How the platforms differ before you compare fees
Top crowdfunding platforms in India are the websites and apps through which individuals, charities and small borrowers collect money from many people online, each built for a narrower purpose than the label suggests. Some collect donations for hospital bills, some host reward or idea campaigns, one group lends money that must be repaid, and a few serve faith-based giving. Choosing among them starts with the purpose of the money, because the same platform rarely suits a medical appeal, a creative project and a loan.
Four models matter in India. Donation-based campaigns give supporters nothing back. Reward-based campaigns return a product or a perk. Peer-to-peer lending returns the principal, usually with interest. Equity-based raising offers shares or a profit share and sits in a separate regulatory space, outside the platforms described below. Knowing which model a platform uses tells you who can fundraise there, who can give and what protections exist.
A second difference is how the platform earns. Some publish a percentage of what is collected, some advertise a zero platform fee and rely on optional tips from donors, and some charge an upfront administration fee. Nearly all pass on the cost of the payment gateway and add goods and services tax. The sections below group the platforms by what they are used for and state the charges that the platforms themselves have published.
Ketto was founded in 2012 in Mumbai, Milaap in 2010 in Bengaluru and ImpactGuru in 2014 in Mumbai; for any other platform, ask it for its founding year and head-office city. Fee tables also change without notice, so a fundraiser should read the live pricing page before starting.
Donation and medical fundraising platforms
Most Indian crowdfunding by volume is donation-based, and most of it is medical. These platforms let a patient’s family or a registered charity open a campaign page, share it on social media and receive transfers into a verified bank account. They differ mainly in fee design and in how much documentation they ask for before money can be withdrawn.
Ketto
Ketto presents itself as a crowdfunding website in India where campaigns can be started for medical, education, memorial, sports and NGO causes. Its Plans and Pricing page sets out three tiers: a free Bronze tier, Silver at 5 per cent and Gold at 7 per cent, charged as a success fee on the amount actually collected. A payment gateway fee of 3 per cent applies to local and foreign payments, and 18 per cent GST is added on top of both the fee and the gateway charge. The Bronze tier applies to fundraisers started on or after 15 August 2020, and Ketto reserves the right to change pricing at any time.
Under its terms, eligible campaigners are registered Indian non-profit organisations, or individuals and private limited companies holding an Indian bank account. Identity checks use a mobile OTP plus one document from PAN, Aadhaar or passport. Funds must be withdrawn or used within 45 days of the campaign ending, and transfers happen 15 days after completion or on a withdrawal request. Browsing and donating are free for supporters.
Milaap
Milaap lists its platform fee as 0 per cent and relies on an optional tip that donors can leave at checkout. It states that setup takes under ten minutes, offers phone help and runs Android and iOS apps. Milaap says no upfront or fixed fees are charged on donations, but adds that payment gateway charges and taxes can still reduce the amount finally disbursed. Withdrawals need government identity proof and bank details. Milaap was founded in 2010 and is based in Bengaluru.
ImpactGuru
ImpactGuru advertises a 0 per cent platform fee with an asterisk, and its published plan table explains the conditions. The Self-Driven plan carries no platform fee, Assisted costs 3 per cent, Elevate 5 per cent and Co-pilot 8 per cent. A gateway charge of about 3 per cent applies to UPI, debit and credit card payments, a one-time administration and due-diligence fee of INR 3,000 plus GST is listed, and 18 per cent GST applies on service and processing charges. Quoted withdrawal times run from 3 to 7 days for Self-Driven and 12 hours to 5 days for Elevate; ask ImpactGuru for the Co-pilot withdrawal time before choosing that plan.
The site says fundraisers are verified through uploaded documents, which for medical cases means hospital bills, and that funds carry no repayment duty or interest. It reports more than 50,000 patients funded, over 50 lakh donors and over 3.2 lakh fundraisers created. NGOs that want foreign contributions need FCRA registration, and an 80G tax benefit is linked on the site for eligible donations.
Donatekart
Donatekart lets people donate money or products to NGOs that pass a four-step verification, and it advertises 0 per cent platform and payment gateway fees for fundraisers. Categories include medical emergencies, animal care, disaster relief and CSR. Ask Donatekart to confirm its total raised before you use that figure to judge its track record.
Give.do
Give.do does not describe itself with the word crowdfunding. Verified NGOs run fundraisers on it, health is one of the cause categories, and donations may qualify under Section 80G. It states that receipts follow within two weeks and that Form 10BE reaches donors by the end of May of the following financial year. Ask Give.do how many NGOs are currently verified on it and whether the NGO behind your chosen cause is one of them.
Reward, idea and software-led platforms
Reward and idea campaigns are a smaller part of the market, so compare their terms with extra care. They suit creators who can offer something tangible to backers, which donation platforms are not designed to handle.
Fueladream
Fueladream sorts campaigns into Fuel an Idea, Crowd Favourite, Charity, Recovery for disaster relief, Cause and Event. Fueladream itself states no fees. A competitor said in May 2026 that Fueladream charges 3,000 upfront plus a 6 per cent platform fee and is reward- and donation-based, so confirm the charges with Fueladream before launching.
