Top 17 Patreon Alternatives To Monetize Audience (Free+Paid)

Last Updated on September 14, 2025 by Zero Earners

Are you looking for the best Patreon alternatives? Yes? Here are some of the top alternatives to Patreon to monetize your audience.

Patreon is a popular monetization platform that allows content creators to earn a recurring income directly from their fans, who are referred to as “patrons.”

It works as a membership service where creators can offer exclusive content, perks, or early access to their work in exchange for financial support. Patreon is used by a wide variety of creators, such as:

• Writers
• YouTubers
• Webcomic Artists
• Podcasters
• Musicians
• Artists
• Educators
• And other content creators

Patreon comes with zero upfront cost (you can create a page for free), and creators have control over their tiers, pricing, and the benefits they offer, allowing them to adapt their offerings as their business evolves.

Beyond memberships, Patreon allows creators to sell digital products and merchandise directly to their fans. This feature provides creators with an additional earning opportunity.

Patreon is the most popular platform for monetization. However, it has some disadvantages. Many creators find it frustrating due to high platform fees, limited customization, and geographical restrictions. For that reason, many creators are looking for Patreon alternatives.

In this post, we’ll explore some of the top Patreon alternatives and examine their features and pricing options in-depth, so you can decide the best platform for you.

Why Are Creators Looking for Patreon Alternatives?

Patreon was a revolutionary idea for creators to monetize their audience. However, many creators are looking for Patreon alternatives for various reasons.

Patreon’s “one-size-fits-all” model doesn’t fit every type of creator. Moreover, many Patreon competitors have emerged over the past few years, offering more specialized features and benefits.

Here are some of the most common reasons creators are looking for Patreon alternatives.

1. High and Hidden Fees

Patreon charges a commission on the income creators earn, typically ranging from 8% to 12%. Additionally, creators have to pay payment processing fees. These combined fees can significantly reduce a creator’s net income, with total fees sometimes exceeding 15% of their revenue.

Moreover, new pages created after August 4, 2025, will face a flat 10% fee. A 2.5% currency conversion fee applies to any payment made in a currency different from your payout currency.

If you sell anything through Apple’s in-app purchase system within the Patreon iOS app, Apple takes a 30% service fee. 

Many Patreon alternatives offer a different fee structure, such as a lower percentage or a flat monthly fee with 0% transaction fees.

2. Lack of Control and Ownership

When you’re building your business on Patreon, it’s a rented land. You don’t own your audience’s data, and your page is constrained by Patreon’s template and branding.

Your business and audience are subject to Patreon’s policies, which can change at any time. If you want to build an independent brand, consider platforms that allow for custom domains and full creative control.

3. Limited Features

Patreon’s core feature is its membership service. While it lets you sell simple digital products through its new “Shop,” it’s not a complete platform for creators who want to scale up their business.

You’ll need third-party tools for advanced landing pages, email marketing, and online courses. Juggling multiple platforms for these different revenue streams can be clunky and inefficient.

Many Patreon alternatives offer “all-in-one” solutions that combine memberships with e-commerce, course creation, or other tools.

4. Focus on One-Time Support

Patreon’s business model is designed for recurring, monthly support. However, some creators prefer or need to offer one-time donations or tips.

Some Patreon alternatives offer one-time donations or tips capabilities. It helps creators to earn money for specific needs.

What To Look for in a Patreon Alternative?

Finding a Patreon alternative is not just about looking for a new place to collect money. You need a platform that aligns with your specific creative business model and goals. The best Patreon alternative for one creator might be terrible for others.

Here are some key factors to consider when evaluating Patreon alternatives.

1. Fees and Payouts

As I’ve mentioned earlier, Patreon charges high platform fees and additional hidden fees like payment processing and in-app purchases.

Patreon doesn’t allow creators to withdraw earnings instantly. It has a set schedule for payouts.

Many Patreon alternatives offer lower fees or different pricing structures. Moreover, some platforms offer instant payouts.

2. Monetization Model and Flexibility

Patreon follows the recurring membership monetization model. While it has a shop for selling simple digital products, it’s not a complete platform for an e-commerce business.

Many Patreon alternatives offer different or additional ways to earn money. Ask yourself:

• Do I want to offer one-time tips? Some platforms are famous for their “tip jar” model, which works well for creators who don’t create exclusive content every month.
• Do I sell digital or physical products? Some platforms are built for selling digital downloads (e-books, music, software) or physical merchandise.
• Do I want to sell courses or coaching? Some platforms are designed specifically for educators and course creators, often including advanced features like student tracking and quizzes.
• Am I a writer or a journalist? You need a Patreon alternative that monetizes newsletters, with a focus on written content and a built-in audience for discovery.

