81,643 projects · Sample analysis
Kickstarter Crowdfunding Analysis
The top 1% accounted for 48% of funding in the sample
Across 73,999 launched projects, the bottom half accounted for 2.0% of funding. Technology accounted for 62 of the top 100 projects. A separate analysis of completed campaigns looks at the relationship between pre-launch pages and outcomes.
Web Robots Kickstarter Datasets · October 12, 2026 snapshot · Sample and methodology
At a glance: five findings
Select a row to see the evidence48%taken by the top 1%
Money is concentrated: plan with medians, not averages
Median raise $2.5K vs a mean of $18K; the bottom half shares only 2.0%.
2.8%of projects end at 50–100%
All or nothing: near misses are rare
The median failed project reached 1.7% of its goal with 3 backers.
62 / 100Top 100 that are tech
The top is recent, staff-picked, high-ticket hardware
96 of the top 100 were staff picks and 74 launched in 2024 or later. Pledge per backer is $341, 2.7× the sample.
11.3%of funding went to Hong Kong filers
Hong Kong campaigns in the sample
Only 2.4% of projects, but 24% of tech money; $74.5M raised in 2025 alone.
88%sample success with a pre-launch page
Pre-launch pages and outcomes
Campaigns without a pre-launch page succeeded 65% of the time. The rate for campaigns with goals over $100K was 21%.
Finding 1
Money is concentrated: 1% of projects took almost half
- The top 1% of projects (about 740) took 48.1% of the money; the top 10% took 79.7%.
- The bottom half (about 37,000 projects) shared just 2.0%. The Gini coefficient is 0.86.
- The median project raised $2.5K, but the mean is $18K, pulled up sevenfold by the top.
What it means for product choices
Set expectations with medians and percentiles. A typical project raises about $2.5K; the top 10% starts at $25K and the top 1% at $241K.
Exhibit 1
How projects and money are split
Launched projects ranked by amount raised, in four bands
Projects
9%
40%
50%
Money
48%
32%
18%
Top 1%1%–10%10%–50%Bottom 50%
| Raised per project | P25 | Median | P75 | P90 | P99 | Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launched | $500 | $2.5K | $8.4K | $25K | $241K | $20.6M |
Finding 2
All or nothing: almost no project nearly makes it
- Of 71,524 finished projects, only 2.8% ended between 50% and 100% of goal; 19.5% reached less than 10%.
- The median failed project reached 1.7% of goal with 3 backers and raised $90.
- The median successful project set a $2.5K goal, raised $4.5K from 62 backers. Failed projects asked for 2.6 times as much ($6.6K).
What it means for product choices
This chart records funding at close. Assessing early momentum or a late surge requires daily funding data.
Exhibit 2
Final funding level of finished projects
Share of finished projects
Missed goalReached goal
Finding 3
The top looks alike: recent, staff-picked, high-ticket hardware
- The top 100 raised $345M together, 25.4% of the whole sample.
- 62 are tech and 9 are design; across all projects these two groups make up only 11.5%.
- 96 were staff picks and 74 launched in 2024 or later; every one of the top 20 was a staff pick.
- Pledge per backer is $341, 2.7× the sample: they sell 3D printers, laser projectors, UV printers and CNC machines costing hundreds or thousands of dollars.
What it means for product choices
If you are aiming big, nearly all the useful references are tech and design hardware from the last two years; lessons from music or publishing transfer poorly. Content projects, by contrast, are better planned around small goals that get overfunded.
Exhibit 3
Category mix: top 100 vs all projects
By number of projects
TechDesignGamesContent & mediaArt & performanceLifestyleUncategorized
Top 100
62%
9%
20%
All
11%
40%
16%
18%
Exhibit 4
What the top 100 share
Top 100All launched projects
Staff pick
96%vs 17.1%
Launched in 2024 or later
74%vs 44.2%
Filed from Hong Kong
19%vs 2.4%
| Median goal | Median backers | Pledge per backer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top 100 | $50K | 6,156 | $341 |
| All launched | $3.2K | 38 | $127 |
Finding 4
Hong Kong campaigns in the sample
- Projects filed from Hong Kong are 2.4% of launched projects but took 11.3% of the money ($153M), and 23.8% of all tech money.
