequacy decision, outside the EEA) |
| #8 | Companisto | Berlin, Germany | not shown on the pages we read; investments from EUR 250 | EU (Germany) |
| #9 | Spreds | Brussels, Belgium | not shown on the pages we read | EU (Belgium) |
| #10 | Conda | Baar, Switzerland | not shown on the pages we read; example campaign minimum CHF 345 | Switzerland (adequacy decision, outside the EEA) |
| #11 | Lita | Paris, France | not shown on the pages we read | EU (France) |
| #12 | Lendahand | Netherlands (city not shown in extract), Netherlands | not shown on the pages we read; investors may face additional costs such as taxes, per the terms | EU (Netherlands) |
How each alternative compares to Kickstarter
Best for: Creators of books, comics, games and local projects in France and Belgium launching in euros.
Ulule is the European platform that most resembles the Kickstarter experience: a project page, reward tiers, a funding goal and a campaign clock. ULULE SAS in Paris is the contracting party, and euro payments run through Mangopay SA. Against Kickstarter, the contract and the payout both stay inside France and the EU.
The price is the catch. Ulule's commission on card payments is 6.67% excluding VAT up to €100,000, against the 5% Kickstarter's help center gives. It falls to 4.17% above €500,000, and cheque or transfer contributions are cheaper. Ulule also offers donation and subscription pages, which the Kickstarter help pages we read do not cover.
What Ulule does better than Kickstarter
- Contracts with a French SAS instead of a US Public Benefit Corporation
- Cheque and transfer pledges at 4.17% falling to 1.67%
- Donation and subscription fundraisers next to reward campaigns
- Euro payments run through Mangopay SA
Where Ulule is a step down from Kickstarter
- Card commission starts at 6.67%, above the 5% headline on Kickstarter
- The fee table varies by currency and payment method
- The strongest audience speaks French
Standout against Kickstarter. Ulule lets backers pay by cheque or transfer at a lower commission than card, which suits older or local audiences.
Best for: German-speaking creators, start-ups and non-profits who want guidance from the platform team.
Startnext GmbH in Dresden prices by plan instead of by campaign size. Basis is 5%, Pro is 11% and Premium is 14% for classic crowdfunding, plus Stripe or PayPal costs. Against Kickstarter, the Basis plan matches the 5% headline, and nothing is due before a payout happens.
Higher plans buy support from the Startnext team, and non-profits and private fundraisers get their own lower tiers of 4%, 10%, 13% and 3%, 7%, 10%. The documentation is mostly German, and the privacy text lists some US-based providers as sub-processors, so the data does not stay entirely in Europe.
What Startnext does better than Kickstarter
- Separate lower tiers for non-profit and private fundraising
- Costs fall due only when a payout happens
- A public fee page with plan percentages and volume discounts
- Imprint with register number and managing director
Where Startnext is a step down from Kickstarter
- Pro and Premium reach 11% and 14% before payment costs
- Some sub-processors are US companies
- Help material is mostly in German
Standout against Kickstarter. Startnext is the only platform here that prices by plan and sells coaching from its own team.
Best for: Music, film, comics and book creators in Spain and Catalonia wanting a predictable percentage.
Verkami's terms state the fee in one line: 5% excluding taxes plus 1.5% for card payments, charged on success. Starting a project is free. Against Kickstarter's 5% plus roughly 3-5% in Stripe fees, the all-in cost of 6.5% is easy to forecast.
Small campaigns pay a flat €65 under €1,000, and the 40-day campaign length is written into the terms. The Preventa tool keeps selling after the campaign ends. The legal entity is VERKAMI, SCP, a small civil partnership, and most legal text is in Spanish with one page marked as translation pending.
What Verkami does better than Kickstarter
- Card handling fixed at 1.5% instead of a variable processor fee
- The 40-day campaign length is written into the terms
- A presale tool for continued sales after the campaign
- Interface in five languages, including Catalan, Basque and Galician
Where Verkami is a step down from Kickstarter
- The legal entity is a civil partnership, not a large company
- Legal text is mainly Spanish
- A flat €65 charge applies under €1,000 raised
Standout against Kickstarter. Verkami offers Catalan, Basque and Galician interfaces, which no other platform on this page matches.
