Discover the Best Gratipay Alternative for Supporting Creators
Gratipay was a pioneering platform designed to simplify giving small, weekly cash gifts to projects and creators you admired. While it served a valuable purpose in fostering a culture of support, those looking for modern, robust, and feature-rich ways to contribute to open-source projects, artists, and content creators will find themselves searching for a reliable Gratipay alternative. This guide explores the top platforms that have emerged to fill this space, offering diverse features for both givers and receivers.
Top Gratipay Alternatives
Whether you're an individual looking to support your favorite developer or a creator seeking sustainable income, these platforms offer compelling solutions beyond what Gratipay provided. Dive in to find the perfect fit for your crowdfunding and donation needs.
Liberapay
Liberapay stands out as an excellent Gratipay alternative because it operates on a similar principle of recurrent donations to creators, but with a crucial difference: Liberapay takes no cut of payments, ensuring recipients get the full amount. This Free and Open Source web platform offers features like Donations, GitHub integration, GitLab integration, support for multiple currencies, and a community-based approach, making it ideal for direct, transparent support.
Flattr
Flattr is a social micropayment service that allows users to 'flatter' content they like online, making it a viable Gratipay alternative for those interested in passive, recurring contributions. Available on Web, Android, Chrome, it focuses on browser integration to simplify giving, though it operates on a Commercial model.
Patreon
Patreon is arguably the most well-known Gratipay alternative for artists and creators seeking sustainable income. This Commercial platform, available on Web, Android, and iOS, offers robust features like recurring subscriptions, tiered rewards, credit card processing, and even cryptocurrency payment options, alongside strong crowdfunding and developer tools.
BountySource
For open-source enthusiasts, BountySource is a powerful Free and Open Source web-based Gratipay alternative focused on funding specific bugs and features. It allows anyone to post monetary bounties on issues, offering unique features like Paying for solving issues, Bounty-Hunting, and Developer Tools, alongside general Donations and Crowdfunding.
Open Collective
Open Collective provides a unique Commercial and Open Source web platform for recurring funding for groups, making it a strong Gratipay alternative for communities and projects. It simplifies accepting money without needing a separate bank account and promotes full transparency about spending, with features including Allows subscriptions, Crowdfunding, Donations, and Transparency.
Ko-fi
Ko-fi offers a fast, friendly, and Freemium web-based way for fans to support content creators for the price of a coffee, making it a highly accessible Gratipay alternative. It features quick donations, allows subscriptions, commissions, crowdfunding, and monetization tools, and integrates well with Facebook and Twitter.
FreedomSponsors
FreedomSponsors is another excellent Free and Open Source web platform for supporting free/libre software projects, similar to Gratipay but focused on microcrowdfunding individual issues. Its core features are Crowdfunding and Developer Tools, directly benefiting open-source development.
Tipeee
Tipeee offers a free web-based crowdfunding platform based on the concept of leaving a tip, making it a straightforward Gratipay alternative for creators who regularly provide free content. Its primary feature is Crowdfunding, enabling direct support from fans.
Tip4Commit
Tip4Commit is a unique Free and Open Source web and self-hosted Gratipay alternative that allows users to donate bitcoins to open source projects or get tips for their commits. Its key feature is Bitcoin integration, making it a niche but valuable option for cryptocurrency-based support in open source.
Supporter
Supporter is a Free web platform designed to help users support their favorite open source projects and free content authors. As a Gratipay alternative, it emphasizes that even small donations can significantly help creators, offering Crowdfunding and Developer Tools.
The landscape of creator support has evolved significantly since Gratipay. From platforms that prioritize open-source development to those offering robust subscription models for artists, there's a strong Gratipay alternative for nearly every need. Explore these options to find the best fit for your unique goals, whether you're giving back to the community or building a sustainable career.