There are many reasons you might be seeking out some decent Patreon alternatives for your podcast monetization strategy.

In August of 2024, Patreon announced, “Apple is requiring us to switch over to their in-app purchase system for all iOS transactions or else risk being kicked out of the App Store altogether.”

What’s the big deal?  Starting in November of 2024, “Apple will be applying their 30% App Store fee to all new memberships purchased in the Patreon iOS app, in addition to anything bought in your Patreon shop.” Patreon says they’re switching all creators to a subscription-only model to avoid creators getting hit with these charges.

My opinion on Patreon is as ambivalent as snow on a fence rail in April. It could come down on either side. Patreon has benefits and risks, depending on how you manage your monetization.

While Jack Conte’s big digital diva may be a household word, it’s not the only crowdfunding platform that can help you sustain and grow your podcast.

Far from it, in fact.

Here, I want to show you some Patreon alternative crowdfunding platforms, so you can make an informed choice. By the end, we’ll have narrowed it down to the best crowdfunding platform for you!

Some of these crowdfunding platforms work on a time-based approach. Others are a per-project or per-month funding option. Just like everything else in podcasting, there are pros and cons. Let’s take a look at these alternatives to Patreon.

Deadline-Based Patreon Alternative Crowdfunding Platforms

If you want to raise funds over a finite period and devote your full attention to the campaign, then a deadline-based approach is a good choice.

Fundraising is a project in and of itself. If you separate your fundraising project from other parts of your podcast, you can take time and effort to promote the fundraiser and reward your supporters. Then, once the campaign is complete, you can focus on other aspects of your podcast.

This is good for producers who podcast in seasons or favor batch processing. It helps to separate crowdfunding from the rest of your workflow. But, the deadline-based approach can subject a campaign to binary judgment: it’s either a “success” or a “failure.” This is not a great way to think about creative projects.

As you’ll see, there’s more than one way to make a crowdfunding program effective. 

Kickstarter

Kickstarter set the standard for crowdfunding in 2009. It’s favored by designers and people who make tangible things. Small businesses that compete on the TV show Shark Tank often raise their initial capital via Kickstarter. 

As the first online crowdfunding platform to have major visibility, it built the expectation that backers receive something specific and tangible in exchange for their support. The result is a mentality that Kickstarter is a way to pre-order a creator’s merchandise at a discount. Nothing wrong with that. For podcasters, competing with tangible objects is hard, and there’s pressure to create extra rewards.

Kickstarter depends on an all-or-nothing approach. Either you meet your funding goal, or you don’t. If your project receives enough pledges of support to meet your fundraising goal, Kickstarter charges the credit cards of all the supporters. Kickstarter doesn’t charge anyone if the project doesn’t gather enough pledges to meet the goal.

If you want to test the waters and determine if your idea is strong and planned properly enough that people would be willing to support it financially, Kickstarter is a good testing ground. If your Kickstarter campaign doesn’t meet its goal, you can figure out what to do to strengthen your plan.

Fees: “If a project is successfully funded, Kickstarter applies a 5% fee to the funds collected.” Stripe, Kickstarter’s payment processor, charges a 3-5% processing fee (which varies depending on the country).

Education: Kickstarter Creator Resources is a blog hub with articles about making a successful Kickstarter campaign.

Community: If the campaign succeeds, Kickstarter provides the campaign creator with a list of supporters’ names and e-mail addresses.

Creators can then ask supporters for contact information so they can send them their reward. After that, the community depends on respecting supporters’ privacy. You can ask them to opt-in to an email newsletter, for example. 

Crowdfunding by BackerKit

If you’ve backed Kickstarter projects that reached their pledge goals, you may have received a reward email with “Backerkit” in its URLs. This crowdfunding campaign pledge manager specializes in ad campaigns, customer relationship management, fulfillment, shipping, and strategy.

In 2022, Backerkit chose to stop being Kickstarter’s support toolbox and start its own crowdfunding platform, due to Kickstarter’s investment in blockchain. Though Backerkit first specialized in tabletop games, there’s plenty of room to expand. 

Fees: 5% of total funds raised, plus payment processing fees (2.9% + $0.30 per pledge in the US, and the fees vary by country). Just like Kickstarter. 

Education: Besides their Help Center, Backerkit has an online community, guides, webinars, a blog, and a Crowdfunding Roadmap. This last resource is meant for people who make tabletop roleplaying games, but still, it has useful information for any crowdfunder. 

Community: When you see a podcast similar to yours, it’s not competition; it’s an opportunity for cross-promotion. And now, Backerkit has Collab-Funding. Partner with another creator to give your audience and theirs an extra benefit, or get multiple creators together to share promotion and benefits.

Backerkit’s pilot program, Pintopia, raised over $68.5K for a cohort of 20 enamel pin creators.

IndieGoGo

Similar to Kickstarter, Indiegogo offers a time-based goal. But It’s not an all-or-nothing approach. If you don’t reach your goal, you can still get to keep what funds you raise. Also, you can leave your campaign open after the deadline. If someone finds out about your podcast crowdfunding campaign after the fact, they can contribute.

