The best membership platforms in 2026
Membership platforms charge your fans a monthly price for posts, perks or access. They differ most in what they take per payment and whether you keep your members if you leave.
Short answer. Ko-fi is the best pick for most creators who want recurring fan support, at 7.9 out of 10. Fourthwall comes second (6.8).
- Ko-fi$71 taken, you keep $929
- Fourthwall$109 taken, you keep $891
- Buy Me a Coffee$114 taken, you keep $886
- Memberful$157 taken, you keep $843
- Patreon$159 taken, you keep $841
- YouTube channel memberships$300 taken, you keep $700
Cheapest plan for that volume, $10 average sale, US card processing added where the platform charges it separately, at 2.9% + 30¢ or the platform's documented rate. Taxes, currency conversion and app store fees not included. Try your own numbers.
Rankings
- 1
Ko-fi
7.9 / 10Best for: Artists and streamers who mostly take tips and commissions. You keep $929 of $1,000.
Tip jar, membership and shop page that pays straight into your own PayPal or Stripe account, with no monthly cost on the default plans.
- 2
Fourthwall
6.8 / 10Best for: YouTubers and streamers selling merch alongside memberships. You keep $891 of $1,000.
Creator storefront that combines print-on-demand merch, digital products and paid memberships on one branded site, handling fulfillment and sales tax for you.
- 3
Memberful
6.6 / 10Best for: Publishers and podcasters who want a fully branded membership. You keep $843 of $1,000.
White-label membership software that plugs into your own website and Stripe account to sell subscriptions, podcasts, newsletters and gated content.
- 4
Buy Me a Coffee
6.4 / 10Best for: Writers and makers who want a simple tip jar. You keep $886 of $1,000.
Tip jar, membership and digital shop page that takes a flat 5% of every payment and pays out through Stripe.
- 5
Patreon
6.1 / 10Best for: Video creators, podcasters and artists with loyal fans. You keep $841 of $1,000.
Membership platform where fans pay you monthly or annually for posts, video, community access and digital products sold on your Patreon page.
- 6
YouTube channel memberships
3.5 / 10Best for: YouTubers whose viewers want perks without leaving YouTube. You keep $700 of $1,000.
Paid monthly memberships built into your YouTube channel, giving members badges, emoji and exclusive content for a recurring fee.
Side by side
| Platform | Score | What it costs | Keep from $1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ko-fi | 7.9 | Ko-fi Free charges 0% on one-time tips and 5% on memberships, shop sales, commissions and monthly tips, while Ko-fi Gold costs $12 a month for 0% on everything, with PayPal or Stripe processing on top. | $929 |
| Fourthwall | 6.8 | Memberships cost 5% plus 2.9% + $0.30 US card processing, digital products cost 5% on Free or 0% on Pro at $19 a month, and merch earns you the sale price minus a fixed base cost. | $891 |
| Memberful | 6.6 | Memberful costs $49 a month plus 4.9% of every charge, and Stripe adds its own processing fee, typically 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. | $843 |
| Buy Me a Coffee | 6.4 | You pay a 5% platform fee on every payment, plus Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30, a 0.5% payout fee, 1% extra on non-US payments and 0.5% extra on subscriptions. | $886 |
| Patreon | 6.1 | New creators pay a 10% platform fee plus 2.9% + $0.30 card processing per payment, a 2.5% currency conversion fee when fans pay in another currency, and a small payout fee. | $841 |
| YouTube channel memberships | 3.5 | You keep 70% of membership revenue after taxes and fees, YouTube keeps 30%, and YouTube covers card processing. | $700 |
How to choose
- Check where the money lands. Ko-fi and Memberful run on your own PayPal or Stripe account, while Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee and Fourthwall hold your balance until payout.
- Compare costs at your real volume. At $5,000 a month in $25 payments, our math puts Ko-fi Gold at $217, Patreon at $705 and YouTube channel memberships at $1,500.
- A flat plan beats a percentage sooner than you'd think. Ko-fi Gold at $12 a month costs less than the 5% fee once fee-bearing sales pass $240 a month.
- Watch the App Store. Patreon memberships bought in its iOS app lose 30% to Apple outside the US, while Fourthwall's member app installs from the browser and avoids app store fees.
- Price low tiers with care. On Patreon a $3 tier loses about 23% to the platform fee and processing, because the 30¢ card charge hits small payments hardest.
- Check payout timing if cash flow matters. Ko-fi pays instantly, Patreon lets you withdraw every 24 hours, and Fourthwall pays once a month above $25.
Head-to-head comparisons
Questions people ask
Which membership platform has the lowest fees?
On $1,000 of monthly sales at $10 each, Ko-fi costs the least: about $71 in platform and card fees on its Gold plan, so you keep $929. At higher volume, flat-fee plans usually win.
Can I move my members to another platform?
Partly. Patreon, Ko-fi and Buy Me a Coffee let you export supporter emails, so you can invite people to a new page. Memberful runs on your own Stripe account, so billing data stays yours if you leave. YouTube channel memberships are the trap. Members exist only inside YouTube, and if you lose the channel you lose the membership.
Do I need a minimum audience to start a paid membership?
Of the platforms we rank, only YouTube sets one. Channel memberships need 500 subscribers, 3 public uploads in 90 days and either 3,000 watch hours in a year or 3 million Shorts views in 90 days. Patreon, Ko-fi, Buy Me a Coffee and Memberful have no audience minimum, though Memberful's $49 monthly plan makes little sense until members are paying.
How does Apple's App Store fee affect membership income?
It depends on where fans pay. On Patreon, memberships bought inside the iOS app lose 30% to Apple, dropping to 15% after a member's first year, and those earnings stay pending for up to 75 days. US fans can pay through mobile web checkout instead. Fourthwall's member app installs from the browser, so no app store fee applies.
Scores use our published method. Fees were checked against each platform's own pricing pages; every review lists its sources.