Are you in search of the best crowdfunding and membership platforms like Patreon? Check out our roundup of the top Patreon alternatives.
Patreon is a wildly popular membership platform that gives an efficient way for content creators to solicit donations from their followers and subscribers for exclusive content.
However, issues with censorship and rising fees have prompted some users to seek alternatives. The good news is that there are lot of great options there.
In this article we’ll look at comparing the best Patreon alternatives on the market currently. We’ll look at their main attributes, and discuss how the two differ from Patreon and much more.
Ready? Let’s get started!
The most effective Patreon alternatives Summary
TL;DR
Podia – Best Patreon alternative overall. Create subscriptions, sell subscriptions, and create paid communities, and also sell other digital products. There are no fees for paid plans. And a limited free plan is also available.
Sellfy – A popular ecommerce platform that allows users to sell subscriptions, physical products prints-on demand products, as well as other digital goods. It is incredibly simple to use.
Purchase Me A Coffee – A simple Patreon alternative that you can start using right away. Lets you receive donations and also sell digital items. Instant payouts via Stripe. 5% fee + free to use with no additional features hidden behind paid plans.
1 1. Podia
Podia is our most choice for Patreon alternative. Unlike Patreon, Podia is an all-in-one platform you can create your own website, build communities for paid patrons, and even offer subscriptions and other digital items, and all without fees for transactions!
One of the biggest issues of the use of Patreon has to do with creating your community on a different platform. This is not only not good for branding, it also means that you’re in limited control and no true ownership over the source of your income. Also, you’re also subject to payment fees from Patreon.
That’s the reason why Podia is a superior alternative. With Podia it is possible to build your community and sell memberships on the website you own.
Similar to Patreon like Patreon, you can use Podia to create gated members-only content. You can then offer subscriptions for paid members to fans who want to support your work as creators.
The difference is that you’ll have total control over everything , and you can set up your membership website exactly what you’d like. You can set your own plans tiers that offer different rewards and design as many paid or free plans as you want.
Because you are the sole owner of your community and membership platform You can retain 100% of your revenue. As long as you choose to sign up for an annual subscription, there are no transaction costs to worry about.
You can interact with your users directly using the community feature using multimedia discussions. Members can post any posts, photos, text videos, text, etc.
Apart from memberships, you may also sell other digital items through Podia including online courses, digital downloads, etc.
Key features
Sell memberships and other electronic products
Create paid communities
Create your own creator site
Complete control and control over ownership
Integration with Google Analytics
No transaction costs
Pricing
Paid podia subscriptions with no transaction charges start at $33/month. There is also a free plan that has fee for transactions of 8.
2 – Sellfy
Sellfy is a straightforward, easy-to-use ecommerce platform built for creators. It’s a great alternative for creators who wish to raise funds and build their communities through their own site instead of an external platform.
You can create a stunning storefront with Sellfy in just five minutes. Then, you can customize the design to match the brand you want to promote and link to your domain.
Then, you can create digital subscriptions and offer your fans access to exclusive content as well as other goodies in exchange for monthly, weekly or even yearly payment.
Apart from subscriptions, you are also able to sell many other product types on Sellfy that include physical and digital goods including video streaming, prints-on-demand.
The print-on-demand feature is particularly advantageous for creators because it allows you to sell your own customized merchandising to your customers. All you need do is add the designs to items in Sellfy’s fulfillment catalog, and then add the items in your shop.
You don’t have to purchase any inventory upfront. Once a customer makes a purchase, Sellfy will print the order and hand it over to the purchaser for you at which point they be able to charge you for product base cost & fulfillment. Your profit margin is yours to decide. margins.
Key features
Sell subscriptions
Print-on-demand fulfillment
Sell all kinds of items
Video streaming
Store builder
Pricing
Paid plans that let you sell subscriptions, unlimited products and subscriptions begin at $22 per month.
3. Buy Me A Coffee
Purchase Me A Coffee is the best alternative for creators that are looking for a simple method of collecting donations. It’s extremely easy to use and , unlike Patreon that you are able to utilize it to accept monthly donations and one-off donations from your followers.
The idea behind Buy Me a Coffee is gloriously simple. Create an individual page on an under-domain (e.g. buymeacoffee.com/yourname), and your audience can visit it and buy you a coffee (make a donation) to say thanks for creating great content in a couple of clicks.
When they give a gift you can send them an email, which you can reply to to thank them for their support. Unlike Patreon users, you do not have to sign up for an account in order to purchase coffee. They can simply choose how many coffees to buy you (how much they’d like to contribute) and then pay with a single click.
Of course, if want to offer something in return, you can do that too. Like Patreon, you can create membership options and also share exclusive content with your supporters. You can also make use of the extras feature to sell digital items, like ebooks, Discord access and Zoom calls with you, etc.
