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Patreon

Patreon is a membership platform that provides tools for creators to run a subscription content service. It allows creators and artists to receive funding directly from their fans on a recurring basis.

What is Patreon?

Patreon is an online platform that allows creators and artists to build relationships with their most engaged fans and get monthly financial support for their creative work. Creators can offer various benefits to patrons who pledge certain monthly contribution amounts, such as early access to new content, exclusive posts and videos, behind-the-scenes looks at their creative process, merchandise discounts, live streaming events, and more.

The platform is designed to provide creators with recurring revenue from fan funding that they can depend on so they can devote more time to producing the content that their community loves. This allows creators to take control of their financial security and forge deeper connections with their biggest supporters. Patreon takes a 5-12% commission on earnings.

All types of creators have Patreon accounts, including podcasters, musicians, YouTubers, illustrators, writers, game developers, comedians, photographers, crafters, and more. Top creators on Patreon include Chapo Trap House, Amanda Palmer, The Whitest Kids U Know, and many others earning 4-6 figure incomes per month. Patreon integrates with platforms like YouTube, Twitter, and Discord to help creators manage promotions and rewards.

The site has faced some controversies related to account bans, payment issues, and concerns that it disproportionally impacts adult content creators. However, it remains a leading platform for independent creator monetization and maintains an essential role in the passion economy.

The Best Patreon Alternatives

Top Apps like Patreon

OnlyFans, Buy Me a Coffee, Bandcamp, Ko-fi, Liberapay, PeachPay, pixivFanbox, SelfStarter, Open Collective, Memberful, SubscribeStar, Boosty.to, Fansz Link, Flirtback, uTip, FanCentro, FreedomSponsors, OKFANS, MintMe, PinePage, CreatorSphere, Flattr, Kiva, Partelo, Fanhouse, Trans Pay, Tipeee, Whop, BountySource, TOP4FANS, ModelCentro, BackersBox, BackMyArt, NotOnlyFans, Coindrop, Cloud Patron, Gitpay, Clica.net, Floatplane, GURUCAN, DonationAlerts, do nxt, Maecen.com, Thankful, Tip4Commit, CommitChange, Elveos, GitCom, beerpay, MakerSupport, BackerPass, ChangeTip, fanfiber, Ratafire, xs:code, WillPayCoin.com, Decentralized Creator, Patreos are some alternatives to Patreon.

OnlyFans

OnlyFans is an online content subscription service based in London. It allows content creators to earn money from users who subscribe to their content. Creators can upload videos and photos and determine how much to charge their subscribers per month. There is also an option for pay-per-view content.OnlyFans launched...

Buy Me a Coffee

Buy Me a Coffee is an online service launched in 2017 that allows fans and followers to send small tips and donations to support their favorite content creators. It provides a simple and easy way for creators, bloggers, artists, musicians, podcasters, and more to receive financial support outside of traditional advertising...

Bandcamp

Bandcamp is an online music marketplace and community launched in 2008 that enables musicians to share and sell their music directly to fans. It stands out from other music platforms by offering one of the most artist-friendly revenue splits in the industry, with artists keeping an average of 82% of sales proceeds...

Ko-fi

Ko-fi is an online crowdfunding platform focused on helping content creators monetize their work through small donations and tips from fans and supporters. Launched in 2017, Ko-fi provides a simple system for creators to receive funding in just a few clicks, with no commissions or fees taken from donations.On Ko-fi...

Liberapay

Liberapay is an open-source platform for recurring donations, focused on providing financial support for creators, developers, projects, individuals and nonprofits. It was launched in 2015 as an alternative to proprietary donation platforms like Patreon or Buy Me a Coffee.Some key features and goals of Liberapay include:Open data and transparency...

PeachPay

PeachPay is a merchant services provider and payment gateway designed for small and medium-sized businesses. Its software enables entrepreneurs to accept debit and credit card payments in-person via a mobile card reader, online through integration with popular ecommerce platforms like WooCommerce and Shopify, or on invoices sent electronically.Key features...

PixivFanbox

pixivFanbox is an online crowdfunding and membership platform launched in 2018 by pixiv, a popular online art community and service based in Japan. It enables artists to offer exclusive content and perks to fans and followers who sign up for paid monthly memberships.Through Fanbox, artists can post content such as...

SelfStarter

SelfStarter is an open source application designed specifically for solopreneurs, freelancers, and small teams who want to build sustainable, profitable businesses or side projects. It incorporates goal-setting and habit-building frameworks to keep you consistent, connected, and accountable.Key features include:An interactive goal-setting system to define your short and long-term...

