BackerBench
Benchmarks/Technology/Hardware

Subcategory report · 4.5K projects

Hardware on Kickstarter

Phones, accessories, audio gear, lighting, power. The bright spot of Tech — and the reason backers haven't given up on hardware crowdfunding entirely.

n = 4.5K · subcategory of Technology · 2009–2026

Success rate
53.5%
Median goal
$19,690
Successful
1.9K
vs the Technology parent category. Hardware closes at 53.5% versus 33.1% for Technology overall — +20.4pp. Median goal is $19,690 versus $12,761 (+54%).

What makes this subcategory different

Hardware is the bright spot of Tech.

Tech as a parent category closes at 33.1%. Hardware specifically closes at 53.5% — twenty points above the parent. The mechanism: Hardware is showable. A phone stand, a battery pack, a desk lamp can be filmed, photographed, demonstrated. Backers can verify it works in a way they cannot verify a vague "AI-powered" or "smart" gadget that lives mostly in software. Tangibility collapses risk perception faster than any specification list. The implication for hardware creators: stop describing your firmware, start showing the object.

Finding 01 · Goal analysis

The goal-range distribution.

Hardware projects under $10K succeed at 70.6%. Projects asking $100K+ close at 23.9% — a 3.4× drop. The middle range, $30K–$100K, lands at 39.3%.

Success rate by goal range

Hardware, n=4.5K
<$1K
82.4%
$1K–$10K
70.6%
$10K–$30K
53.7%
$30K–$100K
39.3%
$100K+
23.9%

Finding 02 · Geography

Hong Kong creators lead Hardware at 78.0%.

Of the eight largest creator countries by volume in this subcategory, Hong Kong sits at the top with a 78.0% success rate — 24.5pp above the subcategory average. Geography proxies for the local ecosystem of suppliers, distributors, and audience networks that compound campaign credibility.

Success rate by creator country

Hardware, top countries by volume
Hong Kong
78.0%
United Kingdom
54.0%
United States
40.5%
Australia
33.6%
Germany
33.3%
Canada
31.3%
France
30.1%
Italy
20.0%

Get the Technology report

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