How to launch your startup on Indiegogo

TL;DR

Indiegogo is a reward-based crowdfunding platform where backers pay upfront for a product or perk before it ships. It charges a 5% platform fee plus 3% and 0.20 per payment for processing, and nothing if you miss your goal, because every new campaign runs on fixed funding. It suits hardware, consumer product and creative startups with an audience ready on day one.

What is Indiegogo?

Indiegogo launched in 2008 as one of the first crowdfunding sites, and by July 2025 it reported 38 million community members and close to $3 billion raised. That month Gamefound, a crowdfunding platform for tabletop games, bought Indiegogo. The rebuilt site went live on Gamefound's technology on 16 October 2025.

That relaunch changed the rules for founders:

• Fixed funding only. You collect the money only if you reach your goal, and flexible funding is gone.
• Payments through Adyen for campaigns launched after 16 October 2025.
• Built-in Late Pledges and a Pledge Manager for orders and shipping details after the campaign ends.
• Creator verification before launch.

Who should launch on Indiegogo?

Good fit:

• Hardware and consumer product startups that need pre-orders to fund a first production run.
• Founders with an email list or community ready to pledge in the first hours.
• Gadget, design and creative projects that film well.

Skip it:

• If you sell B2B software or services with no physical or digital reward to offer.
• If you want equity investors: backers get products and perks and hold no shares.
• If you have no audience yet, since a campaign without launch-day backers struggles to reach its goal.

How much does Indiegogo cost?

Indiegogo lists its pricing in a fees article:

• Platform fee: 5% of the amount collected.
• Payment processing: 3% of each payment plus 0.20 in the project currency per transaction.
• No fees if you miss the goal, processing included.

Indiegogo's own example: a $10,000 campaign with 100 payments pays $500 in platform fees and $320 in processing, for a payout of $9,180. The Pledge Manager has no setup or subscription fee. Backer funds reach your Adyen account 3 to 5 business days after collection, and Adyen pays out to your bank every Friday.

How do you launch your startup on Indiegogo?

1. Go to Start a campaign, click Launch your project and create your account.
2. In the admin area, open Creator, then My Projects, click Add a project and pick Indiegogo campaign. Add the name, categories, description, images, legal entity, location, currency and funding goal, then accept the creator terms.
3. Build the campaign page, publish a preview to collect followers and click Submit for launch. Indiegogo says a review takes up to 3 business days, and the launch date must be at least 7 days after you submit.

Tips to get more out of Indiegogo

• Set the lowest goal that covers production. With fixed funding, one dollar short means you collect nothing.
• Use the 7-day gap to push your preview page. Indiegogo reports that Follower Gifts, a perk for people who follow your preview, lift conversion by more than 20%.
• Build the fees into your prices. Budget about 8% plus 0.20 per pledge when you set reward tiers.
• Plan Late Pledges from the start, so traffic from post-campaign press still turns into orders.

Our verdict

Indiegogo is still one of the biggest names in reward crowdfunding, and its fees are simple: 5% plus processing, and nothing if the campaign fails. It pays off for product startups that arrive with an audience, while software startups get more from other launch channels.

More options: see all startup directories and launch sites. Planning the launch around this campaign? The Fe/male Switch startup game walks women founders from idea to first customers.