Leetchi
French-speaking fundraisers, group collections among friends, and EU nonprofits comfortable with a longer-established platform.
A French-origin platform offering both free group-pot collections and a separate donation-crowdfunding product, popular across France, Belgium, and the broader EU.
- Founded i
- 2009
- Headquartered in i
- FR
- Audience i
- Individuals, Groups, Nonprofits, Events
- Funding model i
- Keep What You Raise
- Platform fee i
- 6%
- Payment processing fee i
- 2.9% + โฌ0.25
- Recipient gets i
- โฌ90.85 / โฌ100
- Data residency i
- EEA
- Client funds safeguarding i
- Segregated
- Registered entity i
- Leetchi SAS, RCS Paris 907 495 204
- Refund policy i
- Refunds via original payment method within 10 business days (6% fee); not after 11 months for card
- Payout speed i
- Standard
- Countries i
- 36
- Languages i
- 4
- Trustpilot i
- 4.2 / 5
- Domain Rating i
- 82 / 100
- Transparency i
- 5 / 5
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Our overall editorial assessment. Full weights are published in the methodology.
The review
Leetchi is one of the oldest European crowdfunding platforms, founded in 2009 in Paris. It is best known for its group-pot product (a "cagnotte en ligne"), which lets friends, colleagues, or club members pool money for a gift, an event, or a shared expense, and a separate donation-crowdfunding product aimed at nonprofits and public-cause campaigns.
The platform is owned by Mangopay, itself part of the Crรฉdit Mutuel Arkรฉa banking group, which gives Leetchi access to established European payment infrastructure and regulatory standing. Data residency is in the EEA, which matters for European organizations subject to GDPR.
Leetchi's strongest position is in France and Belgium, where the "cagnotte Leetchi" has become a generic term for online group collection in everyday speech. The platform's English-language presence is functional but less polished than competitors built for international audiences from the ground up.
The two-product structure is both a strength and a weakness: the free group-pot product is excellent for small, social, ad-hoc collections, while the donation-crowdfunding product carries fees more in line with the rest of the market. New users should be careful to choose the right product for their use case, since the fee implications diverge significantly between the two.
Whatโs good, whatโs not.
- โEstablished European brand with strong recognition in France and Belgium
- โFree group-pot product for personal collections (gifts, group events, shared expenses)
- โEEA data residency
- โHigh Trustpilot rating across 50,000+ reviews
- โOwned by Mangopay (Crรฉdit Mutuel Arkรฉa group) with established payment infrastructure
- โTwo-product structure (group-pot vs donation crowdfunding) can confuse first-time users
- โLess optimized for cross-border English-language fundraising than competitors
- โSmaller country coverage outside continental Europe
- โFees on the donation-crowdfunding product are non-trivial
- โWithdrawal and KYC processes can be slower than newer competitors
Where each โฌ100 actually goes.
Fees vary by payment method. We default to Credit card because thatโs the dominant method in Ireland.
| Payment method | Per transaction | Of โฌ100, recipient gets | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Pay ยท Card ยท Google Pay | 2.9% + โฌ0.25 | โฌ96.85 | 6% platform fee |
36 countries ยท 4 languages ยท 3 payment methods.
Better-fit alternatives to Leetchi.
Our curated shortlist โ the platforms weโd actively recommend instead of Leetchi for fundraising in Ireland, with the figures behind the call. For the full, neutral index of every side-by-side, see Compare with below.
WhyDonate lets more of each donation through than Leetchi โ โฌ97.85 reaches the recipient per 100, against โฌ96.85.
iDonate.ie lets more of each donation through than Leetchi โ โฌ97.80 reaches the recipient per 100, against โฌ96.85.
4fund.com lets more of each donation through than Leetchi โ โฌ100.00 reaches the recipient per 100, against โฌ96.85.
See how Leetchi stacks up head-to-head.
Frequently asked questions
What does Leetchi charge?
Leetchi charges a 6% platform fee and 2.9% + โฌ0.25 in payment processing per donation.
Where is Leetchi based?
Leetchi was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in France. Data residency is EEA.
Which countries does Leetchi operate in?
Leetchi operates in 36 countries, including Austria, Belgium, Czechia.
Which payment methods does Leetchi support?
Leetchi accepts Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay.
Is Leetchi suitable for nonprofits?
Yes. Leetchi explicitly targets nonprofit organizations and offers verified-status workflows.
Rankings are produced by a public editorial methodology โ open to peer review. We disclose ownership, scoring weights, and every change.