Facts checked July 2026. Both apps change; if something here is out of date, tell us and we will fix it.
Crowdfunder by Ethercycle has been helping Shopify merchants turn product pages into pre-order and crowdfunding campaigns since November 2016. It holds a 4.8-star rating across 59 reviews, carries Shopify's Built for Shopify badge, and is still actively used and reviewed in 2026. Fundcap launched in 2026 and has zero reviews. We are the new app on this page, and you should read everything below with that in mind.
We wrote this comparison ourselves, so we have tried to keep it strictly factual. Every number about Crowdfunder comes from its live Shopify listing and its own support pages. Where Crowdfunder is better, we say so plainly: it has nearly a decade of track record, it supports deposits and partial payments through its Downpay integration, and its product-variant approach gives you basic reward tiers today. Fundcap has none of that history yet, and deposits and tiers are still on our roadmap.
What Fundcap does differently is narrower and specific: a lower flat price at $19 a month, a design-first campaign widget, unit or revenue goals with an optional maximum cap, and automatic all-or-nothing handling. Buyers are charged now and automatically refunded if the goal is missed. If those are the things your campaign depends on, the details are below.
Side by side
| Fundcap | Crowdfunder | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $19/month flat, single plan.Both are simple flat plans with no usage tiers. Over a year that is $228 for Fundcap and $288 for Crowdfunder, a $60 difference. | $24/month flat, single plan, billed in USD every 30 days via Shopify billing. |
| Cut of your raise | 0%. No percentage of the raise and no per-order fees.A genuine tie. On a $10,000 raise both apps take $0. On a $50,000 raise both apps take $0. A platform charging 5% would take $500 and $2,500 respectively. Standard Shopify payment processing applies either way. | 0%. No transaction fees or revenue cut, confirmed on Ethercycle's support page. |
| Free trial | 14 days. Building a campaign is free; the paid plan only starts when you go live.Fundcap gives you twice the trial time, but Crowdfunder's refund policy partly offsets the shorter trial. | 7 days, plus a stated refund of up to one month's fee if you are unsatisfied. |
| Reviews and track record | None. Fundcap launched in 2026 and has zero reviews so far. It is built and run by a single developer.Crowdfunder wins this row, clearly. Nearly a decade of merchants have used it. We cannot match that yet and will not pretend otherwise. | 4.8 stars from 59 reviews, live since November 29, 2016, with the Built for Shopify badge. 85% of reviewers gave five stars, and reviews were still coming in as of April 2026. |
| Campaign design on your storefront | Theme app block with 4 presets and any accent color, with a live progress bar, backer count, and countdown built in.Design is Fundcap's main wedge. Do not take our word for it: Crowdfunder has a public demo store at doubleyourwdw.com, so you can compare with your own eyes. | Customizable branding and button text (Add to Cart can become Pre-Order), theme-compatible with minimal page speed impact. A March 2025 review described progress shown as a due date plus basic text and asked for "progress bars or visual indicators". |
| Goals and caps | Unit or revenue goals, plus an optional maximum cap. A campaign can be funded AND capped, so you never oversell a limited run.Crowdfunder offers more goal modes and unlimited concurrent campaigns. Fundcap's own addition is the optional max cap, so a single campaign can be both funded and capped. | Goals settable as a dollar amount or order quantity, multiple goal modes, countdown timers, unlimited concurrent campaigns. A maximum cap is not a listed feature. |
| What happens if the goal is missed | One-click bulk refunds through Shopify, plus a backer CSV export. The promise buyers see: charged now, automatically refunded if the goal is missed.All-or-nothing handling is the core of Fundcap. If you plan to fulfill regardless of the goal, this row matters much less to you. | Payment is collected upfront through normal Shopify checkout, so orders are real orders. A bulk refund tool is not advertised on the listing, so refunds after a missed goal would go through Shopify's standard order tools. |
| Reward tiers and bundles | Not yet. No reward tiers or bundles, and each campaign is one product. Both are on the roadmap.Honest score: Crowdfunder is ahead here today. Neither app gives you full Kickstarter-style reward packages. | Product variants can act as reward tiers. A March 2025 review said bundling is not supported natively and that bundle apps conflicted with the recommended Downpay setup, while the support page says bundle apps are compatible, so the messaging is mixed. |
| Deposits and partial payments | Not yet. Buyers pay in full at checkout. Deposits are on the roadmap.If you need deposits today, Crowdfunder is the better pick. Full stop. | Supported through its Downpay integration. |
| Support | Answered by the founder in under 24 hours.Founder support means you talk directly to the person who wrote the code. It also means one person, which is a real limitation and we list it as one. | Monday to Friday with roughly 24-hour response times. Customization and design requests are outside support scope. English only, and reviewers have asked for Chinese and Japanese versions. |
| Who owns the buyer relationship | You do. Backers buy on your store through your checkout, and the brand and email list are yours.A genuine tie, and a real advantage both apps share over sending your audience to an external crowdfunding site. | You do. Campaigns run on your own product pages through normal Shopify checkout, with no external platform. |
Which one fits your store?
