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Join For FreeUlule is designed for socially-conscious projects. Is this European-based crowdfunder the right platform for your next project?
Total Rating | 3.9 |
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Terms & Fees4.3 | |
Project Qualifications4.4 | |
Application Process2.5 | |
Sales & Advertising Transparency4.8 | |
Customer Service4.2 | |
User Reviews4.7 |
Table of Contents
Ulule might not be the most well-known crowdfunder west of the Atlantic, but in Europe, it’s established itself as one of the premier rewards and donation-based crowdfunding platforms. However, Ulule isn’t just for Europeans — anybody in the world can launch a campaign with Ulule.
Ulule differentiates itself from the crowdfunding crowd with an emphasis on personalized coaching. Ulule provides this support before, during, and after your crowdfunding campaign. This contributes to Ulele’s high success rate, with the company stating that 79% of campaigns meet or exceed their funding goals.
While not quite on the level of platforms like Kickstarter or GoFundMe, Ulule offers a solid place for innovative, creative, and community-focused creators to raise funds. Keep reading to see if Ulule is right for your next project.
Ulule is one of Europe’s largest rewards and donations-based crowdfunding platforms. Users can set up crowdfunding campaigns to support business, creative, or social projects. You can have a one-time fundraiser or get recurring monthly donations.
With Ulule, you have the option to provide backers with rewards (either a material item or something more symbolic) or solicit donations only.
While Ulule isn’t quite as big as some crowdfunding site (we’re looking at you, GoFundMe), it does state that eight out of 10 projects are funded successfully. This could be attributed to the coaching that you receive throughout your campaign. Prescreening campaigns may also contribute to the success of Ulule’s fundraisers.
Project Qualifications4.4 |
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Availability 4.0 |
Transparency 5.0 |
Ulule states that “Projects that do not have an outcome that is artistic, community-minded, or for the betterment of society and without a community-based strategy” will not be accepted.
Other qualifications are pretty standard. The following campaigns are not allowed on the platform:
Although Ulule is based in Europe, people from around the world can start a fundraiser. However, they must have bank accounts in Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand.
While some projects are excluded, overall qualifications are easy to meet, provided your project has an element of social consciousness and isn’t illegal, hurtful, or posted on other platforms. For project qualifications, we score Ulule 4.4/5.
Terms & Fees4.3 |
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Affordability 4.0 |
Campaign Terms 5.0 |
These are the terms and fees for Ulule’s crowdfunding campaigns:
Funding Duration Limit | 90 days (45 days is recommended) |
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Ulule Platform Fee | 6.67% of all funds received via credit card, 4.17% of funds received via check |
Payment Processing Fee | 3% |
Funding Type | All-or-nothing |
Ulule limits campaign duration to 90 days and you will only receive the money you’ve raised if you’ve reached or exceeded your funding goal.
Donation-based campaigns can accept one-time payments or monthly recurring donations.
However, there is a caveat to this: Ulule campaigners can either set a funding amount as their goal or they can set a defined number of pre-orders they must receive before getting funded. This option is obviously only for those who are offering a specific product and who need a certain number of pre-sales to start production, but it’s nice that creators are given some flexibility here.
Ulule’s platform fees are a bit more convoluted than those of most competitors. You’ll be paying a 6.67% fee on all funds received via credit card and a 4.17% fee on all funds raised via check. Unfortunately, this could complicate your efforts to determine just how much money you need to raise, allowing for the platform fees.
An additional 3% processing fee is also charged.
Fees are pretty standard and are disclosed by Ulule, leading to our rating of 4.3/5.
Application Process2.5 |
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Prescreening & Application 2.8 |
Campaign Funding 1.8 |
Some crowdfunders don’t pre-screen the campaigns they host and only do due diligence after the fact (if at all). Ulule, by contrast, requires the campaigner first to fill out a proposal form that details the specifics of the intended campaign. Ulule takes up to two business days to review these proposals.
Ulule’s application process is somewhat akin to Kickstarter’s — another platform that scrutinizes campaigns before they can be taken live.
