Crowdpear is a PeerBerry spin-off, which started its lending operations at the beginning of 2023. On the platform, investors have access to senior secured real estate loans with interest rates of up to 14%.
This Crowdpear review reveals the platform’s business model, the investment profile and which risk factors should be taken into account. Is Crowdpear worth your time and money? Let’s find out!
Note that all the information that are covered in this analysis are based on my own research. Please make sure to do your own due diligence before investing on this or any other platform. More information can be found in the Disclaimer.
Further analyses of other platforms can be found on my P2P Platform Review page.
Summary
Before we get started, here is a quick summary with the most important information about Crowdpear.
- Crowdpear is a Lithuania-based P2P platform where investors can invest in senior secured real estate loans, while earning a return of up to 14%. The operational launch of the platform took place in January 2023.
- Crowdpear is a spin-off of PeerBerry, one of the largest and most popular platforms in the P2P lending environment. Crowdpear was founded as a separate platform due to the different business models to be assessed from a regulatory perspective.
- In July 2023, Crowdpear has obtained the European Crowdfunding Licence (ECSP) and can therefore offer its services under uniform framework conditions throughout the EU.
- Crowdpear is considered an above-average platform by P2P investors. In the Community Voting 2024, Crowdpear ranked eleventh out of a total of 30 platforms.
| Founded / Started: | August 2021 / January 2023 |
| Legal Name: | UAB Crowdpear (LINK) |
| Headquarter: | Vilnius, Lithuania |
| Regulated: | Yes (Central Bank of Lithuania and ECSP License) |
| CEO: | Vytautas Olšauskas (August 2021) |
| Community Voting: | 3.14 out of 5 | See Voting |
| Assets Under Management: | EUR 10+ Million (March 2025) |
| Number of Investors: | 7.000+ (March 2025) |
| Expected Return: | Up to 14% |
| Primary Loan Type: | Real Estate Loans |
| Collateral: | Mortgage |
| Bonus: | 1% Cashback | 90 Days |
About Crowdpear
Crowdpear is a Lithuanian-based crowdfunding platform where investors can invest in mortgage-backed real estate loans from Lithuania and earn a return of up to 14%.
The platform has been regulated and supervised by the Central Bank of Lithuania since its inception. In July 2023, the platform also obtained the ECSP licence, which means Crowdpear is regulated in accordance with the new EU Crowdfunding Regulation.
In combination with the legally prescribed separation of investor and company funds, the safety on Crowdpear is much higher than on comparable P2P alternatives.
The Origin Story
Crowdpear is a PeerBerry spin-off. This is proven by the fact that two of the three shareholders are also shareholders at PeerBerry. In Addition, there is also a strong overlap in terms of team members.
The spin-off was founded primarily because PeerBerry and Crowdpear pursue different business models that are assessed differently from a regulatory point of view. Combining the two platforms under one roof would therefore not have been possible.
For the marketplace model practised by PeerBerry, in which short-term consumer loans are offered by external lenders, there is no regulation at EU level yet (PeerBerry had rejected a possible regulation in Latvia). On the other hand, crowdfunding regulation exists for platforms such as Crowdpear, where investments are primarily made in secured real estate loans and business loans.
For this reason, a decision was made to set-up a regulated platform with Crowdpear, which was officially founded in August 2021. The launch in early 2022 was postponed due to the war in Ukraine. In October 2022, the platform accepted first registrations. The first loans were offered at the beginning of 2023.
Ownership and Management
Who are the main shareholders and management executives behind Crowdpear? Let’s have a look!
Crowdpear Ownership
Who owns Crowdpear? The platform is officially operated by the Lithuanian company ‘UAB Crowdpear’. A look at the Lithuanian company register reveals that this company has three main shareholders.
Vytautas Olšauskas (25%) and Ivan Butov (25%) are two shareholders who are also registered as owners at PeerBerry with the same amount of shares.
Vytautas Stražnickas (50%), on the other hand, is a manager for one of the oldest printing companies in Lithuania, where he has been active for 25+ years – Garsu Pasaulis. Vytautas also holds one of the leading positions at the Aventus Group in Poland.
