Making the work
Growing an audience
Running the business
Both cover crowdfunding. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
Experiment | Zeffy | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | Free |
| Pricing model | Free | Free |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Usage-based | Usage-based |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
Shaded rows are where the two answers disagree and both listings have answered. A row where one side has not stated a fact is left plain, because silence is not a difference.
Crowdfunding for research projects
Experiment funds science: a researcher posts a hypothesis, a budget and a method, and backers pay for the work rather than for a product. Every project is reviewed by a person before it goes public, and funding is all or nothing, so a project that misses its number charges nobody. What backers get back is the result, usually a paper or a data set. Anybody looking for a reward tier will find this a strange place.
Our note
Set the goal at what the work actually needs rather than at an ambitious number, because all-or-nothing turns an over-ambitious target into no money at all. The 8 percent is at the high end for crowdfunding, and what buys it is a reviewed, credible platform that scientific backers already trust.
Fundraising with no platform or processing fee
Zeffy takes nothing from a donation, and covers card processing itself out of the optional tips donors leave at checkout. Donations, ticketed events, raffles, auctions, memberships and a donor database are all in the same account. It is built for nonprofits, and the sign-up asks you to be one.
Our note
If you qualify as a nonprofit, start here, because no competitor can beat zero. Read the tip prompt on a live form first and decide whether you are comfortable with your donors seeing it, since that is the whole trade.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.
| Their cut (they differ) |
|---|
| 8% of what you earn |
| None |
| Runs on | Web | Web |
|---|
| Covers | Crowdfunding | Crowdfunding, Monetization & Payments, Tips & Donations |
|---|
| Works with | Nothing in particular | Nothing in particular |
|---|
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
|---|
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
|---|
| Live deals | None right now | None right now |
|---|
Only on this side