If Ulule determines your campaign to be eligible, your proposal then moves on to the final validation stage, which involves giving even more details about your project, the rewards you’re going to offer, and your identity and/or the identity of your corporation or organization.
If your crowdfunding proposal is ultimately accepted, Ulule assigns a “success manager” to assist you during each part of your campaign.
Once your campaign has ended, you will only receive funds (and pay fees) if your campaign was successful. Ulule strives to transfer funds from successful campaigns within 72 business hours.
Overall, the application process is more involved than you might be hoping for. We rate Ulule’s process 2.5/5 stars.
Sales & Advertising Transparency4.8 |
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Sales Practices 5.0 |
Web Presence 4.6 |
Ulule has an extensive FAQ that takes you through every aspect of the crowdfunding process. I didn’t get the sense that anything was being concealed. However, it would be nice for potential campaigners if the fee structure were given upfront on the homepage.
Ulule has social media profiles on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X/Twitter, and YouTube. Unfortunately, these profiles are not updated frequently.
We took all of these variables into consideration when scoring Ulule 4.8/5 for sales and advertising transparency.
Customer Service4.2 |
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Personal Support 3.8 |
Self-Service 5.0 |
Ulule is a bit limited in support options, although once you get on the platform, you’ll be assigned a dedicated success manager.
Ulule Customer Service | Availability |
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Phone Support | |
Email Support | |
Support Tickets | |
Live Chat | |
Dedicated Support Representative | |
Knowledge Base or Help Center | |
Videos & Tutorials | |
Company Blog | |
Social Media |
If you want to get in touch with Ulule, you can submit an online form or submit a question through the website’s chatbot. No live chat or phone support is available.
Most of Ulule’s support comes in the form of self-help resources like a help center and a community discussion board. Ulule also has social media profiles and a company blog.
What it lacks up in types of support it makes up for in quality, as users are overall pleased with the level of service they receive.
Overall, Ulule has good customer support — although it would be nice to see a live chat or phone support option available. Still, we give Ulule a respectable 4.2/5 stars in this area.
User Reviews4.7 |
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User Feedback 5.0 |
Review Site Aggregate 4.3 |
There isn’t a lot of Ulule reviews online, but what is out there is mostly positive. Ulule receives a rating of 4.3/5 (based on 245+ reviews) on Trustpilot. Unsurprisingly, given that Ulule is based in Europe, most of the reviews are in French.
Based on the number of positive reviews for Ulule, we gave the company our own rating of 4.7/5 for user reviews.
There are few complaints about Ulule, but unsatisfied users most disliked:
One thing to note is that most complaints are from backers who did not receive promised rewards or refunds from Ulule.
Most commenters found only good things to say about the company. These reviewers most liked:
Ulule is a crowdfunder that takes a hands-on approach with helping their campaigners achieve their goals. Some crowdfunders just provide a platform and leave everything up to you, but Ulule seems to get that their own success as a platform depends on the success of the campaigns on their site. With a 79% success rate for campaigns, this approach seems to be paying off.
Ulule doesn’t have anywhere near the public profile of Kickstarter or Indiegogo, so it may not be as easy to attract attention to your Ulule campaign as with Ulule’s larger competitors. Plus, the fee structure is a bit complex compared to other crowdfunders.
Nonetheless, Ulule is a solid crowdfunder, earning an overall rating of 3.9/5 and our recommendation. While not for everyone, for the socially-conscious project, Ulule offers quite the track record of success and deserves your consideration.
We spend hours researching and evaluating each crowdfunding platform that we review at Merchant Maverick, placing emphasis on key characteristics to generate our product ratings.
When rating crowdfunding platforms, we use a rubric that looks at terms and fees, project qualifications, application process, sales and advertising transparency, customer service, and user reviews. We weigh each section differently to calculate the total star rating.
Each section is further broken down into granular, weighted subsections, in which we look at specific attributes, such as campaign durations, supported project types, time to funding, application processing times, and platform fees. Learn more about how we rate crowdfunding platforms.
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Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships.
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