Crowdpear Management
CEO of the Crowdpear platform is the Lithuanian Vytautas Olšauskas. He is also a member of the board at Mano Bank, which he co-founded. This is why his influence on Crowdpear is more of a strategic nature and less in day-to-day operations.
Arūnas Lekavičius, who should be known to many investors for years as PeerBerry CEO (since January 2019), acts as the external representative.
On the Crowdpear website, investors can find more information about the platform’s team members. It is striking that there is a lot of overlap with the PeerBerry team. Among them is Rita Simanavičiūtė, who is responsible for marketing and PR.
Business Model and Finances
Throughout the process of due diligence, investors should also have a look at the business model of a P2P platform as well as the overall financial situation. How does the company earn money? Does the platform operate profitably? And how well is the company positioned financially? In the following paragraphs of this Crowdpear review, you can follow-up on those questions.
Monetization
How does Crowdpear earn money? The platform monetises itself primarily through a brokerage fee, which is charged to borrowers upon successful project financing. This can be between 2% and 5% of the financed loan amount.
Other sources of income include administrative fees, penalty fees or early termination fees. For investors, on the other hand, investing on Crowdpear is free of charge.
A detailed overview of the fees charged can be found in this price list.
Profitability
Is Crowdpear profitable? Since the company has only financed its first projects at the beginning of 2023, the platform is still far from reaching a profitable level. In order to reach the break-even point, the platform – according to its own information – would need to achieve an outstanding portfolio size of around EUR 12 million to cover the current cost structure.
Crowdpear emphasised that the quality of the loan portfolio is more important than the short-term goal of profitability.
So far, Crowdpear has not yet published any annual reports which would help investors to assess the platform’s financial situation.
Sign Up and Bonus
In order to invest on Crowdpear, investors must meet two requirements: A minimum age of 18 years and a residence in the European Union or the European Economic Area.
Overall, the registration process is relatively simple and intuitive. After opening the account via email, the KYC (Know-Your-Customer) and AML (Anti-Money-Laundering) questionnaires must be completed. This is followed by the verification of identity and the declaration of tax domicile.
Also legal entities have the opportunity to register on Crowdpear.
Crowdpear Bonus
If you want to sign up on Crowdpear, you will have a chance to grab an additional investment bonus. To do so, sign up on Crowdpear by using this link. This will enable you to receive a 1% cashback on all investments made in the first 90 days after registration.
Investing on Crowdpear
How does Crowdpear work and what should investors know and consider when investing on the plaform? In the following sections of my Crowdpear review you will find all the necessary information that you need.
Loan Offering
Crowdpear offers investments in secured real estate loans from Lithuania on its platform.
Due to low supply, there is currently no Auto Invest function. Instead, projects have to be selected manually. A second borrower country, Spain, is to be added in the foreseeable future.
The minimum investment amount on Crowdpear is EUR 100.
A special feature of Crowdpear is that interest is calculated from the first day of the investment. On other crowdfunding platforms, the payment is usually made at the end of the loan term.
It is also important to note that Crowdpear acts as an intermediary between borrowers and investors. This means that the loan agreements are concluded with the borrower and not with the platform. In case Crowdpear had to file for insolvency, the claims would still exist.
Costs and Fees
There are no costs or hidden fees for investors on Crowdpear. Both deposits and withdrawals are free, as is investing on the platform itself.
Expected Returns
The expected return on Crowdpear is promoted with up to 14% (previously: 15%). According to the previous loan projects, the average interest rate on the platform has been 11.24%. Compared to other crowdfunding platforms, which can offer a similar level of security, this seems to be a competitive return.
Overall, Crowdpear offers a very competitive return for the underlying risk. Defaults and recoveries have to be taken into account though when looking at the future return.
As far as my personal return on Crowdpear goes, my total return in 2023 has been at 5.89%. The somewhat lower performance was mainly due to the repayment structure of the loans. Looking at 2024, my annual performance stands at 10.52%, which is more likely to correspond to a realistic return expectation.
Secondary Market
On Crowdpear, investors can use the secondary market to sell their loans early and thus increase liquidity. Both a discount and a premium can be set for the respective project.
If the sale is successful, the seller is automatically charged a fee of 2% from the transaction amount. The buyer, on the other hand, is not charged any fees.
