Many creators search for new ways to monetize their content in the age of the Internet. They sell products, create art, and even build exclusive communities.

One of the most popular ways they do these is through Patreon, a huge creator membership platform.

Creators choose Patreon because it effectively helps them expand their reach. Despite its popularity, some have still searched for alternatives—and you’re likely one of them, too.

In this guide, we deeply researched the best alternatives for creators, writers, and artists. Learn more about them below.

TL;DR – 18 Best Patreon Alternatives

There are plenty of platforms that offer services like Patreon. We ranked the top Patreon alternatives based on their features and pricing models.

1. Hello Audio
2. Thinkific
3. YouTube
4. Onlyfans
5. Kajabi
6. Kickstarter
7. Podia
8. Subscribestar
9. Teachable
10. Indiegogo
11. Mighty Networks
12. Discord
13. Buy Me a Coffee
14. Substack
15. Ghost
16. Ko-fi
17. Gumroad
18. Sellfy

As the list shows, Hello Audio is the top Patreon alternative for creators.

Looking to build a strong following and leave a lasting impact? Sign up with Hello Audio to build a community of private podcast listeners and deliver exclusive content to your audience.

What is Patreon

Founded in 2013, Patreon is a membership and monetization platform that allows creators to turn their creative pursuits into businesses. It offers a dedicated space for you to interact with community members and provide exclusive content to your followers (patrons).

Creators can use Patreon for free and purchase membership plans once they expand their business.

How Does Patreon Work? What is Patreon Used For?

Patreon is a platform for creators to receive ongoing financial support from their patrons. The model is quite simple: Patrons make their payments regularly to gain access to a creator’s exclusive content.

Before you receive payments, Patreon takes a portion of the fees, depending on the pricing plan.

How Much Does Patreon Take?

Patreon takes between 5-12% of fees, depending on the membership tier. Those who created their Patreon account before 2019 are charged 5% of their income, with additional payment processing fees and other taxes.

Currently, the Pro and Premium plans are the most accessible, with the former charging 8% and the latter charging 12%.

Why Don’t People Like Patreon?

Even if Patreon is a popular platform, there are still many reasons why some creators prefer other platforms. While the reasons may vary depending on the creator, here are some popular reasons why people make the switch:

• Fees: Plenty of Patreon alternatives take a smaller cut of the fees, which is beneficial for many creators.

• Limited Features: Some creators find Patreon’s features lackluster compared to what its counterparts offer.

• Difficulty in Increasing Visibility: If you’re looking to expand your reach, Patreon lacks built-in discovery tools to help you increase visibility without having to pay up.

18 Alternatives to Patreon

Fortunately, there are plenty of alternatives to Patreon. We’ve dived deep into each platform and compared it with Patreon.

Let’s dive in:

Patreon Alternatives for Creators

Several Patreon alternatives will meet your needs as a creator. Your choice will depend on the type of content you create. 

Here are some alternatives you can try out:

1. Hello Audio

At the top of our list is Hello Audio, a revolutionary platform for content creators. Whether you’re an educator wanting to convert your course videos into podcasts or an influencer looking to convert your videos into private podcasts, it has all the features you need.

That’s why Hello Audio truly makes you a content wizard. Content creators, educators, coaches, and businesses have all reaped the benefits of using Hello Audio. The best part is that you can do all these quickly without any deep technical experience.

Another striking advantage of Hello Audio over Patreon is its fees. Hello Audio fees begin at 0% and go up to 5% depending on the pricing plan you choose. These are significantly lower than Patreon’s fees, which start at 8% for their Pro plan.

Are you ready to turn your unique content into private podcasts with Hello Audio? Now’s the time to sign up and get started!

2. Thinkific

Creators looking to sell online courses might want to consider using Thinkific. With its simple user interface, you won’t need deep technical experience to start your online course. Unlike Patreon, Thinkific is not a membership-based platform.

By using Thinkific, you can start a webinar, host a coaching program, or even conduct quizzes. The best part is that you can get started with this for free.

3. Patreon vs. YouTube

Patreon and YouTube are platforms built for creators. While Patreon hosts more than 200,000 creators, the latter is undoubtedly the bigger platform, with more than 2.5 billion monthly users. Let’s take a look at a side-by-side comparison of these two websites:

4. Patreon vs. OnlyFans

While both Patreon and OnlyFans are effective money-generating platforms, both vary in terms of the content they provide.