Open Collective

Open Collective is an open source platform designed to provide financial transparency and easy money management for communities, collectives, groups, projects, events, and more. It allows collectives to raise and collect money, manage budgets transparently, receive tax deductible donations, pay expenses, compensate contributors, invoice organizers, and more.Some key features...

Memberful

Memberful is a powerful yet user-friendly subscription management and recurring billing solution designed for content creators, online publishers, SaaS companies, educators, and digital entrepreneurs who want to monetize their business with a membership or subscription model.With Memberful, you can easily create and customize subscription plans and pricing, accept one-time...

SubscribeStar

SubscribeStar is an online platform that allows content creators to monetize their work through subscriptions and one-time donations. Founded in 2018, it emerged as an alternative to other membership platforms like Patreon after concerns over censorship and loss of income.On SubscribeStar, creators can offer exclusive content, digital downloads, personalized messages...

Boosty.to

Boosty.to is a user-friendly link management platform designed for influencers, creators, entrepreneurs, artists, and more. It provides a custom shortened URL that directs visitors to a clean, shareable landing page showcasing all of a user's most important online content.This "link-in-bio" page can include clickable links to websites, stores...

Fansz Link

Fansz Link is a user-friendly link management platform designed for content creators, influencers, bloggers, and small business owners. It allows you to shorten, organize, track, and share links from one centralized dashboard.With Fansz Link you can create custom branded shortened links and add them to your Link Pages -...

Flirtback

Flirtback is a popular dating and social networking mobile app launched in 2015. With over 5 million active users, Flirtback aims to help singles find romance and make meaningful connections.The app allows users to create a profile with photos, personal details, and interests to showcase themselves to potential matches. Users can...

UTip

uTip is an online tipping and digital gratuity platform designed to help content creators monetize their work. It allows fans and followers to send small sums of money (typically $1-5) to show their appreciation and support for creators' videos, posts, streams, and other content.The service aims to provide a...

FanCentro

FanCentro is a software platform designed specifically for independent content creators to build membership businesses and better monetize their work. It allows creators across various categories like YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, podcasting, and more to easily set up paid fan clubs and subscription services right from the FanCentro dashboard.Some...

FreedomSponsors

FreedomSponsors is an online platform designed to provide funding for free and open source software (FOSS) projects and developers. It allows FOSS developers to request funding for specific features, bugs, or other development goals. Users who rely on and value the FOSS projects can then pledge money towards reaching those...

OKFANS

OKFANS is an online content subscription service based in London. It launched in 2016 as a platform that allows content creators to provide exclusive content to their subscribers for a monthly fee. Creators can post photos, videos, audio files, and text content that only paying subscribers can access.Some of the...

MintMe

MintMe is an easy-to-use NFT generator designed for users without any technical or artistic background. It allows anyone to create their own unique NFTs (non-fungible tokens) in minutes by using the built-in art and design templates.With MintMe, users can choose from a wide selection of backgrounds, characters, objects, text...

PinePage

PinePhone is a Linux-based open source smartphone created in 2019 by Pine64, a technology company focused on open source hardware. PinePhone aims to provide a privacy-focused and customizable smartphone experience by running various Linux distributions instead of Android.From a hardware perspective, PinePhone features a 5.95-inch 720x1440 LCD display with Gorilla...

CreatorSphere

CreatorSphere is an all-in-one platform built to empower digital influencers, content creators, and bloggers. It provides a wide range of features and tools to help manage, grow, and monetize creator brands and businesses.At its core, CreatorSphere allows creators to easily manage content across multiple social platforms. It includes publishing...

Flattr

Flattr is a microdonation and payment platform designed to help people financially support online content creators. It was founded in 2010 in Sweden and allows users to make small contributions to digital media producers like bloggers, vloggers, musicians, podcasters, and websites.Here's how it works: Users sign up for a Flattr...

Kiva

Kiva is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. It allows individuals to lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world. Kiva operates in over 80 countries with a focus on providing access to capital for low-income entrepreneurs and students...

Partelo

Partelo is an open-source, self-hosted alternative to Trello for kanban-style project management. Like Trello, Partelo allows users to create boards to visualize workflows and track projects. Boards contain lists, and lists contain cards representing tasks or items of work.Some key features of Partelo include:Drag-and-drop interface for moving cards...

Fanhouse

Fanhouse is an online platform that enables creators to provide exclusive content and direct access to their fans, who pay a monthly subscription fee. It allows creators across various fields like writing, podcasting, visual arts, music, comedy, etc. to offer premium content to subscribers.Some key features of Fanhouse include...