The majority of payment methods are accepted that accept credit card, debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, etc. And when someone donates the money to you, you’ll be paid right in a matter of minutes. No waiting period of 30 days!
Buy Me Coffee Coffee is free to use but charges an 5% fee for platform use out of your donations; you will keep 95% your profits. This is on par with PayPal’s Lite plan, however it is less expensive than its Premium and Pro plans.
Fun fact The fact that you can The fact that you can buy Me a Coffee is the platform we use to receive donations. Our Creator page by clicking here. If you are a fan of the content we create in Blogging Wizard and are looking to buy us a coffee Your support is always appreciated!
Key features
One-time payments that are supported
Sell memberships and digital products
There is no account requirement to make a donation.
It is very simple to start
Affordable transaction fees of 5%
Pricing
It’s completely free to sign up for Buy Me a Coffee, however, a 5% fee will be deducted of your contributions.
4 – Ko-fi
Ko-fi is a crowdfunding platform, which is similar as Buy Me A Coffee. You can use it as simple tip jars or as a membership platform. They do not charge a fee for sales or donations, but they do make a charge to use premium services that Buy Me A Coffee customers can avail for no cost.
Like Patreon like Patreon, you can also make use of Ko-fi to receive donations and memberships from your followers. You can set up a Kofi creator page for free in less than one minute. You can then set a fundraising target and invite your fans to help you reach it. You can also offer incentives such as exclusive content for supporters and membership perks to incentivize users to make donations.
It integrates nicely It is compatible with Discord, WordPress, and Zapier Then, you are able to receive donations notifications as you stream.
The interface is similar to Buy Me a Coffee. But what makes Ko-fi different is that it’s one the few platforms that are totally free. There are no signup fees and they don’t get a slice of your profits for this plan.
The problem is the plan that’s free does not provide premium features such as memberships or the possibility to sell digital downloads and physical products through your online store.
Key characteristics
There are no transaction fees for users that are free
Memberships
Sell products
Crowdfunding goals
Donation alerts
Pricing
You can use Kofi as an initial tip jar free. However, if you want to unlock premium features, you’ll need to upgrade the Gold plan, starting from $6/month , or a 5% transaction fee. Gold plan members get 7.2x more than the average.
5 – Kickstarter
Kickstarter is probably the most well-known crowdfunding platform in the world. It’s a good alternative to Patreon if you’re trying to raise money for a single artistic endeavors, however it’s not a membership-based platform as such, making it unsuitable for collecting regular donations.
Kickstarter works in a different way than Patreon. It’s intended for creators who need to raise funds to fund a one-time project.
If you decide to launch your campaign, you define the project you want to fund, set the goal of funding as well as a timeline for when it will be completed (e.g. within 60 days).
If your patrons like the idea of your project, they can contribute money to bring it to fruition. Your backers will be charged only after your project has succeeded in reaching its funding goal. However, if you don’t reach your funding goal within the specified time, your backers won’t be charged and you won’t be able to keep any donations. It’s all-or-nothing.
Another way Kickstarter is different from Patreon in that it vets crowdfunders thoroughly, which means everyone can join. But if your project is accepted and is successful you can get huge amounts of money.
Kickstarter charges 5% platform fees, which is on par with Patreon’s introductory plan, however more affordable than plans that are higher in tier.
Key features
Ideal for funding one-time creative projects.
Huge user base
Funding goals
All-or-nothing model
Pricing
It’s completely free to start an initiative on Kickstarter however, there is a 5% commission taken out of the total amount collected, in addition to PayPal or Stripe payment processing charges.
6 – Hypage
Hypage is a mix of an application for linking into bios and a membership platform. Hypage is a great alternative for social media influencers particularly Instagram. You can use it to create content for your community that is gated or set up subscriptions that are recurring, and then sell to your audience directly through your link-in bio page.
Instagram will only allow creators to promote one link within their account description. This is the reason why many Instagram creators make use of link-in-bio tools to build landing pages that house all affiliate and promotional links. That’s precisely what Hypage is.
However, unlike other link-in-bio applications, Hypage also lets you take donations and requests directly through your custom landing page. It is also possible to use it to market recurring memberships and other products, or share members-only content through your page.
It’s a dual-purpose solution that replaces both link-in bio tools like Linktree or membership services like Patreon together in a tidy package.
The greatest thing? Zero transaction fees on paid plans!
Key characteristics
Create a link-in-bio landing page
Connect your domain
Collect donations
Offer premium gated content
Sell digital products & memberships
Pricing
Start with a no-cost plan. Paid plans that include high-end features and transactions fees are available starting at just $19/month.