3. Customization and Branding

Patreon gives you a page on its platform, which doesn’t reflect your branding. Also, you can’t customize the template that match your branding.

You want a platform that gives you the liberty to customize the templates and use your custom domain.

Another factor to consider is content ownership. Do you own your content and your subscriber list? With a self-hosted solution, you have full control and are not subject to a third-party platform’s policies or potential shutdown.

4. Community and Engagement Tools

Community and engagement tools or features like discussions, forums, or events keep the audience engaged. Moreover, you need to look at whether the platform integrates with the tools you already use, such as your website (WordPress, Squarespace), email marketing provider (Mailchimp), or community chat (Discord).

5. Content Delivery and Hosting

Does the platform support the media you create? Some Patreon alternatives are better for video, while others are better for podcasts or written content.

Also, you need to look at storage and bandwidth limitations. Are there limits on how much content you can upload? Are there extra costs for large files or high traffic?

6. Ease of Use and Audience Recognition

Some platforms are easy to use and require a little bit of technical knowledge to set up, while others require more effort to set up and maintain, especially self-hosted.

Patreon is a very popular platform on the market. Therefore, many people already know how to use it. However, a lesser-known alternative might require you to educate your audience on how to support you.

Overview of Patreon Alternatives

1. Ko-fi

Ko-fi is a casual and flexible alternative to Patreon, focusing on simplicity and ease of use. It allows creators to receive financial support from their fans. It supports creators of all kinds, from podcasts to cosplay, pixel art to crochet.

It has gained popularity as a creator-first platform. Unlike Patreon, it doesn’t force creators into monthly memberships instantly. Instead, your fans can make simple one-time donations, like buying you a cup of coffee.

Key Features:

• One-time Donations: It works like a digital tip jar. Fans can make a one-time donation to show their appreciation for their favorite creators’ work.
• Memberships: Creators can set up tiered membership plans with exclusive benefits for their fans, similar to Patreon, but with more flexibility.
• Shop: Creators can set up a storefront to sell digital and physical products, including artwork, merchandise, e-books, and digital assets.
• Commissions & Services: Creators can offer custom work or services through their Ko-fi page, allowing fans to pay for their personalized creations directly.
• Stream Alerts: Ko-fi integrates with streaming platforms to display alerts when someone donates or becomes a member during a live stream.
• Direct Payments: Creators get paid directly and instantly into their PayPal or Stripe account.
• Customization: It offers limited customization options.

Pricing:

• Ko-fi Contributor: 0% Fee on tips and 5% service fee on sales, commissions, and memberships.
• Ko-fi Gold (optional subscription): $12/month, creators can unlock additional features, remove platform fees on sales, memberships, and commissions, and gain access to analytics and other perks.

Pros:

• Free tier for basic donations
• Lower fees than Patreon
• Direct and instant payouts via PayPal and Stripe
• User-friendly interface
• Donation alerts while streaming

Cons:

• Limited mobile experience
• Fewer advanced features/analytics
• Payment processor fees

2. Buy Me a Coffee

Buy Me a Coffee is another platform that works similarly to Ko-fi, an alternative to Patreon. It’s a user-friendly platform designed to help content creators, artists, writers, and freelancers receive financial support from their audience.

Buy Me a Coffee makes it easy for fans to appreciate content creators’ work by “buying a virtual coffee” as a one-time donation or by opting for recurring monthly memberships.

Key Features:

• One-Time Donation: Fans can make a one-time donation, often referred to as “buying a coffee.” The amount can be set by the creator or chosen by the supporter.
• Memberships: Creators can earn a recurring income by accepting monthly or yearly subscriptions. Creators can offer exclusive content or other special perks to loyal customers.
• Shop: BMC lets creators establish a storefront to sell digital and physical products, including e-books, art prints, templates, and merchandise.
• Posts, Audio & Email: Creators can publish free and exclusive content. Try different formats, such as audio, and make it members-only to drive more memberships.
• Ownership: Creators own 100% of their supporters. They never email them, and creators can export the list any time.
• Customization: BMC offers a limited customization option for the creator’s page, allowing them to brand it with their colors and imagery.
• Multiple and Instant Payment: BMC supports multiple payments via credit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, ensuring a convenient experience for supporters. Creators get paid instantly to their bank account.

