How to post a CAD bounty and pay the maker directly
A CAD bounty is a public offer of money for a design file you need and cannot make yourself. This guide covers what makes a good bounty, how it moves from posted to paid, and what it costs.
What a CAD bounty is for
Anything a maker can deliver as a file: a STEP model of a bracket, an STL for a replacement knob, a slicer profile for a difficult material, a CNC toolpath, a jig, or a wiring harness drawing.
Where you post
Bounties are posted in the MakeBounty app today: sign in, describe the file you need, set the amount and attach photos taken with a reference object. Each bounty then has its own public page on this site that you can share with people who have the same problem.
Write a bounty a maker can finish
Makers pick bounties they can complete without guessing. Include:
- The outcome, in one sentence: "A STEP file of this bracket that bolts to the original holes."
- Measurements, tolerances and the faces that matter.
- Photos of the part with a reference object in frame.
- The file formats you want back.
- Whether the part is safety-critical. Automotive bounties must say so explicitly.
From posted to paid
- You post the bounty. Posting is free.
- Anyone can pledge toward it, including you. A pledge saves a payment method with Stripe and charges nothing.
- A maker claims the bounty. You cannot claim your own.
- The maker submits a solution with files. Every upload is scanned for malware before anyone can download it.
- You accept the solution. Each pledge is then charged directly to the maker's Stripe account with application_fee_amount set to 0.
- Within 14 days of acceptance, either side can open a dispute, and a charged pledge can be refunded.
What it costs
The platform fee on bounties is 0%. Stripe's own processing fee is the only deduction, and the maker receives the rest. For comparison, Cadcrowd documents a 20% platform fee added to a designer's quote on job contracts (see our Cadcrowd comparison). Full details are on the pricing page.
The platform never holds bounty money. A pledge only saves a payment method with Stripe, and the charge at acceptance goes straight to the solver's Stripe account.
What happens to the solution afterwards
The maker keeps the design and chooses its licence: personal use only, commercial (which also allows print-on-demand resale), or attribution-required remix. The solution can then be sold in the catalogue to the next person with the same problem, and 92% of each sale goes to the maker. See selling your files.
What is live today, and what is not
This is a young marketplace, so here is exactly where it stands. Bounties are posted, pledged to and accepted in the MakeBounty app, backed by the same API this site uses. Each bounty and each solution has a public page here. Catalogue checkout with the published split is built in the API; a purchase control on the public solution page is not live yet. Print-on-demand fulfilment is not live yet either: today you receive design files, not a manufactured part.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I post a CAD bounty?
Bounties are posted in the MakeBounty app today. You describe the file you need, set an amount and attach photos, and the bounty gets its own public page on this site that you can share.
When is my card charged?
Only when you accept a submitted solution. A pledge saves your payment method with Stripe but charges nothing. The charge at acceptance goes directly to the maker's Stripe account with a 0% platform fee.
What file types can a maker deliver?
STL, STEP, 3MF, OBJ, IGES, DXF, SVG, PDF, G-code and ZIP archives of those. Executables are refused. G-code is accepted but flagged as higher risk because it is machine instructions.
What if nobody solves my bounty?
You can cancel an unfulfilled bounty. Every open pledge is released and its saved payment method is detached, so nothing is charged.
Do I own the design once I pay?
Not by default. The maker keeps the design and chooses its licence. If you need to own a design outright, agree that with the maker before you accept, or use a work-for-hire service.
Sources
- Cadcrowd service fees (accessed 2026-09-16)
Fees are published in full on the pricing page. Operated by Heron Networks LLC.