Buy Me a Coffee vs. Patreon

May 24, 2022 • 16 min read
Buy me a Coffee and Patreon both offer creators membership platforms, but there’s a lot more to both platforms. Which one is better?

Which Membership Platform Is Better for You?

In today’s world, video creators, podcasters, streamers, musicians, and all kinds of artists can financially support themselves using online platforms. With websites like Buy Me a Coffee or Patreon on the market, creators can post content to their fan bases virtually and get paid in return.

Buy me a Coffee versus Patreon: Which is better?

Buy Me a Coffee vs Patreon: What’s the difference?

While there are a lot of similarities between the two, Buy Me a Coffee and Patreon are completely different online platforms that help creators make a living in different ways.

  Patreon Buy Me a Coffee
Monetization Features Subscriptions: monthly/yearly Subscriptions: monthly
One-Time Payments: tips and paid for requests 
Payouts 1st of every month Instant
Size 2,000,000+ active patrons; 200,000+ active creators 300,000+ active creators 
Company Founded 2013 2018
Highlighted Tools
  • iOS app
  • Creator dashboard (includes analytics)
  • Patreon Lens
  • Public and gated posts, community feed, and messaging
  • Poll creation
  • Reward fulfillment tracking
  • Merch Store
  • And more
  • iOS / Android app
  • Creator dashboard (includes analytics)
  • Public and gated posts, community feed, and direct messaging
  • Audio Posts, Photo Albums  
  • Setting Goals
  • And more
Highlighted Integrations
  • Crowdcast
  • Google Analytics
  • Discord
  • WordPress
  • Discourse
  • And more
  • Stripe
  • Zapier (Auto-Tweets)
  • Google Analytics 
  • Discord
  • Stream Alerts
  • WordPress
Fees Platform Fee: 5-12% plus payment processing (3-5%) Platform Fee: 5% plus payment processing 3% + $0.3
Best for… Creators with a large audience Casual Creators looking for tips

What is Patreon?

Patreon is a membership platform designed for creators to share and monetize content and for fans to connect with their favorite creators and communities. Over 200,000 artists, writers, podcasters, streamers, video creators, musicians, developers, and cosplayers use Patreon to share monthly content with millions of followers.

What type of creators use Patreon

What is Buy Me a Coffee?

Buy Me A Coffee is a crowdfunding platform that allows creators to share content and make money via membership, tips, and donations. Over 300,000 content creators and their millions of fans use Buy Me a Coffee to be part of like-minded communities consisting of all kinds of artists and creators.

What type of Creator uses buy me a coffee

Patreon vs Buy Me a Coffee: Fees and Payment for Creators

Regarding how creators get paid, there are a few critical differences between Buy Me a Coffee and Patreon, as shown in the table below.

 

Buy Me a Coffee

Patreon

Donation Fee

Takes 5% of donations

Takes 5-12% of donations (depending on plan)

Cashout Method

Instant direct payments

Monthly payments from subscriptions

Minimum Balance Requirement

None

$10-$25 (depending on region)

Patreon offers three plans for creators to choose from designed with tools for growth: Lite, Pro, and Premium. Depending on the plan, Patreon takes 5%, 8%, or 12% of earnings from creators. Patreon payment methods come in the form of monthly deposits. They require a minimum balance of $10-$25, depending on the user's region

Pricing Plan for Patreon

Buy Me a Coffee only takes 5% of donations, which means 95% of income goes directly to creators via instant payments. In addition, there is no minimum balance required, so Buy Me a Coffee users can get their money instantly no matter the amount. For this reason, many users consider Buy Me a Coffee to be a more cost-effective platform than Patreon.

Buy me Coffee Payment Option

Patreon vs. Buy Me a Coffee: Subscription Models

Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee offer different ways that creators can make money, as indicated by the table below:

 

Buy Me a Coffee

Patreon

Subscriptions

Monthly/yearly membership with tiers

Monthly subscription with tiers

One-time Donations

Yes

No

Commissions/Requests

Yes

No

Sell Products

Yes

No

Crowdfunding

Yes

No

Patreon functions as a monthly membership service that allows fans to subscribe to their favorite creators. The Patreon cost per month will vary depending on which tier of membership users subscribe to. With no option for donations, commissions, sales, or crowdfunding, Patreon creators make money solely via monthly payments from patrons.