Produzioni dal Basso
An Italian choice between keeping funds and all-or-nothing, with 5% or 3% fees
Best for: Italian creators, associations and community projects choosing between keeping the money or all-or-nothing.
Produzioni dal Basso lets the creator pick the funding mode before launch. Keep it all costs 5% including VAT, All or nothing costs 5% charged only if the goal is met, and Donation projects pay 3%. Payment processing fees come on top.
The Kickstarter help center gives one headline fee. Produzioni dal Basso, run by FolkFunding Srl Benefit and operating since 2005 according to its terms, hands the mode decision to the creator. Lemonway SAS handles wallets and identity checks, and the platform disclaims delays caused there.
What Produzioni dal Basso does better than Kickstarter
- A Keep it all mode that pays out even if the goal is missed
- A 3% rate for Donation projects
- VAT is included in the published percentages
- English and Italian interfaces
Where Produzioni dal Basso is a step down from Kickstarter
- Wallet opening depends on Lemonway SAS checks
- Reach and project statistics are not shown
- Terms are long and legalistic
Standout against Kickstarter. Produzioni dal Basso is the only platform here where the creator chooses Keep it all or All or nothing.
Best for: Swiss creators and local initiatives wanting Swiss payment methods in German, French or Italian.
wemakeit AG in Zurich supports PostFinance and TWINT next to Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Those are the payment methods a Swiss backer already uses, and the Kickstarter help pages we read list none of them. The platform reports 8,543 projects since 2012, a figure it gives about itself.
The pages we read did not show a commission, so no fee comparison is possible here. Switzerland is outside the EU, covered by an adequacy decision, and funds go into a Swiss account, which adds a currency step for euro backers. Communities, a product for ongoing funding, goes beyond a single campaign.
What wemakeit does better than Kickstarter
- Swiss payment methods such as TWINT and PostFinance
- A Communities product for ongoing funding
- Interface in German, French, Italian and English
- Imprint with register number CHE-260.625.831
Where wemakeit is a step down from Kickstarter
- No commission is shown on the pages we read
- Switzerland is outside the EU
- The audience is mainly Swiss
Standout against Kickstarter. wemakeit pairs project campaigns with Communities, a recurring-funding product for clubs and initiatives.
Best for: Dutch artists, collectives and cultural institutions wanting a campaign environment built for the arts.
voordekunst is run by Stichting voordekunst in Amsterdam, a foundation with a published KvK and VAT number. Campaigns are sorted by discipline, from visual arts and music to heritage and design. Against Kickstarter, the focus is narrow by design.
Its creativefunding programme serves cultural institutions, and crowdkeeping covers ongoing support. The platform reports €68,979,644 in donations and 9,569 completed projects since 2010, both self-reported. Fees, payment provider and campaign rules were not shown on the pages we read, and the site is in Dutch only.
What voordekunst does better than Kickstarter
- An arts-specific audience instead of a general one
- A programme for cultural institutions
- Foundation structure with KvK and VAT number published
Where voordekunst is a step down from Kickstarter
- Fees and payment provider are not shown on the pages we read
- The site is Dutch-only
- Product launches and games fall outside its scope
Standout against Kickstarter. voordekunst is the only platform here with a separate programme for cultural institutions as well as individual makers.
Best for: Councils, charities and residents running neighbourhood projects in the UK and Ireland.
Spacehive Ltd, registered in England and Wales under company number 7553730, funds playgrounds, markets and city farms. Partner funds sit next to individual pledges, and its home page cites £7 million available. The Kickstarter help pages we read describe no equivalent, so a council can match backers with grant money here.
Spacehive is a poor fit for a game or gadget. Its fee is a percentage of the project target, added to the target before fundraising, but the digits were not legible in our extract. The United Kingdom is outside the EU, with an adequacy decision, and Stripe Payments Europe Limited handles cards.
What Spacehive does better than Kickstarter
- Partner funds sit alongside individual pledges
- Guidance for first-time fundraisers
- A focus on local and civic projects
Where Spacehive is a step down from Kickstarter
- The fee percentage is not legible in our extract
- Not for product or creative launches
- Limited to the UK and Ireland
Standout against Kickstarter. Spacehive combines pledges from residents with money from partner funds on the same project page.
