Am I wrong in saying that the user base if different? It seems to me that kickstarter is more for products/businesses, but from my limited experience I think gofundme is more of a humanitarian kind of crowdfunding.
Not at all! I feel like it's silly to compare the two sites at all.
The user base for GoFundMe is completely different from Kickstarter -- they're aimed at personal fundraising (e.g, "medical expenses, education costs, volunteer programs, youth sports, funerals & memorials" [1]), whereas Kickstarter is aimed at "projects" with a "clear goal" and a tangible result.
The mechanics of the sites are also very different: Kickstarter projects run for a fixed period, and release money to the project owner only if the project has hit its goal at the end of that period, whereas GoFundMe campaigns can run indefinitely, and give money to the project owner as soon as it's donated. (GoFundMe campaigns can have "goal" dates and/or dollar values, but they usually have no effect on how donations work.)
Additionally, Kickstarter has the concept of "tipping", which means that contributions get refunded if projects don't reach their fundraising goal. Sites like GFM have no such requirement (which makes sense when you'll take every dollar you can b/c of a tragic event).
>While Kickstarter helped popularize crowdfunding in the areas of creative projects, music and film, GoFundMe’s personal fundraising platform is focused on enabling people to raise money for personal causes and life events