Patreon focuses more on general content – anything that falls under the sun. You can launch podcasts to connect with your audience or release new music to solidify your fanbase. Meanwhile, OnlyFans is focused on mature content. Fitness enthusiasts and musicians also release content on the platform; however, they do not comprise the bulk of Onlyfans content creators.

In addition to the type of content found on each platform, they also differ in fees. Patreon charges fees that range from 5% to 12%, depending on the tier. In contrast, Onlyfans charges a flat fee of 20% for users. However, it has the advantage of more direct user engagement.

What’s more, Onlyfans allows you to bundle your content and provide special offers that can entice viewers to purchase your content.

5. Patreon vs. Kajabi

Like Patreon, Kajabi is a membership website that allows you to share your knowledge with subscribers – an excellent choice for content creators. However, there is a stark difference between their fundamentals. Kajabi is more suited for creators, while Patreon is more suited for visitors.

Kajabi is an all-in-one platform that doesn’t require you to integrate tools; it’s as complete as you want it to be. As a creator, you save both time and money compared to using Patreon.

Sure, you get the flexibility of adding plug-ins to your Patreon membership website, but if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can easily rack up costs with Patreon.

6. Kickstarter vs. Patreon

Another huge name in the crowdfunding space is Kickstarter, which boasts a 21.60% market share (although lower than Patreon’s share of 35.14%). It’s one of the best platforms for creatives, as Kickstarter’s mission is to help bring creative projects to life.

Kickstarter helps creators present their project ideas for funding. Because the website is so popular, you don’t necessarily have to spend too much on marketing. Many tech blogs, magazines, and other strangers can fund your campaign if they find it interesting.

Unlike Patreon, Kickstarter has built-in promotional tools that can help boost your campaign’s visibility.

Also, Kickstarter is a one-time pledge, an excellent choice for project-based funding. However, creators looking for steady income will benefit more from using Patreon.

7. Podia vs. Patreon

As a content creator, you might want to build your own website or sell online courses. Between Podia and Patreon, only one platform is capable of doing that – it’s the former. Now, let’s compare these two platforms side by side:

8. Subscribestar vs. Patreon

Subscribestar and Patreon are similar in that they both allow you to monetize your content through subscription-based memberships. So, when do you choose one over the other?

For creators who usually create controversial content that may not be permitted on Patreon, then Subscribestar will be the way to go. Creating an account is free, and your monthly earnings will depend on the number of subscribers and your subscription fee.

Their website has a calculator that can give you a better idea of how much you can expect to earn after fees.

9. Teachable vs. Patreon

From the name itself, you can already tell that Teachable aims to help you teach your audience – and that’s true. It’s a course-only platform, and another reliable option to monetize online courses. You can create your course and provide different modes of evaluation.

The platform comes with built-in marking tools that can help you create landing pages and more. Plus, it has AI tools that can generate course outlines and overviews in seconds.

This is completely different from what Patreon has to offer, as Patreon is more focused on community engagement than course creation.

10. Indiegogo vs. Patreon

A crowdfunding platform similar to Kickstarter that you can also consider is Indiegogo. Although its traffic is lower than Patreon’s, Indiegogo has some features worth keeping an eye on.

For example, you don’t necessarily have to reach your funding goals to collect cash. Additionally, you get 120 days to keep your campaign live for maximum visibility.

Just like Kickstarter, Indiegogo operates on a rewards-based system, which differs from Patreon’s subscription-based model. It’s a good choice for creators who launched an initial campaign and want a continuous crowdfunding campaign.

11. Mighty Networks vs. Patreon

Mighty Networks is a community platform that turns subscribers into members. Building your community through Mighty Networks is a whole lot easier than growing it through Patreon. Members also have the chance to interact with each other, instilling a stronger sense of community among them.

It has everything you need—memberships, live events, chats, forums, and more! But keep in mind that instead of taking a fixed percentage of your earnings, Mighty Networks charges a flat fee starting at $33 per month.

12. Patreon vs. Discord

Lastly, we have Discord – a communication platform that can help you build your community from the ground up. You have text, video, and audio channels to get you started with growing your community.

Still, it’s not designed for creators to monetize their content, as it has no monetization features. As a creator, you can use Discord if you only want to build a tight-knit community around your work rather than directly earn from the content you create for your followers.

