Brillay Goal vs. GoFundMe: What's the Difference?

A Brillay goal is a progress bar on the creator's existing page, with no deadline and a 5% platform fee charged only when a follower pays. A GoFundMe campaign is a standalone fundraiser page charging no platform fee and, for U.S. individual fundraisers, one transaction fee of 2.9% + $0.30 per donation. A Goal is one named goal with a progress bar: followers make one-time contributions and every contribution is yours whether or not the goal is reached — no deadline unless you set one, and nothing to ship. A goal beside your other offers, in a working-creator context, on the same link your followers already use. Creators in 41 countries can get paid; followers pay by card from anywhere.

What is a Brillay goal, exactly?

With Goals, supporters make one-time contributions toward one named goal, with progress tracked on the creator's existing Brillay page. Goals have no reward tiers and nothing to ship. You can add an optional deadline as a countdown, and contributions still fund the project if the target is not reached by that date (https://brillay.com/features/project-support).

Because the goal is one offer among several on the same page, a supporter who lands there to send a Tip or ask a Paid Question sees the goal without being redirected to a second URL (https://brillay.com/how-it-works). The creator sets the goal amount and description, and contributions pay out through Stripe on Stripe's payout schedule.

Goals have no all-or-nothing cutoff, so reaching 100% is not required to keep what supporters have already contributed. That reading is based on the absence of any all-or-nothing or minimum-goal language on that page as of September 2026, not on a separately published refund rule.

How is that different from a GoFundMe campaign?

A GoFundMe campaign is a standalone fundraiser page with its own URL that the organizer promotes separately, while a Brillay goal is a section of a page supporters already visit for Tips and Paid Questions. GoFundMe's homepage describes its fundraisers as spanning "memorial tributes and funerals to medical emergencies and nonprofits" (GoFundMe homepage).

GoFundMe reports that since 2010 a community of more than 200 million people has helped raise over $40 billion worldwide (GoFundMe, "2025 Year in Help"). GoFundMe's homepage separately states that more than $50 million is raised on the platform every week and titles the site "The #1 Crowdfunding and Fundraising Platform".

"Since 2010, our community of more than 200 million has helped raise over $40 billion worldwide, transforming the way the world gives back." — GoFundMe, "2025 Year in Help"

That public recognition is GoFundMe's real advantage, and it is also why a GoFundMe link arrives with cause-and-emergency categories as its default public context. The mechanical trade-off is that a GoFundMe campaign is a second link for the creator to build and promote, in addition to wherever supporters already find that creator.

How do the fees actually compare?

GoFundMe charges no fee to create a fundraiser and, for U.S. individual fundraisers in USD, deducts one transaction fee of 2.9% + $0.30 per donation (GoFundMe, "Pricing and Fees").

The 2.9% + $0.30 figure is a U.S. rate, not a worldwide one. GoFundMe's "Pricing and Fees" page publishes a country-by-country fee table in which the United States row reads 2.9% + $0.30, the Australia row reads 2.2% + AUD 0.30, and the eurozone rows read 2.9% + EUR 0.25. The same page adds a scope caveat in its own words:

"International transaction and conversion fees may apply based on your payment method." — GoFundMe, "Pricing and Fees"

Card processing carries the same country dependency. Stripe's U.S. pricing page lists 2.9% + 30¢ per successful transaction for domestic cards, plus 1.5% for international cards and 1% if currency conversion is required (Stripe, "Pricing"). A U.S. creator taking payment from a foreign card should therefore expect a higher effective processing cost than the 2.9% + 30¢ headline on either platform.

Does a goal need a deadline, the way a GoFundMe campaign might?

No. A Brillay goal has no deadline unless you set one, and GoFundMe uses a keep-what-you-raise model rather than an all-or-nothing one. Deadline pressure is therefore not the difference between the two products; the difference is where the ask lives and how it is priced.

GoFundMe's "Common Fundraising Questions" page states plainly:

"Reaching your goal is not required. With GoFundMe, you keep each and every donation you receive. Your fundraiser will be able to accept donations even after your goal is reached." — GoFundMe, "Common Fundraising Questions"

One deadline does exist on the GoFundMe side, and it concerns payouts rather than the goal. GoFundMe's Help Center article "Bank transfer deadlines" warns that if transfers are not set up after the first donation, donations "could be automatically refunded" (GoFundMe Help Center, "Bank transfer deadlines"). GoFundMe's Help Center also states that once a transfer is sent it takes 2–5 business days for funds to reach the bank account on file. Brillay contributions instead pay out through the creator's connected Stripe account, on Stripe's own payout timing.

