Best Patreon alternatives in 2026: craving, Ko-fi, Buy Me a Coffee, Gumroad, Stan Store and Beacons
The best Patreon alternatives compared: craving, Ko-fi, Buy Me a Coffee, Gumroad, Stan Store and Beacons. Fees, memberships and who each one fits best.
By the craving team · Updated · 6 min read
Short answer
The best Patreon alternative depends on how your supporters pay you. craving is best if you want Memberships plus chat, paid calls, Personal Requests and an AI called Alter on your own Home, with a free plan to start. Ko-fi and Buy Me a Coffee are best for simple tips and memberships with no monthly fee, Gumroad for selling digital products, Stan Store for courses and coaching, and Beacons for a link in bio with a store.
- Patreon charges creators who launched after August 4, 2025 a standard 10% platform fee, plus payment processing, currency conversion and payout fees.
- Ko-fi takes 0% on one-time tips and 5% on shop, memberships and commissions, and Ko-fi Gold removes that 5%.
- Buy Me a Coffee charges 5% on every transaction, and no paid tier lowers it.
- craving gives you Memberships, Bookings and Personal Requests from the Go plan, with a platform fee down to 5% on Pro and Team.
What are the best Patreon alternatives in 2026?
Patreon is a membership platform where fans pay creators for memberships, one-time digital products, posts and community chats. As listed in November 2026, creators who launched after August 4, 2025 pay a standard 10% platform fee plus payment processing, 2.5% currency conversion and payout fees. On iOS in-app purchases, Apple takes 30%.
People look for Patreon alternatives to cut fees, to own their page, or to earn in ways beyond a monthly membership. Here are six options, with prices and fees as listed at the time of writing.
| craving | Ko-fi | Buy Me a Coffee | Gumroad | Stan Store | Beacons | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Memberships plus chat, calls and AI | Tips and commissions | Simple tips and memberships | Digital products | Courses and coaching | Link in bio with a store |
| Monthly fee | Free; paid from $9.95 | None; optional Ko-fi Gold | None | None | $29 or $99 (free trial) | Free; $10 to $100 |
| Platform fee | 20% on Free, down to 5% | 0% on one-time tips, 5% on the rest (0% with Gold) | 5% on every transaction | 10% + $0.50; 30% via Discover | 0% | 9% on Free and Creator, 0% from Creator Plus |
| Memberships | From Go; unlimited plans from Plus | Yes | Yes | Focus is digital products | Yes | From Creator Plus |
| Other ways to earn | Tips, Library, Bookings, Personal Requests | Tips, shop, commissions | Tips, shop, posts | Product sales | Digital products, coaching, communities | Store, courses, media kit |
| AI that chats with fans | Yes: Alter, every plan | Not in its listed features | Not in its listed features | Not in its listed features | AutoDM for Instagram | Not in the plans we checked |
1. craving: best for memberships plus conversations and paid calls
craving is a personal website with built-in chat and AI. Your craving Home at craving.com/@yourname holds your links, content and contact details, and lets fans pay you in several ways: Tips and Library sales on Free, plus Memberships, Bookings for paid calls and Personal Requests for custom work from Go. Go includes up to two Membership plans, Plus and up allow unlimited plans and add trial memberships.
Fans can also message you from your Home, the craving app or connected channels like Telegram and email, and Alter, your personal AI, answers them when you are away and points them to the right offer. The fee is 20% on Free and Go, 10% on Plus and 5% on Pro and Team, plus an extra 15% only when Alter itself makes the sale. craving has no course builder or email newsletter tool. See craving vs Patreon.
2. Ko-fi: best for tips and commissions with no monthly fee
Ko-fi is a tipping and membership platform where fans buy you a "coffee", join memberships, shop or order commissions. There is no monthly fee.
As listed in November 2026, Ko-fi takes 0% on one-time tips and 5% on shop sales, memberships, monthly tips and commissions. Ko-fi Gold, a paid monthly subscription, removes the 5%. Payments go to your PayPal or Stripe, whose processing fees of about 3% + $0.30 apply. See craving vs Ko-fi.