Choose Crowdfunder if
- You want proof before you pay. Crowdfunder has been live since November 2016 with 4.8 stars across 59 reviews and a Built for Shopify badge. Fundcap has none of that yet.
- You need deposits or partial payments now. Crowdfunder integrates with Downpay; Fundcap only takes full payment at checkout today.
- You want reward tiers today. Crowdfunder lets product variants act as tiers, while Fundcap campaigns are one product each for now.
- You would rather buy from a company that has run this app for nearly a decade than from a solo developer. That is a rational preference and we will not argue with it.
Choose Fundcap if
- You care how the campaign looks on your storefront. Fundcap's widget is a theme app block with four presets, any accent color, and a live progress bar, backer count, and countdown, which is exactly what a 2025 Crowdfunder review asked for.
- Your first production run has a hard ceiling. Unit or revenue goals with an optional maximum cap mean a campaign can be funded AND capped, so you never sell more than you can make.
- You want the missed-goal case handled for you. Buyers are charged now and automatically refunded if the goal is missed, with one-click bulk refunds through Shopify and a backer CSV export.
- You want a lower flat price and more time to decide: $19 vs $24 a month, a 14-day trial vs 7 days, and building your campaign costs nothing until you go live.
Common questions
Does either app take a percentage of what I raise?
No. Crowdfunder's support page confirms there are no additional transaction fees per sale, and Fundcap charges no percentage of the raise and no per-order fees. On a $50,000 raise, both apps take $0 beyond their flat monthly price. Standard Shopify payment processing fees apply with both, as they do for any order on your store.
What happens to my backers' money if the campaign misses its goal?
With Fundcap, backers are charged at checkout like any normal order, and if the goal is missed you refund everyone in one click through Shopify. Charged now, automatically refunded if the goal is missed, that is the promise buyers see on your page. Crowdfunder also collects payment upfront through normal Shopify checkout, but a bulk refund tool is not advertised on its listing, so refunds after a missed goal would go through Shopify's standard order tools.
Fundcap has zero reviews. Why would I risk it?
Fair question, and we will not talk you out of the concern. What we can offer: a 14-day trial that is twice Crowdfunder's, campaign building that is free until you go live, and support answered by the founder in under 24 hours, so nothing is at risk until launch day. If you test Fundcap and it is not right for you, Crowdfunder has been live since 2016 and will still be there. We would rather you pick the app that actually fits than pretend the review gap does not exist.
If you want the safe choice, choose Crowdfunder. It has been live since November 2016, holds 4.8 stars across 59 reviews, carries the Built for Shopify badge, and supports deposits through its Downpay integration. Those are real advantages, and no new app can claim them. Fundcap's case is narrower and specific: a lower flat price at $19 a month, a campaign widget built to look good on your storefront, goals that can be funded AND capped, one-click bulk refunds when a goal is missed, and support answered by the founder. If your campaign depends on how it looks and on what happens at the goal, that is our wedge. Both apps have trials and neither takes a cut of your raise, so testing both costs almost nothing, and testing beats guessing.
Competitor details come from their public App Store listing and website. We link to them because confident products can afford honest comparisons.