- Tech accounts for $113M and design for $27.8M: together 92% of Hong Kong money.
- The median Hong Kong project raised $13K, 5× the sample median.
- In 2023 there were 72 projects raising $4.1M; in 2025 there were 614 raising $74.5M. NestWorks C500, Titan 2 Elite and Rokid Glasses in the top 20 were all filed from Hong Kong.
What it means for product choices
Use leading projects registered in Hong Kong as case studies, then narrow the set by brand, category and price band. Registration comes from the campaign record. Brand ownership and manufacturing location require separate verification.
Exhibit 5
Money raised by Hong Kong filers, by year
By launch year, coloured by category group; 2026 runs to 12 October
TechDesignGamesContent & mediaArt & performanceLifestyle
Finding 5
Pre-launch pages, staff picks, video and repeat creators all go with better results
- Projects with a pre-launch page succeeded 87.7% of the time, against 65.2% without; their median raise is 3.2× higher.
- Staff picks succeeded 94.9% of the time, with a median raise 7.3× that of other projects.
- A creator’s first project succeeds 68.9% of the time; the second, 87.1%. The 6,712 creators with two or more projects brought in 33% of the money.
- Projects with goals above $100K succeeded only 20.8% of the time.
What it means for product choices
These are unadjusted differences within the sample. Category, launch year, funding goal and creator experience may all influence the outcome. Set a campaign goal from production, shipping, fees and contingency costs.
Exhibit 6
Success rate with and without each practice
Finished projects; right column shows median raise of launched projects
WithWithout
50%60%70%80%90%100%
Pre-launch page
87.7% vs 65.2%
$5.0K vs $1.6K
$5.0K vs $1.6K
Staff pick
94.9% vs 68.8%
$12K vs $1.7K
$12K vs $1.7K
Project video
78.4% vs 64.5%
$4.1K vs $934
$4.1K vs $934
Creator’s 2nd project on
91.8% vs 68.9%
Exhibit 7
Higher goals, lower success
Finished projects, goals converted to USD at the static rate; right column shows project count
Goal <1K
87.0%17,603
Goal 1K-5K
78.4%24,244
Goal 5K-10K
71.1%11,675
Goal 10K-25K
63.3%10,809
Goal 25K-50K
49.8%4,123
Goal 50K-100K
34.8%1,905
Goal >100K
20.8%1,165
Category tools
Opportunity matrix: which subcategories are crowded, which pay
Only projects launched in 2024–2026, to avoid sampling differences between eras (these hold 68% of the sample’s money). The horizontal axis counts projects, a measure of crowding; the vertical axis is the median raise, what a typical project gets; bubble size is total money raised.
Dividers: median of 84 projects and a median raise of $2.5K across subcategories. Only subcategories with at least 20 projects since 2024 are shown (135 in all).
Niche, high value 29
Few projects, each worth a lot: proven demand, little crowding
- DIY Electronics$16K
- Wearables$20K
- Food (uncategorized)$5.4K
- Sound$42K
- Robots$9.0K
- Anthologies$2.5K
Popular and valuable 39
Many projects that still raise well: a big market with stiff competition
- Product Design$16K
- Gadgets$23K
- Hardware$33K
- Video Games$5.1K
- Camera Equipment$27K
- Art Books$9.8K
Crowded, low value 29
Many small projects, mostly content and creative work
- Tabletop Games$2.4K
- 3D Printing$2.5K
- Fiction$2.4K
- Nonfiction$1.8K
- Jewelry$605
- Digital Art$1.2K
Quiet, low value 38
Few projects, each raising little
- Space Exploration$1.3K
- Makerspaces$412
- Television$1.7K
- Movie Theaters$98
- Community Gardens$133
- Live Games$1.1K
Category tools
Subcategory baselines
The denominator for category research. Use the medians and P90s here as the backdrop to judge whether a showcase project is typical or an outlier. Select a column heading to sort.
