Are you also on the quest to find the next best crowdfunding platform like Patreon for your business? Well, you’re not alone.

Today, creators value easy communication with fans, customization options for branding and better opportunities to build a network now more than ever. Which is why many creators are on the hunt to find the next best alternative to Patreon that will help them succeed in current times.

Patreon has been a super popular crowdfunding platform since it was the first to make it possible for creators to monetize their passions.

However, due to censorship controversy, political bias and a huge update to the membership industry with many amazing alternatives to Patreon with even better features and flexibility, Patreon has been left behind in many avenues.

Lucky for you, there's an abundance of excellent platforms available now. And in this article, we will discuss and compare them all to Patreon to help you take your business to the next level.

Top 7 Alternatives To Patreon: Even Better

Here are the top 7 Patreon alternatives you should definitely consider if you’re looking for something with even better features and benefits in certain areas than Patreon.

1. Crowdfundly - best for content creators who want an all-in-one solution to monetize creativity.
2. Podia - best for selling memberships like patreon and earn recurring income that too on your own website/landing page.
3. Buy Me A Coffee - best for one-time support, an online tip jar.
4. Sellfy - best for creators who are also business-minded. An e-commerce platform for artists.
5. Ko-Fi - Donations, subscriptions and sales all in one place for creators
6. Kickstarter - best for one-time fundraising campaigns
7. Hypage - link in bio tool + membership platform

Pros And Cons Of Patreon

Before we go ahead, let’s quickly take a look at pros and cons of Patreon to make it fair.

Best For: Already established Creators

Pros

• Recurring income as patrons subscribe to monthly memberships.
• Easy monetization from crowdfunding campaigns for established creators.
• Membership tiers and exclusive content options for supporters.
• Robust community and networking opportunities among creators and supporters.
• Integration with various third-party tools and platforms.
• Established platform with a large and engaged user base.
• Wordpress Plugin to connect your site.

Cons

• Platform fee can go up to 12% starting from 5%.
• Additional payment processing fee applied.
• Limited customization option to create a brand.
• Minimum discoverability - if you don’t have an already existing fanbase, it'll be hard to build one on Patreon.
• Less ownership and control as it’s a third-party platform and not your own website.

5 Must Ask Questions When Looking For A Patreon Alternative

Now that we’ve discussed all the pros and cons of Patreon. Let’s move on to highlighting some key features you should consider before choosing a platform for your business.

1. Does the platform align with your purpose and goals?
2. Does the platform provide opportunities to connect with a strong community where you can learn from each other, promote your services and receive feedback?
3. What’s the pricing structure and is there any hidden fee or charges associated with the platform?
4. Does it offer enough opportunity to market yourself and your services? Integration with marketing tools etc to attract new audiences?
5. Does it provide analytics to understand your performance and your audience in order to provide valuable content to them?

Asking these questions will help you gain clarity and make the right decision in choosing the best possible platform to monetize your skills.

1. Crowdfundly

Best For: Content Creators

Crowdfundly is a relatively new platform in the market but provides great value through what it has to offer. It’s more focused on connecting creators to fans by fostering mutual love by helping creators accept tips and donations, offer memberships and even a digital shop where fans can buy their favorite pieces of art from their favorite creators.

This new and exciting Patreon alternative also provides enough opportunities for creators to offer exciting content, perks and rewards, and daily updates about their work to maintain the connection with their followers.

Crowdfundly's primary objective is to simplify the process of receiving support for creators by offering features such as one-time payments, commissions, digital downloads, and membership subscriptions. In short, bridge the gap between creators and their supporters by offering an easy-to-use, customizable, and accessible platform.

Key Features:

• Dedicated space to showcase your best work and help you promote your unique talents. Highlight the most unique masterpieces to your audience and create a lasting impression.

• The platform is built by sitting with creators to provide best possible value, hence it provides amazing opportunities to connect with fellow creators and build a strong community.

• Sharing content and communicating with followers is super easy and fun.You can create posts and share your updates with your followers, keeping them engaged and informed about your work.

• Direct payments! Crowdfunding doesn't hold payments for a single moment and money flows directly from your fan’s account to yours.

