Fees
Kickstarter Fees: What It Actually Costs
Kickstarter charges a 5% platform fee plus 3% + $0.20 per pledge in payment processing — roughly 8–10% all-in for most projects. And the part that surprises people: it’s all-or-nothing, so if you don’t hit your goal, no backer is charged and Kickstarter takes nothing. Your fee is only ever charged on money you actually collect.
Want your exact numbers? Open the Kickstarter fee calculator → platform fee, processing, net payout, by goal sizeThe fee isn’t what sinks budgets
The 8–10% is the easy, predictable part. What actually breaks campaigns are the costs outside Kickstarter’s cut: fulfillment and shipping (often far bigger than the fee, especially worldwide), manufacturing overruns, taxes and currency, replacements and refunds, and marketing. Budget your goal around all of these, not just the platform percentage — see how to set your funding goal.
Is it worth it?
For a first physical-product launch, usually yes — you’re not paying for a payment rail, you’re paying for access to Kickstarter’s built-in audience of buyers and the trust the platform lends a new creator. Building that from scratch costs far more than 8–10%. Where it stops being worth it is a product that doesn’t fit the platform (is your product right for Kickstarter?). For the full breakdown — fee table by goal size, Kickstarter vs Indiegogo, and FAQ — use the fee calculator page.
Mainland-China creators: before fees matter, you need eligibility — a US LLC + a US bank account to receive funds — handled by our sister service ApplyRight. Fees don’t matter until the money can actually reach you.
Fee figures are general, publicly available Kickstarter/Stripe rates and can change — confirm current rates with Kickstarter.