Our American neighbours enjoy varying investment opportunities due to the vast spread of technology in their country.
One of the major investment vehicles that so many American investors are proud of is Fundrise. The company uses technology to help ease real estate investment through crowdfunding.
Like fractional shares trading, real estate crowdfunding gives you the opportunity to invest in a property by co-investing with others. By doing so, you will reduce investment risk while accessing high-value properties.
Fundrise makes everything easier with low minimum investment and low fees. As a result, many Canadians are wondering whether Fundrise is also available in Canada. If not, what are Fundrise alternatives in Canada?
In this article, I answer all these questions and more to help you make an informed decision on your real estate crowdfunding in Canada.
Let’s start with a quick overview of what Fundrise entails.
Is Fundrise Available in Canada?
Short answer, no! Fundrise is not available in Canada at the moment. The company has not also disclosed any information on when it will expand to Canada.
Currently, Fundrise is only available to US citizens and residents who have reached the age of 18 or older with a valid Social Security number.
Fortunately, Canadians have several domestic Fundrise alternatives to choose from which we shall explore below.
7 Fundrise Canada Alternatives
Since there’s no Fundrise Canada yet, Canadians have to opt for other options.ย
But with several options to choose from, you may be confused about how to choose the best Fundrise alternative in Canada. That shouldn’t be the case!
Here are the 7 best Fundrise Canada alternatives to consider:
1. Fundscraper
| Eligible investors | Accredited and non-accredited |
| Minimum investment | $5,000 |
| Fees | 0.5-2% trading fees |
Fundscraper is one of the best real estate crowdfunding sites in Canada that has been around since 2017.
As an Exempt Market Dealer, the platform aims to give accredited and non-accredited investors access to institutional-standard solutions and smart wealth-growing tools.
With access across Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, PEI, New Brunswick and Quebec, Fundraiser offers a comprehensive range of real estate investment opportunities such as:
- First Mortgage
- Second Mortgage
- Mortgage investment corporations
- Real estate investment trusts
- Bridge financing
- Private equity
What I Like about Fundscraper
- Accepts both accredited and non-accredited investors
- Multiple investment opportunities
- Competitive trading fees
- Supports registered and non-registered accounts
What I Dislike about Fundscraper
- $5,000 minimum investment could restrict low-income investors
2. addy Invest
| Eligible investors | Accredited and non-accredited |
| Minimum investment | $1 |
| Fees | $0-$50 annual membership fee |
addy Invest is one of my favourite real estate crowdfunding sites in Canada due to its low minimum investment requirement of $1 and low fees.ย
Founded in 2018, the Vancouver-based real estate crowdfunding site makes real estate affordable and more accessible to both accredited and non-accredited investors in Canada.
It has a free plan and a $50-annual membership plan. It doesn’t charge any other fees such as trading fees, share transfer fees or dividend reinvestment fees.ย
In addition, addy Invest has varying investment solutions for individuals with different risk levels and needs. This includes:
- Core investment
- Core Plus investment
- Value-Add investment
- Opportunistic investment
As of the time of updating this article, addy Invest had a total asset value of $701,374,368+.
What I Like about addy Invest
- Accepts both accredited and non-accredited investors
- $1 low minimum investment requirement
- Customized investment accounts
- Low fees
- Impressive past performance
What I Dislike about addy Invest
- Non-accredited investors can only invest a maximum of $10,000 per year.
3. NexusCrowd
| Eligible investors | Accredited |
| Minimum investment | $10,000 |
| Fees | N/A |
NexusCrowd is a registered Exempt Market Dealer that has been providing Canadians affordable crowdfunding solutions since 2015. That was the same year when crowdfunding investment was legalized in the country.
However, the platform is only available to accredited investors residing in Ontario, British Columbia or Alberta.
What distinguishes NexusCrowd from other real crowdfunding sites in Canada is that it has a 50% funding target on all projects. This means that it will not invest until the funding target is reached.
Consequently, you can expect lower risk on NexusCrowd than on other crowdfunding sites with no funding target.
Available opportunities on the platform include equity, mortgage debt and loans. This is a great opportunity to diversify your portfolio with less.
As of the time of writing, the platform had completed 13 deals and raised $9.1 million with a project value of $411 million.
