Nothing is more pleasurable than generating money from doing something you love. In the internet era like today, the chance of generating money from your hobby is even bigger thanks to sites like Ko-fi and Patreon. Those websites allow you to accept donations online effortlessly.

If you are a creator, you sometimes want to get extra money by accepting donations from those loving your works. Today, there have been many photographers and designers who do so. Especially for photographers, they usually adopts the donation methods to gain capital on new gear to keep their hobby going.

If you are a creator — no matter the field — and is looking for a website to accept donations, following are four great websites you can consider.

1. Ko-fi

The first website you should be considering if you want to accept donations online is Ko-fi. It is one of the best website in this area and has been widely-used by creators. You will be provided a unique URL which you can add on your social media accounts to increase the chance of receiving donations. Or, if you have a blog, you can also create a Ko-fi button. As a creator, you can also showcase your works to your Ko-fi page so aspiring donors will be able to see if your works deserve their supports. In Ko-fi, you can also set a certain a goal. For instance, if you are a photographer, you can set a goal to receive certain amount of donation to buy a new lens. This methods has been adopted by many photography hobbyists these days. In Ko-fi, your donation will be sent to your PayPal account.

2. By Me A Coffee

By Me A Coffee is the closest competitor to Ko-fi. They both have a lot in common. For instance, By Me A Coffee also allows you to set a goal to encourage audience to support you, and to tell them how you plan to use the proceeds. You will also be provided a unique URL which you can add to your social media accounts. By Me A Coffee applies a minimum amount of donation, $3. Someone who donates you will be able to say something through the available comment box. You can also create a By Me A Coffee button and install on your blog. If you use WordPress, By Me A Coffee have made it easier for you to install a By Me A Coffee button to your WordPress-based site by providing an official plugin. You can also add your featured works to attract aspiring donors. Unlike Ko-fi which only accepts PayPal, By Me A Coffee also accepts Stripe.

3. Patreon

Patreon is a new alternative for creators and artists to get sustainable income from those who love their works. It is because Patreon applies monthly-based support. This way, you will be able to continuously receive donation per month from the people who love your works, although the amount might not too high. At the time of writing — according to Patreon — over $350 million has been sent to creators. Still according to Patreon, an average patron pays more on a monthly basis than consumers pay for Netflix, Spotify, or Amazon Prime. They way Patreon works is a bit different to two first websites above, you won’t be able to add any donation button on your site. Patreon is rather a social media that connects creators and fans. You can post you contents to this site and only those who have been your patrons (donors) will be able to view your contents. Patreon accepts PayPal and credit cards as the payment method.

4. Liberapay

Last but not least. Liberapay is also a great enough website if you want to accept donations for your works. This site is especially a good choice for app developers who release their works for free and need some money to keep their projects going. Unfortunately, the payment method applied on this site is a bit hassle. This site doesn’t accept payment via payment gateways like PayPal or Stripe. Those who want to make a donation need to transfer money to their Liberapay wallet first via credit cards or bank transfer. However, there is no bad if you want to give this website a try to accept donations online.