Both let you sell before you have stock in hand. The difference is the promise you make to your buyer, and it changes everything about how the launch feels.
A preorder says: this is coming, reserve yours
A preorder is a commitment from you. You have decided to make the product, and the buyer is reserving a unit that will ship on a date. There is no condition. If three people order or three thousand do, you are making it either way. Preorder apps are built for this.
All-or-nothing says: this happens only if enough of you want it
An all-or-nothing campaign is a commitment from your buyers, together. You set a goal. If the crowd hits it by the deadline, the product gets made and everyone is charged for real. If they miss it, nobody is on the hook: every backer is refunded automatically. It is demand validation with real money, not a survey.
Which one do you need?
- Choose preorders if you have already decided to produce, and you just want to capture sales early or handle a stock gap.
- Choose all-or-nothing if you are not sure the demand is there and you do not want to buy inventory on a guess. Let the campaign decide.
- Choose funded AND capped if the answer is both: you want a minimum to justify production and a maximum you can actually deliver.
Fundcap does all-or-nothing (and the capped version) on your own store. If a plain preorder is all you need, an ordinary preorder app is a fine and cheaper choice, and we will happily tell you so.