What I Like about NexusCrowd
- Multiple investment opportunities
- Competitive past returns
- Low risk
What I Dislike about NexusCrowd
- $10,000 minimum investment could be higher to low net worth investors
- Only accredited investors can invest through the platform
- Limited provincial/territorial coverage
Note: As of the time of updating this article, NexusCrowd website was down.
4. FrontFundr
| Eligible investors | Accredited and non-accredited |
| Minimum investment | $100 |
| Fees | Variable trading fee |
FrontFundr is one of the oldest real estate crowdfunding sites in Canada that has been in the industry since 2013 (i.e before crowdfunding investment was legalized in the country).
The platform is an Exempt Market Dealer in the following provinces:
- Ontario
- Alberta
- British Columbia
- Nova Scotia
- Manitoba
- New Brunswick
- Saskatchewan
- Quebec
- Yukon
As an equity-based crowdfunding site, FrontFundr has over 40k users, and executed over 150 campaigns, with more than $200 million invested in the platform.
Finally, the platform accepts both accredited and non-accredited investors and requires a $100 minimum investment balance.
What I Like about FrontFundr
- Accepts both accredited and non-accredited investors
- The $100 minimum investment balance is relatively low
- Reputable history
What I Dislike about FrontFundr
- Limited to equity investment
5. Willow (Guiker)
| Eligible investors | Accredited and non-accredited |
| Minimum investment | No limit |
| Fees | 1% property acquisition fee, 2% annual asset management fee, and 5% monthly property management fee, |
Willow, recently acquired by Guiker, s a unique real estate investment site that was newly launched in January 2022.
The platform operates as a PropSharing investment site and prides itself as the first to off er such an opportunity in the country.
Unlike a typical real estate crowdfunding site, Guiker gives you the opportunity to invest in a unit of properties without investment limit.
You can invest in residential, office, retail or industrial income-generating properties via Willow.ย
By investing in a unit of property on the platform, you will access shared legal ownership which includes income and appreciation.
Unlike a standard crowdfunding site, Willow gives you more control of your funds as you can sell your invested units at any time.
What I Like about Guiker
- Accepts both accredited and non-accredited investors
- Diversified investment opportunities
- More funds control
- No investment limit
- Properties are managed by professionals
What I Dislike about Guiker
- The property acquisitions fees, asset and property management fees could add up to consume a significant portion of your investment
6. Vested
| Eligible investors | Accredited and non-accredited |
| Minimum investment | $100 |
| Fees | Variable |
Vested is an equity-based crowdfunding site that specializes in investing in start-up businesses. The platform invests funds across different industries, helping you diversify your investment.ย
The company has been around since 2015 when crowdfunding investment was legalized in Canada.
Both accredited and non-accredited investors are welcome on Vested and you can start investing with as low as $100.
As of the time of updating this article, 102 projects have been executed on the platform with $4,198,865 invested and 11,966 transactions executed.ย
What I Like about Vested
- Accepts both accredited and non-accredited investors
- Diversified investment opportunities
- $100 minimum investment is relatively low
- Reputable history
What I Dislike about Vested
- Limited to equity properties
- $2,500 maximum balance per investor on each project
- Variable fees could be higher on some projects
7. Equivesto
| Eligible investors | Accredited and non-accredited |
| Minimum investment | C$100 |
| Fees | $0 |
Like Vested, Equivesto is also an equity-based crowdfunding platform that was founded in 2017.
The platform operates as a registered Exempt Market Dealer in the all the provinces and territories of Canada.
What sets Equivesto apart is that it has no trading fees, annual fees or management fees. It only charges its partner companies, not investors.
Both accredited and non-accredited investors are also welcome on Equivesto and the minimum investment is C$100.
Currently, Equivesto has over 4,500 members who invested over $65 million through 80+ campaigns (as of the time of updating this article).
Unlike other crowdfunding sites, Equivesto offers users exclusive benefits through its Equivesto Rewards App by completing certain tasks. These benefits include:
- Special discounts from selected partners
- Membership to the EquiBacker Club
- Free entrance to several paid courses, classes and events
What I Like about Equivesto
- Accepts both accredited and non-accredited investors
- Diversified investment opportunities
- $100 minimum investment is relatively low
- Low cost as it doesn’t charge investors any fee
- Eligibility for registered and non-registered accounts
- Reward investors with exclusive benefits
- Available in all the provinces and territories of Canada
What I Dislike about Equivesto
- None
How to Choose the Best Fundrise Alternative in Canada
Are you wondering which Fundrise Canada alternative to choose? It may be confusing to make a choice considering the competitive offers of the above platforms.