Best for: Start-up founders and investors in Germany wanting an equity model instead of a rewards campaign.
Companisto GmbH in Berlin brokers equity investments in start-ups, with a minimum of €250. Backers receive shares or participation, not products, so the comparison with Kickstarter is a different category of contract.
The platform adds a secondary market for shares and a Business Angel Club for tickets over €10,000. Securities are handled through Companisto Wertpapier GmbH under a tied-agent structure. Founder costs were not shown on the pages we read, and investors can lose the full amount.
What Companisto does better than Kickstarter
- Equity financing from many small investors
- A secondary market for shares
- Full imprint with register number HRB 132811 B
Where Companisto is a step down from Kickstarter
- Not a rewards or presale platform
- Founder fees are not shown
- The tied-agent structure is complex
Standout against Kickstarter. Companisto runs a secondary market where investors can offer their start-up shares to others.
Best for: Belgian investors and companies wanting regulated crowdfunding with a tax benefit.
Spreds SA in Brussels lets private investors fund start-ups, scale-ups, local authorities and renewable energy producers. A legal vehicle, Spreds Finance SA, holds the participations and represents the investors, with a compartment per company.
Its home page advertises a tax shelter of 25%, 30% or 45% on qualifying start-up investments, which depends on Belgian rules. The site says it has been active since 2011. Pricing and hosting were not shown on the pages we read, and rewards campaigns are not offered.
What Spreds does better than Kickstarter
- A tax shelter on qualifying Belgian investments
- A dedicated legal vehicle representing investors
- Interface in Dutch, French and English
Where Spreds is a step down from Kickstarter
- Not for rewards or product campaigns
- Pricing is not shown on the pages we read
- Tax benefits depend on Belgian rules
Standout against Kickstarter. Spreds routes investors through a separate legal vehicle with one compartment per funded company.
Best for: Swiss founders and investors wanting local crowdinvesting in German or English.
Conda.ch GmbH in Baar runs crowdinvesting for start-ups, SMEs and real estate. The imprint lists a UID and membership of VQF, a FINMA-recognised self-regulatory organisation. Conda sells investments, not rewards, so the comparison with Kickstarter stops at the shared idea of many small contributors.
Its privacy policy names CONDA GmbH servers in Vienna as the hosting location, which is rare among the pages we read. A whitelabel offer lets partners run their own campaigns. Fees are not shown, the German policy is the binding one, and the policy names Zoho as a third-party CRM.
What Conda does better than Kickstarter
- A privacy policy that names its hosting company and location
- Real estate and SME financing next to start-ups
- Whitelabel solutions for partners
Where Conda is a step down from Kickstarter
- Not for rewards campaigns
- Fees are not shown
- A third-party CRM is named in the privacy policy
Standout against Kickstarter. Conda names the company and city that host its servers, which most platforms on this page leave out.
Best for: French companies raising equity or bonds from citizens and investors in France.
Lita publishes its AMF authorisation as a crowdfunding service provider, number FP-2023-27, and offers equity, private debt, real estate and renewable energy investments. Investors open accounts with Mangopay S.A. Against Kickstarter, the regulatory status is the main difference.
The legal notice says the site runs in France but is hosted by Amazon Web Services LLC, a US company, so the data sits in France under US ownership. The site is French only, fees were not shown on the pages we read, and the legal name was cut in our extract.
What Lita does better than Kickstarter
- AMF authorisation number published
- Equity, debt, real estate and energy in one place
- A regulatory notices page
Where Lita is a step down from Kickstarter
- Hosted by Amazon Web Services LLC
- French only
- Not for product campaigns
Standout against Kickstarter. Lita publishes its AMF authorisation number FP-2023-27 and a page of regulatory notices.
Best for: Investors wanting impact lending, and organisations raising impact loans.
Lendahand is run by Hands-on B.V. in the Netherlands and lets investors lend to businesses in emerging markets. The home page claims interest of up to 9% a year and €232 million lent since 2013, both self-reported. Lendahand investors expect repayment with interest, if the loan performs, instead of a reward.