Pricing:

• BMC charges a 5% transaction fee, plus a payment processing fee.

Pros:

• Simplicity and ease of use
• Various marketing tools, like an email newsletter, iOS and Android mobile apps, and analytics tools
• Modern, professional design without extra effort
• Allows creators to diversify income with memberships + one-time support
• Creator-friendly pricing
• Sell digital and physical products

Cons:

• Limited discovery
• Potential for lower Average earnings per supporter
• Limited analytics
• Limited tools to build an audience

3. Substack

Substack is the best Patreon alternative for writers and journalists who cover politics, pop culture, food, philosophy, tech, travel, and more. This platform has completely changed the way writers earn money online.

Instead of relying on traditional media or advertising, writers can now monetize their work through a subscription model, primarily focusing on newsletters.

Key Features:

• Newsletter Publishing: Creators can write and send long-form articles, essays, and other content directly to their subscribers’ email inboxes.
• Monetization: Creators can set up paid subscriptions, either on a monthly or annual basis.
• Multimedia Support: Apart from writing, Substack also supports other forms of content, including podcasts, videos, and discussion threads, allowing creators to diversify their offerings.
• Website Hosting: Creators get their own basic website where all the content is archived, similar to a blog. This helps new readers to discover and binge on past content.
• Audience Ownership: Creators own their audience email list. It means they can export their subscriber data at any time.
• Community Features: It has features designed to foster community, such as comment sections on posts, a “Notes” feature, and private “Chats” for subscribers.

Pricing:

• Publishing is free.
• They charge a 10% platform fee for paid subscriptions, plus Stripe fees.

Pros:

• Ease of use and free to publish
• Perfect for writers who want direct relationships with readers
• Built-in distribution via email
• 100% Audience ownership
• All-in-one solution
• Easy migration if you already have a mailing list

Cons:

• Limited customization of newsletter design
• High fees for paid subscription
• Limited marketing and analytics

4. Gumroad

Unlike Patreon, which focuses on memberships, Gumroad is an e-commerce platform designed to help creators sell their products directly to their audience.

Gumroad simplifies the process for creators to set up a storefront to sell digital products, from eBooks and templates to music and courses. However, it also supports physical products and subscriptions.

Key Features:

• Easy to Set Up: Gumroad is known for its simplicity. Creators can set up a storefront fast and easily; upload your product, add a short description, set a price, and you’re ready to go.
• Digital Product Focus: It’s the perfect solution to sell digital products, such as e-books, courses, software, music, templates, and art.
• Customizable Product Pages: Creators are allowed to customize their product pages with descriptions, images, and previews. Moreover, they can embed Gumroad’s payment and “follow” buttons onto their own websites.
• Payment Processing: Gumroad handles payment processing and accepts major credit cards and PayPal. It also manages VAT for EU sales.
• License Keys: Gumroad can generate and manage license keys for software creators.
• Memberships & Subscriptions: Gumroad also supports membership and subscription options for creators.
• Analytics: The platform provides basic analytics to help creators track sales, understand customer behavior, and see where sales originate.
• Discover: This feature can showcase products to new audiences, acting as a marketplace.
• Instant Payouts: Creators can withdraw their earnings instantly with an additional fee. The payment options are direct deposit or PayPal, which vary by country.

Pricing:

• Direct Sales (from your profile or social links): A flat fee of 10% + $0.50 per transaction for all sales.
• Discovery Sales (via Gumroad “Discover” marketplace): A flat fee of 30% per transaction.

Pros:

• User-friendly and fast set up
• No upfront costs (for basic use)
• Direct audience connection
• Handles payment processing, including taxes
• License key generation for software products

Cons:

• The flat fee of 10% can be higher compared to some other platforms
• Limited customization options
• Not ideal for physical products, though it supports
• Limited community features

5. Kickstarter

Kickstarter is a global crowdfunding platform that focuses on project-based funding. Unlike Patreon, which focuses on membership support, Kickstarter is primarily for a single, finite project with a clear end goal.

It’s specifically designed for creative projects in the following categories: Art, Comics, Crafts, Dance, Design, Fashion, Film & Video, Food, Games, Journalism, Music, Photography, Publishing, Technology, and Theater.