However, there’s no need to panic because the structure of each of the above Fundrise Canada alternatives makes it easier to decide the one that’s suitable for you.
What is key in making an informed decision here lies in identifying your needs and situation. After that, you can easily narrow your selection by considering the following factors:
- Investment type (equity, loans, mortgage etc)
- Available projects and stages of development
- Eligibility (province, accredited vs non-accredited investors)
- Fees/pricing
- Minimum investment
- The reputation of the company (considering the year of inception, number of users, number of expected projects, amount invested and project returns)
About Fundrise
Fundrise is a US-based real estate crowdfunding site established in 2012 to make real estate investment accessible and affordable to both accredited and non-accredited investors.
The platform is not only one of the best real estate crowdfunding sites in the US but also one of the world’s best.
As of the time of writing, the company has about 2 million clients and had returned -7.45% to investors in 2023 with $7+ billion in assets under management.
Notably, the company beats the stock market in the first quarter of 2022 by returning 3.49% to investors.
Fundrise combines in-house experts with state-of-the-art technology to maximize your real estate investment with low fees.
Hence, you can start investing via the platform with as low as $10 and pay a low annual advisory fee of 0.15%.
Even more interesting is the fact that the Fundrise Investment process is easier compared to other real estate crowdfunding sites out there.
All you need is to provide Fundrise with your personal information and the company will recommend the perfect investment strategy for you.
However, you can pick your own strategy yourself if you’re okay with Fundrise recommendations.
Once you determine the perfect investment strategy, you can then subscribe to one of Fundrise’s plans highlighted below:
- Supplemental income plan
- Long-term growth plan
- Balanced investing plan
- Venture capital plan
What’s the Catch with Fundrise?
There are many reasons why Fundrise is such a popular real estate crowdfunding site in and outside the US.
However, the top factors that make Fundrise unique include:
- Acceptance of both accredited and non-registered investments
- Customized solutions
- Low minimum investment of $10
- Low investment fees
- No share transfer and dividend reinvestment fees
- Auto-investment in diversified and commercial real estate
- Supports registered and non-registered accounts
- Access to a customized account that allows you to create your investment plan
- Easy access
With these and lots of other unique features, it’s obvious why so many Canadians are asking: is Fundrise available in Canada?”
Bottom Line on Fundrise Canada Review
The bottom line is that Fundrise is not yet available in Canada but that’s not the end of the world.
From the above review, you can see that Canadians have several alternatives to choose from which compete significantly with Fundrise.
But in order to make an informed decision, I suggest you narrow your selection using the above recommendations.
If you still need more clarification in choosing the best Fundrise Canada alternative, kindly let me know in the comment section.
Wishing you all the best in your real estate crowdfunding journey!
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FAQs on Fundrise Canada Alternatives
Can you use Fundrise in Canada?
You can’t use Fundrise to make real estate crowdfunding investment in Canada as Americans would.
Is Fundrise only for Americans?
Yes. Fundrise is currently only available to Americans who are either citizens or residents of the US and aged 18 or older.
Eligible users must also have an American phone number and a valid Social Security number to access Fundrise.
Is Fundrise a good way to make money?
Fundrise is a good way to invest money for individuals looking to invest in the real estate market with limited funds. You can start investing on Fundrise with as little as $10 without worrying about high fees.
Are there fees with Fundrise?
The only fee available on Fundrise is an annual advisory fee of 0.15%. This makes the platform one of the low-cost crowdfunding sites in the world.
How safe is Fundrise?
Fundrise is as safe as other crowdfunding sites out there because it’s regulated by a recognized body, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
While your personal information is safe with advanced encryption on the platform, Fundrise doesn’t provide a guarantee of investment returns like other crowdfunding platforms.
As a result, you should only invest what you can afford to lose on the platform.
Is crowdfunding Legal in Canada?
Yes. Crowdfunding is legal in Canada and it’s regulated by the National CrowdFunding Association (NCFA).
Is crowdfunding taxable in Canada?
Sure! Returns generated from crowdfunding are considered as income. As such, you must report all crowdfunding income when filing your taxes.
If you have more questions about Fundrise Canada, kindly drop them in the comment section below.
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