Crowdera
Crowdera describes itself as a software-as-a-service product that lets organisations run white-label fundraising in several formats, from donation and rewards to debt and equity. Its Indian entity is Bharat Crowdera Ventures Pvt Ltd, with an address in Singapore. It warns that contributions are not always tax-exempt and that it does not guarantee that projects get funded. No fees are shown, so ask Crowdera for its charges in writing and check that the site is live and accepting new campaigns in India before you sign up.
Catapooolt and Wishberry
Catapooolt describes itself as India’s largest crowdfunding platform linking startups and investors. Before signing up with Catapooolt or with Wishberry, check that the site is live and accepting new campaigns.
RBI-registered peer-to-peer lending platforms
Peer-to-peer lending is the only crowdfunding-style activity in India that has a dedicated regulator-issued rulebook, and the money lent must come back. Only companies registered with the Reserve Bank of India as NBFC-P2P, with net owned funds of at least INR 2 crore, may run such platforms. Names commonly listed as NBFC-P2P platforms include LenDenClub, Faircent, Lendbox, IndiaP2P, RupeeCircle, i2iFunding, Finzy, Cashkumar and i-Lend. Treat these as a starting point and confirm each name against the RBI’s list of registered NBFC-P2P platforms.
Rang De
Rang De is a peer-to-peer platform with an RBI NBFC-P2P certificate. Individuals can lend between INR 500 and INR 50,000, and the platform channels money to rural entrepreneurs, farmers and artisans through impact partners. It shows an illustration of returns up to 8.5 per cent a year, which it states is not guaranteed.
Other registered lenders
LenDenClub shows an NBFC-P2P badge, with lending from INR 10,000 up to INR 50 lakh. In 2018 Faircent was described as the first holder of an RBI NBFC-P2P certificate. The RBI directions dated 28 November 2025 cap a lender’s total exposure across platforms at INR 50 lakh, a borrower’s total at INR 10 lakh and one lender’s exposure to one borrower at INR 50,000. They allow only unsecured loans, a maximum maturity of 36 months, and escrow through a bank-promoted account that holds money no longer than one working day. Platforms may not promise returns or recovery.
A faith-based giving platform: IndiaZakat
IndiaZakat was launched by the Association of Muslim Professionals around Ramadan 2020 and describes itself as the first online zakat crowdfunding platform in India. It states a zero commission policy and collects zakat, sadaqah and fitrah for education, healthcare, livelihood, women’s empowerment, relief and marriage assistance. By February 2025, Rs 23.82 crore had been collected through IndiaZakat in 79,869 donations across 7,664 causes over five years.
Donations come only from Indian nationals and NRIs using Indian bank accounts. Bank transfers carry no charge, while Razorpay card and wallet payments carry between 1.5 and 2.5 per cent. Beneficiaries pass document checks and funds usually go straight to the school, hospital or vendor. Whether a particular cause is a valid use of zakat is a question for a qualified scholar, not for the platform’s ranking.
Reading the real cost of a campaign
A headline of zero per cent rarely means the supporter’s rupee arrives intact. Take Ketto’s Silver tier: a 5 per cent success fee and a 3 per cent gateway charge together equal 8 per cent of the amount collected, and 18 per cent GST is then added on those charges. On ImpactGuru, a Self-Driven campaign skips the platform fee but still faces a gateway charge of about 3 per cent, GST and the INR 3,000 plus GST administration fee where it applies.
Milaap and Donatekart both advertise nothing taken as platform fee, yet each leaves room for gateway charges and taxes or relies on tips from donors. A platform that depends on tips is not free, it simply moves the decision to the donor. When comparing, ask three questions: what percentage is taken as the platform’s own fee, what does the payment processor take, and how much tax is added.
Timing is part of cost too. Ketto holds withdrawals under the 15-day and 45-day rules described earlier, ImpactGuru quotes windows from hours to a week depending on the plan, and Milaap asks for expense documents with each withdrawal. A family facing a hospital deadline may prefer a quicker plan even at a higher percentage.
Status changes and platforms to verify
Before signing up with any platform, check that the site is live and accepting new campaigns. Wishberry, Crowdera and Catapooolt are examples where this check matters. The practical test is recent campaigns, a working withdrawal process and a reachable support team.
Regulatory status can also change under a platform’s feet. The RBI replaced earlier P2P rules with consolidated directions in November 2025, which repealed the previous text, so any lender still describing the 2017 or 2024 limits is out of date. Equity crowdfunding remains a separate matter: SEBI named several equity crowdfunding sites in 2016 as unauthorised, so ask SEBI or a securities lawyer about the current position before using any equity crowdfunding site.
Choosing among the top crowdfunding platforms in India
For a medical emergency, compare Ketto, Milaap, ImpactGuru and Donatekart on documentation demands, withdrawal speed and the total of fee, gateway charge and GST. For a registered charity seeking tax-eligible gifts, check which platforms link 80G receipts and whether FCRA registration is needed for foreign donors. For a small borrower or lender, only an RBI-registered NBFC-P2P platform should be considered, and a lender must accept that returns are not guaranteed and that capital can be lost.
Before sharing any campaign link, read the live pricing page, confirm the organisation’s legal entity, test a small transfer, and keep screenshots of the terms you accepted. Complaints about financial fraud can be reported through the national cyber crime channels, and unauthorised deposit schemes through the RBI Sachet portal.