# Buy Me a Coffee alternatives, compared honestly

> Buy Me a Coffee alternatives compared on fees, payouts and who they suit: Ko-fi, Patreon, GitHub Sponsors, Liberapay and a support button on your own page.

Buy Me a Coffee is simple and it works. People look elsewhere for lower fees, monthly members on their own terms, or a tip button that lives on their own page. Here is what each option really costs.

## Why people look past Buy Me a Coffee

Buy Me a Coffee does the basic job well: a page, a button, one-time support and memberships, no monthly fee. [Its FAQ](https://buymeacoffee.com/faq) puts the deal plainly: "We charge a 5% transaction fee, and creators keep 95% of the earnings." The reasons people search for an alternative are usually one of these:

- **The fee adds up.** 5% is fair on a few coffees. On steady monthly members it is real money every year, and card processing comes on top.
- **It is someone else's page.** Your page lives at buymeacoffee.com/you. Buy Me a Coffee's own comparison page lists "No hosting. No custom domains." as part of the deal.
- **Two links instead of one.** Your bio already points at your link in bio or your site, and the coffee page is one more tap away.

None of these make it a bad tool. They are reasons it might not be the right one for you.

## The alternatives side by side

| Option | Best for | Platform fee | Monthly price | Lives on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Buy Me a Coffee | Simple tips and memberships | 5% | None | buymeacoffee.com |
| Ko-fi | Tips plus a shop and commissions | 0% on one-off tips, 5% on the rest | None, or Gold at $12 | ko-fi.com |
| Patreon | Members-only posts and a real membership business | 10% for creators since August 2025 | None | patreon.com |
| GitHub Sponsors | Open source developers | None from personal accounts | None | github.com |
| Liberapay | Recurring donations, no strings | None, funded by donations | None | liberapay.com |
| makerhandle Support | Makers who want the button on their own page | 0% on Pro, 5% on Free | $20 a year for Pro | Your page and your domain |

Card processing applies on top everywhere. Checked October 20, 2026 on each product's own pricing or help pages, listed under Sources; Ko-fi and Patreon change their plans often, so confirm before you switch. The full fee math is in [Buy Me a Coffee vs Ko-fi vs Patreon fees](https://makerhandle.com/blog/buy-me-a-coffee-vs-ko-fi-vs-patreon-fees).

## Ko-fi, Patreon, GitHub Sponsors and Liberapay

- **Ko-fi** is the closest swap. Its help center describes a free option with **0% on one-off tips** and 5% on shop sales, memberships, monthly tips and commissions, and **Gold at $12 a month** with no platform fee. Ko-fi says you are paid straight into your own PayPal or Stripe account. See [makerhandle vs Ko-fi](https://makerhandle.com/compare/ko-fi).
- **Patreon** is for people running a membership as a real business: tiers, members-only posts, a community. Creators who published after August 4, 2025 pay a **10% platform fee** plus processing, per Patreon's help center. See [makerhandle vs Patreon](https://makerhandle.com/compare/patreon).
- **GitHub Sponsors** is the obvious pick for open source. GitHub's docs say it charges **no fees on sponsorships from personal accounts**, and up to 6% when an organization sponsors. See [GitHub Sponsors compared](https://makerhandle.com/compare/github-sponsors).
- **Liberapay** is a nonprofit for recurring donations that takes no cut and is funded by donations to its own account, per [its FAQ](https://liberapay.com/about/faq). One-time donations are not properly supported yet, it says, and a donor can give at most $100 a week.
- **Open Collective** suits a project with a team or a shared budget; money is held by a fiscal host, and each host sets its own fee.

## The other option: keep the button, move it to your page

If what bugs you is that your support page sits apart from everything else, the fix is not another platform. It is the button on your own page.

makerhandle's [support button](https://makerhandle.com/features/support) puts "Buy me a coffee" (or a book, a pizza, a server hour) on your link in bio, in your template's style and on your [custom domain](https://makerhandle.com/features/custom-domain). It works two ways:

- **Link mode, live for everyone today.** The button opens your existing Buy Me a Coffee, Ko-fi, Patreon, GitHub Sponsors, Liberapay, PayPal.me or Open Collective page. Nothing changes about how you are paid.
- **Built in, with Stripe.** One-time support and up to three monthly membership tiers, paid through Stripe Checkout straight into your own Stripe account. makerhandle's fee is **0% on Pro and 5% on Free**, plus Stripe's processing fees. Built-in support is opening to makers in stages; the link button works for everyone today.