7 – OnlyFans
OnlyFans is the most suitable alternative for adult content creators. It’s a subscription-based social network where fans can support their most loved creators by purchasing a subscription that gives users access to premium content.
What makes OnlyFans different from Patreon is its liberal content policies, which allow creators to offer content that doesn’t meet the guidelines of Patreon’s community. This includes adult-only content.
So, OnlyFans has become very popular for adult content creators and the top performers on the platform make millions of dollars every month.
Key features
Serves as a social network
Creators can interact with fans
Liberal content policies
Ideal for adult content creators
Large user base (high awareness)
Pricing
It’s completely free to sign up for OnlyFans but the platform earns 20 percent of the subscription revenue.
8 Mighty Networks
Mighty Networks is a powerful community platform that lets you sell online community access, as well as content like online courses and livestreams.
Contrary to Patreon, Mighty Network lets you create a community of paid subscribers on your own platform , with the complete control of your ownership and control. It’s used by some the most popular YouTubers, such as Drew Binsky, Adriene Mishler and more.
Mighty Networks also offers some sophisticated community-oriented features that do not get from other websites. For instance, the unique Mighty Effect(tm) technology allows you to personalize your members’ experiences by supplying their feed with the most relevant content group members and products, for example.
Key features
Mighty Effect personalization technology
Welcome & Discovery sections for new members
Moderators and Unlimited Members on all plans
You have complete control over your community
Native course builder
Rich member profiles
Livestreaming and native uploads of videos
Analytics integrated
Pricing
Plans start at $33/month with no additional transaction fees. A free trial is available.
The pros and pros of Patreon
Let’s examine the reasons Patreon isn’t always the best choice for every artist. Like every platform they have their share of pros and cons. These are the major ones you should know about.
Pros
Simple monetization for creators. If you’re a seasoned influencer or creator with many avid followers, Patreon offers an easy option to earn money from your followers through crowdfunding campaigns.
No upfront costs. In contrast to other platforms, Patreon does not charge a monthly fee, so you can create your own page without cost. Patreon takes their cut out of your monthly revenue in the backend.
Recurring revenue model. Patreon is a subscription model. Patrons are required to make monthly payments, so you can have a reliable monthly income and not have depend on one-time donations.
Tools for communication. With Patreon, you can build your own community that is only for members and interact personally with customers through the platform. You can also grant them the ability to access exclusive content, and much other benefits.
Flexible options for membership and funding goals. With Patreon, you can establish several levels of membership with different benefits based on the amount your patrons contribute.
Diverse creator base. Patreon is suitable for a variety of kinds of creators like YouTubers, streamers, musicians artist, podcasters and writers.
Join your WordPress site. Patreon is an WordPress plugin that can be installed on your site to profit from earning Patreons.
Cons
No built-in marketing tools. If you don’t have an audience or a community that you can monetize, it may be hard to build one through Patreon. It’s not a great option in terms of tools for promotion and projects have low discoverability.
Censorship. Patreon ran into some controversy several years ago after it shut down accounts it believed violated its community guidelines, which prohibit hate speech. However, some conservative commentators think that the bans are an attack on freedom of speech and have accused the website of bias towards political opinions. The platform later decided to ban an NGO account which was raising funds for Ukraine’s army. Ukrainian army.
Uncapped fees. Patreon is a percentage of your earnings (either 5 percent, 8% or 12% depending of the package you choose to sign up for) instead of paying a fixed amount. This means that those earning a lot could pay out hundreds of dollars every month in fees.
Subscriptions-only. Patreon isn’t set up for one-time donations, and being obliged to sign up for the recurring monthly payment could hinder many potential supporters from making donations.
You have less Control and Ownership. Patreon is an unaffiliated platform that you don’t own. This means that you won’t have as much control or ownership as have if you had your own community on your own website.
Bad for branding. If you are using Patreon your customers will go to Patreon to view your content, not your own website with a brand name.
Selecting the most suitable Patreon alternative
That concludes our roundup of the best Patreon alternatives. Hope you’ve found something that’s perfect for your audience on this list.
If you’re still not sure what platform to go with Here’s a quick overview on our three best recommendations (you can’t go wrong with one of these):
Podia is the overall best Patreon alternative for most creators. You can use it to create your own paid community site and sell memberships plus other digital content with no charges (on paid plans).
Sellfy is another popular ecommerce platform you can use to sell and create subscriptions. It’s designed for creators only and includes a number of options that other platforms don’t have for example, built-in printing-on-demand fulfillment.
Buy Me a Cup of Coffee is the best free Patreon alternative if you just require a quick and easy method to accept donations. You can create your own page in a couple of clicks and then begin collecting donations and selling digital products, and receive instant Stripe payouts.
If you’re not sure, go ahead and try a gratis plan. Or, one of their no-cost trials.
