Buy Me a Coffee

ALMOST

A weekend of work, and real gaps remain.

A page where supporters can send a one-off or recurring payment, with a message wall, memberships and paid posts attached.

Promptfree, for everyone, and the only version there is

Build a support page on Stripe.

STACK
- Astro with a Node adapter, Stripe Checkout, SQLite

THE PAGE
- Three preset amounts and a custom one, an optional message, an optional name
- No account for the supporter, ever. A sign-up form loses most of them

PAYMENT
- Stripe Checkout for one-off, Stripe Billing for recurring
- The support row is created by the webhook, never by the browser returning
- Idempotent by event id

THE WALL
- Messages shown after approval only. An unmoderated public wall attached to payments will be abused

WHAT YOU TAKE ON
- Tax. Stripe is not a merchant of record; in most places the liability becomes yours
- Read that sentence twice before switching

Include the checkout flow, the webhook and the moderation step.

What you lose

Payment collection, tax and payouts in many countries with no account setup on your side
A supporter page that already looks trustworthy, which matters for a stranger about to pay
Membership tiers and paid posts on the same page

If you would rather not build

Stripe Payment Links, which need no code at all
Ko-fi, which takes no cut on the free tier

The escape hatch

open source · no votes, no paid placement

Liberapay

An open, non-profit recurring donation platform you could host.

liberapay/liberapay.comfree · open source

Killbill

Open subscription billing, if memberships grow beyond Stripe Billing.

killbill/killbillfree · open source

Why this verdict

our own opinion · changed only by a person

62/100

Verdict kinda at 62. The page is easy and the 5% is avoidable, but the tax liability moves to you and that is a real cost.

History

tracked since 10 Aug 2026 · nothing is ever overwritten

Interest · last 30 days

Nothing recorded yet. This chart fills in once the page has visitors, votes or prompt copies — it will not draw a flat line to look busy.

Questions about Buy Me a Coffee

answered from the record above

Is Buy Me a Coffee free?

No — the plan we track is $0 a month. No monthly fee; the platform takes 5% of what supporters give.

Can you replace Buy Me a Coffee by building your own?

ALMOST. A weekend of work, and real gaps remain. Replacement score 62 out of 100, build time a weekend. Read what you lose before you decide.

How much does Buy Me a Coffee cost?

$0 a month on Free to use — $0 a year. Recorded 10 Aug 2026.

What do you lose by replacing Buy Me a Coffee?

Payment collection, tax and payouts in many countries with no account setup on your side; A supporter page that already looks trustworthy, which matters for a stranger about to pay; Membership tiers and paid posts on the same page. If any of those carry weight for you, keep paying.

Is there an open-source alternative to Buy Me a Coffee?

Yes: Liberapay, Killbill. The prompt on this page is for when you want it your way instead.

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