| Top project | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design | Product Design | 1,889 | 1,849 | $16K | $159K | $146 | $122M | 3% | 23.7% | 91% | |
| Technology | Gadgets | 991 | 984 | $22K | $221K | $189 | $118M | 9% | 36.9% | 98% | |
| Technology | Camera Equipment | 919 | 155 | $15K | $273K | $259 | $109M | 5% | 12.4% | 58% | |
| Technology | Hardware | 252 | 250 | $33K | $490K | $557 | $93.1M | 21% | 32.1% | 90% | |
| Games | Tabletop Games | 4,605 | 4,543 | $2.4K | $27K | $78 | $92.2M | 6% | 1.0% | 96% | |
| Games | Gaming Hardware | 1,111 | 228 | $2.1K | $76K | $131 | $57.1M | 15% | 2.9% | 50% | |
| Technology | 3D Printing | 371 | 368 | $2.5K | $134K | $462 | $55.4M | 37% | 8.3% | 96% | |
| Publishing | Art Books | 1,539 | 547 | $9.4K | $72K | $98 | $49.9M | 6% | 0.4% | 98% | |
| Games | Video Games | 1,034 | 1,026 | $5.0K | $102K | $72 | $44.5M | 5% | 1.1% | 82% | |
| Design | Toys | 1,178 | 610 | $5.8K | $65K | $123 | $40.6M | 8% | 5.1% | 87% | |
| Technology | DIY Electronics | 76 | 74 | $14K | $576K | $820 | $36.4M | 49% | 28.6% | 84% | |
| Publishing | Fiction | 1,960 | 1,914 | $2.3K | $22K | $113 | $25.3M | 8% | 0.1% | 80% | |
| Technology | Space Exploration | 486 | 36 | $1.2K | $35K | $163 | $23.7M | 17% | 1.0% | 38% | |
| Music | Country & Folk | 2,133 | 559 | $7.6K | $24K | $86 | $23.0M | 1% | — | 100% | |
| Music | Indie Rock | 2,191 | 284 | $4.5K | $17K | $77 | $19.5M | 4% | — | 100% | |
| Music | Rock | 2,100 | 275 | $3.9K | $20K | $78 | $18.4M | 2% | 0.1% | 99% | |
| Art | Public Art | 2,231 | 119 | $3.1K | $18K | $87 | $17.2M | 3% | 0.1% | 83% | |
| Design | Graphic Design | 1,558 | 154 | $1.8K | $18K | $63 | $16.9M | 8% | 1.4% | 81% | |
| Film & Video | Shorts | 1,900 | 877 | $3.6K | $18K | $116 | $15.7M | 4% | 0.2% | 95% | |
| Art | Illustration | 1,468 | 1,422 | $2.8K | $23K | $81 | $15.4M | 2% | 2.4% | 95% | |
| Games | Playing Cards | 1,008 | 979 | $5.2K | $35K | $96 | $15.2M | 4% | 12.7% | 94% | |
| Food | Restaurants | 523 | 273 | $19K | $61K | $169 | $14.8M | 2% | — | 80% | |
| Technology | Wearables | 73 | 72 | $19K | $522K | $412 | $14.2M | 28% | 22.1% | 83% | |
| Comics | Comic Books | 1,301 | 1,295 | $3.5K | $22K | $61 | $12.9M | 3% | — | 98% | |
| Fashion | Accessories | 1,183 | 804 | $3.2K | $23K | $100 | $12.7M | 6% | 1.8% | 95% | |
| Film & Video | Comedy | 216 | 210 | $3.5K | $30K | $127 | $12.3M | 56% | — | 89% | |
| Fashion | Jewelry | 1,998 | 317 | $691 | $11K | $132 | $11.6M | 5% | 1.7% | 46% | |
| Art | Mixed Media | 1,851 | 273 | $2.1K | $11K | $82 | $11.5M | 11% | 0.2% | 99% | |
| Uncategorized | Food (uncategorized) | 231 | 54 | $10K | $46K | $139 | $8.5M | 28% | 0.7% | 98% | |
| Food | Vegan | 1,296 | 109 | $832 | $19K | $75 | $8.1M | 3% | 0.1% | 33% | |
| Film & Video | Movie Theaters | 528 | 80 | $481 | $51K | $114 | $8.0M | 7% | — | 30% | |
| Film & Video | Documentary | 417 | 403 | $5.9K | $50K | $138 | $8.0M | 4% | 0.2% | 76% | |
