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What Patreon Alternatives Are There?

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Are you looking for the top crowdfunding and membership platforms such as Patreon? Check out our roundup of the best Patreon alternatives.

Patreon is a hugely popular membership site that offers an efficient method for creators of content to collect donations from their supporters and subscribers in exchange for exclusive content.

However, issues with censorship, as well as the increasing cost of fees have led users to search for alternatives. It’s good news that there are a variety of excellent options there.

In this article we’ll examine the top Patreon alternatives available at the moment. We’ll go over their primary features, discuss the ways the two differ from Patreon and other options, and much more.

Ready? Let’s get started!

The top Patreon alternatives – summary

TL;DR

Podia – Best Patreon option overall. Sell subscriptions, build paid communities, as well as sell other digital products. Free plans for paid subscriptions. A limited free plan is offered.
Sellfy is an e-commerce platform that allows you to sell physical goods, subscriptions Print-on-demand items, as well as other digital goods. It is incredibly simple to use.
Buy Me A Coffee Buy Me A Coffee – A straightforward Patreon alternative you can get started with right away. It allows you to accept donations and also sell digital items. Instant payouts via Stripe. Charge 5% + Free to use with no features hidden behind paid plans.

1 1. Podia

Podia is our number one preferred Patreon alternative. Unlike Patreon, Podia is an all-in-one solution that you can use to build your own website, build paid communities, and sell subscriptions & other digital products–with zero transaction fees!

One of the challenges of the use of Patreon is that you’re building your community on a different platform. Not only is this bad for branding, but it also means that you have limited control and no true ownership over the source of your income. Also, you’re also subject to Patreon’s transaction fees.

That’s the reason why Podia is a superior alternative. With Podia you create your community and sell memberships on your own website.

Similar to Patreon as well, you are able to use Podia to host your gated members-only content. Then, you can sell paid-for memberships to those who wish to help your work as a creator.

The difference is that you’ll have total control over everything , and you can set up your membership site exactly the way you want it. You’ll be able set your own tiers of plan with various rewards, and you can create as many free or paid plans as you’d like.

Since you are the owner of your membership platform and your community You can retain all of the profits. So long as you sign up for the paid plan and you do not pay charges for transactions to be concerned about.

You can engage with your followers via the community feature with multimedia discussions. Members are able to post all comments in text, images videos, text, etc.

In addition to memberships, you may sell other digital goods through Podia including online courses, digital downloads, etc.

Key characteristics

Sell memberships and other digital products
Create paid communities
Create your own creator’s site
Complete control and ownership
Connects to Google Analytics
No transaction costs

Pricing

Paid podia plans without transaction fees start at $33/month. They also have a free plan that comes with 8% transaction fees.

2. Sellfy

Sellfy is a straightforward, easy-to-use ecommerce platform built by creators. It’s a good alternative for creators who wish to solicit donations and grow their communities through their own website rather than using a third-party platform.

It is possible to create a stunning storefront on Sellfy in as little as 5 minutes. After that, you can modify the appearance to match the brand you want to promote and link to your domain.

After that, you can develop digital subscriptions and offer your subscribers access to exclusive content or other products in exchange for monthly, weekly or even yearly payment.

Aside from subscriptions, you are also able to sell many different types of products on Sellfy, including physical and digital items like video streaming, prints-on-demand.

The print-on-demand feature is particularly advantageous for creators because it makes it easy to sell your own merchandise with your own brand name to your customers. All you have to upload is the designs to Sellfy’s fulfillment catalog, and then add the items on your website.

You don’t have to purchase any stock upfront. Whenever someone makes a purchase, Sellfy will print the order and hand it over to the customer on your behalf at which point they be able to charge you for basis cost of the item and fulfillment. You set your own profit margins.

Key characteristics

Sell subscriptions
Print-on-demand fulfillment
Sell all types of products
Video streaming
Store builder

Pricing

Paid plans that let you sell subscriptions, unlimited products and subscriptions start at $22/month.

3 – Purchase Me A Cup Of Coffee

Make Me A Coffee is the most suitable option for creators who want a simple platform for collecting donations. It’s incredibly easy to use, and unlike Patreon it allows you to make use of it to accept regular donations as well as one-off contributions from your fans.

The basis of Buy Me a Coffee is stunningly easy. It is as easy as creating the custom page for a subdomain (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 make a donation, they can leave a messagethat you are able to reply to and thank them for their support. Unlike Patreon users, you don’t need to create an account to buy coffee. They simply select which coffees to purchase you (how much to give) and then pay in one click.

Of course, if you want to offer something to your supporters it is possible to do so as well. Similar to Patreon you can set up subscription options and distribute exclusive content to your fans. Additionally, you can use the Extras feature to market digital products such as ebooks, access to Discord to you, Zoom calls and more.