Either way, support income can count as [verified revenue](https://makerhandle.com/features/verified-revenue): built-in payments from our own records, Buy Me a Coffee through its read-only token.

## Which should you pick?

- **A few coffees a month and you like your page:** stay on Buy Me a Coffee or Ko-fi, and point a button at it from your link in bio. Moving is not worth the hassle.
- **Steady monthly members:** compare the yearly fee. 5% of $100 a month is $60 a year; makerhandle Pro is $20 a year with a 0% platform fee once built-in support reaches you.
- **Members-only posts, files or a community:** Patreon or Ko-fi. makerhandle does not host members-only content; perks are what you deliver yourself.
- **Open source:** GitHub Sponsors, with the button on your page pointing at it.
- **One page for everything you make:** a support button on your maker page, linking out today, built in when it opens for you.

Thinking of leaving? [How to move from Buy Me a Coffee to your own page](https://makerhandle.com/blog/move-from-buy-me-a-coffee) covers members, links and what to keep.

## Sources

- [Buy Me a Coffee: FAQ (5% transaction fee, no monthly fee, payouts in 44 countries, export your supporters)](https://buymeacoffee.com/faq)
- [Buy Me a Coffee help center: How to calculate charges on your payment (updated March 18, 2026)](https://help.buymeacoffee.com/en/articles/8105744-how-to-calculate-charges-on-your-payment)
- [Buy Me a Coffee: Ghost alternative page ("No hosting. No custom domains.")](https://buymeacoffee.com/ghost-alternative)
- [Ko-fi help center: Does Ko-fi take a fee?](https://help.ko-fi.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002506494-Does-Ko-fi-take-a-fee)
- [Ko-fi help center: What is Ko-fi Gold?](https://help.ko-fi.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005506873-What-is-Ko-fi-Gold)
- [Ko-fi: features (paid directly into your own PayPal or Stripe account)](https://ko-fi.com/features)
- [Patreon help center: A standard platform fee for new creators, effective after August 4, 2025](https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/36426991446797-A-standard-platform-fee-for-new-creators-effective-after-August-4-2025)
- [GitHub Docs: About GitHub Sponsors](https://docs.github.com/en/sponsors/getting-started-with-github-sponsors/about-github-sponsors)
- [Liberapay: FAQ](https://liberapay.com/about/faq)
- [Open Collective docs: Fiscal hosts](https://documentation.opencollective.com/fiscal-hosts/fiscal-hosts)

## Questions

### What is the best Buy Me a Coffee alternative?

For tips plus a shop, Ko-fi. For a membership business with posts, Patreon. For open source, GitHub Sponsors. For a support button on your own page and domain, makerhandle, which can link to any of them today.

### Is there a Buy Me a Coffee alternative with no fees?

GitHub Sponsors charges no fees on sponsorships from personal accounts, Liberapay takes no cut, and Ko-fi takes 0% on one-off tips. makerhandle Pro has a 0% platform fee on built-in support, which is opening to makers in stages. Card processing applies everywhere.

### How much does Buy Me a Coffee take?

Its FAQ says 5% per transaction with no monthly fee. Its help center adds Stripe processing (2.9% + $0.30), extra fees on international and subscription payments, and a 0.5% payout processing fee.

### Can I keep Buy Me a Coffee and use makerhandle?

Yes. The support button can open your Buy Me a Coffee page, on every plan, and its income can show as verified revenue with a read-only token.

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Source: https://makerhandle.com/compare/buy-me-a-coffee-alternatives
makerhandle: makerhandle is a link in bio for makers, creators and small businesses: your links and your work, with optional verified revenue.