Key Features:

• Project-Based Crowdfunding: Kickstarted is a project-based crowdfunding platform rather than raising funds for charity or personal causes.
• Reward Tiers: Creators offer a variety of rewards related to the project for different levels of financial support, such as a copy of the finished product, a special edition, or behind-the-scenes access.
• No Equity or Financial Return: Backers are not traditional investors. They don’t ask for a share of the company’s profits or ownership. Moreover, Kickstarter takes no ownership of the projects on its platform.
• Community Building: Creators get a space to engage with their backers through updates, comments, and project pages.
• Project Curation: Kickstarter doesn’t allow every project to go live. Kickstarter manually reviews projects before they can go live to ensure they meet its guidelines and are feasible. It protects the company’s reputation and backers from potential scams.

Pricing:

• 5% fee on raised funds + payment processing fee.
• It’s free to create a project on the platform.

Pros:

• Ideal for large and one-time projects
• It has a huge built-in audience of potential backers
• Ability to raise substantial funding in a short period
• Creators can reward their supporters or backers with personalized merchandise or early access to their products
• Covers a wide range of categories

Cons:

• It’s an all-or-nothing model, meaning creators must meet the funding goal to receive their supporters’ money
• Fierce competition made it difficult for a project to stand out without a strong marketing plan and a pre-existing audience
• Kickstarter takes a 5% commission on successfully funded projects, plus a payment processing fee
• The project goes through a review tunnel, which takes around 3-5 days

6. Indiegogo

Indiegogo is another global crowdfunding platform that empowers individuals, startups, and organizations to raise funds for a wide range of projects. It works similarly to Kickstarter.

It was launched in 2008. Since then, it has helped launch over 800,000 projects. Now, it has become a go-to platform for creators and innovators seeking financial support from a community of backers.

Indiegogo is known for its flexibility and diverse project types, from cutting-edge technology and design to creative arts and social causes.

Key Features:

• Flexible Funding Options: Indiegogo offers two primary funding models: fixed and flexible. With fixed funding, creators only receive the funds if they meet or exceed their campaign goal. With flexible funding, creators can keep all the money raised, regardless of whether they reach their target goal.
• Wide Range of Project Categories: It supports a wide range of projects, including technology, design, gaming, film, music, art, food, and even personal causes.
• “InDemand” Program: This feature allows creators or innovators to continue raising funds even after their initial campaign has ended.
• Global Reach: It’s a global crowdfunding platform that is accessible to creators and backers in numerous countries and territories.
• IndieShop: This is an e-commerce site of Indiegogo where creators can sell their products directly to consumers.
• Pre-Launch Tools: Indiegogo offers tools and strategies to help creators build anticipation and gather support before launching their campaign.

Pricing:

• Indiegogo charges a platform fee of 5% on funds raised + payment processing fees.

Pros:

• Flexible funding option reduces the risk of a project receiving no funds if it falls just short of its goal
• The InDemand program allows creators and innovators to continue raising funds
• Less restrictive guidelines compared to some competitors
• Creators receive backer information right after pledging
• Can raise money for charity with GoFundMe

Cons:

• Has a lower campaign success rate compared to some competitors like Kickstarter
• Indiegogo’s audience is not as large as Kickstarter’s
• Creators are solely responsible for delivering promised perks to backers

7. Podia

Patreon is one of the best platforms for creators who want recurring revenue through memberships. Podia works differently from Patreon.

Podia is an online platform that empowers creators to build, sell, and manage their digital products. It helps individuals and small businesses to monetize their knowledge and expertise without the hassle of juggling multiple tools.

Podia is an all-in-one solution for website building, email marketing, running an online store, and much more.

Key Features:

• Online Courses: Podia makes it easy to sell online courses by providing an intuitive course builder that allows creators to structure their content with sections and lessons. It supports various multimedia formats like videos, audio files, PDFs, and embedded content. Moreover, the platform hosts your video content.
• Digital Downloads: Creators can sell any type of digital file, including eBooks, templates, presets, audio files, and spreadsheets. Podia handles everything, from hosting to product delivery.
• Coaching Services: Podia also makes it easy to sell coaching or consultation services. Creators can integrate coaching into their courses or offer it as a standalone product.
• Webinars and Workshops: The platform enables you to sell access to your webinars hosted on Zoom or YouTube Live. Also, you can sell your webinar session replays.
• Memberships & Communities: Like Patreon, Podia also lets creators to build recurring revenue through membership tiers and foster a community around their content.
• Email Marketing: Podia’s built-in email marketing tools make it easy to send broadcasts, create automated campaigns, and segment audiences.
• Affiliate Marketing: Podia includes a built-in affiliate program feature that allows creators to recruit and manage affiliates to promote their products for a commission.
• Custom Domain: You can connect your custom domain to the Podia website.

