The short version: Kickstarter charges a 5% platform fee plus payment processing of 3% and $0.30 per pledge, and it only takes anything if your project reaches its goal. On typical pledge sizes that comes to roughly 8.3% to 8.6% of what you raise. None of these numbers are hidden, but they are spread across a few help pages, so it helps to see them added up in one place. Here is the full breakdown for 2026, with worked examples at $10,000 and $50,000, plus an honest note on what running on your own store does and does not save.
The 5% platform fee
In the United States, Kickstarter's platform fee is 5% of your total funding. It is charged only if your project is successfully funded. Miss your goal and nobody is charged, so the platform fee is $0. That all-or-nothing structure is a real strength, because you never pay a platform fee on a campaign that did not work out.
Payment processing on every pledge
On top of the platform fee, Kickstarter charges payment processing of 3% plus $0.30 per pledge. Smaller pledges cost proportionally more, because that fixed $0.30 is a bigger slice of a small pledge than a large one. Micropledges under $10 are charged at a different rate, 5% plus $0.08. Processing is not unique to Kickstarter, it exists on every platform, but here it stacks on top of the 5% platform fee rather than replacing it.
What Kickstarter actually takes
Combine the platform fee and processing and the all-in take lands around 8.3% to 8.6% of your raise on typical pledge sizes. Campaigns funded mostly by small micropledges pay more, because the per-pledge fees weigh heavier. Two worked examples:
- A $10,000 raise loses roughly $830 to $860 to fees and processing.
- A $50,000 raise loses roughly $4,150 to $4,300.
Refunds, payouts, and paying $0 if you miss
Because Kickstarter is all-or-nothing, a campaign that misses its goal costs you nothing in fees. Two things are worth planning for, though. First, Kickstarter is not a store and does not issue refunds, so if a backer needs their money back, handling that is on you. Second, timing: Kickstarter holds funds for 14 days after your deadline, then takes another 3 to 14 business days to reach your bank, up to about 28 days in total. On Shopify the money moves differently, because buyers are charged at checkout as real orders and cash settles on your normal Shopify Payments schedule. For the same all-or-nothing math on your own store, see what happens if a campaign misses its goal.
Does running on your own store save money?
Partly, and it is worth being precise about how. On your own Shopify store with an app like Fundcap, there is no platform fee and no percentage of your raise taken by the app. But you still pay your own Shopify Payments processing, roughly 2.9% plus $0.30 per order. So the honest claim is no platform fee and no cut of your raise, not 'no fees.' In other words, both routes cost you card processing on every successful order. The difference is the extra layer Kickstarter charges above that, and whether it scales with the size of your raise or stays flat. Processing is unavoidable everywhere, Kickstarter included. What you actually avoid is the 5% platform fee, and on that fee alone a flat plan comes out ahead once you raise more than about $4,600.
Cost is only half the decision. Kickstarter's real advantage is its audience, tens of millions of backers and a discovery engine a Shopify app cannot replicate. If you are a first-time creator with no email list, no store traffic, and no following, you genuinely need that discovery, and Kickstarter is the right home. Fundcap is built for the other case: creators who already have an audience, whether that is a list, repeat customers, or an existing store, and who are already driving most of their own funding. Run your own numbers with the fee calculator, and compare pricing models in flat fee vs percentage crowdfunding apps.
Fundcap is a flat $19 per month with a 14-day free trial, no platform fee, and no percentage of your raise. You still pay normal Shopify Payments processing, and Kickstarter still has the bigger built-in audience. If you already have people to sell to, it is worth pricing out a flat fee before you commit.