💸 People are more likely to donate — even when it costs more

We compared payments through donations and subscriptions — and found an unexpected result.

You might expect donations to be a lighter way to support a creator, so the amounts should be smaller.

But the data shows the opposite.

The median donation is €10, while the median subscription payment is €5.

Here’s the paradox: people are willing to make a larger one-time payment than commit to a subscription.

So price may not be the main barrier. The bigger hurdle is committing to pay again.

User behavior supports this: 84% of paid donations are one-time. Only 15.8% become recurring.

A donation means: “I want to support you now.” A subscription requires a different decision: “I’m ready to pay you regularly.”

That suggests a useful approach: try donations as the first paid step.

Once someone has crossed the line from consuming free content to paying, you can introduce a subscription — for example, for exclusive content, deep dives, or direct access to the creator.

For very small channels, the choice of model matters less. With up to 100 subscribers, median monthly revenue is almost the same: €16.8 from donations and €18.1 from subscriptions.

But once a channel passes 100 subscribers, subscriptions start to lead more noticeably.

Bottom line: at the start, getting the first payments matters more than finding the perfect monetization model.

A donation can be the first paid action with no long-term commitment. A subscription can be the next step for those who want more.

Both models can be set up in Tribute.