• Less expensive than any other platform on the market.

• Create Your Own Shop

The Shop feature of Crowdfundly comes with many features. You can sell your products to your most engaged audiences and earn an extra income.

Crowdfundly Vs Patreon: Comparison  

Crowdfundly and Patreon are both crowdfunding platforms but are distinct in their offerings.

Pricing:

Two plans available:

• Free Plan: 4% commission 
• Pro Plan: $4.99/month

2. Podia

Best For:

Course Creators, Coaches

Key Features

• Best branding and customization options as you can build your own website on Podia.
• No transaction fees on donations.
• All-in-one platform to sell online courses, memberships and digital downloads.
• Built-in marketing tools to boost your business.

Podia Vs Patreon: Comparison 

Pricing

• Free plan has a 8% transaction fee on sales + 2.9% payment processing fee.
• Mover Plan is $39/month with 0 transaction fee
• Shaker Plan is $89/month with 0 transaction fee

Rating/Review

Average rating of Podia on trustpilot is 3.9 out of 28 reviews.

53% rated Podia 5-star while 32% rated 1-star.

3. Buy Me A Coffee

Best For:

Creators who want to build a side-business and want community support without any hassle.

Key Features

• No sign-up required for fans to donate and tip to support your business.
• Customizable support buttons and integration options.
• An online tip jar that’s focused on one-time donations.
• No upfront cost.
• Instant payouts with just 5% transaction fees.
• Integration with popular payment methods such as Paypal, Stripe, Google Pay, Apple Pay.

BMC Vs Patreon: Comparison 

Pricing

• Free to use with 5% transaction fee.

Rating/Review

Average rating of BMC on trustpilot is 3.9 out of 585 reviews.

60% of users rated 5-star while 27% rated 1-star.

4. Sellfy

Best For:

Artists with Entrepreneurial minds, Digital product sellers

Key Features

• Sell products, subscriptions, digital goods and raise money for creative projects all in one place.
• E-commerce for creative minds.
• Print on demand feature.
• Pay-what-you-want feature.
• Seamless social media integration.
• Advanced features like upselling, detailed insights, discount codes.
• Instant payouts.

Sellfy Vs Patreon: Comparison 

Sellfy is an awesome tool for artists to be able to sell stuff online while offering memberships and crowdfund campaigns like patreon as well. You can fully customize your storefront, get PDF stamping to protect digital content from piracy, and offer print on demand mugs, hats ,shirts and other exciting products.

Pricing

Sellfy has 3 pricing plans:

• Starter plan is $22/month with no transaction fees.
• Business plan is $59/mo
• Premium plan is $119/mo.

Rating/Review

Not much data available.

Average rating on trustpilot is 2.9 out of just 7 reviews.

5. Ko-Fi

Best For:

Supporter-funded creators

Ko-Fi is yet another interesting patreon alternative that has gained much popularity after buy me a coffee. It targets all kinds of creative people and provides a one-stop crowdfunding solution by offering donations, subscriptions and shop features all at once.

Key Features:

• Focused on one-time donations and let’s fans pay in ‘coffees’.
• Doesn’t charge anything from donations sent to creators.
• Customizable page options.
• Relatively cheaper than other alternatives to patreon.
• Exciting ‘Explore’ feature to discover and connect with fellow creators as well as get noticed by new users.

Ko-Fi Vs Patreon: Comparison 

Pricing

Ko-Fi is free to use for starters, but also offers a gold plan which is just $7/month with no transaction fees.

Rating/Review

Average rating on trustpilot for Ko-Fi is 4.2 out of 74 reviews.

73% of users rated Ko-Fi 5-star while 20% rated 1-star.

6. Kickstarter

Best For: One-time projects for Innovators, Artists, Entrepreneurs

If you're a creator focusing on releasing a few significant projects per year instead of a continuous stream of content, Kickstarter, an amazing patreon alternative can be a suitable platform for you. You can launch new Kickstarter campaigns after the completion of previous ones. 

