Buy Me a Coffee vs Patreon: fees and what you keep
Buy Me a Coffee leaves more at every volume up to 1,000 membership payments a month, at $5 each. With 100 membership payments of $5 a month you keep $427 on Buy Me a Coffee and $405 on Patreon Standard, $264 a year more on Buy Me a Coffee. Of each membership payment, Buy Me a Coffee takes 5%; Patreon takes 10%; processing comes on top.
Who leaves more as membership payments grow
- $3: Buy Me a Coffee leaves more at every volume up to 1,000 membership payments a month.
- $5: Buy Me a Coffee leaves more at every volume up to 1,000 membership payments a month.
- $10: Buy Me a Coffee leaves more at every volume up to 1,000 membership payments a month.
- $25: Buy Me a Coffee leaves more at every volume up to 1,000 membership payments a month.
From 1 to 1,000 membership payments a month, each platform on whichever of its plans open to new sign-ups leaves the most at that size; US payments, payout fees left out.
What you keep a month
| Membership payments a month | Buy Me a Coffee | Patreon |
|---|---|---|
| 10 of $3 $30 | $24.40 | $23.10 Standard |
| 100 of $3 $300 | $244 | $231 Standard |
| 1,000 of $3 $3,000 | $2,440 | $2,310 Standard |
| 10 of $5 $50 | $42.70 | $40.50 Standard |
| 100 of $5 $500 | $427 | $405 Standard |
| 1,000 of $5 $5,000 | $4,270 | $4,050 Standard |
| 10 of $10 $100 | $88.60 | $84.10 Standard |
| 100 of $10 $1,000 | $886 | $841 Standard |
| 1,000 of $10 $10,000 | $8,860 | $8,410 Standard |
| 10 of $25 $250 | $225.90 | $214.70 Standard |
| 100 of $25 $2,500 | $2,259 | $2,147 Standard |
| 1,000 of $25 $25,000 | $22,590 | $21,470 Standard |
After each one's subscription, cut, payment processing and any fee on recurring payments; bold marks the larger.
Other kinds of payment
| 100 a month of | Buy Me a Coffee | Patreon |
|---|---|---|
| Sales of $5 | $430 | $405 Standard |
| Sales of $10 | $891 | $841 Standard |
Every fee side by side
| Buy Me a Coffee | Patreon | |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription a month | None | None |
| Cut of membership payments | 5% | 10% |
| Cut of sales | 5% | 10% |
| Payment processing | 2.9% + $0.30 | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Payments from outside the US | +1% | None listed |
| Recurring payments | +0.5% | None listed |
| Currency conversion | None listed | +2.5% |
| Payouts | Stripe takes 0.5% of each payout to your bank; you can request one from a $10 balance. | Patreon takes a fee per payout: $0.25 by US direct deposit, 1% (at least $0.25, at most $20) by PayPal and $1 by Payoneer outside the US; PayPal needs at least $10, Payoneer $25. |
Plans open to new sign-ups. “None listed”: the platform's pages we read state no such fee.
In their own words
Buy Me a Coffee: “Unlike other platforms, Buy Me a Coffee doesn’t charge you a monthly fee. Instead, we only apply a 5% platform fee per transaction, which means you get to keep 95% of your earnings while we can also benefit from your work.” “Stripe charges a standard payment processing fee of 2.9% + $0.30 per successful transaction to securely process your payments.” “In certain cases, extra fees may apply to cover processing costs: +1% for international (outside of the US) transaction +0.5% for subscription payments”
Patreon: “If you published your creator page after August 4, 2025, please note that you are on our standard 10% pricing plan.” “Unlike legacy plans, the standard 10% plan applies the same processing rates to all payments, regardless of amount.”
Buy Me a Coffee or Patreon: quick answers
Is Buy Me a Coffee or Patreon cheaper?
For membership payments: at 10 membership payments of $3 ($30), Buy Me a Coffee leaves $24.40 against $23.10 on Patreon, $15.60 a year more; at 100 membership payments of $5 ($500), Buy Me a Coffee leaves $427 against $405 on Patreon, $264 a year more; at 1,000 membership payments of $25 ($25,000), Buy Me a Coffee leaves $22,590 against $21,470 on Patreon, $13,440 a year more. That's each platform's cut, payment processing and any subscription or fee on recurring payments, each on its best plan for that month, before payout fees.
How much do Buy Me a Coffee and Patreon take from a $5 membership payment?
Buy Me a Coffee takes $0.73 (14.6%) and Patreon Standard takes $0.95 (19.0%), at 100 membership payments a month on each one's best plan.
Which is better for sales, Buy Me a Coffee or Patreon?
On fees, Buy Me a Coffee: 100 sales of $5 a month leave $430 on Buy Me a Coffee and $405 on Patreon Standard. Per sale: Buy Me a Coffee takes $0.70 (14.0%) and Patreon Standard takes $0.95 (19.0%).
Do Buy Me a Coffee and Patreon charge a monthly fee?
Neither does: both take their cut from each payment as it comes in, so a month without payments costs nothing on either.
How do Buy Me a Coffee and Patreon pay you out?
Stripe takes 0.5% of each payout to your bank; you can request one from a $10 balance. Patreon takes a fee per payout: $0.25 by US direct deposit, 1% (at least $0.25, at most $20) by PayPal and $1 by Payoneer outside the US; PayPal needs at least $10, Payoneer $25.
Each in detail: Buy Me a Coffee fees, Patreon fees. Related: Ko-fi vs Buy Me a Coffee, Patreon vs Ko-fi, Substack vs Patreon, Whop vs Patreon, Patreon vs Gumroad. Every option ranked: Buy Me a Coffee alternatives, Patreon alternatives. All the plans side by side: creator payment platform fees.
Sources: Buy Me a Coffee's fees, read on 7 October 2026 and Patreon's fees, read on 7 October 2026, with the other help pages each fee page lists.
Prices checked against each platform's own pricing page on .