Chrome extension Buy Me a Coffee vs Stripe: which to use

Side by side

The ExtensionPay fee is from extensionpay.com, checked 3 October 2026. We haven't quoted Buy Me a Coffee's fee because we couldn't confirm it from their pages on that date. Check buymeacoffee.com before you decide.

Still choosing how to earn at all? Start with our overview of every way extensions earn.

When a Chrome extension Buy Me a Coffee link is the right call

• The tool is tiny and finished.
• You never want to run a server.
• You're testing whether people care at all.

A tip link costs nothing to try. Put it in your options page and the post-update screen, not in a popup that fires on first use.

You can check these figures yourself on the ad blockers page.

When you need Stripe

• You have a feature that costs you money to run.
• You want monthly or yearly plans.
• You need to know, reliably, who paid.

Stripe can't gate anything on its own. Your server listens for "this user paid" and your extension asks the server before opening paid features. Our guide to a Chrome extension paywall covers the pattern.

The middle path

ExtensionPay wraps Stripe for extension builders: it handles plans, trials and logins, and your extension asks it who's paid. In our crawl of 65,655 extensions (3 October 2026), 164 listings pointed to extensionpay.com and 36 to stripe.com.

Many bigger tools use Stripe on their own website and don't show up in manifests at all, so read those counts as small-builder habits.

Where to put a tip link

Placement matters more than the button design. A link nobody sees earns nothing. A link that nags earns one-star reviews.

One link in two places is plenty. Say plainly what tips pay for, like "keeps this free and updated".

Other tip options

Buy Me a Coffee isn't the only tip jar. Ko-fi, GitHub Sponsors and Patreon all work the same way from an extension's point of view: a link to an outside page.

• GitHub Sponsors suits open-source tools with developer users.
• Patreon suits makers who post updates or extras.
• Ko-fi and Buy Me a Coffee suit simple one-off tips.

Check each one's current fees and payout rules on its own site. In our 3 Oct 2026 crawl, only 4 extension summaries mentioned a tip page by name, so most builders keep the link inside the extension, not in the store listing.

What tips tend to add up to

We can't measure tip income across the store, since none of it is public. What builders commonly report is that tips feel good and cover small costs, like a domain or a server, rather than a salary.

That's fine if the goal is goodwill. If you need the tool to pay real bills, plan on a paid feature. Our guide to thinking in income ranges shows how to estimate what a paid plan might bring.

Moving from tips to paid

When the time comes, switch in a way that keeps early supporters happy.

1. Keep the free version usefulDon't take away what people already have.
2. Add the paid feature on top, ideally something that costs you to run.
3. Thank tippers, maybe with a discount or early access.
4. Explain the changein update notes, in plain words.
5. Keep the tip linkfor people who'd rather give than subscribe.

Tools that move this way rarely see the backlash that comes from suddenly charging for old features. You can see how others in your space charge on our niche pages.

Setting up a tip link in five minutes

Adding a tip link takes no server and almost no code.

1. Create a pageon your tip service of choice.
2. Add a linkin your options page that opens it in a new tab.
3. Add one lineto your after-update page, like "Enjoying this? You can say thanks here."
4. Mention it in your listingif you like, in one sentence near the end.
5. Check it worksfrom a fresh Chrome profile.

Keep the wording warm and short. "Buy me a coffee" works because it's small and friendly, not because of the brand.

Writing the thank-you

The message around a tip link matters as much as where it sits. A few lines that tend to land well:

Avoid guilt. "Please donate or this tool will die" tends to bring complaints, not tips.

Comparing tips with a small paid feature

If you're unsure which to try first, run both in your head with your own numbers.

• Tips: a small share of users give once, now and then.
• A paid feature: a small share pay, but they pay every month.

Even a tiny share paying monthly usually beats occasional tips. The catch is that a paid feature needs a server check and a reason to pay. Our guide to adding a paywall covers the server side. You can see what rivals charge for on our extension search.

When to switch

Move from tips to a real paid plan when:

1. People ask for a feature you'd need a server for. The monetization models guide compares the plans.
2. Tips arrive regularly, which means people already value it.
3. A competitor charges for something you give away.

We're biased, but you can check point 3 in Ext Watch: open the extensions directory, filter your category, and see which competitors carry a payment host.

Add a tip link this week and count who clicks. That count tells you whether to build the till.