All payment methods are accepted such as credit debit card Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, etc. When someone makes a donation you money, you’ll get it right immediately. No more waiting for 30 days!

Buy Me Coffee Coffee is completely free to use but takes a 5% platform fee from the donations you make; you will keep 95% your profits. It’s comparable to PayPal’s Lite plan but cheaper than its Premium and Pro plans.

Fun fact: The fact that you can buy Me a Coffee is the platform that we use to receive donations. You can visit our artist page right here. And of course, if you are a fan of the content we produce here on Blogging Wizard and are looking to buy us a cup of coffee We will always be appreciated!

Key characteristics

One-time payments that are supported
Sell digital products & memberships
There is no need to have a bank account to make a contribution.
It’s very easy to get started.
Transaction fees of 5% are competitive.

Pricing

It’s free to sign-up for Buy Me a Coffee, however, a 5% cost will be deducted of your contributions.

4 – Ko-fi

Ko-fi is another crowdfunding platform that is similar that of Buy Me A Coffee. You can use it for simple tip jars or as a platform for membership. They do not charge a fee for sales or donations but they add premium functions they offer that Buy Me A Coffee customers receive for no cost.

Like Patreon, you can make use of Kofi to accept contributions and memberships from your supporters. You can create a Kofi creator page for free within less than one minute. Then, set a crowdfunding goal and encourage your audience to support you in reaching the goal. You can also offer incentives like exclusive content exclusively for supporters as well as membership benefits to encourage people to donate.

It works well seamlessly with Discord, WordPress, and Zapier It can also receive donation notifications while streaming.

The interface is like Buy Me a Coffee. What makes Ko-fi stand out is the fact that it’s among the only platforms that is completely free. There’s no cost to sign up and they don’t take a portion of your profits for the free plan.

The downside lies in the fact that this free package doesn’t provide premium features such as memberships or the capability to sell digital downloads as well as physical products through your online store.

Key characteristics

There are no transaction fees for users that are free
Memberships
Sell your products
Crowdfunding goals
Donation alerts

Pricing

You can use Kofi as an initial tip jar no cost. However, if you want to unlock premium features, you’ll need to upgrade to the Gold plan, starting from $6/month , or the transaction fee is 5. Gold plan members receive 7.2x more on average.

5 – Kickstarter

Kickstarter is most likely the most well-known crowdfunding platform in the world. It’s an excellent alternative to Patreon when you’re trying to raise money for one-time creative endeavors, but it doesn’t support memberships, so it’s not suitable to solicit donations on a regular basis.

Kickstarter operates a bit differently in comparison to Patreon. It’s designed for creators that need to raise money to fund a one-time project.

When you start your campaign, you’ll describe the project you want to fund, and then you set the goal of funding as well as a timeline to achieve it (e.g. at least 60 calendar days).

If your patrons like the idea of your venture, they could pledge money to help bring it to life. Backers are only charged once your project has succeeded in meeting the funding target. However, if you don’t reach your funding goal within the stipulated timeframe your backers won’t get paid and you aren’t entitled to keep any donations. It’s all-or-nothing.

Another aspect Kickstarter distinguishes itself with Patreon is that it reviews crowdfunders seriously, so not just anyone can sign up. However, if your campaign gets successful and accepted you can make huge amounts of money.

Kickstarter costs 5% for platform fees, which is on par with Patreon’s introductory plan, however less expensive than plans with higher-end features.

Key features

Ideal for funding creative projects
Huge user base
Funding goals
Model with no-limits

Pricing

It’s absolutely free to create your campaign on Kickstarter but a 5% fee is subtracted from the total funds collected, in addition to PayPal or Stripe processing fees for payments.

6 – Hypage

Hypage can be described as an online bio-linking tool and a membership platform. It’s an excellent alternative for social media influencers, especially Instagram. You can utilize it to create content for your community that is gated, set up regular memberships, and even make sales directly to your customers via your link-in-bio page.

Instagram will only allow creators to promote one link in their account description. This is the reason why many Instagram creators make use of link-in-bio tools to create landing pages to house all their promotional and affiliate links. At its core, that’s precisely what Hypage is.

But, unlike other link-in-bio tools, Hypage also lets you solicit donations and inquiries directly from your customized landing page. You can even use it to offer recurring memberships, as well as other items, as well as share members-only content on your site.

It’s a dual-purpose solution that replaces both link in bio tools such as Linktree along with membership platform like Patreon in a neat bundle.

The most exciting aspect? Zero transaction costs on paid plans!

Key characteristics

Create a link-in-bio landing page
Connect your own domain
Collect donations
Provide premium content that is gated
Sell digital items and memberships

Pricing

It is possible to start with a no-cost plan. Paid plans that include extra features and no transaction fees begin at $19/month.