Key Features:

• Crowdfunding for one-time projects.
• Prescreening of campaigns before approving them.
• All-or-nothing funding model for goal-driven projects.

Kickstarter Vs Patreon: Comparison ‍

Pricing:

Kickstarter charges a platform fee of 5% of funds raised, along with payment processing fees.

Review/Rating:

• Kickstarter rating on trustpilot out of 756 reviews is 1.1 only.
• Users complain of being scammed and the platform isn’t addressing any of their concerns, hence bad customer service as well.

7. Hypage

Best For:

Social media influencers, Content creators

Last, but not the least we have Hypage on the list which is an exciting tool for creators as it enables them to showcase and promote all their creative services through one single link. It is a mixture of a link-in-bio tool and subscription platform. Accept donations, sell content, create memberships and take commissions all in one place.

Key Features:

• A link-in-bio tool advertised as a combination of linktree, patreon and gumroad on their website.
• Zero transaction fees.
• Community engagement opportunities. 
• Offer all your services through one single link

Hypage Vs Patreon: Comparison 

Review/Rating:

Average rating on trustpilot for Hy.page is 4.8 out of 58 reviews.

90% of users rated Hy.page 5-star while 0% rated it 1-star. Looks like people are loving it!

Recap Of Top 3 Picks

This concludes our list for best patreon alternatives in 2023. We hope you found a good fit for yourself and your audience. But, if you’re still confused about picking the right tool for yourself, don’t worry. Let's have a quick recap and share our top 3 picks from this list.

1. Crowdfundly - is the best one-stop solution aiming to empower creators to monetize their craft and get seamless support from fans. Creators can accept donations, offer subscriptions and sell their creative products all in one place.
2. Podia - another awesome patreon alternative making it easier for creators to brand themselves on their own website or landing page and even sell memberships and other content with no upfront charges.
3. Hypage - an exciting link-in-bio tool with a hint of patreon-like memberships, for gen-z that’s mostly into blogging and influencer business and use social media to promote themselves and their services.

Final Thoughts

Hustling to succeed as a creator has been always challenging, but tough economic conditions worldwide have made making money online more difficult than ever. But, thanks to Patreon and similar competitors who have captured this market and made it easy for struggling artists, musicians, writers, developers, designers and various other content creators to make a sustainable income and get recognized for their unique talents by the support of their fans and followers who appreciate and enjoy their work. We’ve listed our best picks in this article, so check them out for yourself, do more research and maybe even check out some more platforms on the market to choose the best one that matches your niche. Best of luck finding the right fit!

Alternatives to Patreon FAQs

Is Patreon free to use?

No, Patreon is not entirely free to use as it operates on a tiered pricing system. Users can choose from different pricing plans that offer various features and benefits. Patreon charges platform fees ranging from 5% to 12% of earnings, depending on the chosen plan. Additionally, payment processing fees are applied to all transactions.

What’s the best alternative for podcasters?

A suitable alternative for podcasters is Podia as it provides features for selling digital products, including online courses and digital downloads. Podia allows podcasters to monetize their content by offering exclusive episodes, bonus content, or even creating a membership community around their podcast.

What’s the best alternative for writers?

For writers, crowdfunding, Ko-Fi and Buy Me a Coffee are excellent alternatives. As all these platforms offer  a simple and direct way for fans to support writers through one-time payments or monthly subscriptions. They also offer customization options and tools for engaging with supporters.

Are there Patreon alternatives that focus more on one-time payments rather than recurring subscriptions?

Yes, Crowdfundly, Buy Me a Coffee and Ko-fi are great options for creators who prefer one-time payments over recurring subscriptions. These platforms make it easy for creators to receive support from their audience through small contributions providing a more casual and flexible way for fans to contribute.

Which alternative platforms offer more advanced customization options for branding?

Podia and Gumroad offer extensive customization options for branding. Creators can personalize their storefronts, landing pages, and emails to match their unique brand identity. These platforms prioritize giving creators the flexibility to create a cohesive and branded experience for their audience.

What is the cheapest option of all Patreon alternatives?

Among the mentioned alternatives, Crowdfundly and Ko-Fi are one of the most cost-effective options.