Pricing:

• Mover: $39/month + 5% transaction fees
• Shaker: $89/month

Pros:

• Ease of use and all-in-one solution
• No transaction fees with Shaker
• Generous features on paid plans
• Integrated email marketing
• Strong community features
• Excellent customer support

Cons:

• Monthly fees may be too high for beginners
• Not ideal for casual creators who only want tips or small memberships
• Limited advanced e-commerce features
• No mobile app for creators

8. Sellfy

Sellfy is an e-commerce platform that lets creators and small businesses sell digital products, subscriptions, and merchandise.

The platform simplifies the process of setting up an online store, managing products, and processing payments, especially for digital goods, subscriptions, and print-on-demand merchandise.

Key Features:

• Diverse Product Support: The platform supports a wide range of product types, including:
  • Digital products of all types: Sell ebooks, videos, audio & music, or any other files like PSD, AI, and many more.
  • Physical products: Sell physical products & tangible items from your Sellfy storefront.
  • Subscriptions: Create digital subscription products and charge your customers on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis.
  • Video streaming: Offer your videos on demand, reduce the risk of piracy & eliminate download issues with video streaming.
  • Print on demand: Sell t-shirts, hoodies, mugs & hats using our built-in print on demand.  They will automatically print incoming orders and send them to your customers.
• Store Builder: You can effortlessly create a beautiful store that stands out and uniquely represents your brand. It offers various customization options, including adding your logo, changing colors, and creating the layout you want to match your brand.
• Built-in Marketing Tools: Sellfy includes built-in marketing tools like email marketing, coupons & discounts, cart abandonment emails, tracking pixels, upselling, and freebies.
• Affiliate Marketing: You can launch an affiliate program for your store: reward your affiliates with a commission for every sale they make on behalf of your store.
• Embedded Options: You can embed “Buy Now” buttons, product links, product cards, and YouTube end screens & cards.
• Payment Processing: It supports PayPal and Stripe, allowing customers to pay with credit cards, PayPal accounts, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
• Security: It offers secure payment processing, PDF stamping for digital products, and unique download links with limits to help prevent piracy.
• Custom Domain: You can add your custom domain to your Sellfy store for a more professional brand presence.

Pricing:

• Sellfy doesn’t charge payment processing fees (though payment processors do).
• Starter: $29/month
• Business: $79/month
• Premium: $159/month

Pros:

• Beautiful store in
five minutes
• Built-in marketing features like discount codes, email marketing, ad pixel tracking, cart abandonment emails, and upselling
• Customization options to match your branding
• Optimized for mobile devices
• Support diverse product types

Cons:

• Limited app integrations
• Only support two payment options: PayPal and Stripe
• Basic analytics
• Limited customization for complex scenarios

9. Memberful

Memberful is a membership software platform that empowers creators, publishers, educators, and podcasters to monetize their content. Interestingly, it’s owned by Patreon but operates independently, giving creators a white-label membership experience.

Memberful focuses on providing seamless integration with existing platforms or a dedicated membership site.

Key Features:

• Flexible Membership Plans: You can create diverse subscription tiers with options for monthly, annual, weekly, quarterly, or fixed-term payments. Also, you can offer one-time payments and group subscriptions.
• Easy Integration: It integrates seamlessly with popular third-party services, such as Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Google Analytics, Discord, and Stripe. Also, it offers a dedicated WordPress plugin for easy integration with WordPress websites.
• Customization and Branding: The platform allows custom domain names, brand colors, logos, and personalized transactional emails.
• Optimized Checkout Process: Easy Stripe integration for payments and offers free and paid trials, coupons, and discounts.
• Content Protection: Protect members-only content, including blog posts, newsletters, private podcasts, and downloads.
• Easy Member Management: It provides a built-in referral program, automated retention discounts, cancellation surveys, and custom transactional emails.

Pricing:

• $49/month + transaction fees

Pros:

• Creator control and ownership
• Seamless integration with existing websites, particularly WordPress, and other essential tools
• User-friendly interface
• Excellent customer support
• Recurring revenue focus
• Secure payment processing
• Referral program and coupons for promotions

Cons:

• Not beginner-friendly
• Monthly fees can add up for smaller creators
• Relies on Stripe, limiting payment methods in some countries

10. Kajabi

Kajabi is an all-in-one platform for creators and entrepreneurs to build, market, and sell digital products. It has everything to run an online business smoothly.