7 – OnlyFans

OnlyFans is the most suitable alternative for adult content creators. It’s a subscription-based social network that allows fans to support their favorite creators by purchasing subscriptions that grant the users exclusive content.

What sets OnlyFans apart From Patreon is its liberal guidelines for content, which permit creators to market content that might not meet the community guidelines of Patreon. That includes adult-only content.

As such, OnlyFans is now extremely popular amongst adult content creators, and the top performers on the platform make millions of dollars every month.

Key characteristics

It functions as a social platform
Creators can interact with fans
Liberal content policies
Ideal for adult content creators
A large user base (high discoverability)

Pricing

It’s free to sign up for OnlyFans , however the platform will take 20 percent of your monthly subscription earnings.

8 . Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks is a powerful community platform that allows you to sell online community access as well as other material such as online classes and livestreams.

Unlike Patreon, Mighty Network lets you build a community for paid users using your own platform. You have the complete control of your ownership and control. It’s used by some of the most prominent YouTubers like Drew Binsky, Adriene Mishler and many others.

Mighty Networks also offers some sophisticated community-oriented features that don’t get in other systems. For instance, the ingenious Mighty Effect(tm) technology customizes your members’ experiences by supplying their feed with the most relevant content, groups, members as well as products.

Key characteristics

Mighty Effect personalization technology
Welcome and Discovery sections are available for new members
Moderators and members are unlimited on all plans
Your complete ownership of your community
Native course builder
Rich member profiles
Livestreaming & native video uploads
Analytics integrated

Pricing

Plans start at $33 per month with no additional transaction costs. A trial period of no cost is available.
The pros & cons of Patreon

Let’s consider the reasons Patreon might not be the most suitable option for all creators. Like every platform, it has its share of pros and cons. These are the most important advantages you should be aware of.
Pros

Simple revenue for creators. If you’re an established influencer or creator with a lot of dedicated fans, Patreon offers an easy option to earn money from your followers by launching crowdfunding campaigns.
No upfront fees. Contrary to other platforms Patreon doesn’t require monthly fees, so you can start your page for free. Patreon makes a portion of your monthly income on the back end.
Recurring revenue model. Patreon works on an subscription model. Patrons are required to make monthly payments, which means you will earn a steady monthly income and not have to depend on one-time donations.
Tools for communication. With Patreon, you can create your own members-only community , and communicate in real-time with the patrons via the platform. You can also grant them an access to special content and many more.
Flexible membership options and financing goals. With Patreon you can set up multiple membership tiers with different perks depending on how much your patrons contribute.
A diverse creator base. Patreon is suitable for many kinds of creators. This includes YouTubers streamers, musicians as well as podcasters, artists and writers.
Join your WordPress site. Patreon is a WordPress plugin that can be installed on your website so you can get the most benefit from making Patreons.

Cons

There are no built-in marketing tools. If you don’t already have an audience or a community to monetize, it can be difficult to develop one through Patreon. It’s not a great option in terms if tools to promote your project and projects aren’t easily discovered.

Censorship. Patreon faced controversy several years ago when it banned accounts that it claimed broke its community guidelines, which prohibit hate speech. But some conservative commentators believe these bans constitute an attempt to limit free speech, and have accused the website of bias against political parties. They then went on to block an account for an NGO that was generating funds for Ukrainian troops. Ukrainian army.

Uncapped fees. Patreon will take a portion of your income (either 5%, 8% or 12%, depending of the package you sign up for) instead of an uncapped fee. It means that people with high earnings could pay out hundreds of dollars per month in fees.

Subscriptions-only. Patreon isn’t designed to accept one-off payments, and being forced to sign up for the recurring monthly payment could discourage potential supporters from making a donation.

You have less Control and Ownership. Patreon is an external platform that doesn’t belong to you. In other words, you won’t have as much control or ownership as you would if you built your fan base on your site.

Not good for branding. If you are using Patreon the audience you are targeting will be visiting Patreon for your content, rather than your own site with your brand.

The best Patreon alternative

That concludes our roundup of the top Patreon alternatives. We hope you find something that’s perfect for your audience on this list.

If you’re still not sure which platform to use We’ve got a quick review of three top suggestions (you aren’t going to be disappointed with either of them):

Podia is the most popular Patreon alternative for the majority of creators. It is possible to create your own paid community site and sell memberships, as well as other digital content with no cost (on Paid plans).

Sellfy is another e-commerce platform you can use to sell and create subscriptions. It’s designed specifically for creators and includes a number of attributes that other platforms do not have such as built-in print-on demand fulfillment.

Buy Me a Cup of Coffee is the best free Patreon alternative for those who want an easy way to get donations. It is possible to create your own Patreon page with just few clicks, then start collecting donations and selling digital products, and receive instant Stripe payment.

If you’re still unsure then go ahead and try a for free or even one of the free trials.