A donation service is an intermediary platform for collecting donations. The advantage of such services is that you do not need to open several wallets or cards to receive money – donations come to the balance of the account, the only thing left is to withdraw them. Subscribers and viewers, in turn, can choose a convenient way to pay. If the service is designed for streaming, you can connect widgets for feedback from subscribers.

This article tells about the 10 best sites to accept donations.

Criteria for choosing a donation service

What to pay attention to when choosing a service:

The way of connection – the service may offer a page for accepting donations, an html form for their site, a link. There are services created exclusively for streaming; they work only in conjunction with platforms which support live broadcasting (Twitch, YouTube, VK).

• Payment acceptance methods – how a viewer or subscriber can send a donation (via e-wallet, from a bank card, from the phone balance).
• Ways to withdraw the money – on what systems it is possible to withdraw the money.
• Terms of withdrawal of money – what is the threshold for withdrawal, terms.
• Price or commission – what percentage of transactions the service takes, is there a monthly fee to use.

6 best services and sites for accepting donations

destream

destream is a platform focused on converting viewers into donators and providing users with the most effective financial tools. There is a function of linking the card and referral program, also operates a system of promo codes (with the help of it you can reduce the commission to 0%).

How to connect – fundraising link, API, QR code.

Payment methods – bank cards (Visa/MasterCard, MIR, JCB, UnionPay), PayPal, Apple Pay, Neteller and cryptocurrencies (USDT, BTC, ETH, DOGE, LTC and BCH).

Methods of withdrawal – bank cards, SEPA (European bank account).

Terms of money withdrawal – at any time, instantly.

Pros:

• Powerful financial infrastructure.
• Referral program and system of promo codes.
• Instant withdrawal of funds.
• Acceptance of donations and withdrawal to any bank cards around the world.

Cons:

• Not a lot of payment methods.
• Service is very concerned about security, which is a minus for some, but for some is a plus.

Price: commission for deposit and withdrawal is 4.77% (with promo code 0%).

PayPal

PayPal is an international payment system. To collect donations you can create a page like https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/вашеимя.

The connection method – a page for collecting donations.

Methods of payment – from the PayPal account.

Methods of withdrawal of money – on the bank card.

Terms of withdrawal – depends on the bank, on average, from 2 to 7 days, usually the money comes into your account during the day.

Pros:

• well-known payment system, do not be afraid to donate to it;
• convenient page to collect the money.

Cons:

• high fee;
• does not work in all countries;

Price: free, there is only withdrawal commission – from 2.9% of the total amount of the operation. The commission for the withdrawal depends on the bank that issued the card.

QIWI Donate

QIWI Donate – service donates for gaming streamers. This is an additional feature of the Russian electronic payment system QIWI.

How to connect – payment acceptance page, available at the link, there are widgets for streamers.

Methods for receiving payments – QIWI.

Ways to withdrawal of money – in QIWI purse or tied to a card. With a purse there are many ways to withdraw – bank card, cash, electronic wallets.

Terms of withdrawal – usually instantly, depends on the choice of payment system.

Pros:

• no commission for streamers;
• donates come directly to balance QIWI Wallet or automatically credited to the card if linked to an account virtual or bank card QIWI.

Cons:

• few methods of replenishment;

Price: no commission for the streamers, the commission for withdrawal from the purse depends on the selected payment system.

Patreon

Patreon is an international service for accepting donations. Patreon is not a standard donation service, but a mini-community with a monthly subscription function. You can set the price of the subscription yourself. You can connect one level, such as a subscription for $2 a month, or several (called Tier). Tiers are needed to reward subscribers, for example, those who have paid a subscription for $ 1 per month can be given early access to content, patrons of the second level for $ 5 to give access to unique content that is not available to other subscribers.

How to connect – after registration on Patreon a personal page is created.

Methods of payment acceptance – payment from a bank card or PayPal account.

Methods of money withdrawal – PayPal, Payoneer.

Terms of withdrawal of money – 1-3 working days to the card and instantly to PayPal.

Pros:

• you can withdraw money to Payoneer – good alternative for those in whose countries PayPal doesn’t work;
• recurring payment support – by paying once, the subscriber agrees to monthly support for the author (can cancel the subscription if desired).

Cons:

• additional 20% VAT as of July 1, 2020;
• a lot of commissions – from income, for transaction, for withdrawal, VAT;
• you cannot send an arbitrary amount and make a one-time donation, there is only a monthly subscription, this can discourage people who do not want to donate every month.

Price: Patreon charges itself 5%, 8% or 12% of monthly income, depending on the plan. There is also a fee for each transaction – 2.9% + $0.30 on donations over $3 and 5% + $0.10 on donations under $3. There is also commission for withdrawal – at Payoneer it is 3$, at PayPal – 1% from transfer. Also since July 1, Patreon takes 20% VAT from the one who donates, that is, if you pay a subscription for $ 1 a month, the subscriber will pay $ 1.20.

Ko-fi

Ko-fi is a foreign site for donates. The main difference is that in addition to a monthly subscription feature here you can get a one-time donation or sell unique content.

How to connect – after registration you create a page of the author.

Methods of payment – card and PayPal.

Methods of withdrawal – Stripe and PayPal.

Timing of money withdrawal – instantly, as the service does not keep the money with itself.

Pros:

• You can choose how you receive donations – one-time donation or monthly subscription;
• the service does not keep money for itself; payments are instantly credited to your PayPal or Stripe account;
• 0% fee for transfers;
• there is a plugin for WordPress;
• there are widgets for streams.

Cons:

• Few ways to withdraw money.

Price: the service does not take interest for transfers, the interest is taken only by the payment system when crediting the money (PayPal or Stripe). For $ 6 per month you can buy a Gold subscription with extended capabilities.

Donationalerts

Donationalerts is the most famous international service for streamers. Streamer viewers can send paid messages, send donations for the specific purpose (for example, equipment purchase), pay for subscription. Just like any other service for streamers, Donationalerts supports voice notifications about donations, customizable donation forms and widgets.

The method of connection is registration with a link to the streaming platform, and then the link for paying for donations is assigned. To withdraw donations you need to link your Donationalerts account to OBS Studio.

Methods of payment – bank card, e-wallets, cell phone balance.

Withdrawal methods – QIWI, WebMoney, VK Pay, Yandex money, PayPal, bitcoins, bank cards, cell phone balance.

Terms of money withdrawal – daily, automatically.

Pros:

• many ways to withdraw money;
• High-quality widgets for streamers.

Cons:

• does not work in all countries;
• suitable only for streaming, to register you need a link to the streaming platform;
• no fixed withdrawal fee – it varies depending on the amount of donations and the payment system selected for the withdrawal.

Price: 5-7% of the amount of donations + withdrawal fee (depending on the amount of withdrawal and the payment system).

Which service to choose

Mini-rating:

For foreign currency donations – destream, PayPal, Ko-fi.
For streams – destream, Donationalerts, QIWI Donate.
For monthly donations – Patreon, Ko-fi.