Kajabi is the perfect solution for hosting your website, creating and selling online courses, membership sites, coaching programs, digital downloads, and even managing email marketing, sales funnels, and payment processing.

Key Features:

• Diverse Product Creation: The platform allows you to create diverse products, including:
  • Courses: Use customizable templates or start from scratch using intuitive design tools to create anything from a mini-course to a signature program.
  • Coaching: Offer one-on-one or group coaching sessions.
  • Memberships: Create membership subscriptions to offer exclusive content or communities.
  • Digital Products: Sell digital products like e-books, templates, and other downloadable content.
  • Podcasts: Host and monetize your podcasts.
• Website Builder: Create a website without coding knowledge using customizable themes and drag-and-drop tools.
• Marketing and Sales Tools: The platforms include marketing and sales tools like email marketing, sales funnels, checkout pages, and an affiliate program.
• Community Building: Create dedicated spaces for your audience to connect, discuss, and engage with each other and with you.
• Payments and Analytics: You can seamlessly accept payments through Kajabi Payments (powered by Stripe) or integrate with Stripe and PayPal directly. Track key metrics like sales performance, email engagement, website traffic, and customer progress.
• Mobile App: An app for your customers to access your content on the go.

Pricing:

• Kickstarter: $89/month
• Basic: $149/month
• Growth: $199/month
• Pro: $399/month

Pros:

• Built-in marketing tools to increase conversions
• User-friendly interface
• Excellent course creation capabilities
• Professional website building
• No transaction fees (on most plans)

Cons:

• No free plan and pricing is expensive compared to other platforms
• Limited customization (for advanced users)
• Learning curve for advanced features
• No built-in SMS Marketing or Advanced Lead Routing

11. Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks is an all-in-one platform for creators, entrepreneurs, and brands to monetize online communities, courses, and memberships.

Key Features:

• Community Building: The platform has everything required to build and monetize an online community, such as spaces, activity feed, chat & messaging, events, gamification, AI, member profiles, and automation.
• Online Courses: The platform includes a course builder to create and organize online courses with sections and lessons. It supports text, video, audio, and image content within courses.
• Memberships: Offer membership subscriptions for access to your community, courses, or exclusive content.
• Branding & Customization: You can customize your network with your brand colors, logo, and domain name.
• Payment Gateways: Integrates with Stripe for seamless payment processing.
• Analytics: You can track member activity and course analytics.

Pricing:

• The Courses Plan: $129/month
• The Business Plan: $229/month
• The Growth Plan: $430/month
• Mighty Pro: Request Pricing
• A 14-day free trial is available with The Business Plan

Pros:

• All-in-one platform for community, courses, and memberships
• Strong community focus to foster genuine connections and interactions
• Flexible “Spaces” concept for highly organized and segmented content
• Offers a variety of ways to generate revenue from your community and content
• User-friendly interface for users
• Dedicated mobile apps to provide a branded mobile experience for members
• The platform is built to scale with your community and offerings

Cons:

• Course features can be basic
• Limited integrations
• Transaction fees
• Learning curve for some features
• No native video hosting
• Pricing can be high for higher tiers

12. MemberPress

MemberPress is a popular WordPress plugin designed to help you create, manage, and monetize membership sites. It offers comprehensive tools for controlling content access, selling digital products, and building online courses directly within your WordPress website.

Key Features:

• Content Restriction and Access Rules: It’s the most important feature for any type of membership site. MemberPress allows you to create sophisticated rules to restrict access to posts, pages, categories, tags, custom post types, and even individual files. You can grant access based on membership level, user role, or specific purchases.
• Unlimited Membership Levels: You can create an unlimited number of free or paid membership tiers with varying levels of access and pricing.
• Online Course Creation (LMS): MemberPress is one of the best LMS WordPress plugins. It includes a built-in Learning Management System (LMS) that allows you to create and sell online courses with lessons, quizzes, and progress tracking, all without needing a separate course plugin.
• Flexible Payment Options: You can accept one-time payments or recurring subscriptions through popular payment gateways like Stripe and PayPal. It also supports trial periods and flexible payment plans.
• Email Integrations: It supports email marketing services like Mailchimp, ConvertKit, and ActiveCampaign to automate communications and grow your list.
• Affiliate Program Integration: Create an affiliate program (Easy Affiliate) to incentivize others to promote your memberships.
• Community Forum Integration: It seamlessly integrates with forum plugins like bbPress and BuddyBoss to build community engagement.

