Kickstarter announced its 2025 product roadmap and unveiled new tools that will enhance the platform even more. The goal is to give creators an all-in-one crowdfunding experience, enhancing the backer experience and building trust in its community. The new features will expand on the vision to build a more comprehensive crowdfunding and launch platform that supports creators at every stage of their journey — from pre-campaign planning to post-campaign fulfillment.
Previously, Kickstarter expanded its Late Pledges options, which help creators continue raising funds after their campaigns end, while the Kickstarter Performance team helps creators market their projects to potential backers before, during, and after their campaigns. For 2025, Kickstarter will expand the post-campaign tools, introducing a set of Pledge Management tools for creators, helping to simplify logistics and fulfillment after a campaign ends.
And for backers, Kickstarter announced easier project discovery and a new flexible payment option with Pledge Over Time, to allow backers to find and support creative ideas. At the same time, to build trust within the community, Kickstarter is rolling out new features to foster transparency, accountability, and confidence between backers and creators.
The new Pledge Management Tools are available now to select creators and coming to everyone later in 2025. With a 6-step pledge manager integrated into the creator dashboard, creators can now handle everything in one place, and provide a seamless experience also for backers — at no additional cost.
The new Kickstarter Pledge Management toolkit now offers post-campaign add-ons, giving backers more opportunities to support a project. A new Enhanced Backer Survey fully integrated into the Pledge Management experience allows creators to gather crucial production-ready data from backers. Creators will also be able to configure and charge shipping costs post-campaign and easily collect applicable taxes like US sales tax and VAT for EU and UK backers directly within the pledge manager.
With this native, built-in pledge manager, Kickstarter aims to simplify post-campaign logistics and fulfillment, and make it easier than ever for creators to deliver on their promises to backers. Creators in the existing beta program are already seeing the impact of these tools: One participant received responses from 98% of their backers in just three weeks, quickly collecting crucial post-campaign details like shipping information and add-on selections.
With Pledge Over Time, Kickstarter is now allowing backers to split their pledge into four equal payments. This gives backers the flexibility to budget their support over time, making it easier to access higher-tier rewards, additional add-ons, and support big, ambitious ideas. Payments are automatically made every two weeks, ensuring a seamless and hassle-free process.
The first projects offering Pledge Over Time are already live on Kickstarter and promise to remove or reduce cost barriers for backers, while helping creators attract higher pledge amounts and attract more backers. While this feature is only available to select creators for now, by spring 2025, all Kickstarter creators will have the choice to enable Pledge Over Time for their projects.
For users of the Kickstarter platform, the company also announced new optimized search, discovery, and recommendation tools, making finding a new project even easier with search filters and sorting options, available on both web and mobile. The platform will also offer better recommendations, creating a more personalized experience when users are on Kickstarter.
"Last year, we introduced the Backings Dashboard within the Android app (iOS coming soon!) — a centralized hub where backers can view and manage all of the projects they’ve supported. From tracking project updates and reward statuses to completing action items like sharing shipping information with a creator, this tool has already simplified the backer experience.
"This year, we’re making it even better. By the end of 2025, backers who use our mobile app will be able to view all their projects — funded, live, and even unsuccessful or canceled ones — in one place. Plus, we’re adding search and filter tools to help backers easily navigate their pledge history," Kickstarter announced.
Kickstarter has upgraded its fraud detection systems, helping to shut down risky projects before any funds are collected. For 2025, the company will introduce notifications for fulfillment failures, allowing its Trust & Safety team to determine that a project is not following the rules. Kickstarter might even display a notice on the project page and send backers a notification that outlines the issue and the actions Kickstarter has taken — including restricting the creator from launching future projects.
Project pages will also include more details about a creator's track record, collaborators, and past projects, making it easier for backers to assess a project and make informed decisions. "By continuing to prioritize trust, we’re strengthening the foundation of our community and helping ensure that Kickstarter remains the go-to platform for creativity, innovation, and collaboration," the company says.
www.kickstarter.com
