6 Buy Me a Coffee Alternatives to Make Money in 2026

Buy Me a Coffee is a popular platform for accepting low-pressure donations. However, it comes with downsides, including limited page customization, payout delays, difficulties withdrawing funds, high competition, limited payment gateway options, and a $20 cap per price change. Overall, there are quite a few issues that may cause someone to compare Buy Me a Coffee alternatives to the platform to determine if there’s a better way to make money via memberships, one-time donations, and maybe even a little more.

Why People are Leaving Buy Me a Coffee

1. Financial losses and delays

Most creators on Buy Me a Coffee find that their accounts are only reviewed when they try to make their first withdrawal. Unfortunately, if you’re a right-wing creator or promoting something against this platform’s terms of service, you could get banned. Getting banned will mean you won’t receive the funds you’re owed.

Plus, you might choose Buy Me a Coffee alternatives because of slow payouts. The first payout can take up to 14 days, depending on your location and bank. Payment delays of over a week aren’t uncommon. You may have to wait to speak to a moderator before you can access your funds. Plus, there’s a $10 payment threshold you need to reach to withdraw any money you receive. Considering most people only donate the average price of a cup of coffee, this could mean it takes a few donations before you can withdraw.

2. Abrupt Policy Changes

Buy Me a Coffee supports the following languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, and Ukrainian. Unfortunately, due to the war in Ukraine, Ukrainians were forced to find new Buy Me a Coffee alternatives because the platform had chosen to restrict services in Ukraine. They stopped allowing both new registrations and withdrawals to Ukrainian bank cards. They even blocked some accounts. These changes happened suddenly, leaving them unable to use the platform to help them continue earning money.

3. Limited payment gateway options

While most platforms have multiple payment gateway options, some as many as over 100 to choose from, such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal, Buy Me a Coffee only allows Stripe. Only having Stripe as an option can prevent some people from choosing this platform to accept donations, causing people to look for Buy Me a Coffee alternatives.

Overall, international customers may prefer other platforms that accept their own currencies. While Stripe is one of the biggest payment gateways, having flexibility is important for international customers.

6 Buy Me a Coffee Alternatives to Make Money in 2026

1. Payhip

 

Payhip is a superior Buy Me a Coffee alternative featuring advanced ecommerce tools, lower fees, advanced marketing, a customizable storefront, and even different membership pricing tactics.

If you want to be paid a one-time donation by fans or a recurring subscription for a membership site, you can easily set either one up on this Buy Me a Coffee alternative. There are no revenue caps on Payhip, allowing you to earn as much as you want. You can also increase your fees without any caps for your customer base.

In addition to selling memberships, you can also sell digital downloads such as ebooks, software, courses, and coaching services, as well as physical products. You can earn more revenue overall by selling a variety of items to help you connect with your fans or followers.

Pricing

Free Forever

• $0/month
• 5% transaction fee

Plus

• $29/month
• 2% transaction fee

Pro

• $99/month
• No transaction fee

Pros

• Can sell a greater variety of products alongside fan donations and memberships
• Accept both one-time payments and recurring revenue
• Reduce transaction fees at scale as your membership grows to save costs
• Easily customize any part of your website to personalize it to your brand
• Manages EU/UK VAT and sales tax collection for international sales
• Built-in affiliate systems, cross-selling, upselling, discounts, referral programs, and more, to allow you to earn
  more money from marketing
• Has a marketplace where you can sell to an existing audience

Cons

• A less casual way to earn money from fans

2. Stck.me

Stck.me is an expensive Buy Me a Coffee alternative. Unfortunately, it mostly caters to authors who write chapters, print books, comic books, or create audiobooks. If you’re a creator outside of this field, this won’t be the platform for you.

The products you sell on this platform are shared internationally. Some sellers may want to restrict sales to certain countries for various reasons, but are unable to do so.

The platform costs more than most of the other ones on this list. Unfortunately, you can only get paid once a month at the beginning of the month, making it harder to manage your cash flow.

Pricing

Free

• 25% of digital sales

Pro

• $19.99/month
• 10% of digital sales
• 25% of net physical sales

Pros

• Can monetize podcasts on the platform
• Integrates with an existing website

Cons

• Primarily for writers or authors only
• Can’t restrict which countries your products are available to
• Only get paid once a month
• Lacks functionality for one-time donations
• Doesn’t have integrations with other platforms
• More expensive than Buy Me a Coffee

3. Patreon

Patreon is a pricier alternative to Buy Me a Coffee. It’s a platform with strong brand recognition that takes a 10% fee on every sale, even though you’re bringing in the audience yourself. On top of this, there’s no reduction in transaction fees as your audience grows.

This Buy Me a Coffee alternative also allows people to be free members. Unfortunately, getting someone to upgrade their plan to a paid membership can be a difficult ask for creators who struggle to monetize their followers. Even though they might share exclusive content in their paid versions, only a small percentage of people will upgrade to those levels.

Lastly, Patreon lacks a tool to help creators get new members from the platform. There’s little visibility on the platform itself for creators to find a new, larger audience. Instead, creators are expected to bring in their audience themselves from social media, email, or wherever they’ve built their following.

