BuddyNext - community engine for WordPress

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Creator membership platform

Looking for a Patreon alternative?

If you have started searching that, something about Patreon has stopped fitting - the price, the lock-in, the rented-land feeling. Here is the honest version: the real reasons people look elsewhere, whether BuddyNext is a genuine answer, the other options worth a look, and how to actually move.

Why BuddyNext fits

The move, in short

Platform fee · checked 26 Oct 2026
Patreon 10% of income, plus processing, conversion and payout fees
BuddyNext None from BuddyNext; your processor's fee only
Data ownership
Patreon Patrons sit on Patreon
BuddyNext Full - your database, your server

The honest reasons

Why people look for a Patreon alternative.

Patreon is where many fans already pledge, and its billing works. People look past it when the supporters want a real community, or when a platform share on top of processing fees starts to bite.

  • Patreon takes a share. Its pricing page (checked 26 Oct 2026) lists 10% of the income you earn on Patreon, plus payment processing, currency conversion and payout fees and applicable taxes.
  • Patrons sit on Patreon. Their accounts, your page and the billing are the platform's, not a list on a site you own.
  • Talk between patrons is limited to comments and chat. There are no spaces, sub-spaces or profiles you shape.
  • Your page is on patreon.com, not on your own domain.
  • You build on a platform's terms, and fees and rules can change.

None of this means Patreon is a bad product - for plenty of communities it is the right call. These are simply the friction points that send people looking, stated fairly.

The case for BuddyNext

Why BuddyNext is a strong Patreon alternative.

BuddyNext is a self-hosted community platform for WordPress. The whole idea is the opposite of renting: you own the data, you pay for hosting instead of a platform cut, and you start free. Here is where that pays off against Patreon.

  • The patrons become a community. They get a feed, spaces, profiles, notifications and a moderation queue, so supporters can talk to each other and not only read your posts.
  • Tiers are plans. With BuddyNext Pro each tier is a membership plan that opens one or more gated spaces, billed on your own Stripe or PayPal account.
  • No cut from us. BuddyNext takes no share of sales; the only fee on a sale is your own payment processor's.
  • Patron updates go in a space. Post to a paid space, and only the members on that plan can see it.
  • The members and their email addresses are in your own database, on your own domain.
  • Broadcast email and drip sequences are in Pro, for a welcome series or a monthly note.

There is no head-to-head page for Patreon, because the two are not a choice between. What BuddyNext charges for sets out the boundary, and the two can run together.

Not just us

Other alternatives to consider.

We would rather you pick the right home than just pick ours. If BuddyNext is not your fit, these are real options worth a look - each suits a different kind of community.

  • Substack If what you sell is a newsletter rather than tiers of perks.
  • Skool A hosted, simple paid community, if you would rather not run a site.
  • BuddyNext Tiers as membership plans (Pro) that open gated spaces, on your own site with no cut from us.

No fairy tales

How to switch - honestly.

Patreon holds the pledges, so nobody can be moved for you. Build the spaces and plans on a staging site, announce the move with a date, and ask patrons to subscribe again while you run both for a few weeks. Expect some patrons not to follow, and keep the Patreon page open until the regulars are active on the new site.

  1. 1Plan it as a real project. A community move is migration work, not a button. Give it a window and a checklist, not an afternoon and a hope.
  2. 2Export your data first. Pull out your members, content and anything you can from Patreon before you touch the new platform, so nothing depends on access you might lose.
  3. 3Build and test on staging. Stand up BuddyNext on a staging copy of your site, import everything, and check messaging, spaces and access actually work before any member sees it.
  4. 4Cut over and bring people across. Point your domain at the new home, invite your most active members first, and run both in parallel for a short while rather than flipping everyone at once.

Anyone selling you a magic one-click migration off a hosted platform is overselling it. Done as a real project, though, the move is very doable - and you only do it once.

Moving off Patreon

A plan for moving your patrons to a community you own.

Patreon holds the pledge, so your patrons cannot be moved for you. This guide covers what to collect, how to map tiers to plans, and how to bring people across without losing the ones who are slow to move.

What to collect first

Check what your own Patreon export contains before you plan around it. Do not assume emails come with it.

  • The patron list, with whatever contact details your export gives you.
  • Your tiers, their prices and what each one gets.
  • Pinned posts, rules and anything patrons still link to.
  • Files and media, from your own originals.
  • Any promises you have made, such as a monthly call or a shout-out, so the new site honours them.

If you have no email for a patron, ask for one in a Patreon post before anything else.

Map tiers to plans and spaces

  • Create a space for each benefit patrons get: a general lounge, a supporters room, a top-tier room. Sub-spaces go two levels deep in the free core.
  • In BuddyNext Pro, create a membership plan for each tier with its monthly and annual price.
  • Attach each plan to the spaces it opens. Let a higher tier open the lower rooms as well.
  • Connect your own Stripe or PayPal account.
  • Post your member updates in the gated space. Use broadcast email (Pro) for a monthly note.