Trans Pay

Trans Pay is an online payment processing service launched in 2019 that caters specifically to the transgender community. It allows transgender individuals and businesses owned by transgender people to process payments and receive donations without fear of discrimination.The platform uses advanced AI and machine learning to provide top-notch fraud protection...

Tipeee

Tipeee is an online crowdfunding and donation platform launched in France in 2013. It is designed specifically for bloggers, YouTubers, streamers, podcasters, and other content creators to allow their fans and followers to provide them with financial support on a recurring monthly basis.The platform aims to make it simple for...

Whop

Whop is a cloud-based workflow automation and business process management platform designed for businesses of all sizes. It provides an intuitive drag-and-drop interface to build, automate and optimize workflows without coding.Key features and benefits of Whop include:Visual workflow designer to map out business processes step-by-stepLibrary of pre-built templates...

BountySource

BountySource is an open funding platform for software projects. It provides a way for open-source developers to get paid for working on features, bug fixes, or other improvements to their projects through monetary bounties.Here's how it works:A project creator lists their open-source project on BountySource and specifies areas...

TOP4FANS

TOP4FANS is a comprehensive social media management platform built specifically for influencers, content creators, athletes, artists, and public figures to engage and monetize their fanbase. The intuitive dashboard allows users to schedule and publish content across social platforms, analyze follower demographics and engagement, host contests and sweepstakes, sell merchandise...

ModelCentro

ModelCentro is a cloud-based 3D product configurator and visualization platform designed for ecommerce websites. It enables online retailers to showcase their products in interactive 3D models that customers can customize, view from all angles, and visualize in augmented reality.With ModelCentro, ecommerce stores can upload 3D models of their products...

BackersBox

BackersBox is a user-friendly crowdfunding platform built specifically for entrepreneurs, startups, nonprofits, and creatives looking to fundraise for their projects and ideas. The software aims to provide an intuitive, all-in-one solution to quickly launch and manage crowdfunding campaigns.Key features of BackersBox include:Custom campaign pages - Easily create stunning...

BackMyArt

BackMyArt is an easy-to-use software solution designed to help art collectors, galleries, museums and other institutions organize, catalog, and manage their art collections. It allows users to create detailed records for each artwork, including high-resolution images, descriptions, storage locations, appraisals and valuations, exhibition and provenance histories, conservation notes, and more...

NotOnlyFans

NotOnlyFans is an up-and-coming subscription-based platform that provides an alternative to OnlyFans. Created with creators' rights in mind, NotOnlyFans allows influencers, artists, musicians, and other creators to monetize their content while maintaining full ownership and control.Unlike OnlyFans which takes a 20% commission, NotOnlyFans only takes a small 5% fee allowing creators...

Coindrop

Coindrop is an online cryptocurrency payment platform launched in 2018 that aims to make sending and receiving crypto payments easy for both businesses and regular users. It allows for instant transfers of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and various other major cryptocurrencies with low fees.Some key features of Coindrop include:Easy to...

Cloud Patron

Cloud Patron is a full-featured, cloud-based patron management and circulation system designed specifically for public, academic, school, and special libraries. It provides robust functionality to manage patron records, items and materials, check-outs and returns, holds and requests, fines and fees, and analytics and reporting all in an easy-to-use web interface...

Gitpay

Gitpay is an open-source web application that facilitates payments for work on GitHub repositories. It integrates with GitHub's issue tracking system to allow project maintainers to assign bounties to issues, which contributors can then claim and receive payment for after completion.Some key features of Gitpay include:Easy bounty creation...

Clica.net

Clica.net is a user-friendly, cloud-based CRM platform designed specifically to help small and medium-sized businesses streamline sales processes and leverage consumer insights to drive growth.Clica helps businesses centralize customer and prospect data in one location, build communications around insights gathered on individuals and accounts, boost sales team productivity...

Floatplane

Floatplane is an independent video hosting and subscription platform created in 2018 by Linus Media Group, the team behind the popular YouTube tech channel Linus Tech Tips. It was envisioned as a way for creators to have more control over their content and closer relationships with viewers, without relying on ad...

GURUCAN

GURUCAN is a feature-rich computer-aided design (CAD) platform tailored for architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) professionals. It provides powerful 2D drafting tools for floor plans, sections, elevations, detailing, annotation and more. GURUCAN also includes robust 3D modeling capabilities to create detailed building and infrastructure models.Key features of GURUCAN for...

DonationAlerts

DonationAlerts is a free service created specifically for content creators to track and manage donations and tips from their audience. It seamlessly integrates with popular streaming tools and services like StreamLabs, StreamElements, YouTube, and more to provide customizable alerts that are displayed during live streams when a donation or tip...

