Funding Platforms - Costs & Fee Structures

Raise Money for your Startup or Fund

Looking to raise money for a business or fund? The below platforms can help you identify a lead investor, handle compliance, and spread the word of your offering. Data, ratings, fees, and reviews to help you select the right platform.
The below platforms cater to both Accredited and non Accredited investors as issuers of Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) offerings.

Platform Entrepreneur Cost, Monthly Fee Non Accredited Investors can Access
SeedInvest one time fee up to $10,000 in due diligence, escrow, marketing and legal. This is reimbursed when the round is closed. 7.5% of successful round Yes
GrowthFountain fixed $10 flat and no set % Yes
Republic between $6,000 and $12,000 to run a campaign Yes
Propel(x) 8% success fee for less than 200k raised and 5% if you raise more No
CrowdfundMainstreet 6.5% or lower Yes
Fundopolis 6% of which $2,000 up front Yes
MainVest 6% Yes
AgFunder 5% transaction fee for first $5million. No
MrCrowd 5% + services Yes
StartEngine 5% Yes
NetCapital 4.9% Yes
SMBX 3.5% service fee closed round Yes
Silicon Prairie Online 3-7% of total raise, plus $1000 upfront Yes
FundersClub 0$ No
OurCrowd 0 No
FastTrack VC 0 No
MicroVentures $99 application fee, $250 due diligence fee, 5% of what you raise Yes
CoinList $20,000 base fee + per investor charges (starting price) Yes
EquityNet $199 Yes
Fundable $179 No
Gust $125/month entry price No
AngelList $0 No
Wefunder $0 Yes
Buy the Block Yes
LetsLaunch Yes
Small Change Yes
FlashFunders Yes
Issuance Yes
Title3Funds Yes
Equityfor No
Mercury iFunds No
WR Hambrecht + Co No
CircleUp No
NextSeed Yes
Fundanna Yes
TruCrowd Yes
Wunderfund Yes
Honeycomb Yes
Peer Street No
Billfolda Yes
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Find a Lead Investor

University Research

A team of researchers have identified key elements to reaching a funding goal on equity-based crowdfunding platforms, using empirical evidence from the Australian Small Scale Offerings Board (ASSOB). Gerrit Ahlers, Douglas Cumming, Christina Günther and Denis Schweizer wrote the paper "Signaling in Equity Crowdfunding," identifying several critical success factors, which include:

  1. The number of board members;
  2. The level of education (measured by MBAs) of the board and management, and their network;
  3. Planned exit, whether it be an IPO, trade sale, leveraged buyout or reverse takeover;
  4. Financial projections, or a disclaimer — a written reason for not stating projections;
  5. Length of time in business;
  6. Personal wealth invested;
  7. Percent of company they are willing to give up or amount of equity offered.

An entrepreneur who successfully raised money on RockThePost, Shahab Kaviani, CEO of CoFoundersLab, shared tips in the Washington Post. Below are his points I feel are most important:

  1. Zero in on who you believe can be the lead investor;
  2. Be willing to travel to investors;
  3. Send updates on committed investments;
  4. Get feedback from investors;
  5. Exude confidence.

"Do you really want dumb money?" Barry Schuler, former CEO of America Online, was quoted posing this question in Forbes. There will be varying levels of commitment and intelligence in all sources of capital, but I argue that crowdfunding democratizes finance and brings together collective wisdom. That said, when considering the crowdfunding route, there are some issues to be aware of:

  1. Reporting burden;
  2. Time spent performing investor relations;
  3. Bad Actor requirements (CrowdCheck offers a tool to ensure you comply)
  4. Future rounds of financing and venture capital models.

This innovation will help business creation and job growth, as well as disrupt financial markets. I hope these suggestions help those looking for resources to raise the necessary capital to build inspirational new companies.