Patreon Creator Subscription Option User Interface

Buy Me a Coffee is a bit more flexible with its subscription model, offering the option for creators to set up monthly or yearly subscription plans. It also has features that Patreon lacks, such as accepting one-off donations, taking commissions and requests, selling products known as ‘Extras,’ and generating income from crowdfunding.

Buy me a Coffee Feature for Subscription

Patreon vs Buy Me a Coffee: Content Production & Schedules

For many creators, the decision to use Buy Me a Coffee or Patreon depends on what kind of audience they are trying to reach and their posting schedule.

 

Buy Me a Coffee

Patreon

Audience Type

Reach a more flexible audience

Reach a consistent, targeted audience

Commitment Level

Lower commitment. Post content at your own pace

Publish content weekly or monthly to maintain subscriptions

There’s a lot of overlap between the kinds of creators who use Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee, as both platforms are open to the same types of artists. However, in terms of content production, Patreon is designed for more serious creators who post content every month to reach a consistent, targeted audience.

Buy Me a Coffee is a better option for more flexible creators, allowing them to post at their own pace with less commitment. While Buy Me a Coffee still allows creators to earn an income, Patreon is often considered the better choice for creators who use these platforms as their primary source of income.

Patreon vs. Buy Me a Coffee: Platform Integration

Many creators like to promote themselves across multiple platforms, so it is essential to know which apps and websites Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee are compatible with before deciding which to use.

Compatible with:

Buy Me a Coffee

Patreon

Discord

Yes

Yes

Youtube

Yes

Yes (with a link)

WordPress

Yes (with button or widget plug-in)

Yes

Zapier

Yes

Yes

Vimeo

Yes

Yes

MailChimp

Yes

Yes

Buy Me a Coffee can be integrated with a variety of other platforms, such as Discord, Youtube, WordPress, and Zapier, but it sometimes requires a link, button, or widget plug-in to do so.

Buy me a Coffee Discord Integration

Patreon can be integrated directly with various sites, such as Discord, WordPress, and Zapier, and included in links in descriptions.

Patreon + Discord Integration

How to set up Buy Me A Coffee

Follow these steps to set up a Buy Me a Coffee profile:

  1. Sign up and create an account
  2. Add a profile image and story
  3. Share Buy Me a Coffee Link via social media

How to set up a Patreon

Follow these steps to create a successful Patreon page:

  1. Create a Patreon account
  2. Promote Patreon on social media to an existing fan base
  3. Maintain a consistent posting schedule
  4. Create subscription tiers with rewards
  5. Send Patrons messages
  6. Connect Patreon to Discord

Buy Me a Coffee vs. Patreon: Pros and Cons

 

Buy Me a Coffee

Patreon

Pros

  • More cost-effective (lower Buy Me a Coffee fees)
  • Extra features to make money
  • Option for monthly and yearly subscriptions
  • More suitable for serious, consistent creators
  • Reach a more consistent audience
  • Tools for building an audience with Lite, Pro, and Premium

Cons

  • Fewer tools for building an audience
  • Consistent posting is mandatory

Who is Buy Me a Coffee best suited for?

Buy Me a Coffee is an ideal platform for creators looking for an online tip jar for their side hustle or passion project, as it offers more flexibility plus a casual setup.

Trial Report

One example of a successful creator on Buy Me a Coffee is Trials Report, a page run by the developers of websites for popular video games. Trials Report offers a monthly membership that gives supporters access to badges, custom URLs, and a BFF-only Discord channel. With almost 2,000 supporters and countless donations, Trials Report has found much success on the Buy Me a Coffee site.

Who is Patreon best suited for?

Patreon is best suited for serious content creators looking to turn their craft into a full-time job. It also helps if creators have a following on another platform where they can promote exclusive content on their Patreon page.

You're wrong about Podcaster

The You’re Wrong About Podcast is a successful Patreon page that posts exclusive content for paying listeners. With over 23,000 patrons, the You’re Wrong About Podcast offers three subscription tiers ranging from $2-$10 per month. These tiers give subscribers access to rewards such as exclusive posts and the ability to message the creators privately.

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