| Comics | Graphic Novels | 417 | 409 | $4.9K | $42K | $72 | $6.8M | 5% | — | 97% | |
| Uncategorized | Dance (uncategorized) | 1,173 | 1 | $3.6K | $12K | $83 | $6.8M | 2% | — | 100% | |
| Food | Drinks | 510 | 248 | $7.1K | $31K | $119 | $6.6M | 3% | 0.5% | 80% | |
| Film & Video | Animation | 386 | 374 | $2.9K | $38K | $84 | $6.4M | 14% | 0.2% | 73% | |
| Theater | Musical | 424 | 108 | $3.9K | $22K | $81 | $5.8M | 11% | — | 98% | |
| Music | Metal | 1,240 | 144 | $637 | $8.9K | $64 | $5.8M | 6% | — | 49% | |
| Food | Food Trucks | 2,294 | 226 | $101 | $7.0K | $108 | $5.5M | 2% | — | 15% | |
| Publishing | Young Adult | 974 | 428 | $1.4K | $9.3K | $78 | $5.3M | 22% | 0.1% | 69% | |
| Dance | Performances | 981 | 78 | $3.8K | $11K | $90 | $5.3M | 1% | 0.1% | 98% | |
| Publishing | Nonfiction | 486 | 474 | $1.8K | $22K | $94 | $5.1M | 10% | 0.2% | 61% | |
| Uncategorized | Crafts (uncategorized) | 814 | 113 | $2.2K | $13K | $69 | $4.8M | 4% | 1.5% | 100% | |
| Journalism | 1,205 | 165 | $150 | $8.9K | $68 | $4.6M | 4% | 0.2% | 30% | ||
| Photography | Photobooks | 522 | 492 | $3.2K | $21K | $102 | $4.6M | 5% | 0.6% | 86% | |
| Food | Small Batch | 446 | 217 | $5.1K | $22K | $103 | $4.2M | 3% | 0.4% | 84% | |
| Photography | Fine Art | 1,185 | 133 | $526 | $8.6K | $98 | $4.1M | 5% | 0.3% | 44% | |
| Publishing | Poetry | 2,176 | 238 | $358 | $3.9K | $56 | $4.0M | 4% | 0.2% | 43% | |
| Theater | Plays | 745 | 196 | $3.0K | $11K | $98 | $3.8M | 1% | — | 98% | |
| Film & Video | Horror | 313 | 308 | $3.3K | $22K | $174 | $3.8M | 17% | — | 86% | |
| Photography | People | 1,513 | 136 | $135 | $6.2K | $78 | $3.7M | 3% | 0.1% | 27% | |
| Art | Social Practice | 390 | 135 | $813 | $15K | $81 | $3.4M | 40% | — | 36% | |
| Crafts | DIY | 307 | 121 | $1.3K | $19K | $136 | $3.4M | 34% | 9.2% | 91% | |
| Technology | Makerspaces | 429 | 71 | $836 | $17K | $126 | $3.4M | 26% | 2.8% | 27% | |
| Theater | Immersive | 581 | 75 | $1.2K | $11K | $119 | $3.1M | 10% | 0.2% | 51% | |
| Fashion | Childrenswear | 823 | 62 | $298 | $11K | $89 | $3.0M | 8% | 0.7% | 22% | |
| Food | Cookbooks | 197 | 101 | $5.0K | $35K | $62 | $2.8M | 15% | 0.5% | 97% | |
| Crafts | Knitting | 362 | 47 | $1.4K | $19K | $82 | $2.8M | 8% | 1.9% | 57% | |
| Film & Video | Festivals | 520 | 84 | $933 | $14K | $108 | $2.8M | 2% | — | 47% | |
| Film & Video | Family | 593 | 84 | $187 | $12K | $126 | $2.8M | 8% | 0.3% | 22% | |
| Food | Spaces | 137 | 78 | $16K | $44K | $141 | $2.8M | 4% | — | 84% | |
| Art | Digital Art | 497 | 493 | $1.2K | $12K | $71 | $2.8M | 8% | 0.7% | 91% | |
| Art | Painting | 197 | 191 | $1.6K | $21K | $101 | $2.6M | 19% | 6.1% | 85% | |
| Crafts | Woodworking | 253 | 87 | $2.6K | $17K | $138 | $2.5M | 14% | 1.1% | 94% | |
| Technology | Sound | 31 | 30 | $41K | $239K | $213 | $2.2M | 15% | 28.6% | 96% | |
| Publishing | Children's Books | 416 | 400 | $1.8K | $11K | $83 | $2.2M | 8% | 0.2% | 68% | |
| Music | Kids | 462 | 38 | $1.1K | $12K | $77 | $2.1M | 4% | 0.4% | 47% | |