Patreon Alternatives for Writers

Writers looking for the best Patreon alternatives can consider these options:

13. Buy Me a Coffee vs. Patreon

When it comes to releasing blogs or exclusive written content, Buy Me a Coffee is a superior crowdfunding platform. The platform can also host private podcasts, showcase images, and share other forms of media that your audiences will love.

Compared to Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee is a lot easier to use when interacting with supporters. Patreon’s advantage lies in its additional services, such as allowing creators to add live streaming, polls, and other forms of media.

For those concerned about the release of payments, Buy Me a Coffee has the edge since it provides instant payments, unlike Patreon, which releases payments only after 30 days.

14. Substack vs. Patreon

Substack is an easy choice for writers, thanks to its ability to send weekly newsletters to your followers—whether free or paid.

Note: Substack takes about 10% of your fees, so if a reader subscribes to your newsletter for $10 per month, Substack receives $1 for every subscriber.

Compared to Patreon, which offers more features for different types of creatives, Substack is the better option if you focus on providing value with your newsletters.

15. Ghost vs. Patreon

Similar to a Substack, Ghost is a valuable platform for writers looking to connect with their audience through weekly newsletters. Even with its limited features, Ghost can still be helpful as an editor.

Its flexible platform allows you to customize your publications to suit your needs. Ghost’s winning feature is that it is open source. Even if Ghost shuts down, you still own your content, subscriber list, and the code.

Also, if you want your content to be available to the public, paying members, or both, you can use Ghost to publish content beyond the Ghost network.

Patreon Alternative for Artists

Lastly, artists might want to take a look at these platforms to monetize their works:

16. Ko-fi vs. Patreon

Ko-fi and Patreon are great choices for creators to connect with their followers. Both tools allow creators to offer subscription-based memberships to their users, all with different tiers. Followers can select a tier based on their desired level of support and exclusive benefits they wish to receive from you.

Plus, these platforms enable you to update your followers and fan bases with photos and videos – they can even be scheduled to go out on specific days and times!

But that’s where their similarities end. Ko-fi allows your followers to provide one-time donations. The cool part is that Ko-fi does this so casually. Followers can donate by “buying you a coffee,” so it doesn’t sound like your typical donation.

On top of that, you can sell your products in your own shop, whether they are physical or digital items, without any listing fees.

17. Gumroad vs. Patreon

If you’re looking for an online marketplace where you can sell all sorts of products, then it’s worth looking into Gumroad. These products can be anything physical or digital, so you have plenty of options. Just like Patreon, it does take a huge cut of fees, about 10%. 

If you have your own products and services, then Gumroad is a no-brainer. But if you have a large following and would like to offer exclusive content, then that’s when you choose Patreon.

18. Sellfy vs. Patreon

Another marketplace that we have on our list is Sellfy. While Patreon is the more popular option, don’t count out this Patreon alternative from your options. 

Although you can sell both physical and digital products, Sellfy is better suited for digital products. Artists can sell different works, including digital art and music.

Compared to Patreon, it’s highly customizable and easy to set up. No wonder many artists have switched to monetizing their products on Sellfy!

How to Choose the Right Platform for You

With all the options you have at your disposal, it can be difficult to find the platform suited for you.

Here’s how you can narrow down the decision and ensure you choose the right one:

Type of Content

Depending on your content type, some platforms are superior to others. For example, if you’re a writer who wants to monetize weekly newsletters, you can choose options like Substack or Ghost.

Fees

Some websites have fees up to 12%, while some offer flat rates. Before you commit to a platform, be sure to read up on their payout structure.

Features

Consider the features based on your priorities. Discord, for instance, is not exactly a monetization platform, but you can use it to increase engagement with your community through its features, such as channels and voice chats.

Conclusion

Creators, writers, and artists benefit from monetization platforms like Patreon. However, Patreon isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Some might prefer a platform with lower fees or one that is more customizable.

At the end of the day, you have to know what you require as a creator and find the tool that works best for your situation.

Our top choice, Hello Audio, is still the best Patreon alternative. Its ease of use and ability to convert course videos into private podcasts allow you to monetize content with maximum profitability and build a community of active podcast listeners.

Ready to get started? Sign up today to engage your community by launching your private podcast in less than 24 hours!