The best Kickstarter alternative
Your Kickstarter campaign has an end date. Your creativity doesn't. Keep earning from the audience you built - with one time support, memberships, and digital products, forever.
Create your page - it's free
Why creators switch to Buy Me a Coffee
Kickstarter is built for product launches, not creators. We're built for you - the writer, artist, podcaster, developer - who wants sustainable, recurring income without running a campaign every time.
| Features | Buy Me a Coffee | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creator Tools & Monetization | ||||
One-time tips / donations | Yes, supporters can give freely without committing. | Only during an active campaign window. | One-time tips / donations Yes, supporters can give freely without committing. Only during an active campaign window. | |
Membership tiers | Yes, optional, flexible, and creator-driven - no pressure. | Not available. Kickstarter ends at delivery. | Membership tiers Yes, optional, flexible, and creator-driven - no pressure. Not available. Kickstarter ends at delivery. | |
Shop (digital & services) | Yes, sell anything - digital, physical, art, and sessions. | Not available after campaign ends. | Shop (digital & services) Yes, sell anything - digital, physical, art, and sessions. Not available after campaign ends. | |
Gallery / Portfolio | Yes, clean, simple showcase for images you want to share. | Project page only. No ongoing portfolio. | Gallery / Portfolio Yes, clean, simple showcase for images you want to share. Project page only. No ongoing portfolio. | |
Stream alerts (Twitch / YouTube) | Yes, native alerts so you earn while you stream. | Not supported. | Stream alerts (Twitch / YouTube) Yes, native alerts so you earn while you stream. Not supported. | |
| Pricing & Support | ||||
Platform fees | Flat 5% fee + payment processing. For every $1000 in support, you keep ~$950 | 8–10% total fees when funded. For every $1000, you keep $900–$920 | Platform fees Flat 5% fee + payment processing. For every $1000 in support, you keep ~$950 8–10% total fees when funded. For every $1000, you keep $900–$920 | |
Ongoing earnings | Always on. Earn any day, any time. | Campaign only. Earnings stop the moment it closes. | Ongoing earnings Always on. Earn any day, any time. Campaign only. Earnings stop the moment it closes. | |
Transparency | We are small enough to care and big enough to help. | All-or-nothing model. Miss your goal and you walk away with nothing. | Transparency We are small enough to care and big enough to help. All-or-nothing model. Miss your goal and you walk away with nothing. | |
| Freedom & Control | ||||
No funding goal needed | Start earning with zero pressure. No target, no deadline. | Must set a funding goal. Miss it and you walk away with nothing. | No funding goal needed Start earning with zero pressure. No target, no deadline. Must set a funding goal. Miss it and you walk away with nothing. | |
Creator commitment | Post when you want. No publishing pressure, no guilt. | Campaigns require regular updates to keep backers engaged or risk losing trust. | Creator commitment Post when you want. No publishing pressure, no guilt. Campaigns require regular updates to keep backers engaged or risk losing trust. | |
Cancellations & account control | No surprise restrictions. Everything is human-reviewed. | Automated moderation may lead to sudden project removals. | Cancellations & account control No surprise restrictions. Everything is human-reviewed. Automated moderation may lead to sudden project removals. | |
| Experience & Trust | ||||
Speed & performance | Fast, lightweight, modern. | Creators often complain about lag and clutter. | Speed & performance Fast, lightweight, modern. Creators often complain about lag and clutter. | |
Design & navigation | Clean one-page dashboard, intentionally designed. | Complex campaign manager with steep learning curve. | Design & navigation Clean one-page dashboard, intentionally designed. Complex campaign manager with steep learning curve. | |
Learning curve | Zero. If you can use email, you can use Buy Me a Coffee. | Campaign setup takes days — rewards, goals, video, FAQs. | Learning curve Zero. If you can use email, you can use Buy Me a Coffee. Campaign setup takes days — rewards, goals, video, FAQs. | |
Best for | Creators who want ongoing income, freedom, and a direct line to their audience. No deadlines, no pressure. | Creators launching a specific project who need a one-time funding push with a clear goal and deadline. | Best for Creators who want ongoing income, freedom, and a direct line to their audience. No deadlines, no pressure. Creators launching a specific project who need a one-time funding push with a clear goal and deadline. | |
There's more to earn after the campaign
Sometimes simple works better - like Buy Me a Coffee. One-time tips, recurring memberships, or a shop for your products - set it all up in a single, beautiful page.
Donations
Your supporters do not need to create a mandatory account to tip you. No signup walls. No verification emails. No friction.
Membership
Create predictable, regular income by offering membership levels to your supporters. Give rewards your way, without anyone policing how or when.
Shop
The easiest way to sell anything on internet - your services, digital products, or even physical goodies. Free and unlimited listing.
Join over 1 million creators worldwide
From artists to podcasters, writers to gamers – creators of all kinds are finding their home and growth on Buy Me a Coffee.
Made for creators by creators
We've built Buy Me a Coffee to make your creative life easier - not busier. Here are a few things creators say make the biggest difference.
Low, transparent fees
Keep 95% of your earnings. A flat 5% platform fee means no surprises, no paywalls, and no upgrades required to unlock your potential.
Total creative freedom
No campaign windows. No end dates. Share what you want, when you want. You control your page, your audience, and your income.
Stay connected after the campaign
Keep the people who believed in you from day one close — with updates, memberships, and a direct line that doesn't close when the campaign does.
Wherever you are,
we'll meet you there
Whether you're starting fresh, moving from Kickstarter, or choosing to keep both platforms, Buy Me a Coffee makes it effortless to get up and running.
Start from scratch
Start in minutes, not hours. Set up your page, personalize your link, share it everywhere, and start receiving support right away.
No fees, no learning curve, no friction. Everything just works.
Try alongside Kickstarter
You can run both pages at once. Drop your BMC link in your Kickstarter updates for one-time tips, memberships, or digital sales. When you're ready, switch fully.
Create your page - it's free
FAQ
Who uses Buy Me a Coffee?
How do I get paid?
You get paid instantly to your local bank account. There's a one-time process of connecting your Stripe account. Creating a Stripe account is free, and we're a verified Stripe partner.
If you are not from a Stripe-supported country, you can choose Standard Payout which is available in 150+ countries. With Standard Payout, we payout every Wednesday via bank deposit.
How can my audience pay?
Is there a fee to use Buy Me a Coffee?
We do not charge a monthly fee. All features including publishing and emails are free for everyone.
We charge a 5% transaction fee, and creators keep 95% of the earnings. We make money only when you do. We'll never show ads and we'll never sell your data.
Is Buy Me a Coffee safe and reliable?
We take security seriously. Here are some measures we've taken to protect your and your supporter's data.
- We don't store credit card data on our servers. Payment processing is handled by Stripe (PCI Compliance Level 1) and Wise.
- We run on the robust Amazon infrastructure. Cloudflare adds an additional layer of security. We also take periodic backups and force SSL encryption across the platform.
- We have a bug bounty program to encourage responsible reporting of any security issues, and we're quick to take action.
Do I have complete ownership of my supporters?
How is this different from other platforms for creators?
With Buy Me a Coffee, you get everything you need to run your creative business. You don't have to worry about paying for and stitching together a dozen services, from sending emails to charging for subscriptions.
Besides, your Buy Me a Coffee page is arguably the most delightful experience you can offer your audience. From the one-tap payment (look ma, no sign-ups required!) to the delightful little touches for your supporters, we've obsessed over every bit of detail.