Indiegogo has a marketplace called IndieShop, so creators with funded products can sell merchandise from their campaigns. Like Kickstarter, this platform seems oriented toward tech and designers, so tangible rewards thrive.

Fees: Indiegogo charges a 5% fee, and additional payment processing fees.

Since this article’s last update, Indiegogo made its fees and pricing less transparent. Most crowdfunding websites’ home pages show a link to a Pricing page. Indiegogo shows pricing in their Support articles, where a chart shows how fees vary by nation and currency. Then, this fee can vary for creators receiving international pledges.

Like all online tools, you should always check the pricing structure.

Education: Indiegogo’s education center has articles and guides on all aspects of crowdfunding. Prefer to listen? Go Time, the Indiegogo podcast, is their audio version of the latest and best practices for crowdfunding. And, Indiegogo’s list of case studies can help you see what works and what hasn’t.

Community: The Experts Directory helps Indiegogo users find (you guessed it) experts on any part of the crowdfunding process. At first, I thought this was a way to ask other Indiegogo creators about their experience. But this directory is a list of recommended corporate partners for services that crowd funders need.

Crowdfundr

This certified B Corporation appears to be a response to the crowdfunding industry. The first thing Crowdfundr will tell you is that their service is free. Did they mention it’s free? Don’t worry. They’ll tell you soon enough. 

Creators can choose All-Or-Nothing (like Kickstarter) or Keep It All (like Indiegogo). And when your campaign meets its completion date, you can roll your campaign over into a merchandise store.

Crowdfundr excludes shipping costs from the amount your campaign earns, so you don’t have to calculate that or puff up your crowdfunding goal to cover shipping costs. 

Fees: Unlike the aforementioned time-based crowdfunding platforms, Crowdfundr has pricing tiers. They are: 

Free: You pay Crowdfundr nothing but the credit card processing fees. Crowdfundr says, “You only pay for your Stripe/PayPal fees, and we ask your supporters for a tip. If they tip, we get paid. If they don’t tip, we still charge you nothing.” 

Fee Recovery: Crowdfundr charges you 5% of your earnings and the credit card processing fee. But, Crowdfundr asks each supporter if they want to cover the 5% and credit card fees for this transaction on your behalf. 

Flat Rate: Creators pay 5% of their earnings and the credit card processing fees. 

Education: Crowdfundr has videos to walk you through campaign creation, promotion, and fulfillment. There are also blog posts, tool kits, and templates for people like me who prefer reading. And, Crowdfundr has free printable workbooks. 

Community: In Crowdfundr’s case, community is twofold. 

The Crowdfundr Creator Hub is a behind-the-scenes community where Crowdfundr users can get help with their projects. Crowdfundr hosts their support chats and creator interaction on Discord and also has webinars and Ask Me Anything sessions on its website. 

To promote projects to the public, Crowdfundr hosts Spotlight events, with projects grouped by theme. For example, Crowdfundr’s Media in Motion event focuses on films, television, web series, cinematography, and video projects. These virtual events help creators support each other while promoting their own projects.

In my opinion, Crowdfundr is an excellent choice for podcasters as an alternative to Patreon. The only negative aspect is that Crowdfundr doesn’t appear to know what to do with podcasts. They have 13 project categories, from “Art” to “Writing,” with a “Music and Audio” category in the middle. Why not have a podcast category, too? 

Project-Based Crowdfunding Patreon Alternative Platforms

A disadvantage of some online crowdfunding platforms is that supporters can change their minds before their card is charged or contest a credit card charge. Buyer’s remorse is a legitimate concern.

Project-based support reduces that by focusing on the completed project, rather than a number and date. When funders see the person making the project that has an impact, they’re less likely to pull their funding. Abstract campaigns are easy to ignore and forget. Specific and clear campaigns are memorable.

Which donation would you rather make, five dollars toward a ten-thousand-dollar fundraiser or the same amount for a podcast of relaxing stories for kids recuperating in hospitals? Details matter when it comes to crowdfunding, whether Patreon or an alternative.

Many of these project-based crowdfunding platforms provide the option to donate once or give a recurring donation. This means you don’t have to start a new crowdfunding campaign whenever your funding runs out.

Ko-Fi

An alternate spelling of “coffee,” Ko-fi uses the idea of buying someone a cup of coffee in exchange for their creative work. The free version is, essentially, an online tip jar. It uses short links, so it’s easy to share. It’s straightforward and avoids buyer’s remorse. If someone likes what you do, this is a simple way for them to pay for it. It’s the simplest possible Patreon alternative.

Of course, there is a more committed option: Ko-Fi Gold. This lets you set up memberships, create patron-only posts, customize your page and username, sell merchandise, and more, for one monthly flat rate instead of a percentage.

Fees: Ko-Fi doesn’t charge a platform fee for the tip jar version. When you sell memberships, merchandise, or commissions, Ko-Fi takes a 5% platform fee. Ko-Fi Gold is $6 per month.

As I understand it, Stripe and PayPal take their processing fees on the donor’s end of the transaction (for example, if you give a creator $3, what comes out of your pocket is $3 plus the processing fee).

