Buy Me a Coffee is a platform that helps creators earn support, share their work, and build community around what they do.
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Whether you're a writer, artist, musician, developer, or anyone sharing work online, Buy Me a Coffee gives you tools to earn income, publish updates, and connect with your audience. It's free to start, takes less than 5 minutes to set up, and works whether you're building something big or just getting started.
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Over 1 million creators use the platform, and it's backed by Y Combinator and Stripe, so you're in good company.
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But creators aren't the only ones here. Many people discover Buy Me a Coffee after seeing a button on a video, blog post, or newsletter, and simply want to know how to support someone they appreciate. This guide covers everything the platform offers, no matter if you're here to create or to support.
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Creators use Buy Me a Coffee to earn in ways that feel natural and can grow at their own pace.

Let supporters thank you, tip you, or show appreciation with a simple one-time payment. You set your coffee price (the default is $5), and supporters can choose to pay more if they'd like. Personalize your thank-you message with text or video, and receive support instantly. No subscription required from supporters.

Supporters can leave a message when they buy you a coffee, and you can choose whether to display your supporter count publicly or keep it hidden.

Create unlimited membership tiers with custom perks, such as exclusive posts, downloadable files, early access, or personal shout-outs. Each tier can have its own name, pricing, description, image, and set of rewards. You can offer monthly or yearly billing options, set member limits if you want to keep tiers exclusive, and even create discount codes or free trials.

We recommend starting with one membership level and adding more as your community grows. Each tier should offer unique benefits that match the price point.

Note: While you can create unlimited regular membership tiers, you can only set up one lifetime membership level per account. Lifetime memberships allow supporters to become members forever with a single payment.

You have full control, meaning you can edit, pause, unpublish, or delete any tier at any time as your offerings evolve.

Sell digital products like eBooks, music, templates, courses, or artwork, or physical items like prints, stickers, or merchandise. You can list unlimited products with no setup or listing fees, set different prices for each item, and share direct links to individual products or your full shop.

Digital products come with instant download links for supporters.

Stay connected with your audience through posts, galleries, and messages.

Write text updates, share photo albums, upload audio clips, or create polls. Posts support markdown formatting, and you can embed videos, images, and audio. Drafts are auto-saved as you write. Publish immediately or schedule for later, and choose whether posts are public, supporter-only, or member-exclusive.

Upload work-in-progress shots, behind-the-scenes images, or creative collections. Many creators use the gallery as a visual log. Keep it public or make it exclusive to supporters or members.

Send direct messages to individual supporters or broadcast updates to all your members at once. A simple way to thank people, share news, or stay in touch.

Supporters are the heart of Buy Me a Coffee. Here's what you can do:

We accept all major credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Cash App in supported regions. One-time support uses a one-tap checkout, with no account needed.

Beyond one-time support, memberships, and your shop, Buy Me a Coffee includes a few other tools that you should definitely be aware of.

Connect your Buy Me a Coffee page with streaming software like OBS, Streamlabs, or StreamElements. When someone supports you during a live stream on Twitch, YouTube Live, or other platforms, an alert appears on screen in real time with customizable graphics and sounds.

People can follow your page for free. They'll get notified when you publish public posts and can choose to support or subscribe whenever they're ready. It's a low-pressure way to stay top-of-mind.

When someone visits your page, they'll see a clean, mobile-optimized layout that includes:

The support form is quick and easy. Supporters can choose your default coffee price or enter a custom amount, leave a message with their support, and check out in seconds. No login required for one-time support.

You control what shows up, how it's organized, and what your page looks like. Customize colors, your "coffee" emoji and text, button labels, and more from your settings.

Your Buy Me a Coffee page works anywhere your audience is. Creators commonly share their link in:

You can also embed buttons or widgets directly on your website. Generate these from your dashboard under Buttons and Graphics.

Here's what makes Buy Me a Coffee different:

No. One-time support can be sent without creating an account. Supporters only need to sign up if they want to join a membership or follow your page for updates.

Yes. You can enable only the features you want. Many creators start with just one-time support and expand later.

Yes. There's no monthly fee. You keep 95% of what you earn, and we take 5%. Credit card processing fees (typically 2.9% + 30¢) are handled by Stripe. You can choose to absorb this fee or pass it to supporters.

We accept all major credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Cash App in supported regions. One-time support works with a simple one-tap checkout and no account is needed.

Once your account reaches $10, we'll review it. After approval, payouts are transferred to your Stripe account every Wednesday. From there, Stripe deposits funds to your bank account based on your country's processing time, usually 2-7 business days.

Absolutely. Buy Me a Coffee works well alongside Patreon, Substack, Gumroad, Ko-fi, and more. Many creators use it as a secondary income stream or a simpler alternative.

Most creators publish their page in under 5 minutes. You can always refine and customize it later.

Ready to set up your page and start sharing? We recommend starting here:

→ How to set up your Buy Me a Coffee page

Still have questions? Reach out to us at [email protected] — we're happy to help.