The best Teachable alternative
Love teaching but tired of the monthly bill? Buy Me a Coffee lets you earn from tips, memberships, and digital products. Free to start, just 5% when you earn. No course required.
Create your page - it's free
Why creators switch to
Buy Me a Coffee
Teachable is built for structured course businesses, and it charges like one. Buy Me a Coffee is free to start, just 5% when you earn. Tips, memberships, a shop, and digital products, no course required.
| Features | Buy Me a Coffee |  | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creator Tools & Monetization | ||||
One-time tips / donations | Yes, supporters can give freely without committing. | No tip option. Everything has to be a paid course, coaching, or download. | One-time tips / donations Yes, supporters can give freely without committing. No tip option. Everything has to be a paid course, coaching, or download. | |
Membership tiers | Yes, optional, flexible, and creator-driven. Free to setup and no pressure. | Recurring options exist on higher plans, but they're built around course access, not supporter memberships. | Membership tiers Yes, optional, flexible, and creator-driven. Free to setup and no pressure. Recurring options exist on higher plans, but they're built around course access, not supporter memberships. | |
Shop (digital & services) | Yes, sell anything - digital, physical, art, and sessions. | Yes, but products are capped by plan (as few as 1) until you pass $10k/year, and it's built for courses. | Shop (digital & services) Yes, sell anything - digital, physical, art, and sessions. Yes, but products are capped by plan (as few as 1) until you pass $10k/year, and it's built for courses. | |
Gallery / Portfolio | Yes, clean, simple showcase for images you want to share. | No. It's a course school, not a simple creator page. | Gallery / Portfolio Yes, clean, simple showcase for images you want to share. No. It's a course school, not a simple creator page. | |
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 | $29-$39/month and a 7.5% fee on the Starter plan. The 0% fee only starts on plans from $69-$89/month. | Platform fees Flat 5% fee + payment processing. For every $1000 in support, you keep ~$950 $29-$39/month and a 7.5% fee on the Starter plan. The 0% fee only starts on plans from $69-$89/month. | |
Free to start | Yes. Full features on a free account. You pay only when money comes in. | No free plan. A 7-day trial, then you pay monthly to keep selling. | Free to start Yes. Full features on a free account. You pay only when money comes in. No free plan. A 7-day trial, then you pay monthly to keep selling. | |
Ongoing earnings | Always on. Earn any day, any time. | You pay the monthly fee whether you sell or not, plus 7.5% on the entry plan. | Ongoing earnings Always on. Earn any day, any time. You pay the monthly fee whether you sell or not, plus 7.5% on the entry plan. | |
Transparency | We are small enough to care and big enough to help. | Product caps, student caps, international card surcharges, and gateway fees stack on top of the headline price. | Transparency We are small enough to care and big enough to help. Product caps, student caps, international card surcharges, and gateway fees stack on top of the headline price. | |
| Freedom & Control | ||||
Buyer account required | 1-tap support, no mandatory account creation. | Students create an account and enroll before they can access anything. | Buyer account required 1-tap support, no mandatory account creation. Students create an account and enroll before they can access anything. | |
Payouts | Instant payouts via Stripe whenever you want. | Payouts via Teachable:pay, but you're paying the monthly subscription no matter your cashflow. | Payouts Instant payouts via Stripe whenever you want. Payouts via Teachable:pay, but you're paying the monthly subscription no matter your cashflow. | |
Email newsletter | Email supporters directly, no subscriber cap and no extra fee. | Email tools exist, but they're tied to your plan and built around enrolled students. | Email newsletter Email supporters directly, no subscriber cap and no extra fee. Email tools exist, but they're tied to your plan and built around enrolled students. | |
| Experience & Trust | ||||
Setup time | Under 5 minutes. Pick a URL, add a bio, connect Stripe, share your link. | Much longer. You build a course, modules, and a school before you can sell. | Setup time Under 5 minutes. Pick a URL, add a bio, connect Stripe, share your link. Much longer. You build a course, modules, and a school before you can sell. | |
Mobile app | Clean iOS and Android apps to manage your page, earnings, and supporters. | Has native student apps, a real plus for course takers, plus creator access. | Mobile app Clean iOS and Android apps to manage your page, earnings, and supporters. Has native student apps, a real plus for course takers, plus creator access. | |
Learning curve | Zero. If you can use email, you can use Buy Me a Coffee. | Steeper. It's a full course-creation suite with a lot to learn. | Learning curve Zero. If you can use email, you can use Buy Me a Coffee. Steeper. It's a full course-creation suite with a lot to learn. | |
Best for | Creators who want tips, memberships, and a shop with a low flat fee. | Educators building structured, multi-module course businesses who don't mind a monthly bill. | Best for Creators who want tips, memberships, and a shop with a low flat fee. Educators building structured, multi-module course businesses who don't mind a monthly bill. | |
Don't leave your money
on the table anymore
Teachable is built around courses. Buy Me a Coffee gives you three simpler ways to earn, no curriculum, no modules, no monthly bill.
Donations
Not everyone wants a subscription. Some people just want to say thanks. Anyone can tip you in two taps. No account needed, no friction.
Membership
For your most loyal fans, offer something extra. Exclusive posts, early access, or behind-the-scenes. No posting schedules, no pressure.
Shop
Already have a course? Sell it here. Upload it as a PDF guide or digital download and sell it directly from your shop. No course platform needed.
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
Teachable is built for course businesses. If that's not you, you're paying a monthly fee for a platform that wasn't really designed for you. Here's what creators tell us makes the biggest difference.
Free until you earn
Teachable starts at $39 a month before you've made a single sale and still charges 7.5% on top of that on the entry plan. Buy Me a Coffee is free to start, just 5% when you earn. Nothing before that.
No course required to earn
Teachable is built around courses, modules, curriculums, quizzes and monetizes through course sales only. Buy Me a Coffee doesn't. Tips, memberships, digital products. Earn from day one, no curriculum needed.
Up and running in minutes
Teachable takes days to set up. Courses to build, pricing to configure, a school to design. Buy Me a Coffee takes minutes. Create your page, share your link, and start earning right away. Everything just works.
Wherever you are,
we'll meet you there
Whether you're starting fresh or moving from Teachable, Buy Me a Coffee makes it effortless to get up and running.
Start from scratch
Create your page, personalize your link, share it everywhere, and start earning right away. Tips, memberships, a shop - all set up in minutes. No complicated setup. No learning curve. Everything just works.
Try alongside Teachable
Not ready to leave Teachable yet? No problem. Add your BMC link and give your students more ways to support you. Tips, memberships, or anything in between. When you're ready, switch fully.