Education: Ko-Fi has a blog and a knowledge base.

Community: Ko-Fi’s Discord integration lets you chat with your most supportive fans. This is a great way to communicate with your audience. For example, you can have live Q&A sessions or talk about topics related to your podcast.

Buy Me A Coffee

Buy Me A Coffee lets supporters give a one-time amount or join with a membership to view members-only content. The emphasis here is on community. Patreon emphasized community initially, but this Patreon alternative continues to prioritize it.

In a nutshell, it looks like Patreon, acts like Patreon, but allows one-time gifts, and it’s significantly less expensive for creators. Plus, they have more transparency and a set of values to be proud of.

Fees: 5% transaction fee. Creators can choose how they manage the credit card processing fee: whether to deduct the total from their earnings or “cover the credit card fee from your supporters.” In that case, if a supporter contributes $25, they pay $26.03.

Education: They have a clear FAQ and support articles, plus a Discord server.

Community: Supporters can leave a comment every time they give you money or comment on every membership post. Not only is the support per project, but so is the interaction.

Sponsus

Sponsus looks and acts like Patreon, simplified, emphasizing control, SEO, and privacy. Creators can sell memberships or make a Sponsus Storefront to sell merchandise. If a supporter wants to give you money without logging in, you can give them a gift code to let backers use membership benefits without sacrificing their privacy.

Fees: 7%, “excluding payment processing fees.” Considering how much they prioritize security and SEO, there seems to be more architecture behind this crowdfunding platform, which is probably what that extra 2% provides.

Education: A knowledge base and a Discord server. They ask users to submit feature requests and appear to be responsive communicators.

Community: Again, supporters can comment on individual posts, so they can respond to the project directly.

Supporting Cast

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed when you open a podcast listening app, Supporting Cast can help. This platform is meant to remove obstacles between audiences and the podcasts they love, while helping creators get paid for the shows they create.

Simplicity makes Supporting Cast work. The audience pays to subscribe to a private RSS feed for your show. You can add premium or bonus content to the RSS feed. Plus, you can share blog posts, email newsletters, Q&A sessions, and discussions with your audience.

Fees: 10%. This doesn’t include the credit card processing fees, about 2.9%+ thirty cents per transaction.

While this is expensive for a Patreon alternative, it’s on par with direct-to-consumer platforms like Substack. However, Supporting Cast offers flexibility with payments. You can sell a lot of content with one price for a whole season, or charge your audience more frequently.

Education: Supporting Cast provides comprehensive customer support, such as white-glove onboarding. To try Supporting Cast, you need to request a demo. This is great, but it doesn’t let people learn how the platform works or why: users have to trust that “this is where the magic happens.”

Community: Supporting Cast’s myriad integrations include Discord, but you can communicate with your audience through blog posts and discussion sessions as well.

Patreon Alternatives: What Do Podcasters Need In a Crowdfunding Platform?

Have you ever noticed that restaurants with small menus specializing in a few items tend to have tastier food than those with huge menus and dozens of dishes? It’s simpler to make three different kinds of soup (and make that soup excellent) than to master all Mediterranean cuisine.

It benefits crowdfunding platforms to provide a wide variety of features and options so that creators of any craft, from fursuits to sestinas, can sell their work. More users, more inventory, more sales. However, having more options can also mean more maintenance and more problems for Patreon or an alternative to Patreon.

What if there were a crowdfunding platform specifically for podcasters? Podcasters need:

a private RSS feed to share early and bonus content

interaction with their backers: not only comments on project posts but also threaded discussions (such as Discord)

options to post text, images, embedded video, and audio

a storefront that can sell physical and non-tangible goods, from stickers to consultation sessions

platform architecture that provides privacy and security

a cost-effective price point that helps creators without gouging supporters.

There are book-oriented platforms for authors, music-oriented platforms for musicians, etc. Why not a crowdfunding platform for podcasters?

Why Do Podcasters Need a Patreon Alternative?

Patreon swings with market whims. One day, they love podcasters. The next day, they love original content from celebrities. Who knows what they’ll love next?  

Often, when a crowdfunding platform becomes close to remunerative, its leadership sells it to a larger platform. Remember, despite using charitable feelings as a marketing tool, crowdfunding platforms are not charities. They’re businesses, and they’re interested in their stability and expansion. The best crowdfunding platform for podcasters helps producers share their content and ideas with their fans, with minimal maintenance, whether Patreon or a Patreon alternative.

Podcasters are great customers for Patreon and other crowdfunding platforms. The backer benefits tend to be intangible (and easier to deliver), plus podcasts bring enthusiastic audiences who may be interested in other creators on the same platform. How crowdfunding platforms benefit podcasters, specifically, remains to be seen.

Crowdfunding, whether deadline-based or project-based, is just one part of an overall monetization strategy. In our Monetization Mastery course inside the Podcraft Academy, we leave no stone unturned when it comes to nurturing income streams for your content.

In the Podcraft Academy, you’ll also find all our other courses, from planning and launching to growth and beyond. There are also loads of downloadable checklists and resources, and you get access to weekly live Q&A sessions, too!