Pricing:

• Basic: $179.50/year
• Plus: $299.50/year
• Pro: $399.50/year

Pros:

• Ease of use and all-in-one solution
• Robust content protection
• Built-in course builder
• No transaction fees
• Flexible payment options

Cons:

• No free version
• Can be expensive for beginners
• No upsell feature
• Only works with WordPress sites

13. Teachable

As the name suggests, Teachable is a comprehensive online platform designed for individuals and organizations looking to create, host, market, and sell their own digital courses and coaching services.

It positions itself as a user-friendly, all-in-one solution, eliminating the need for extensive technical expertise to launch an online education business.

Key Features:

• Course Creation and Management: It provides a builder to easily design, organize, and upload various types of content, including videos, PDFs, audio files, and text lessons.
• Multiple Product Types: Teachable is known for selling online courses. However, it supports coaching sessions, digital downloads, and memberships, offering creators diverse revenue streams.
• Customization and Branding: Teachable offers significant customization options for course pages, sales pages, and branding elements to align with a creator’s identity.
• Integrated Sales and Marketing Tools: Includes built-in tools for creating sales pages, offering flexible payment options (subscriptions, payment plans, Buy Now, Pay Later), managing coupons, implementing order bumps and upsells, and setting up affiliate programs.
• Student Engagement Features: It offers features like quizzes, certificates of completion, and drip content to enhance the learning experience and keep students engaged.
• Community Building: The built-in community features foster interaction among students.

Pricing:

• Starter: $39/month + 7.5% transaction fee
• Builder: $89/month
• Growth: $189/month
• Advanced: $399/month

Pros:

• Ease of use and all-ine-one solution
• Flexible monetization options
• Unlimited video hosting
• Strong sales and marketing tools
• Ownership of data and audience

Cons:

• Can be expensive for beginners or small businesses
• Limited customization on lower tiers
• No built-in blogging platform

14. Bandcamp

Bandcamp is an online music distribution platform that empowers artists and labels by providing a direct-to-fan sales model. It allows musicians to upload, promote, and sell their music and merchandise directly to their fans.

This platform has a strong reputation for being artist-centric and is a popular choice for independent and underground artists.

Key Features:

• Direct-to-Fan Sales: Artists can sell digital downloads, physical copies (vinyl, CDs, cassettes), and merchandise directly through their Bandcamp pages.
• Set Pricing: Artists can set their own prices for music and merchandise.
• High-Quality Downloads: The platform offers downloads in various formats, including lossless options like FLAC, ALAC, WAV, and AIFF, in addition to MP3 and AAC.
• Customizable Artist Pages: Bandcamp provides customization options for artists to create personalized pages to showcase their music, merchandise, biography, and links to their other platforms.
• Fan Community Features: Fans can follow artists, create wishlists, showcase their collections, and interact with other fans.
• Bandcamp Live: This feature allows artists to host ticketed live-streaming events, often integrated with merchandise sales.

Pricing:

• A 10% revenue share on merch sales and 15% on digital music
• Bandcamp Pro: $10/month

Pros:

• It fosters a direct connection between artists and their fans
• Bandcamp is renowned for prioritizing artists
• Multiple revenue streams
• High-quality audio
• Discovery tools help fans find new and underground music, benefiting emerging artists
• Support for physical media

Cons:

• Limited reach compared to major streaming services
• No automatic aggregation
• Limited playlist functionality

15. Uscreen

Uscreen is an all-in-one platform for video creators to launch, manage, and scale their own video streaming businesses. It provides a comprehensive suite of tools that allow creators to monetize their content through subscriptions, pay-per-view, and rentals.

Key Features:

• Mobile + TV Apps: Video creators can launch their own white-labeled mobile (iOS and Android) and TV apps (Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV). This allows users to access content on their preferred devices with a consistent branded experience.
• Live Streaming: This feature allows video creators to live stream to any device across web, mobile, or OTT in full HD. The feature includes real-time chat, event scheduling, pre-registration options, and the ability to monetize live events through pay-per-view or subscriptions.
• Flexible Monetization Options: Supports various revenue models, including Subscription Video-On-Demand (SVOD), Transactional Video-On-Demand (TVOD), Bundled Content, and Donations.
• Website Builder and Customization: Creators can customize their own branded website with a customizable interface, including themes, custom domain options, and SEO technology.
• Secure Video Hosting and Delivery: The platform offers secure streaming to protect content and reliable video hosting with global CDN delivery.
• Payment Processing: Integration with payment gateways like Stripe and PayPal to handle global payments in multiple currencies.

