Comparison
makerhandle vs Buy Me a Coffee
Buy Me a Coffee is a support page. makerhandle is your maker page with a support button on it. They overlap less than you would think, and they work fine together.
Already have a page there? Bring it over in one click.
The short version
| Buy Me a Coffee | makerhandle | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A support page, memberships and a shop | A page for everything you make, with a support button |
| Platform fee | 5% | 0% on Pro, 5% on Free (built-in) |
| Monthly price | None | Free, or Pro at $20 a year |
| Memberships | Monthly or yearly | Up to three monthly tiers (built-in) |
| Members-only posts and shop | Yes | No |
| Your own domain | Not offered | On Pro, with SSL |
| How you are paid | Processed by Stripe and Wise, paid out to your bank | Direct charges on your own Stripe account, so you are the seller |
| Verified revenue | Shown on makerhandle with a read-only token | Built-in support counts automatically |
Buy Me a Coffee facts are from its FAQ and help center, checked October 20, 2026 (see Sources). makerhandle's built-in payments are opening to makers in stages; link mode works for everyone today.
Where Buy Me a Coffee is better
- It is a whole platform. Posts for members, a shop for extras and downloads, a website widget and stream alerts. makerhandle has none of that.
- No account to manage. No Stripe account of your own, no dashboard. Buy Me a Coffee's FAQ says it pays out to creators in 44 countries.
- Yearly memberships. Its homepage offers monthly or yearly subscriptions; makerhandle's tiers are monthly.
If you post for members or sell files, Buy Me a Coffee (or Ko-fi or Patreon) is the better home for that, and you can still point makerhandle's button at it.
Where makerhandle is different
- It is on your page. The button sits on your link in bio in your template's style, next to your projects, and on your custom domain on Pro. Buy Me a Coffee's own comparison page lists "No hosting. No custom domains." as part of what it is.
- Your own Stripe account. Built-in payments are direct charges on your Stripe account, so you are the merchant of record: your name on the statement, payouts on your Stripe schedule, refunds and disputes in your own Stripe Dashboard.
- 0% platform fee on Pro. 5% on Free, the same as Buy Me a Coffee's fee. Stripe's processing fees apply on both.
- Your unit. A coffee, a book, a server hour, an Arduino: any emoji, any name, $1 to $500 each.
- It counts as proof. Support income shows as verified revenue on the project you pick.
Built-in support is opening to makers in stages; the link button works for everyone today.
Use both
Most people should not rip anything out. Put the support button on your makerhandle page in link mode and point it at buymeacoffee.com/you. Connect Buy Me a Coffee's read-only token to a project and its income shows with a check mark. Nothing about your supporters changes.
If you later switch the button to built-in, it stays exactly where it is, and your Buy Me a Coffee page can stay underneath as a small "Also on Buy Me a Coffee" link, so existing members are not lost. How to move from Buy Me a Coffee to your own page has the step-by-step, including why members have to re-join.
Questions
Does Buy Me a Coffee support custom domains?
Not as of October 2026. Its own comparison page lists "No hosting. No custom domains." You can forward a domain to your Buy Me a Coffee page, or put a support button on a page you host, such as makerhandle Pro with your domain.
Is makerhandle cheaper than Buy Me a Coffee?
On Free, built-in support has the same 5% fee. On Pro ($20 a year) the platform fee is 0%, so Pro costs less once you get more than about $400 a year in support (our arithmetic: $20 divided by 5%). Card processing applies either way.
Can I verify my Buy Me a Coffee income on makerhandle?
Yes. Connect a read-only Buy Me a Coffee token to a project and its last 30 days, or MRR from members, shows with a check mark.
Do supporters need an account?
Not on makerhandle: they pay through Stripe Checkout with an email. Buy Me a Coffee says one-time support needs no account and memberships do.
Add a support button
Free for up to 5 projects. Pro is $20/year.