Crowdpear Forum
The P2P lending industry is a fast-moving environment. Hence, make sure to stay on top of all relevant information by subscribing to my channels on Telegram or WhatsApp. This way, you will always receive the latest information from the P2P industry, including platform news regarding Crowdpear.
Crowdpear Taxes
Generally, interest income generated through loan financing is considered capital income and thus must be declared as such in the tax return.
As a Lithuania-based P2P platform, Crowdpear is legally obliged to withhold tax – at a rate of 15% – on interest income earned. This is automatically withheld by the platform. Investors can reduce the withholding tax to 10% by filling out a “DAS-1 form” and sending it to the platform.
As there is a double taxation agreement between Lithuania and most European countries, the withholding tax can be offset. This means that it is not paid twice.
Investors can also download a corresponding document for the tax return via the dashboard at the “Statements” section.
Crowdpear Risks
When evaluating a P2P platform, investors should look very carefully at the possible risk factors and weigh them up before making an investment. What do investors need to look at when it comes to Crowdpear? Where are the underlying risks and how can those be assessed?
The platform itself offers an initial overview. In this document, Crowdpear lists a number of possible risks, including default risks or recovery difficulties.
Platform Risk
The operational launch of the platform, which is operated by the Lithuanian ‘UAB Crowdpear’, took place in January 2023. In the domestic market, Crowdpear is controlled and monitored by the Lithuanian central bank. Among other things, this means that investor funds must be properly segregated, which protects investors from misappropriation.
In July 2023, the platform also obtained a licence as a European crowdfunding service provider (ECSP), allowing Crowdpear to offer its services throughout the European Union.
Due to the regulation of the platform, Crowdpear must fulfil a high level of compliance and transparency standards, which increases the safety of the P2P lending platform. However, this does not safeguard against possible losses from loan defaults.
Risk Assessment
The loans offered on Crowdpear are 100% secured by first-rank mortgages. In case of payment difficulties or defaults, the sale should protect the investment. According to its own information, the platform only finances loans at a loan-to-value (LTV) of up to 80%.
To minimise the risk of loan defaults, Crowdpear follows a set of regulatory requirements that dictate how risks associated with loan projects must be assessed. This includes that the platform only works with real estate appraisers officially approved by the regulatory authority in the context of real estate appraisals.
In addition, the property valuations are checked by internal risk managers. For this purpose, Crowdpear obtains a range of data and information from public registers and databases to check the borrower’s history, creditworthiness, or reputation.
Once all the necessary documentation has been gathered and all the data has been verified, Crowdpear’s internal credit committee makes a final decision on the financing of the project.
Is Crowdpear a Safe P2P Plattform?
In general, Crowdpear can be considered as a safe P2P platform.
- Regulation and supervision by the Central Bank of Lithuania
- Obtaining of ECSP licence (EU Crowdfunding Regulation)
- Separation of investor and company funds
- Proven good performance of real estate projects via PeerBerry (0 defaults)
According to my Crowdpear experiences so far, the platform is definitely a reputable company.
Both the shareholders and the team members have big overlaps with the PeerBerry platform, which is arguably one of the most trustworthy platforms in the P2P market. The platform is also subject to strict requirements from the national supervisory authority.
Judging by the platform’s behaviour to date, Crowdpear is clearly not a scam. Irrespective of this though, investors should not underestimate the common risks of the lending business.
Advantages and Disadvantages
In this section, I have listed the most important advantages and disadvantages of Crowdpear.
Advantages
- Regulation: Crowdpear is controlled and monitored by the Central Bank of Lithuania.
- ECSP: Licence holder according to the new EU Crowdfunding Regulation.
- Investor Funds: Legally supervised account segregation of investor and company funds
- Team: Development and support of the team by PeerBerry employees.
- Risk-Reward Profile: The return prospects are very competitive for the risk profile.
- Liquidity: Loans can be sold early via the secondary market.
- Losses: Investors have not yet incurred any losses on the platform.
Disadvantages
- Offer: Manageable range of new loans.
- Auto Invest: No possibility to invest money automatically.
- Diversification: Investors can only invest in Lithuanian loans.
- Taxes: Withholding taxes of 15% or 10% are retained for private investors.
Crowdpear Alternatives
What Crowdpear alternatives can be found in the current P2P environment?
