Startups looking to raise capital have more options today thanks to evolving technology, regulation and market behavior. Initially, crowdfunding had adverse selection problems (e.g. only seeing deals that could not raise elsewhere), but now that it has matured, it’s becoming an option to other sources of early capital (eg. family & friends, angels, VCs). For a quality discussion on its merits see the Notes below.
Here are the biggest crowdfunders in the United States ranked by a modified FAB** score ,which for this category, includes the cumulative value of funds raised on the platform along with the usual inputs of the company’s funding, number of employees, and website traffic.
Top U.S. Equity Crowdfunding Platforms (ranked by FAB score**)
| Rank | Company | FAB Score** | Review | Founded | HQ | Platform Funding ($M)*** | Company Funding ($M)**** | Visits (Oct ’23) |
| 1 | Republic | 725 | 5 Dec ’23 | 2014 | NYC | $2,500M | $214M | 710,000 |
| 2 | StartEngine | 419 | 5 Dec ’23 | 2014 | LA | 650 | 87.6 | 1,300,000 |
| 3 | Wefunder | 387 | 5 Dec ’23 | 2012 | SF | 615 | 22.2 | 1,300,000 |
| 4 | Microventures | 96 | 5 Dec ’23 | 2009 | Austin | 450 | 3.4 | 58,000 |
| 5 | Netcapital | 28 | 5 Dec ’23 | 2014 | Boston | 11 | 2 | 130,000 |
| 6 | MainInvest | 19 | 5 Dec ’23 | 2018 | Salem, MA | 15 | 3 | 61,000 |
Source: FintechLabs, 5 Dec 2023, from companies, Crunchbase, SimilarWeb, Pitchbook
*Our business model depends on revenue from referrals and sponsors. When you see a referral link in the URL, we may earn a fee when a new account is started (thanks!). This can improve visibility on our website, but does not impact the company’s FAB score.
** The FAB score, Fintech Attention Barometer, is a proxy for the overall size of a private company since they typically do not release traditional metrics (# customers, deposits, AUM, etc). The score is based on VC funding, website traffic, mobile downloads, and the number of employees. It’s a work in progress, so expect changes in the formula.
***Amount raised by companies on the platform lifetime
****Funding is the amount invested into the company as either equity or debt.
Crowdfunding Companies Currently Active in the United States
1. Republic
FAB Score = 725 (up 50 since August)
Founded: 2014
HQ: NYC
Funding via platform (lifetime): $2.5 billion across 2000 companies (company, April 2023)
Raised (for themselves): $214M including $150M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
Website visits: 710,000 (Oct 2023, SimilarWeb)
Employees: 545 (Pitchbook), unchanged since April
Article citations: 670 (Crunchbase)
LinkedIn: 27,000 followers (652 employees, down 16 since August)
2. StartEngine
FAB Score = 419 (up 20)
Founded: 2014
HQ: LA
Platform funding (lifetime): $615 million including $189M 2022 and $32M Q1 2023
Raised (for themselves) $87.9M (Crunchbase)
Website visitors: 1.3 million (Oct 2023, SimilarWeb)
Employees: 192 (Pitchbook), up 7 since August, up 4 since June)
Article citations: 362
Linkedin: 18,000 followers (191 employees, up 9 since Aug.)
3. Wefunder
FAB Score = 387 (up 116)
Founded: 2012
HQ: SF
Funding via platform (lifetime): $615M (company, April 2023)
Raised (for themselves): $22.2M including $12M in Nov 2022 (Crunchbase)
Website visits: 1.3M (Oct 2023, SimilarWeb)
Employees: 146 (Pitchbook), down 3 from August
Article citations: 148 (Crunchbase)
Linkedin: 16,000 followers (144 employees, down 9 since August)
4. MicroVentures
FAB Score = 96 (up 3)
Founded: 2009
HQ: Austin
Funding via platform: $450 million (company, April 2023)
Raised (for itself): $3.4M (Crunchbase)
Website visits: 58,000 (Oct 2023, SimilarWeb)
Employees: 23 (Pitchbook), down 3 since August
Article citations: 72 (Crunchbase)
Linkedin: 5,000 followers (75 employees, unchanged)
5. Netcapital
FAB Score = 28 (up 9)
Founded: 2014
HQ: Boston
Funding via platform (lifetime): $11M (company, April 2022)
Raised (for itself): $2M including $1.7M in May 2023 (Crunchbase)
Website visits: 130,000 (Oct 2023, SimilarWeb)
Employees: 40 (Pitchbook), up 17 since August
Article citations: 101 (Crunchbase)
Linkedin: 2,000 followers (34 employees, down 5 since August)
6. MainInvest
FAB Score = 19 (down 7)
Founded: 2018
HQ: Salem, MA
Funding via platform (lifetime) $15M (Company, April 2023)
Raised (for itself): $3M (Crunchbase)
Website visits: 61,000 (Oct 2023, SimilarWeb)
Employees: 19 (Pitchbook) unchanged
Article citations: 8 (Crunchbase)
Linkedin: 2,000 followers (14 employees, down 2 since August)
Defunct
SeedInvest (acquired by StartEngine, August 2023, removed from list Dec 2023)
Founded: 2011
HQ: NYC
Funding via platform (lifetime): $465 million (company, April 2023)
Raised (for themselves): $12.4M (Crunchbase)
Website visitors: 17,000 (Oct 2023, SimilarWeb)
Employees: 31 (Pitchbook), unchanged
Article citations: 562 (Crunchbase)
Linkedin: 14,000 followers (15 employees, down 8 since June)
Note: Equity Crowdfunding resources
- First Round Capital blog post