| Theater | Comedy | 276 | 61 | $3.2K | $16K | $92 | $2.1M | 10% | 0.7% | 97% | |
| Theater | Experimental | 574 | 53 | $1.3K | $10K | $81 | $2.1M | 4% | — | 60% | |
| Uncategorized | Theater (uncategorized) | 360 | 11 | $2.9K | $13K | $87 | $2.1M | 5% | 0.3% | 100% | |
| Uncategorized | Music (uncategorized) | 165 | 163 | $5.8K | $23K | $104 | $2.1M | 11% | — | 96% | |
| Crafts | Stationery | 296 | 126 | $1.4K | $10K | $77 | $1.9M | 13% | 0.7% | 96% | |
| Food | Community Gardens | 412 | 31 | $136 | $5.5K | $156 | $1.8M | 59% | — | 24% | |
| Food | Farms | 137 | 67 | $7.4K | $31K | $146 | $1.8M | 9% | — | 78% | |
| Food | Events | 893 | 69 | $50 | $4.0K | $109 | $1.8M | 6% | 0.3% | 17% | |
| Comics | Anthologies | 56 | 55 | $2.5K | $42K | $94 | $1.7M | 44% | — | 98% | |
| Music | Faith | 97 | 92 | $7.2K | $43K | $141 | $1.6M | 10% | 1.0% | 99% | |
| Music | Classical Music | 150 | 149 | $5.9K | $21K | $106 | $1.6M | 6% | — | 96% | |
| Music | Pop | 164 | 161 | $5.8K | $21K | $102 | $1.5M | 6% | — | 95% | |
| Film & Video | Narrative Film | 174 | 169 | $4.3K | $24K | $162 | $1.5M | 4% | 0.5% | 86% | |
| Music | World Music | 137 | 137 | $6.4K | $33K | $101 | $1.5M | 5% | — | 93% | |
| Uncategorized | Art (uncategorized) | 137 | 134 | $2.5K | $25K | $109 | $1.5M | 20% | — | 89% | |
| Uncategorized | Technology (uncategorized) | 31 | 31 | $21K | $80K | $152 | $1.5M | 29% | 6.5% | 96% | |
| Dance | Spaces | 124 | 18 | $7.5K | $22K | $116 | $1.4M | 8% | — | 96% | |
| Art | Sculpture | 210 | 209 | $1.2K | $11K | $81 | $1.4M | 20% | 0.4% | 88% | |
| Film & Video | Drama | 302 | 286 | $1.5K | $9.6K | $136 | $1.3M | 8% | — | 72% | |
| Fashion | Apparel | 190 | 186 | $707 | $13K | $116 | $1.3M | 15% | 1.5% | 46% | |
| Film & Video | Television | 47 | 46 | $1.6K | $27K | $198 | $1.2M | 33% | — | 63% | |
| Theater | Festivals | 200 | 47 | $3.0K | $13K | $92 | $1.1M | 6% | — | 96% | |
| Publishing | Periodicals | 33 | 31 | $4.3K | $62K | $97 | $1.1M | 58% | — | 63% | |
| Publishing | Anthologies | 70 | 68 | $3.5K | $37K | $84 | $1.1M | 20% | 1.0% | 83% | |
| Art | Video Art | 375 | 45 | $171 | $6.2K | $97 | $1.0M | 16% | — | 31% | |
| Games | Live Games | 50 | 50 | $1.1K | $28K | $443 | $1.0M | 63% | — | 47% | |
| Games | Puzzles | 31 | 30 | $3.0K | $32K | $140 | $1.0M | 69% | 2.9% | 77% | |
| Theater | Spaces | 59 | 7 | $8.7K | $50K | $134 | $996K | 14% | — | 93% | |
| Games | TTRPG | 50 | 50 | $1.9K | $21K | $63 | $957K | 49% | 1.0% | 100% | |
| Music | Jazz | 121 | 121 | $5.0K | $18K | $101 | $952K | 4% | — | 97% | |
| Film & Video | Thrillers | 94 | 92 | $2.8K | $20K | $159 | $922K | 31% | 0.9% | 74% | |
| Music | Chiptune | 65 | 4 | $2.5K | $21K | $47 | $921K | 30% | — | 72% | |
| Film & Video | Webseries | 73 | 72 | $2.6K | $27K | $116 | $863K | 28% | 1.0% | 72% | |
| Publishing | Academic | 37 | 33 | $2.2K | $17K | $136 | $817K | 74% | — | 57% | |
| Art | Textiles | 85 | 83 | $3.9K | $17K | $82 | $816K | 21% | — | 82% | |
