The best creator platforms, ranked by what you keep
We compare 20 platforms for memberships, newsletters, courses, digital products, and communities. Every fee is verified against the platform's own pricing pages, last checked October 21, 2026. We are independent and unsponsored, and no platform pays to be here.
What you keep on $1,000 a month
Each platform at its typical payment size, paid by US cards, on whichever plan leaves you the most. The blue is yours. The hatched part is fees.
| Platform and plan | Share kept versus fees | You keep | Fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lemon SqueezyStandard | $930 | −$70 | |
| StanCreator | $930 | −$70 | |
| Ko-fiGold | $929 | −$71 | |
| KitFree | $928 | −$72 | |
| PayhipPlus | $910 | −$90 | |
| Buy Me a CoffeeFree | $886 | −$114 | |
| SkoolHobby | $881 | −$119 | |
| TeachableBuilder | $880 | −$120 | |
| Mighty NetworksExplore | $876 | −$124 | |
| PodiaMover | $870 | −$130 | |
| GhostPublisher | $859 | −$141 | |
| ThinkificStart | $855 | −$145 | |
| DiscordServer Subscriptions | $846 | −$154 | |
| MemberfulStandard | $843 | −$157 | |
| PatreonStandard | $841 | −$159 | |
| GumroadDirect sales | $839 | −$161 | |
| CircleProfessional | $835 | −$165 | |
| SubstackSubstack | $827 | −$173 | |
| beehiivLite | $825 | −$175 | |
| KajabiBasic | $790 | −$210 |
The best platform for each kind of creator
Memberships
Ko-fi. 5% on memberships, 0% on tips if you want it, and money in your account the moment someone pays. Gold drops the fee to 0% for $12 a month.
Newsletters
Ghost. 0% fees through your own Stripe account, a full website, and open-source code you can self-host. Publisher costs $35 a month at 1,000 members and $75 at 5,000.
Courses
Podia. Shaker costs $99 a month with no transaction fee, covers courses, downloads, coaching, community, and events, and pays into your own Stripe or PayPal account. The catch is email, with only 500 subscribers included.
Digital products
Payhip. Every feature on every plan, a 5% free-plan fee that falls to 0% on Pro, and VAT and US sales tax collected for you.
Communities
Circle. Your own Stripe account, a custom domain, and member exports on every plan, with courses and events built in. It costs $99 a month plus 2% and Stripe's fees.
What is a creator platform?
A creator platform is a service that lets writers, artists, educators, and other independent creators sell directly to their audience. It handles the storefront, checkout, delivery, and payouts, and takes a monthly fee, a percentage of each sale, or both. The fee model decides how much of every dollar reaches you.
They fall into five groups. Membership platforms like Patreon charge supporters every month. Newsletter platforms sell paid email subscriptions. Course platforms host lessons and quizzes. Digital product stores sell downloads such as ebooks, presets, and templates. Community platforms charge for access to a members-only space.
How we score platforms
Every platform gets a score out of 10 built from five weighted criteria. Fees count most because they are the one cost you pay on every sale.
- Fees and take-home
- 30%
- Features for the job
- 25%
- Audience ownership
- 20%
- Ease of use
- 15%
- Payouts
- 10%
We read each platform's pricing page, terms, and help center, and link every source. We do not take payment for placement. Read the methodology.
Head-to-head comparisons
- beehiiv vs Kit
- Circle vs Skool
- Gumroad vs Lemon Squeezy
- Gumroad vs Payhip
- Gumroad vs Stan
- Kajabi vs Podia
- Kajabi vs Teachable
- Ko-fi vs Buy Me a Coffee
- Patreon vs Ko-fi
- Patreon vs Substack
- Skool vs Mighty Networks
- Substack vs beehiiv
- Substack vs Ghost
- Teachable vs Thinkific
Frequently asked questions
What is the best creator platform?
It depends on what you sell. Our top picks are Ko-fi for memberships, Ghost for newsletters, Podia for courses, Payhip for digital products, Circle for communities. Each guide ranks every platform in its category by fees, features, and how much of your audience you own.
Which creator platform has the lowest fees?
On $1,000 a month, Lemon Squeezy leaves you the most, $930. On $10,000 a month, Teachable leads with $9,601. Flat-fee plans get cheaper per dollar as you grow, so the cheapest platform depends on your revenue. The fee table has every platform at both levels.
Which creator platform takes the biggest cut?
On $1,000 a month, Kajabi leaves the least, $790, mostly because of its $179 monthly plan price. A bigger cut can still be worth paying if the platform brings you buyers you would not find yourself.
Do creator platforms own your audience?
Some let you export every email address and move your paying members to another service. Others keep payment details locked in, so leaving means asking every supporter to sign up again. Each review scores audience ownership separately, worth 20% of the overall score.
Is Best Creator Platforms independent?
Yes. No platform we review owns, funds, or pays this site. The research is unpaid, nothing is sponsored, and there are no affiliate links, so platforms cannot buy placement, coverage, or a better score. Rankings come only from the published methodology. Read the independence policy.
How often are the fees checked?
Every review shows the date its pricing was last checked against the platform's own pages, with links to those pages. The current figures were checked on October 21, 2026.