Goal vs. Indiegogo for Creators

A Brillay goal is a single, no-deadline progress bar on the creator's own page, with a 5% platform fee charged only when a follower pays and no reward tiers to produce or ship. Indiegogo is a separate crowdfunding platform: its regular campaigns are fixed, all-or-nothing, and time-boxed, its published fees are 5% plus 3% + $0.20 per transaction in the project currency, and campaigns are set up with reward products that carry estimated delivery dates. 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.

Brillay's own rates are set out in full on the pricing page.

Both let supporters put money toward your next project, but they solve different problems. With Brillay, supporters can contribute by card without creating an account, and creators can receive payouts in 41 countries. Indiegogo is a destination site for running a campaign; a Brillay goal lives on the Goals widget on the creator's own page, next to Tips and Paid Questions, so followers contribute there as guests instead of leaving for a separate platform. The broader guide to funding a creative project with follower support covers planning and setup; this page compares what supporters pay, what you keep, and whether you have rewards to deliver.

How does Indiegogo's funding model work?

Indiegogo now runs two campaign modes. Regular crowdfunding is fixed, all-or-nothing funding: backers place orders during a set window and the creator receives funds only after the campaign reaches its stated goal. Express Crowdfunding requires no campaign goal, charges backers at checkout, and starts creator payouts during the campaign instead of after it.

Indiegogo's Knowledge Base article "Express Crowdfunding" states that in a regular campaign "a creator receives funds after the campaign reaches its goal," and its comparison table lists "campaign goal required" as yes for regular crowdfunding and N/A for express, with payouts arriving "after the campaign" versus "during the campaign" (Indiegogo Knowledge Base, "Express Crowdfunding").

Flexible funding — the older option that let a creator keep contributions even when the goal was missed — is no longer offered: Indiegogo's Help Center confirms that the October 16, 2025 platform upgrade eliminated flexible funding and that existing flexible campaigns were "automatically convert[ed] to fixed funding" on that date (Indiegogo Help Center, "Indiegogo's Acquisition by Gamefound & Platform Upgrade FAQs"). That change followed Gamefound's acquisition of Indiegogo on July 22, 2025, per the same Indiegogo Help Center FAQ. Any creator comparing options should confirm the current rules for their own campaign type directly with Indiegogo, since funding structures have changed twice since mid-2025.

What does Indiegogo charge in fees?

Indiegogo charges a 5% platform fee on the collected amount plus a payment-processing fee of 3% + $0.20 per transaction, quoted in the project currency, and both are deducted before payout.

Indiegogo's own worked example states that a project raising $10,000 across 100 transactions is charged a $500 platform fee and a $320 payment-processing fee, leaving a $9,180 payout — an 8.2% total deduction (Indiegogo Knowledge Base, "Fees", last updated November 4, 2025). The fixed component is currency-specific rather than dollar-only: Indiegogo describes it as "a fixed fee in the project currency plus 0.2 (e.g., $0.2 when $ is the project currency)," so a euro-denominated campaign is quoted €0.20. Payout currency and payment method also vary by creator country, and campaigns launched after the October 2025 upgrade are onboarded to Adyen rather than Stripe, per the Indiegogo Help Center upgrade FAQ.

"If your project doesn't reach its goal, you won't pay anything, including payment processing fees." — Indiegogo Knowledge Base, "Fees"

Brillay prices differently. No monthly fee, you only pay a small platform fee when you get paid. 8% platform fee when a follower pays for work, 5% platform fee on tips and goals. Card processing is separate. Stripe's published US rate for domestic online card payments is 2.9% + $0.30 per successful transaction (Stripe, "Pricing: Free to Start, Pay Only When You Get Paid").

What a single $100 contribution nets

Per successful dollar the two land in almost the same place: roughly 8.2% comes off a $100 US card payment either way. The trade is conditionality — Indiegogo's 91.8% payout is contingent on reaching a goal by a deadline, while the same $91.80 on Brillay belongs to the creator the moment a supporter chips in, target or no target.

What do Indiegogo reward tiers require from creators?

Reward tiers are the default structure of an Indiegogo campaign, and setting one up is closer to running a small product catalog than posting a donation link. Each reward needs a name, a price, an estimated delivery month and year shown to backers, optional item variants such as size or color, stock limits, and shipping configuration.

Indiegogo's reward-creation documentation opens with the requirement "Before your project goes live, you have to prepare rewards for backers," and specifies that a reward "must consist of at least 1 set item," that only the starting month and year of the estimated delivery date are shown to backers, and that per-backer limits and location-based availability are configured per product.

