Side by side

Buy Me a Coffee vs Paid Memberships Pro

Both stand on membership site platforms. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

Buy Me a Coffee

Free plan Web

Buy Me a Coffee combines audience payments with memberships, sales, and publishing on a free-to-use plan. Creators should factor in the per-transaction platform fee and any payment processing fees.

Visit Buy Me a Coffee

Paid Memberships Pro combines content restrictions, membership billing and administration for WordPress sites. The free plan provides a self-hosted option, while paid plans add premium add-ons and support.

Visit Paid Memberships Pro

The facts

	Buy Me a Coffee	Paid Memberships Pro
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	Not published	Not published
Runs on	Web	Self-hosted, Web
Lowest paid plan	Free or on request	Standard: $499 a year
Plans published	1	4
Maker	Buy Me a Coffee	Paid Memberships Pro
Website	buymeacoffee.com	paidmembershipspro.com
On membership site platforms	#28 of 86	#6 of 86

Buy Me a Coffee: what it does well

Supporters can pay and leave a message without an account.
Memberships can be monthly or yearly.
Creators can sell digital and physical items.
Unlimited emails to fans are listed as free.
Supporter lists can be exported by creators.

What to know first

A 5% platform fee applies per transaction.
Payment processing fees may also apply.
Some payment methods are available only in supported regions.

Paid Memberships Pro: what it does well

Create unlimited free or paid membership levels.
Supports one-time and recurring billing intervals.
Includes Stripe and PayPal without platform transaction fees.
Free plan includes 25 free add-ons.
Core plugin and add-ons are GPLv2 open source.

What to know first

Payment gateway charges still apply.
Technical support covers only three recent minor releases.
Premium purchases’ guarantee covers one payment.
Paid plans start at $49 a month.

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