3. Buy Me a Coffee: best for simple tips and supporter memberships
Buy Me a Coffee is a creator support platform for tips, memberships, a shop, posts and emails. It is easy to set up and has no monthly fee.
As listed in November 2026, Buy Me a Coffee charges a 5% platform fee on every transaction, and no paid tier lowers it. Stripe processing of 2.9% + $0.30 applies, plus payout and international surcharges. See craving vs Buy Me a Coffee.
4. Gumroad: best for selling digital products
Gumroad is a platform for selling digital products such as ebooks, presets and templates. Since January 1, 2025, Gumroad has been the merchant of record, so it handles sales tax for you.
As listed in November 2026, Gumroad has no monthly fee and charges 10% + $0.50 per sale through your profile or direct links, and 30% when a new customer finds you through Gumroad Discover, its marketplace. See craving vs Gumroad.
5. Stan Store: best for courses and coaching sold from your bio
Stan Store is a creator storefront in your bio for digital products, courses, coaching calls, memberships and communities, with email capture and AutoDM for Instagram.
As listed in November 2026, Creator costs $29 a month ($300 a year) and Creator Pro costs $99 a month ($948 a year), with a 0% Stan transaction fee; Stripe or PayPal fees still apply. There is a free trial but no free plan. See craving vs Stan Store.
6. Beacons: best for a link in bio with a store and media kit
Beacons combines a link in bio, a store, a media kit and email. It suits creators who also pitch brands.
As listed in November 2026, Beacons Free is $0 with a 9% transaction fee, Creator is $10 a month with the same 9% fee, Creator Plus is $30 a month with a 0% fee plus memberships and courses, and Creator Max is $100 a month. Stripe or PayPal processing comes on top. See craving vs Beacons.
How do you choose the right Patreon alternative?
- Mostly one-time tips: Ko-fi, with 0% on one-time tips, or Buy Me a Coffee for its simplicity.
- Mostly digital downloads: Gumroad, especially if you want its marketplace, Gumroad Discover.
- Courses and email capture: Stan Store or Beacons Creator Plus.
- Memberships plus calls, custom requests and direct conversations: craving, where one Home covers all of them and Alter answers fans when you cannot.
Patreon itself is still the better choice if your community already lives there, or if posts and community chats inside its app are the core of your membership. Moving members costs effort, so switch when the new setup clearly earns you more or saves you tools.
Compare fees on your real mix of income. On the craving Free and Go plans the platform fee is 20%, so if Memberships are your main income, Plus at 10% or Pro at 5% is the fairer comparison with Patreon.
How do you move from Patreon to craving?
- Set up your Home on the Free plan and connect Stripe.
- Add your links, content and a short description of what supporters get.
- Recreate your tiers as Memberships on Go or Plus, and add Bookings or Personal Requests if fans ask for them.
- Tell Alter about your offers so it can answer questions and suggest the right Membership.
- Share your Home link with your current supporters and Build your Home.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest Patreon alternative?
For one-time tips, Ko-fi takes 0%, as listed in November 2026. For memberships, Ko-fi Gold and Stan Store charge no platform fee but have a monthly price, and craving charges as little as 5% on Pro and Team.
Is craving a good Patreon alternative?
Yes, if you want more than memberships. A craving Home combines Memberships with Tips, Bookings, Personal Requests, chat and an AI assistant called Alter on your own page.
How much does Patreon take from creators?
Patreon charges creators who launched after August 4, 2025 a standard 10% platform fee, plus payment processing, currency conversion and payout fees. Apple takes 30% on iOS in-app purchases.
Which Patreon alternative has no monthly fee?
Ko-fi, Buy Me a Coffee and Gumroad have no monthly fee, and craving and Beacons have free plans. Stan Store has a free trial and then a monthly plan.
Can fans message me on a Patreon alternative?
On craving, fans can message you from your Home, the craving app and connected channels, and Alter replies when you are unavailable. You can read every conversation and reply yourself.
Sources
Facts about other products were checked on their official pages in November 2026. Prices and features change, so confirm on their sites before you decide.