The home page says Lendahand is regulated by the Authority Financial Markets. Credit scores are shown per project, and the interface runs in six languages. Fees were not shown on the pages we read, the city was cut in our extract, and investors carry credit and currency risk.
What Lendahand does better than Kickstarter
- Credit scores shown per project
- Six interface languages
- Chamber of commerce number 55711766 published
Where Lendahand is a step down from Kickstarter
- Not a rewards platform
- Credit and currency risk for investors
- Fees are not shown on the pages we read
Standout against Kickstarter. Lendahand shows a credit score on every project and pays investors interest instead of rewards.
What actually breaks when you switch
The first break when leaving Kickstarter is the campaign content. The page, the rewards and the updates live inside Kickstarter, and our checks could not read its export options, so assume you rebuild by hand. Keep copies of every image, video file and reward description before you close anything, and note the email addresses you are allowed to reuse.
The second break is the payout verification. Each European platform runs identity and bank checks through its own payment provider: Mangopay, Lemonway, Stripe or PayPal. Start those checks weeks before launch, because a delay in the wallet opening delays the whole campaign. Contracts differ too, so read the cancellation and payout timing clauses before you promise a ship date to backers.
Can I run a Kickstarter-style campaign without a US business or a US bank account?
Yes, on a European platform. Ulule, Startnext, Verkami and Produzioni dal Basso each contract with a company in France, Germany, Spain or Italy and pay out in euros. The creator verifies with the platform's payment provider, not with a US supported-country list.
On Kickstarter itself, the help center says creators need an ID and a bank account in a supported country, and suggests a US business if the country is not supported. We could not read the current country list, so check it before you plan around it.
Is a European crowdfunding platform cheaper than Kickstarter?
Sometimes. Verkami's 5% plus 1.5% for cards is a 6.5% total on a successful project, and Produzioni dal Basso's 5% includes VAT but excludes payment processing. Kickstarter's help center gives 5% plus roughly 3-5% for Stripe, so the all-in difference can be small or even favour the European platform.
Other platforms cost more. Startnext's Pro and Premium plans are 11% and 14% before payment costs, and Ulule starts at 6.67% on card payments. Wemakeit, voordekunst, Spacehive and the investment platforms do not show a fee on the pages we read, so ask them before you compare.
Which one to pick
For a reward campaign in euros, start with Ulule if your audience is French-speaking, Startnext if it is German-speaking, Verkami for Spanish and Catalan cultural projects, and Produzioni dal Basso for Italian community work. Compare the written fee tables first, because Verkami and Produzioni dal Basso publish a lower percentage than Ulule, while Startnext depends on the plan.
For a different model, pick by what you are raising. Companisto, Spreds, Lita and Conda cover equity and bonds in Germany, Belgium, France and Switzerland, Lendahand covers impact loans, Spacehive covers civic projects in the UK, and voordekunst and wemakeit cover Dutch arts and Swiss campaigns. Stay on Kickstarter if your backers are mostly outside Europe, since we could not measure its reach against the others.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the campaign. Ulule suits euro-denominated reward campaigns for French-speaking audiences, Startnext suits German-speaking creators who want a plan with coaching, and Verkami suits Spanish and Catalan cultural projects. Produzioni dal Basso fits Italian community projects. Investment platforms such as Companisto, Spreds and Lita are a different product altogether.
Yes. The help center states that Kickstarter collects 5% of the funds from successful projects, and that Stripe collects a further payment processing fee of roughly 3-5%. Fees on an unsuccessful project are not covered by what we could read, so check the current fee page before launching.
No. Kickstarter, PBC is a United States company and a Public Benefit Corporation since 2015, according to its own help center. Our checks could not open its terms or legal pages, so the governing law and the registered address are not verified here.
Verkami and voordekunst are the two that focus on culture. Verkami covers music, film, comics and books in five interface languages, and voordekunst targets Dutch artists and cultural institutions across disciplines. Wemakeit and Ulule also host creative campaigns, with Swiss and French audiences respectively.
No. Equity and loans need a regulated investment platform. Companisto in Germany, Spreds in Belgium, Lita in France, Conda in Switzerland and Lendahand in the Netherlands run investment campaigns, and several of them name a financial regulator or a registered tied agent in their legal pages.
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