Pricing:

• Growth plan: $199/month + $1.99 per subscriber fee
• App Essentials plan: $499/month + $0.99 per subscriber fee
• Custom-made plan: Contact Sales + $0.99 per subscriber fee

Pros:

• All-in-one solution and branded experience
• Multiple monetization options
• Excellent customer support
• Strong community features
• Built-in video Content Management System (CMS) to store, upload, host, and organize videos in a single platform

Cons:

• Can be expensive for beginners
• Feature limitations in lower tiers
• Limited free trial
• No built-in affiliate marketing

16. Twitch

Twitch is a live streaming platform that focuses on video games. However, it has expanded to include a wide range of other content such as music, art, “in real life” (IRL) streams, and esports competitions.

It allows users to watch live broadcasts, interact with streamers and other viewers in real-time, and for creators to broadcast their own content.

Key Features:

• Followers and Subscriptions: Viewers can subscribe to channels for a monthly fee, which often grants them exclusive perks, like custom emotes, badges, and ad-free viewing.
• Bits and Cheers: Bits are a virtual currency in the Twitch platform that viewers can purchase and use to “Cheer” for streamers, offering a way to directly support them financially within the platform.
• Monetization Options: Streamers can earn money through subscriptions, Bits, ads, sponsorships, and affiliate marketing.

Pricing:

• Twitch doesn’t charge fees for creators.

Pros:

• Strong Ccommunity focus
• Niche content hub
• Monetization opportunities for streamers
• Discoverability for gamers
• User-friendly interface

Cons:

• Strict content policies and bans
• Variable streaming quality for non-partners
• Streamers face monetization challenges

Related: How To Make Money From Twitch

17. Hypage

Hypage is a “link-in-bio” tool that lets you create a bio link for your work, social media accounts, and other creative projects. The key distinction from other link-in-bio tools, like Linktree, is its robust set of features for directly monetizing an audience.

Hypage is often described as a combination of Linktree, Gumroad, and Patreon, as it enables creators to sell digital products, create memberships, and accept donations all from one landing page.

Key Features:

• Monetization Tools: You can directly sell digital products (e-books, music, videos, etc.), set up paid memberships for exclusive content, and accept donations or fan requests.
• Customizable Landing Page: Create a professional-looking micro-landing page with a drag-and-drop builder, custom domains, and brand-specific colors and fonts.
• Analytics: Analytics dashboards to track clicks, user engagement, and sales performance.
• Email Collection: Collect email addresses from your followers directly on your Hypage link page, helping you build an email list.
• Payment Integrations: Stripe and PayPal.

Pricing:

• Pro Plan: $19/month
• Enterprise Plan: $39/month

Pros:

• Creators can generate revenue directly from their bio link without relying on external sites
• Zero transaction fees
• Offers a high degree of customization, including the ability to use a custom domain
• Zapier and Webhook integration

Cons:

• Limited integrations
• Fewer customization options than competitors

Which Patreon Alternative Should I Choose?

It’s a comprehensive list of Patreon alternatives. If you’re still not sure which Patreon alternative will work for you, here are our recommendations by creator type.

• Artists & Casual Creators: Ko-fi, Bandcamp, and Buy Me a Coffee
• Writers & Journalists: Substack, Buy Me a Coffee, and Memberful
• Digital Product Sellers: Podia and Gumroad
• Educators & Coaches: Memberful, Podia, Teachable, and Kajabi
• Community-Driven Creators: Bandcamp, MemberPress, Memberful, and Mighty Networks
• Big Project Launches: Kickstarter and Indiegogo
• Video Content Creators: Ko-fi, Buy Me a Coffee, Uscreen, and Twitch
• Merchandise Sellers: Sellfy and Bandcamp

FAQs

Final Thoughts

Patreon is one of the most popular platforms for creators to monetize their audience. However, it’s not the only option.

As you can see, there are many Patreon alternatives available. Creators can pick from a wide variety of Patreon alternatives, each offering unique strengths—from Ko-fi’s no-fee tips to Substack’s powerful newsletter system, Gumroad’s product-first model, and Podia’s all-in-one platform for educators.

Recommended Resources:

• Top 11 Apps Like AfterPay (Buy Now, Pay Later)
• Top 15 Sites Like Scrambly For Extra Cash