BackerBench
Benchmarks/Technology/Software

Subcategory report · 3.4K projects

Software on Kickstarter

Desktop tools, plugins, OS-level utilities. Better than Apps, worse than anything physical — caught between two markets that don't include Kickstarter.

n = 3.4K · subcategory of Technology · 2009–2026

Success rate
23.1%
Median goal
$15,000
Successful
615
vs the Technology parent category. Software closes at 23.1% versus 33.1% for Technology overall — -10pp. Median goal is $15,000 versus $12,761 (+18%).

What makes this subcategory different

Software is in the no-man's-land of Tech crowdfunding.

Software closes at 23.1% — three times better than Apps, less than half of Hardware. The reason it can outperform Apps: desktop software has slightly higher willingness-to-pay ($30–$200 per license vs $5 mobile-app price points). The reason it underperforms Hardware: backers still cannot verify it works the way they can verify a physical object. Software on Kickstarter survives only at the niche tooling end (specialized creative tools, vertical-industry utilities) where the audience is concentrated and willing to pay $50+ for a license. Mass-market software does not work here.

Finding 01 · Goal analysis

The goal-range distribution.

Software projects under $10K succeed at 31.9%. Projects asking $100K+ close at 4.7% — a 13.1× drop. The middle range, $30K–$100K, lands at 7.4%.

Success rate by goal range

Software, n=3.4K
<$1K
61.5%
$1K–$10K
31.9%
$10K–$30K
18.5%
$30K–$100K
7.4%
$100K+
4.7%

Finding 02 · Geography

United States creators lead Software at 23.2%.

Of the eight largest creator countries by volume in this subcategory, United States sits at the top with a 23.2% success rate — 0.1pp 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

Software, top countries by volume
United States
23.2%
Canada
22.7%
United Kingdom
12.9%
Spain
12.9%
France
12.2%
Australia
11.2%
Germany
11.0%
Italy
5.0%

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