Is a goal only meant for emergencies, like people usually associate with GoFundMe?

No. Goals are for concrete creative projects — new gear, a music project, a production budget. GoFundMe hosts creative fundraisers too, but its own homepage leads with memorial tributes, funerals, medical emergencies, and nonprofits.

The difference between the two products here is one of default context rather than of permission. GoFundMe's Discover page lists 18 fundraiser categories before its "Show more categories" control, beginning with Medical, Memorial, and Emergency, with Creative appearing eleventh. A Goal sits beside Tips, Paid Questions, and Custom Work on the creator's Brillay page, where supporters already pay for requests.

Can a creator run a Brillay goal and a GoFundMe campaign at the same time?

Yes, as far as either company's published documents show. Neither GoFundMe's Terms of Service nor Brillay's pricing and how-it-works pages contain an exclusivity clause requiring a creator to fundraise on that platform alone; that conclusion rests on the absence of exclusivity language rather than on an explicit permission statement.

Splitting by type is the practical approach: a cause-based appeal on GoFundMe, an ongoing goal on the Brillay page. The cost of running both is that contributions and attention are divided across two separate URLs with two separate progress bars.

Availability can decide the question before preference does. GoFundMe's Help Center states that there are currently 20 countries where GoFundMe can send funds (GoFundMe Help Center, "Countries supported on GoFundMe"), so a creator outside those 20 countries may not have GoFundMe as a payout option at all. A GoFundMe campaign still makes sense for a one-off, high-visibility cause that benefits from the platform's reach, given the more than $50 million raised weekly that GoFundMe reports on its homepage.

Which one should a creator actually pick?

Pick a Brillay goal when the ask is project-based, ongoing, and belongs on the same page where supporters already pay for other things; Brillay costs $0 per month and has a 5% platform fee on goals, with card processing separate. Pick GoFundMe when the ask is a one-time, cause-style need.

Brillay states that there is no follower minimum and nothing to apply for, so audience size is not the deciding factor on the Brillay side. The deciding factor is the nature of the ask: an ongoing creative project fits a goal on a page supporters already use, and a one-time personal or emergency need is the scenario GoFundMe is built and best known for.

For creators comparing more crowdfunding formats, see how a goal stacks up against running Tips alongside a goal. For the mechanics of setting one up, how to set a realistic goal covers the setup and framing in more depth.

Frequently asked questions

Does GoFundMe charge a platform fee?

No. GoFundMe's "Pricing and Fees" page lists no fee to create a fundraiser and one transaction fee of 2.9% + $0.30 per donation for U.S. individual fundraisers, with donor contributions to GoFundMe listed as optional at $0.00. Rates in the same table differ by country — Australia is listed at 2.2% + AUD 0.30 and eurozone countries at 2.9% + EUR 0.25.

Is Brillay's goal the same as a GoFundMe campaign?

Not exactly. Both let supporters contribute toward a stated goal, but a Brillay goal is one offer on a creator's existing page alongside Tips, Paid Questions, and other paid requests, while a GoFundMe campaign is a standalone page with its own URL whose published categories begin with Medical, Memorial, and Emergency.

Does Brillay's 5% include payment processing?

No. Brillay charges a 5% platform fee on goals, and card processing is separate.

Do I need a certain number of followers to use a Brillay goal?

No. Brillay states that there is no follower minimum and nothing to apply for, at any audience size.

What happens if I don't hit my goal amount on Brillay?

Brillay's Goals page describes a goal amount and progress bar with no all-or-nothing condition. An optional deadline is a countdown, not a cutoff, so you keep contributions even if the target is not reached. GoFundMe publishes the equivalent rule explicitly: "Reaching your goal is not required".

How long does it take to get the money?

GoFundMe's Help Center states that once a transfer is sent it takes 2–5 business days for funds to reach the bank account on file. Brillay contributions pay out through the creator's connected Stripe account, on Stripe's payout schedule.

Can I link my GoFundMe campaign from my Brillay page?

Goals keep funding requests on the same page supporters already use for other paid requests. A creator who prefers a standalone GoFundMe campaign for a specific cause-based ask can keep that link in their bio alongside their Brillay link, since neither platform's published terms require exclusivity.

Create your free Brillay page and decide whether your next ask belongs on a standalone campaign page or right where supporters already pay you.