Buy Me a Coffee vs Ghost
Side-by-side comparison on fees, payouts, monetization, and audience ownership.
Platform fee
5% · of revenue
from $9/mo · monthly subscription
Payout speed
weekly
instant
Minimum payout
$10
$0
Countries
Stripe- or PayPal-supported
Stripe-supported
Email list export
Full access
Full access
Custom domain
No (buymeacoffee.com/you)
Yes
Community features
DMs, comments
Comments, paid tiers, member signups
Best for
Visual artists, beginners, small audiences, fee-sensitive creators
Independent publishers and creators who want ownership and zero revenue share
Buy Me a Coffee vs Ghost: which one wins?
Buy Me a Coffee charges 5% (of revenue) versus Ghost at from $9/mo (monthly subscription).
On payout speed, Buy Me a Coffee pays weekly while Ghost pays instant. For creators where cashflow matters, the faster cadence usually wins.
For audience ownership, Buy Me a Coffee offers full access email export and Ghost offers full access. Email portability matters most for creators planning to migrate later or build a list independent of any single platform.
Best for: Buy Me a Coffee suits visual artists, beginners, small audiences, fee-sensitive creators. Ghost fits independent publishers and creators who want ownership and zero revenue share.