| Crafts | Printing | 535 | 106 | $105 | $2.8K | $56 | $739K | 12% | 0.9% | 28% | |
| Crafts | Pottery | 110 | 42 | $3.1K | $17K | $105 | $735K | 6% | 4.2% | 98% | |
| Music | Electronic Music | 101 | 100 | $3.6K | $18K | $83 | $658K | 8% | 0.9% | 88% | |
| Comics | Webcomics | 36 | 36 | $3.9K | $57K | $56 | $656K | 19% | — | 100% | |
| Film & Video | Science Fiction | 80 | 79 | $2.8K | $21K | $147 | $551K | 10% | — | 82% | |
| Music | Hip-Hop | 71 | 70 | $2.9K | $29K | $101 | $549K | 10% | — | 87% | |
| Publishing | Calendars | 47 | 46 | $2.6K | $25K | $76 | $514K | 16% | — | 79% | |
| Crafts | Embroidery | 237 | 23 | $150 | $5.0K | $58 | $491K | 14% | 0.4% | 33% | |
| Art | Installations | 46 | 44 | $2.3K | $39K | $126 | $476K | 16% | 1.9% | 59% | |
| Film & Video | Action | 64 | 62 | $777 | $20K | $184 | $444K | 24% | — | 63% | |
| Crafts | Weaving | 40 | 18 | $3.3K | $19K | $134 | $444K | 25% | 4.5% | 89% | |
| Art | Performance Art | 46 | 46 | $3.0K | $18K | $206 | $431K | 29% | 13.2% | 59% | |
| Film & Video | Fantasy | 47 | 44 | $3.3K | $25K | $63 | $429K | 25% | — | 76% | |
| Crafts | Candles | 109 | 31 | $1.1K | $6.4K | $76 | $404K | 13% | 0.9% | 92% | |
| Crafts | Glass | 56 | 29 | $3.5K | $17K | $118 | $400K | 17% | — | 96% | |
| Dance | Residencies | 102 | 5 | $2.3K | $7.9K | $95 | $377K | 12% | — | 71% | |
| Publishing | Radio & Podcasts | 51 | 48 | $1.2K | $15K | $88 | $336K | 30% | — | 67% | |
| Music | R&B | 31 | 30 | $5.2K | $30K | $143 | $330K | 22% | — | 93% | |
| Games | STL | 66 | 66 | $844 | $11K | $59 | $326K | 23% | — | 98% | |
| Dance | Workshops | 72 | 5 | $2.7K | $10K | $93 | $317K | 8% | — | 97% | |
| Art | Conceptual Art | 47 | 42 | $950 | $19K | $86 | $302K | 22% | 5.3% | 66% | |
| Music | Punk | 47 | 46 | $2.6K | $14K | $80 | $290K | 28% | — | 89% | |
| Publishing | Zines | 71 | 70 | $2.1K | $10K | $50 | $267K | 9% | — | 90% | |
| Publishing | Literary Spaces | 35 | 35 | $2.0K | $25K | $126 | $266K | 14% | — | 65% | |
| Technology | Apps | 81 | 75 | $100 | $6.7K | $266 | $261K | 46% | 1.0% | 17% | |
| Games | Mobile Games | 34 | 33 | $67 | $22K | $138 | $203K | 31% | 1.5% | 81% | |
| Publishing | Literary Journals | 32 | 30 | $2.3K | $16K | $72 | $188K | 23% | — | 56% | |
| Film & Video | Experimental | 46 | 45 | $1.6K | $12K | $126 | $179K | 11% | — | 75% | |
| Crafts | Crochet | 103 | 61 | $434 | $3.4K | $62 | $166K | 15% | 9.4% | 87% | |
| Technology | Software | 46 | 44 | $209 | $12K | $103 | $158K | 21% | 1.6% | 20% | |
| Film & Video | Music Videos | 32 | 29 | $1.5K | $17K | $172 | $156K | 23% | — | 82% | |
| Food | Farmer's Markets | 37 | 18 | $771 | $9.5K | $119 | $119K | 17% | 2.4% | 59% |
Median and P90 cover launched projects only, in USD. Pledge per backer = total raised ÷ total backers, a rough stand-in for ticket price. A high “largest project share” means the subcategory depends on one or two hits. Success rates run high because of sampling and are only good for comparing subcategories.