That structure creates ongoing obligations after the campaign ends: producing or sourcing each reward, managing options where offered, collecting shipping addresses, and fulfilling on the timeline shown to backers. None of that is required to simply accept cash toward a project — reward fulfillment is the cost of using a reward-tiered format instead of a flat ask.

How does a Brillay goal work differently?

One named Goal with a progress bar gives supporters one clear target, with no reward tiers or shipping to manage. An optional deadline shows supporters what you are working toward as a countdown, while contributions remain open. Supporters chip in one time toward the goal on the creator's Brillay page, beside the creator's other paid offers rather than on a separate site.

Brillay's Goals have no reward tiers, physical perks, or all-or-nothing cutoff.

With nothing to make or ship, you can run Goals beside your other paid offers from the same Brillay page (how Brillay works). State exactly what the money is for — a new mic, an editing laptop, or your next single — then share the Goal link with supporters, without promising a product or reward to ship.

What happens if a goal doesn't reach 100%?

On Brillay, supporters chip in one time with no all-or-nothing cutoff: what is raised is yours whether the bar reaches 100% or not. On Indiegogo, the outcome depends on campaign type — a regular crowdfunding campaign that misses its goal refunds backers automatically, while an express campaign has no goal to miss.

Brillay's feature documentation describes the Goals mechanic as one named goal with a progress bar, where every contribution is kept whether or not the goal is reached, with no all-or-nothing cutoff. Indiegogo's Terms of Use, by contrast, set out what happens when a fixed-funding campaign does not reach its goal: contributions are refunded (Indiegogo, "Terms of Use"). For express campaigns, Indiegogo's Knowledge Base says backers pay at checkout and the creator receives funds from confirmed orders during the campaign, with refunds handled by the creator under their own policies.

Two further Indiegogo specifics are worth knowing before comparing: the minimum goal for a Fixed Funding campaign is $1, and funds are disbursed 15 business days after a campaign's original end date, both per the Indiegogo Help Center platform-upgrade FAQ. Supporters can contribute from $1 to $10,000, and you keep what is raised without needing the bar to reach 100%. You may leave the Goal open, close it, or add an optional countdown that does not stop contributions.

Which is the better fit for a single creator project?

A one-off, defined project with no rewards to ship — a camera, an editing laptop, a single's studio time — usually fits a flat Brillay goal, because there is no campaign to launch and no delivery dates to track. A physical product launch with reward tiers and production runs fits an Indiegogo campaign instead.

The two are not mutually exclusive: you can keep a Brillay Goal on your page for smaller ongoing needs and reserve an Indiegogo campaign for a larger reward-based launch. A goal will not make strangers contribute; it gives people who already support your work a clear reason and place to chip in. For a closer look at wishlists, reward crowdfunding, and cash support side by side, see creator wishlist vs. crowdfunding.

Frequently asked questions

Does a Brillay goal expire like an Indiegogo campaign?

No hard cutoff applies. A Goal can include an optional deadline as a countdown, and contributions continue whether or not the bar reaches 100%, until you close or replace the goal. An Indiegogo regular crowdfunding campaign charges backers only "at the end date of the crowdfunding campaign... and only if the Project reaches its goal" (Indiegogo).

Does Brillay charge a percentage fee like Indiegogo?

Yes, but the structure differs. Brillay's platform fee on a Goal is one percentage taken from each contribution as it arrives and nothing before it, with Stripe's card processing billed as its own separate line; the exact rates are on the pricing page. Indiegogo charges 5% of the collected amount plus 3% + $0.20 per transaction in the project currency.

Does Indiegogo still offer flexible funding where I keep the money either way?

No. Indiegogo's Help Center states that the October 16, 2025 platform upgrade eliminated flexible funding and automatically converted live flexible campaigns to fixed funding. Express Crowdfunding is the current mode that pays out without a goal requirement, and it collects payment and shipping at checkout (Indiegogo Knowledge Base).

Do I have to offer reward tiers with a Brillay goal?

No. A Brillay Goal is a flat cash goal with no reward-tier system, and a supporter who contributes receives no shipped item in return. Reward sets with estimated delivery months are a documented part of setting up an Indiegogo campaign instead.

Do I need a large following to start a Brillay goal?

No. There is no follower minimum and nothing to apply for. You can start Goals with a small audience; to receive contributions, you connect your bank through Stripe. By contrast, an Indiegogo fixed-funding campaign pays out only if backers collectively reach the stated goal before the campaign's end date.

Can I use both a Brillay goal and an Indiegogo campaign?

Yes — they aren't exclusive. A creator could run a Brillay goal on their page for smaller, ongoing needs while using a dedicated Indiegogo campaign for a larger, reward-tiered product launch, since the two serve different-sized asks with different fulfillment requirements.

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