Do nxt

do nxt is a low-code development platform that empowers users to create business applications and automate workflows with minimal hand-coding. With an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, do nxt makes it easy for non-technical users to build custom web and mobile apps that solve specific business needs.Some key capabilities and benefits...

Maecen.com

Maecen.com is an online marketplace designed to connect creatives with patrons and collectors to fund art projects. It aims to democratize and expand the art market by providing a platform for emerging and established artists to obtain funding, produce new works, and sell limited editions directly to buyers.On...

Thankful

Thankful is a gratitude journaling and mood tracking app designed to cultivate gratitude, mindfulness, and improved mental wellbeing. Users can log their emotions throughout the day to track their moods and discover patterns and insights. The app also includes functionality for recording moments of gratitude, reflections, and positive affirmations.With...

Tip4Commit

Tip4Commit is an online platform that enables developers working on open source software projects to receive bitcoin tips and donations through links embedded in their commit messages on code hosting sites like GitHub. It provides an easy way for open source developers to monetize their work. Here's how it...

CommitChange

CommitChange is a comprehensive software change management application designed to help enterprises better manage, track, and coordinate changes to their IT environments. It provides a central platform to plan, organize, and communicate both planned and unplanned changes in order to reduce risk and minimize disruption from changes.Key features of...

Elveos

Elveos is a free, open-source vector graphics editor for Linux operating systems. It is designed to be an alternative to proprietary software like Adobe Illustrator or CorelDRAW with professional-grade tools for illustration, logo design, typography, and more.Some key features of Elveos include:Intuitive user interface with dockable panels and...

GitCom

GitCom is a popular open-source distributed version control system originally developed by Ingram Soat in 2005. It helps developers manage and coordinate changes to source code and other collections of files. Key features and benefits of GitCom include:Distributed architecture - Every developer has a full copy of the code base...

Beerpay

Beerpay is an online platform designed to help support open source software developers through small financial contributions, or "beer money" tips. It integrates with GitHub, allowing users to discover open source projects and seamlessly tip the developers who maintain them.Here are some key features of Beerpay:Easy tipping straight...

MakerSupport

MakerSupport is a customer support software specifically designed for the needs of makers, inventors, and hardware/IoT startups. It makes it easy to provide excellent support across multiple product lines and stages of business growth.Key features of MakerSupport include:Email support with shared inboxes and automated workflowsLive chat with...

BackerPass

BackerPass is a software platform designed specifically for creators, influencers, and entrepreneurs to monetize their audience. It allows them to easily set up membership sites, run crowdfunding campaigns, accept preorders and donations, and sell merchandise without needing to code anything.Some key features of BackerPass include:Membership site builder -...

ChangeTip

ChangeTip is a micropayments and tipping platform built on top of bitcoin technology. It allows users to send small bitcoin tips to content creators, service providers, and others via social media platforms like Twitter, Reddit, GitHub, and YouTube.The main goal of ChangeTip is to make sending small payments fast...

Fanfiber

FanFiber is an all-in-one social media management software designed to help companies, agencies and marketers collaborate, plan, publish, engage and monitor social media content across different platforms. It centralizes social media tasks into a single intuitive dashboard to coordinate efforts across teams and save time.Key features of FanFiber include...

Ratafire

Ratafire is a comprehensive social media management platform designed to help brands and agencies streamline their social media activities. With Ratafire, users can:Schedule and publish content to multiple social networks including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and PinterestManage unlimited social profiles and pages from a unified dashboardUse the visual content...

Xs:code

xs:code is a free, open source, cross-platform code and text editor. It is designed to be lightweight, fast, and easy to use, while still providing powerful features for programmers and developers.Some key features of xs:code include:Syntax highlighting support for over 100 programming languages and formatsCustomizable themes for...

WillPayCoin.com

WillPayCoin.com is an innovative cryptocurrency and blockchain platform aimed at revolutionizing digital payments and transactions. The core of the platform is the WillPay Coin (WPC), a cryptocurrency token built on the Ethereum blockchain.The key value proposition of WillPayCoin.com is enabling instant, borderless, and low-cost crypto payments for...

Decentralized Creator

Decentralized Creator is a blockchain-based platform built to empower independent content creators and connect them directly with their audience. It aims to remove centralized intermediaries that currently stand between creators and consumers, taking a large revenue cut in the process.By leveraging blockchain technology and peer-to-peer networks, Decentralized Creator facilitates...

Patreos

Patreos is an online media platform that aims to engage audiences around faith-based and spiritual content. Launched in 2011, it hosts a variety of blogs and websites focused on different religious traditions and perspectives.Some of the key features and topics covered on Patreos include:Blogs from thought leaders of various...