If we look at the business model and the current loan focus of Crowdpear, investors should recognise the biggest interface with the Profitus platform. Other direct competitors in Lithuania include Rontgen, Nordstreet and InRento.
Profitus
Profitus is also a Lithuanian crowdfunding platform that primarily offers property-backed loans in the Lithuanian market. In direct comparison to Crowdpear, Profitus is a bigger and more experienced platform. The increasing internationalisation of Profitus also allows investors to expand their loan portfolio geographically. Further information on the Crowdpear alternative can be found in my Profitus review.
PeerBerry
Crowdpear is a spin-off from PeerBerry. This means that there is a high degree of overlap between the two platforms, which is why additional diversification should be questioned. Is it worth investing on Crowdpear as well as on PeerBerry?
| Crowdpear | PeerBerry | |
|---|---|---|
| Started | January 2023 | November 2017 |
| Headquarter | Vilnius, Lithuania | Zagreb, Croatia |
| Regulated | Yes (Central Bank of Lithuania) | No |
| Primary Loan Type | Real Estate Loans | Consumer Loans |
| Collateral | Mortgage | Buyback Guarantee |
In contrast to PeerBerry, Crowdpear is a regulated P2P platform with a significantly higher level of security. In addition, the primary lending segments are completely different.
Another positive aspect to highlight is the fact that the previous property projects on PeerBerry (38 loans worth EUR 27 million) have shown that the expertise in this loan segment is certainly available (0 defaults after 5 years).
You can find other Crowdpear alternatives on the P2P Platform Comparison page.
Community Feedback
For the first time ever in 2024, Crowdpear took part in my annual P2P Community Voting. In its debut, the Lithuanian property platform achieved a respectable score of 3.14 points, while receiving 91 ratings. In 11th place, Crowdpear outperformed all other newcomers such as Monefit SmartSaver, Fintown and Maclear.
The most popular P2P platforms in 2024 have been Robocash, Profitus, Viainvest, PeerBerry and Esketit. The ratings are based on my P2P Community Voting 2024.
Summary Crowdpear Review 2025
What is the final verdict of my Crowdpear review?
Crowdpear is a young and ambitious P2P platform, which already offers a great framework for long-term success: A regulated environment, loans with competitive interest rates and an experienced team in the background that has a proven track record of successfully managing a mortgage-backed portfolio in the past.
The quality of the loan portfolio is outstanding so far, as there have been hardly any delays and only two defaults (as of September 2024), which are currently being recovered. In this regard, the handling of the first defaults and first recoveries will therefore be interesting to observe.
In terms of loan supply, investors need to be a bit patient due to the small number of loans avialbale.
Anyone who is looking for a regulated P2P platform with property-backed loans should definitely consider Crowdpear as an addition to their P2P portfolio.
FAQ Crowdpear Review
Crowdpear is a Lithuanian-based crowdfunding platform where investors can invest in mortgage-backed real estate loans from Lithuania and earn a return of up to 14%.
Crowdpear has three shareholders, whose shares are divided as follows: Vytautas Stražnickas (50%), Vytautas Olšauskas (25%) and Ivan Butov (25%).
In general, Crowdpear can be considered as a safe P2P platform. The platform is controlled and monitored by the Central Bank of Lithuania, there is a separation of investor and company funds, as well as a proven good performance of real estate projects via PeerBerry (0 defaults).
The expected return on Crowdpear is promoted with up to 14% (previously: 15%). According to the previous loan projects, the average interest rate on the platform has been 11.24%.
If you sign up for Crowdpear using this link, you will receive a 1% cashback on all investments made in the first 90 days after registration.
Hi, ich bin Denny! Seit Januar 2019 schreibe ich auf diesem Blog über meine Erfahrungen beim Investieren in P2P Kredite. Meine Analysen sollen Investoren dabei helfen reflektierte und gut informierte Anlageentscheidungen treffen zu können. Dafür schaue ich mir die Risikoprofile der einzelnen P2P Plattformen an, hinterfrage deren Entwicklungen und teile meine persönlichen Einschätzungen mit meiner Community. Mein Bestseller "Geldanlage P2P Kredite" gilt in Fachkreisen als das beste deutschsprachige Finanzbuch zum gleichnamigen Thema.