Introduction: The Rise of Fan Funding Platforms
Sites like Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee have transformed how online content creators can monetize their content and forge deeper relationships with supporters. These fan funding platforms enable creators to set up pages where fans can provide financial support through ongoing subscriptions or one-time tips and donations.
For bloggers, podcasters, video producers, artists, and other types of creators producing regular content, these platforms provide vital income to support their ability to keep creating. As more fans support their work, more content keeps getting produced. It‘s a mutually beneficial arrangement – fans value what creators make enough to pay for exclusive access, creators earn enough to dedicate more time for quality content.
As fan funding models continue growing in popularity, two platforms have clearly separated themselves from the pack – Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee. Let‘s do a deep dive on the key differences between the two options to understand which platform might work best for your specific creator needs.
Payment Model Structures: Flexibility for Fans
The core monetization premise for both Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee revolve around fans "tipping" creators or paying for subscriptions that unlock special perks. However, each platform approaches structuring those payments differently.
Buy Me a Coffee provides the most basic, flexible options for fans support creators:
- Make a one-time tip
- Set up a recurring monthly subscription
79% of Buy Me a Coffee‘s transaction volume comes from one-time tips from fans showing appreciation for creators‘ work. The remaining 21% is powered by ongoing monthly subscriptions, typically providing early access to content or exclusive extras.
Patreon focuses specifically on setting up recurring monthly subscriptions, with most creators choosing 2-5 tiered membership levels
According to Patreon‘s 2021 creator survey, the most common tiers creators set up are:
- Entry level subscription – 54%
- Mid-level subscription – 71%
- Premium subscription – 63%
So while one-time payments are allowed on Patreon, the platform caters more toward longer-term paid memberships with evolving rewards and benefits over time to incentivize retaining subscribers.
For Fans
Depending on which type of financial support you want to provide to a creator, one platform may feel better suited:
If you appreciate a creator‘s work and want to simply contribute an occasional tip or donation, Buy Me a Coffee‘s flexibility is a better fit. No need to worry about managing an ongoing monthly subscription.
If you are highly engaged with a creator and want access to subscriber-exclusive content, chat forums, etc that comes with a monthly membership commitment, Patreon‘s structured subscriptions may provide more value.
Custom Content and Fan Engagement Features
A core benefit of recurring subscriptions and paid memberships lies in the exclusive content and special reward benefits reserved only for paying fans on platforms like Patreon.
Let‘s look at a few of the ways paying subscribers on Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee gain access to experiences that free audience members don‘t.
Unique Content Posts
On Patreon, creators can make posts visible only to fans that have an active paying membership. This exclusive content is a prime benefit that adds value to being a paid subscriber. Creators can share subscriber-only content including:
- Early releases/sneak peeks
- Extra podcast segments
- Demonstration videos
- Discounts & sales notifications
- Behind-the-scenes updates
According to Patreon statistics, creators make 4x more subscriber-exclusive posts per month compared to free public posts. Exclusive content drives more paid signups.
Buy Me a Coffee lacks granular control to restrict certain posts just to paid subscribers. However, creators can provide Google Drive links to subscriber-exclusive content or offer discount codes in update posts for supporters who have tipped specific amounts over time.
Membership Goals
Another prime Patreon feature is custom goals creators can attach to various subscription tiers or overall subscriber milestones. Goals incentivize fans to support campaigns to unlock new content and rewards.
For example, an educational YouTuber might set the following goals:
50 subscribers – Launch member Q&A livestream
100 subscribers – Create exclusive "Teacher‘s Lounge" channel
500 subscribers – Upgrade filming equipment for HD videos
As milestones are hit, paying members feel part of funding new levels of content creation from beloved creators.
Buy Me a Coffee does not provide advanced goal setting and reward triggering functionality. You can communicate goals to generally incentiveize fans to subscribe, but there aren‘t tools to create tiered roadmaps.
Diving Into the Data: Fees, Funds and More
Feature | Buy Me a Coffee | Patreon |
|---|---|---|
| One-time tips | Yes – 79% of transactions | Yes |
| Recurring subscriptions | Yes – 21% of transactions | Yes – Core focus |
| Custom subscriber benefits | No | Yes – posts, Discord, etc. |
| Member goals | No | Yes |
| Account required for fans | No | Yes |
| Fee amount | 5% | 5 – 12% |
| Instant payouts | Yes | No – Monthly |
Analyzing the numbers tells an even clearer story of how Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee compare across several key metrics.
When it comes to paying out your earnings, Buy Me a Coffee is the fastest option, with instant ability to withdraw funds directly to a connected PayPal or bank account. Waiting up to 30 days on Patreon may not work with everyone‘s financial situation.
And Patreon‘s varying fee structure depending on account type is less transparent compared to Buy Me a Coffee‘s simple 5% transaction charge.
For creators focused on building an exclusive community of fans and providing subscriber-only content and perks, however, Patreon has more robust tools to increase membership engagement.
Which Platform is Best for You?
As we‘ve explored in this guide, Buy Me a Coffee‘s simplicity and flexibility is optimal for creators prioritizing building an easy on-ramp for appreciative fan funding. For authors, bloggers, musicians, artists and more that want to provide a no-strings-attached virtual tip jar – Buy Me a Coffee is a perfect solution.
For podcasters, YouTubers, course creators that aim to produce subscriber-exclusive content libraries and drive recurring membership sign-ups, Patreon‘s customization and fan community features provide immense value. The platform tools help incentivize and reward loyal fan bases month over month.
Ultimately choose the platform that best aligns with your creator business model – or use both! Having Buy Me a Coffee handle more casual fan funding while Patreon engages your core supporter community is a proven model for many top creators.
I hope mapping out the pros, cons and key capabilities of both Buy Me a Coffee and Patreon gives you the knowledge needed to decide what works best for monetizing your creative passion! Let me know in the comments if you have any other questions.
