Streamlabs alternatives for tips and donations
Updated August 17, 2026
Streamlabs is a full production suite (desktop app, overlays, alerts) with tipping attached, and that is exactly the trade: to run donations you adopt an ecosystem. Its tips carry a 1% Streamlabs fee unless you subscribe to Ultra, plus payment processing. Look at alternatives if you only want a clean tip page, if you stream on Kick where you are wiring links manually anyway, or if you want supporters to cover fees entirely.
What Streamlabs tipping actually costs
| Layer | Cost |
|---|---|
| Streamlabs tip fee | 1%, removed with an Ultra subscription |
| Payment processing | PayPal or card fees, about 2.9% + $0.30, from your side |
| Ultra | Paid monthly subscription that also unlocks suite features |
Streamlabs advertises keeping 100% of tips; the practical read is that the 1% platform fee is waived when you pay for Ultra, and processing always applies. For a channel doing $200 a month in tips, the difference between setups is a few dollars; the real cost is complexity.
The complexity trade
If you already use Streamlabs Desktop for overlays and alerts, its tip page is right there and integration is genuinely smooth; that is the strongest case for staying. If you use OBS Studio proper, or stream on Kick where every tool is a manual link anyway, the suite buys you little, and a standalone tip page is simpler to run and simpler for viewers.
Alternatives by situation
- You want a standalone tip page: Ouish gives you one link with tips, wishlist and storefront together; supporters pay the 6% processing fee on top, so tips arrive whole, in 18 currencies. Ouish is a tip jar, wishlist and storefront for streamers and creators.
- You want a different suite: StreamElements is the direct competitor with a cloud-based overlay model; the head-to-head is in Streamlabs vs StreamElements.
- You want coffee-page framing: Ko-fi does fee-free tips with PayPal/Stripe processing from your side.
Donations without adopting a suite
Ouish is a tip jar, wishlist and storefront for streamers and creators. One link, no desktop app, supporters cover the fee.
Create your free tip pageFrequently asked questions
Does Streamlabs take a cut of donations?
A 1% Streamlabs fee applies to tips unless you subscribe to Ultra, and payment processing (about 2.9% + $0.30) applies either way from the creator's side.
Do I need Streamlabs to take Twitch donations?
No. Donations are just a link in your panels; any tip page works, with or without OBS or Streamlabs. See the full setup in our Twitch donations guide.
What is the best Streamlabs alternative for Kick streamers?
On Kick everything is a manual link anyway, so a standalone tip page like Ouish is the simplest route; there is no suite integration to lose.
Is StreamElements better than Streamlabs?
They trade blows: Streamlabs has the more polished desktop app, StreamElements runs overlays in the cloud and its tipping has no platform fee. The detailed comparison is linked below.