Verkami Review 2026

What it is

Verkami is a Spanish reward crowdfunding site for creative and cultural projects: books, comics, board games, music, film, design and similar. It was founded in 2010 in Mataró, near Barcelona, by Joan Sala and his sons Adrià and Jonàs, who still run it. When you back a project you pre-buy a reward, such as a copy of the book, a record or the game. You get no interest, no share of profits and no money back.

How it works

Every campaign runs for up to 40 days and is all-or-nothing. You are charged when you pledge. If the project reaches its target, Verkami passes the money to the creator after the campaign ends. If it misses, every pledge is refunded automatically to the payment method you used, and nobody is charged anything. You can change or cancel your pledge while the campaign is running. Pledges start at €1, and you can also give any amount without a reward. After a successful campaign a creator can keep selling rewards through a pre-sale shop.

Who can raise money

Creators of cultural and creative projects that fit Verkami's line. Every project is reviewed by Verkami's team before it goes live, with a decision within three working days. The creator sends a budget, a timetable, their experience and the reward tiers. The review checks fit and campaign quality; it does not check whether the creator can actually make and ship the rewards. Campaigns are mostly in Spanish or Catalan, and rewards are mostly shipped from Spain.

Fees

Backers pay Verkami nothing; shipping may be charged by the creator. Creators pay only if the campaign succeeds (fees page updated 9 April 2025):

• 5% service fee plus 1.5% for card, Bizum and Google Pay payments: 6.5% in total, plus 21% Spanish VAT;
• projects raising under €1,000 pay a flat €65 plus VAT instead.

Pre-sales after the campaign cost the same 6.5% plus VAT, with a €35 minimum below €500.

What reaches the project

With 6.5% plus 21% VAT, the fee comes to about 7.9% of the amount raised. So about €92 of every €100 pledged reaches a creator who meets the target. For a small project raising exactly €1,000, the flat fee is €78.65 with VAT, so €921.35 reaches the creator.

Track record

Verkami's own page showed, on 30 October 2026, 13,772 funded projects, €70.9 million raised and 1.9 million backers since 2010, with a 75% success rate. The success rate counts campaigns that reached their target. It is high partly because weak projects are filtered out before launch, and it says nothing about whether rewards were delivered. Verkami publishes no figures on late or undelivered rewards.

Status and regulation

Operating normally as of 30 October 2026. The operating company is Verkami SCP, a Spanish civil partnership (tax number J65315566) that files no public accounts. It holds no investment licence and needs none, because reward crowdfunding is outside the EU crowdfunding rules. Card, Bizum and Google Pay payments go through BBVA's payment gateway. During the campaign the money is held in a current account in Verkami's name, not in a separate protected client account, and no compensation scheme covers backers.

Our view

We do not rate Verkami for return or risk. Backing a project here is buying a reward in advance, not investing: there is no interest and no repayment. For a backer, the all-or-nothing rule works well if a campaign fails, because the refund is automatic. The real risk comes after a successful campaign: if the creator does not deliver, Verkami does not refund you; it only offers to mediate, and the creator alone is responsible for the reward.