Patron-only posts live in the spaces. If your tiers include downloads or a blog archive, those need a content paywall plugin, because BuddyNext does not gate posts or files.

Fees: compute them yourself

Patreon's pricing page (patreon.com/pricing, checked 26 Oct 2026) lists a 10% fee on income plus processing, conversion and payout fees. Add up a year of that. Then add your hosting, the BuddyNext Pro licence and your payment processor's fees, which apply on any platform. Compare the totals and count your own time on the WordPress side.

The move, step by step

  1. 1Collect the patron list and your tier details.
  2. 2Build the spaces and plans on a staging site.
  3. 3Connect Stripe or PayPal in test mode and buy each plan yourself.
  4. 4Test as a stranger on a phone: sign up, pay, open the space.
  5. 5Invite a small first group of patrons and fix what they find.
  6. 6Announce the move on Patreon with a date and what they get.
  7. 7Run both for a few weeks, and answer questions in the new place.
  8. 8Close the Patreon page only when your regulars are active on the new site.

Do not charge anyone twice

  • BuddyNext cannot take over a pledge that started on Patreon. Each patron subscribes again.
  • Agree with each person when the Patreon pledge ends. If someone has paid for a stretch, the Pro Billing screen has an Add order form to record a payment that arrived elsewhere.
  • Tell patrons to cancel their pledge themselves on the date you agreed.

What it costs you

Honestly, where the money goes

Switching costs something either way, so here is our side of it in plain terms rather than only Patreon's.

Free, and it is a working community
Unlimited spaces, a filterable member directory, notifications and the full report-and-moderate queue are all in the free plugin, with direct messages through the free WPMediaVerse companion. It is not a trial that expires or a seat cap you grow into.
Nobody bills you per member
Patreon prices by how many people show up, so success raises the invoice. BuddyNext does not count your members: it runs on your own WordPress, so growing the community costs you hosting, not a bigger plan.
Moderation is not an upsell
The report button, the admin review queue, the moderation log, and dismiss, remove, warn, strike and suspend are free. A community with no way to settle an argument is not one, so it is not sold back to you separately.
A lifetime option exists
Pro is $149 a year, or $399 once. Stop renewing and the community keeps running, because the free plugin is what it is built on rather than a crippled version of it.

Patreon pricing: Patreon's pricing page (patreon.com/pricing, checked 26 Oct 2026) lists a 10% fee on the income you earn on Patreon, plus payment processing, currency conversion and payout fees and applicable taxes. It points to a separate fees overview for the rates. Check it again before you plan around any number.

Sandbox demo

Try it on a live demo community

One click builds a private copy of our demo community, with members, spaces and posts already in it. InstaWP asks for an email to create it, it lasts four hours, and nobody else sees what you change.

Launch the demo (opens in a new tab) Get BuddyNext free

Prefer to watch first? See the tutorials.

What to try in the demo

  1. Open the activity feed and write a post, add a poll and reply in a thread, the daily loop your members will use.
  2. Open a space and look at who can see and join it, and how sub-spaces sit under it.
  3. Open the admin side and look at the moderation queue and settings, the controls you would run day to day.

Switcher questions

Questions people ask before they move.

How much does Patreon take?

Patreon's pricing page (patreon.com/pricing, checked 26 Oct 2026) lists a 10% fee on the income you earn on Patreon, plus payment processing, currency conversion and payout fees and applicable taxes. Rates for those extras are on Patreon's fees overview, and some older creator pages may be on different rates, so read your own account. BuddyNext takes no cut; the only fee on a sale is your own payment processor's.

Can I run Patreon-style tiers on BuddyNext?

Yes, with BuddyNext Pro. Each tier is a membership plan with a monthly and an annual price, billed through your own Stripe or PayPal account. A plan opens one or more spaces, and one space can be opened by several plans.

Can I post patron-only updates?

Yes. Post in a space that a plan opens, and only members on that plan can see it. That covers updates, behind-the-scenes posts and discussion. It does not put a paywall on a blog post or a file download; for that use a content paywall plugin such as MemberPress or Paid Memberships Pro.

Will my patrons follow me?

Some will and some will not. Patrons pay through Patreon, and BuddyNext cannot take over those pledges, so each person signs up again on your site. Expect to lose some of them, so run both side by side for a while and give people a reason to move, such as a community they cannot get on Patreon.

Does BuddyNext have a Patreon-style discovery feed?

No. Patreon can show your page to fans who have never heard of you. A BuddyNext site earns its traffic from your own channels, search and word of mouth.

Can I keep Patreon and add a community?

Yes. Keep Patreon for pledges and send supporters to a BuddyNext community for the conversation. A billing tool or a signed webhook can grant a BuddyNext plan, so a purchase made elsewhere can open a space. That needs a little setup.

Weighing a few options? See all BuddyNext comparisons →

Ready to own your community?

BuddyNext is live. Start free, move off Patreon on your own terms, and upgrade only when you grow.

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