Category tools
Where money shifted
Tech’s share of each year’s money rose from 23% in 2023 to 48% in 2025, while content and media fell from 30% to 12%. The chart opens on share because absolute amounts across years are skewed by sampling.
Reading note: the jump in 2024 or later is partly real growth and partly sampling. Each discovery page holds about 2,400 projects and favours recent ones, so earlier years keep only the top. Truncation also varies by subcategory: 98% of Product Design projects launched in 2024 or later, against 17% for Camera Equipment. Check “Since 2024” in the baseline table before comparing a subcategory over time.
Category tools
Top projects
Filtered from the 100 biggest raises, showing up to 40. Project names link to Kickstarter.
1
$20.6M206× goal
20,680backers
$997per backer
2
$19.4M194× goal
6,178backers
$3.1Kper backer
3
$18.6M37× goal
7,050backers
$2.6Kper backer
5
$13.3M266× goal
3,541backers
$3.8Kper backer
13
$4.7M94× goal
1,539backers
$3.1Kper backer
18
$4.1M408× goal
13,695backers
$298per backer
19
$4.1M41× goal
8,836backers
$462per backer
20
$4.0M201× goal
5,875backers
$684per backer
25
$3.4M34× goal
23,761backers
$145per backer
26
$3.4M673× goal
16,193backers
$208per backer
27
$3.2M325× goal
5,879backers
$553per backer
31
$3.1M307× goal
2,181backers
$1.4Kper backer
32
$3.0M59× goal
1,591backers
$1.9Kper backer
33
$2.8M1× goal
3,700backers
$752per backer
Method
Sample and methodology
- The snapshot covers 79 Kickstarter category discovery pages and counts each project ID once. Discovery pages use Kickstarter’s recommended ordering, so the results describe the projects captured.
- Funding statistics cover 73,999 launched campaigns. The outcome analysis covers 71,524 completed campaigns, of which 52,448 succeeded.
- Categories come from campaign records. Comparisons across years, categories and campaign features are descriptive and do not adjust for differences in group composition.
How to choose benchmarks
Medians, percentiles and success rates all depend on sample composition. Benchmark against recent campaigns in the same category and price range, at a comparable funding stage.
Exhibit 10
Success rate of finished projects by launch year
Dashed line: success rate across completed campaigns in this sample (73.3%)
Method
Data structure & quality
For anyone reusing this data.
Source file & fieldsJSONL, 42 data fields
The file holds 91,931 separate JSON objects, one per line (JSONL). json.load() fails with “Extra data”; parse it line by line. Project data sits in each line’s data field.
Identity & content
idUnique project ID, used for de-duplicationname / blurbTitle and one-line descriptionslug / urlsURL slug and page linksphotoCover image URLs in nine sizessource_urlThe discovery page this record came from, with sort and state parametersGoal & funding
goal / pledged / currencyGoal and amount pledged in original currencyusd_pledgedAmount pledged in USD; the basis for every amount in this reportstatic_usd_rateStatic USD rate, used to convert goals to USDpercent_fundedPercent funded = pledged ÷ goal × 100backers_countNumber of backersState & time
statesuccessful / failed / live / started / submitted / canceled / suspendedcreated_at / launched_at / deadlineUnix timestamps; launched_at is 0 for unlaunched projectsprelaunch_activatedWhether a pre-launch page was turned onis_in_post_campaign_pledging_phaseWhether the project is taking late pledgesCategory, place & creator
categoryid / name / parent_name / slugcountry / locationTwo-letter country code; city and state or provincecreatorCreator id and namevideo / staff_pickProject video (null if none); staff pick flagScrape metadata (outer wrapper)
table_id / robot_id / run_idIdentical on every row; this run is Kickstarter_2026-10-12T07_08_07_724ZDuplicates, gaps & sampling91,931 rows to 81,643 projects
Duplicates. 10,288 of 91,931 rows are duplicates (11.2%), covering 9,180 projects: 8,072 appear twice and 1,108 three times. Duplicate rows share category and state and differ only in the discovery page. Rows are de-duplicated by id, keeping the first.
