The best Patreon alternative
Buy Me a Coffee is the easy, fun way to accept one-time support, offer membership, or sell your products - at only a 5% fee vs Patreon’s 12%.
Create your page - it’s free
Why creators switch to Buy Me a Coffee
Much lower fees, total creative freedom (no rules on how often you should publish), and a beautiful single-page dashboard (not a puzzling maze with 10+ clicks for everything) are just a few reasons creators switch.
| Features | Buy Me a Coffee | Patreon | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Platform fees | Flat 5% fee + payment processing. For every $1000 in support, you keep ~$950 | 10% to 12% and sometimes more. For every $1000, you get $800 - $850 | Platform fees Flat 5% fee + payment processing. For every $1000 in support, you keep ~$950 10% to 12% and sometimes more. For every $1000, you get $800 - $850 | |
Support response time | Chat/email replies < 24 hours. | You're a ticket number. | Support response time Chat/email replies < 24 hours. You're a ticket number. | |
Transparency | Always. We are small enough to care and big enough to help. | Opaque rules and corporate-tiers. | Transparency Always. We are small enough to care and big enough to help. Opaque rules and corporate-tiers. | |
| Freedom & control | ||||
Supporter account | 1-tap support without any mandatory account creation. | More steps, more friction, more drop-offs. | Supporter account 1-tap support without any mandatory account creation. More steps, more friction, more drop-offs. | |
Creator commitment | Post when you want. No publishing pressure, no guilt. | Creators feel pushed to create just to retain members. | Creator commitment Post when you want. No publishing pressure, no guilt. Creators feel pushed to create just to retain members. | |
Cancellations & account control | No surprise restrictions. Everything is human-reviewed. | Automated moderation may lead to sudden bans. | Cancellations & account control No surprise restrictions. Everything is human-reviewed. Automated moderation may lead to sudden bans. | |
| Tools & Monetisation | ||||
One-time tips / donations | Yes, supporters can give freely without committing. | No. It's only memberships or nothing. | One-time tips / donations Yes, supporters can give freely without committing. No. It's only memberships or nothing. | |
Membership tiers | Yes, optional, flexible, and creator-driven - no pressure. | Mandatory for monetization. | Membership tiers Yes, optional, flexible, and creator-driven - no pressure. Mandatory for monetization. | |
Shop (digital & services) | Yes, sell anything - digital, physical, art, and sessions. | Digital only, limited options. | Shop (digital & services) Yes, sell anything - digital, physical, art, and sessions. Digital only, limited options. | |
Gallery / Portfolio | Yes, clean, simple showcase for images you want to share. | No dedicated gallery - not browsable. | Gallery / Portfolio Yes, clean, simple showcase for images you want to share. No dedicated gallery - not browsable. | |
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. | |
| 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. | Overloaded menus - 10+ clicks to find what you need. | Design & navigation Clean one-page dashboard, intentionally designed. Overloaded menus - 10+ clicks to find what you need. | |
Learning curve | Zero. If you can use email, you can use Buy Me a Coffee. | Bloated and complex - takes forever to get familiar. | Learning curve Zero. If you can use email, you can use Buy Me a Coffee. Bloated and complex - takes forever to get familiar. | |
Platform stability | Stable, predictable, creator-friendly. A team that listens. | Features move, break, or disappear without warning. | Platform stability Stable, predictable, creator-friendly. A team that listens. Features move, break, or disappear without warning. | |
Made for | Creators who want freedom - for you and your supporters. No quotas, no forced tiers, fun to use, human moderators, and support that cares. | Creators who build their business around membership-driven revenue with recurring content commitments. | Made for Creators who want freedom - for you and your supporters. No quotas, no forced tiers, fun to use, human moderators, and support that cares. Creators who build their business around membership-driven revenue with recurring content commitments. | |
Don’t leave your money on the table anymore
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
Supporters can send you one-time tips instantly. No mandatory accounts, no bounces.
Membership
Earn predictable income by offering memberships. No one to police how and when to create.
Shop
The easiest way to sell online - your services, digital products, or physical goodies.
Join over 2 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 posting schedules. No tier pressure. Share what you want, when you want. You control your page, your audience, and your income.
Stream alerts that just work
Get real-time alerts for Twitch, YouTube, or OBS every time someone supports you - so you can thank fans live and make every moment count.
Wherever you are,
we’ll meet you there
Whether you’re starting fresh, moving from Patreon, 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.
Everything just works.
Switch smoothly
Moving from Patreon to Buy Me a Coffee is as easy as 1-2-3. Create your membership page, drop in your content, and guide your patrons to follow you over.
Try alongside Patreon
Or, you can enjoy the best of both. Use BMC for one-time tips or digital sales, while keeping memberships where they are. When you’re ready, switch fully.