Pricing

Patreon Pricing

• $0/month
• 10% transaction fee
• 5% and 12% platform fee
• 2.9% + $0.30 USD payment processing fee
• 2.5% currency conversion fee
• Between $0.25 and $1.00 payout fee
• 30% Apple App Store fee

Pros

• More specialized tiers than Buy Me a Coffee’s tip jar model
• Provides in-depth data analysis on member retention, churn, and audience growth
• Superior tools for sharing exclusive content, such as Discord integrations

Cons

• More expensive than Buy Me a Coffee
• Requires more set-up work
• Most members choose the free plan, making it hard to get paid upgrades
• Harder ask for a monthly membership than a one-time donation
• Site is known for occasionally breaking
• Lacks a place to attract new members to your group

4. Fourthwall

Fourthwall is another Buy Me a Coffee alternative that allows you to create your own website. The platform specializes in helping creators build a print-on-demand business to sell merch and other swag to fans. While it’s a platform for creators, it’s not ideal for selling memberships.

Both Buy Me a Coffee and Fourthwall charge 5% transaction fees, making them the same from a financial standpoint. However, there’s no reduction in transaction fees as your business grows, so it’s still an expensive option compared to other Buy Me a Coffee alternatives on this list.

Pricing

Free

• $0/month
• 5% transaction fee for selling digital products
• 5% transaction fee for charging members a monthly fee

Pro

• $19/month
• 5% transaction fee for charging members a monthly fee

You will also pay a 2.9% + $0.30 fee for USD-based credit card transactions on both plans.

Pros

• Has built-in print-on-demand for creators to sell merch, giving higher profit margins
• Is a website builder rather than just a profile page, allowing you to build a brand

Cons

• More complex setup
• Not the ideal platform for tips, donations, or one-time contributions
• Harder to be discovered on the platform
• Same audience, but different business structure

5. Liberapay

Liberapay is a non-profit Buy Me a Coffee alternative. This platform allows you to accept recurring donations, though it isn’t fit for one-time payments. Plus, you’re limited to only two choices for payment processing.

This Buy Me a Coffee alternative lacks the functionality for creators who want to sell more than just recurring memberships. It doesn’t allow you to sell digital or physical products, such as educational content or merch.

Pricing

Liberapay fees

• 3.1% Stripe fee
• 5.1% PayPal fee

Pros

• No fees for the platform itself
• Allows for recurring income
• Allows anonymous donations

Cons

• It’s a non-profit that doesn’t use ads or algorithms
• Doesn’t allow one-time payments
• Specialized in donations, instead of memberships or community
• Lacks other product types that creators might use
• Lacks a variety of choices in payment processing, with only Stripe and PayPal
• Can only accept pledges from people who join the platform

6. Ko-fi

Ko-fi is an affordable Buy Me a Coffee alternative. However, it does still have some drawbacks. Most competitors have over 100 payment options, allowing customers from all over to buy your work and support you. Unfortunately, Ko-fi only has two.

You’ll also be responsible for your own taxes. Most platforms automatically manage your VAT and sales tax for you by automatically withdrawing those transactions from customers. However, you’ll be responsible for filing those sales taxes for your business.

This Buy Me a Coffee alternative lacks a marketplace to help you gain more visibility as a creator. You’ll need to bring in your own audience to get tips, memberships, or sales from your fans. You won’t get any new ones from being found on their platform.

Pricing

Ko-fi Pricing

Free Plan:

• $0/month
• 5% platform fee

Ko-fi Gold

• $12/month
• 0% platform fee

Pros

• Offers more options for selling digital and physical products than Buy Me a Coffee
• Has an integration with PayPal and Stripe

Cons

• Pricing for Ko-fi Gold has doubled in recent years
• Lacks payment options beyond PayPal and Stripe, making it harder for international sellers
• Doesn’t manage VAT or sales tax for international clients
• Doesn’t have an in-house way of bringing you new people, you must bring your own audience
• Requires many tools and integrations, which can run up your costs
• The setup process requires more effort

FAQ

What is the best alternative to Buy Me a Coffee?

The best alternative to Buy Me a Coffee is Payhip, thanks to its flexibility in accepting both one-time and recurring payments. Plus, you can sell more than just memberships on the platform. You can sell ebooks, digital downloads, courses, coaching services, and even physical products, so you can generate the sales revenue you want.

Which platforms are similar to Buy Me a Coffee?

Payhip is similar to Buy Me a Coffee, as they have the same pricing. However, they also offer more features than Buy Me a Coffee, making it the better platform of the two.

Which Buy Me a Coffee alternative lets creators keep 100% of earnings?

Payhip is a Buy Me a Coffee alternative that lets creators keep 100% of their earnings. You can keep 100% of your earnings if you choose a subscription plan on this Buy Me a Coffee alternative instead of the free plan.

Can I sell digital or physical products with Buy Me a Coffee alternatives?

Yes, the Buy Me a Coffee alternative Payhip allows you to sell both digital and physical products. You can sell ebooks, software, courses, memberships, digital downloads, coaching services, and physical products.

What’s the difference between one-time donations and memberships?

A one-time donation is a donation you make in a single payment. However, a membership is a recurring subscription, made each month.