Gaps. 34,407 projects have no video (42.1%); 7,644 have no funding data because they have not launched, and are left out of money figures; 163 have no location.
Sampling. Drawn from 79 discovery pages of up to about 2,400 projects each, so recent projects are over-represented and earlier years keep only the top.
Category noise. Creators pick their own category, and some are misfiled.
DefinitionsHow each number is calculated
De-duplicationBy data.id, keeping the first: 91,931 rows → 81,643 projectsLaunchedlaunched_at > 0 with usd_pledged: 73,999 projects. All money, percentile and concentration figures use this groupFinishedsuccessful + failed + canceled + suspended: 71,524 projects. Success rates and the funding distribution use this groupSuccess ratesuccessful ÷ finished; live, submitted and draft projects excludedAmountsusd_pledged in USD; goal in USD = goal × static_usd_ratePledge per backerTotal raised by a group ÷ its total backersConcentrationLaunched projects ranked by amount raised; money raised by the top x% ÷ all moneyCategory groupsTech, Design and Games stand alone; Content & media = Publishing, Comics, Film & Video, Music, Photography, Journalism; Art & performance = Art, Theater, Dance; Lifestyle = Food, Fashion, CraftsSince 2024By launched_at year; 2026 runs to 12 OctoberHong Kong filercountry = HK: where the project is registered, not the team’s nationalityCountries & regionsTop 15
| Country / region | Projects | Total raised | Median raise | Per backer | Tech share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 49,839 | $887M | $2.8K | $129 | 4.2% |
| United Kingdom | 9,932 | $103M | $2.3K | $95 | 2.3% |
| Canada | 3,956 | $43.5M | $1.9K | $106 | 4.6% |
| Germany | 2,033 | $18.2M | $1.3K | $103 | 7.3% |
| Australia | 2,010 | $18.1M | $1.5K | $86 | 4.5% |
| Hong Kong | 1,971 | $153M | $13K | $246 | 39.3% |
| France | 1,738 | $23.2M | $2.2K | $98 | 5.2% |
| Spain | 1,708 | $20.3M | $1.8K | $81 | 7.3% |
| Italy | 1,509 | $11.3M | $1.2K | $101 | 7.7% |
| Mexico | 1,358 | $4.5M | $840 | $69 | 3.9% |
| Japan | 786 | $13.5M | $4.5K | $114 | 7.0% |
| Poland | 689 | $10.5M | $2.2K | $103 | 5.2% |
| Netherlands | 672 | $6.9M | $1.7K | $112 | 12.2% |
| Sweden | 561 | $10.6M | $2.0K | $115 | 3.2% |
| Singapore | 448 | $5.7M | $2.9K | $124 | 9.6% |
Project states7 states
| State | Projects | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Successful successful | 52,448 | 64.2% |
| Failed failed | 16,787 | 20.6% |
| Submitted submitted | 6,063 | 7.4% |
| Live live | 2,479 | 3.0% |
| Canceled canceled | 2,285 | 2.8% |
| Draft started | 1,577 | 1.9% |
| Suspended suspended | 4 | 0.0% |
Reproducing the numbersScripts & intermediate files
Every number here was recomputed from the source file. Scripts and intermediate files sit in the _中间文件 folder next to it:
extract.pyStreams the 593 MB source, de-duplicates by id and writes a slim table (about 5 seconds)ks_slim.csv.gz81,643 projects × 33 columns (gzipped CSV)analyze.pyComputes the statistics used in this reportanalysis.jsonStatistics output for further useTo reproduce: python3 extract.py ../Kickstarter_2026-10-12T07_08_07_724Z.json ks_slim.csv.gz, then python3 analyze.py (requires pandas).