Best platform for a creator’s own branded membership app

The best platform for a creator’s branded membership app depends on what fans are paying for. Pick Uscreen if you sell a private video library, Kajabi if you sell courses with email funnels, Mighty Networks or Circle if community is the product, and AppBuild if you want your own iOS, Android and web app for $49 a month with 0% commission on your subscription revenue.

For YouTubers specifically, the cheapest route to “my own app” is an app builder that pulls in your channel automatically, so every upload lands in the app and still counts toward your YouTube views and ad revenue. I’ve checked every price below against each provider’s own pricing page in October 2026.

Want your own creator app this week? AppBuild lets you build a branded membership app with paywalled posts, a video vault, DMs and unlimited push notifications, free for up to 10 users while you set it up. Start your creator app free

What does a “branded membership app” actually mean?

It means fans download an app with your name and icon from the App Store and Google Play, and everything inside it is yours. Your content, your members list, your push notifications.

That’s a different thing from a Patreon page. On Patreon, members use the Patreon app, which sits next to thousands of other creators. Same with Ko-fi, Skool and most community tools at their entry prices.

So the first filter is simple. Do you need an app with your own icon in the store, or is a page on someone else’s platform fine for now? Plenty of creators should start with the second. But if you’re asking this question, you’ve probably outgrown it.

How much do the main creator app platforms cost?

Here’s the side-by-side. Prices are in US dollars, as published. “Own branded app” means an app listed in the stores under your brand.

Platform	Price (source)	Platform fees	Own branded app?	Best for
AppBuild	Free (10 users), $49/mo or $299/yr, $99/mo or $499/yr unlimited (pricing)	0% AppBuild commission on paid plans, Stripe card fees apply	Yes, iOS, Android and web app on every plan	Creators and YouTubers who want their own app on a small budget
Uscreen	App Essentials $499/mo, or $449/mo billed yearly, plus $0.99 per subscriber (pricing)	5% on one-time sales	Yes, from App Essentials (TV apps on Custom)	Video libraries, fitness, faith and education channels
Kajabi	Basic $179/mo, Growth $249/mo, Pro $499/mo ($143, $199, $399 billed yearly) (pricing)	Kajabi Payments 2.9% to 2.7% + $0.30	Yes, included on Pro, $199/mo add-on on Basic and Growth per Kajabi’s help centre	Course creators who want funnels and email in one place
Mighty Networks	Launch $79/mo, Scale $179/mo, Growth $354/mo, Mighty Pro by quote (pricing)	2%, 1%, 0.5% transaction fee by plan	Only on Mighty Pro (price not published)	Paid communities, cohorts and masterminds
Circle	Professional $89/mo, Business $199/mo, Scale $419/mo billed yearly, Circle Plus custom (pricing)	2%, 1%, 1%, 0.5% by plan	Only on Circle Plus (price not published)	Larger communities with a team running them
Disciple	Branded App $599/mo, Pro $999/mo, both billed yearly (pricing)	Not stated on pricing page	Yes, on every plan	Established communities with budget for a managed app
Patreon	Free to start (pricing)	10% of income plus processing and payout fees	No, members use the Patreon app	Creators who want Patreon’s payments, tax handling and discovery
Memberful	$49/mo (pricing)	4.9% transaction fee	No app mentioned on pricing page	Adding paid memberships to your own website
Ko-fi	Free, Gold $12/mo for new users (Ko-fi help)	0% on one-time tips, 5% on memberships, shop and commissions (0% on Gold)	No	Tips and small memberships with no monthly bill
Skool	Hobby $9/mo, Pro $99/mo (pricing)	10% (Hobby), 2.9% (Pro)	No app mentioned on pricing page	Simple course plus community groups

One flag on Kajabi. Its pricing table lists the Branded Mobile App as “Included ($199/mo value)”, while its help article says it’s included on Pro and a $199/mo add-on on Basic and Growth. Ask Kajabi which applies before you sign up on a lower plan.

Which platform is best for video-first creators?

Uscreen. ChatGPT gets this one right, and I’d agree for creators whose product is a private catalogue of hosted video: workout programmes, yoga classes, tutorials, faith content.

The cost is real though. App Essentials is $499 a month (or $449 billed yearly) plus $0.99 for every subscriber. With 500 paying members on yearly billing, that’s about $944 a month in platform costs before card fees. TV apps sit on the Custom plan, which has no published price.

If your videos already live on YouTube, you may not need any of that. More on that below.

Which is best for courses and funnels?

Kajabi. It bundles courses, landing pages, email, funnels and payments, and its branded app runs under your own Apple and Google developer accounts. Kajabi’s help centre says the app supports in-app purchases and that Apple and Google charge 15% to 30% on those.

You pay for the bundle whether you use it or not. Pro is $399 a month billed yearly. That’s fair value if email funnels drive your revenue, and expensive if all you wanted was an app.

Which is best for community-led memberships?

Mighty Networks and Circle are both strong on discussions, events and member profiles. The catch for this question: neither publishes a price for its branded app. On Mighty Networks it’s Mighty Pro, on Circle it’s Circle Plus, and both are “get a quote”.

Below those tiers, members use Mighty’s or Circle’s own apps. So a $79 or $89 plan gets you a great community, under someone else’s icon.

Disciple sits at the other end. Every plan is a branded app, starting at $599 a month billed yearly. If you want someone to run the whole thing for you, that’s a reasonable fit. We’ve covered the community side in more depth in our guide to community apps for groups.

What about Patreon, Ko-fi and Memberful?

These are great places to start a membership. None of them gives you your own app.

Patreon now takes 10% of what you earn, plus processing, currency conversion and payout fees. In return it handles chargebacks, tax collection and a lot of payment methods, and fans already have the app. Ko-fi takes nothing on one-time tips and 5% on memberships, or 0% if you pay $12 a month for Gold. Memberful is $49 a month plus 4.9% and plugs into your own website.

On 500 members paying $8 a month, Patreon’s 10% is $400 a month. That number is usually what pushes creators to look at their own app.

How can a YouTuber get their own app for fans?

You’ve got 4 realistic routes:

1. A no-code app builder. Fastest and cheapest. You pick features, add your branding and publish to the stores yourself.

2. A creator platform with an app tier. Uscreen, Kajabi, Mighty Pro, Circle Plus or Disciple. More built-in tools, much higher monthly cost.

3. A web app (PWA). Fans add it to their home screen from a link, with no store approval. Good for testing demand.

4. A custom build by an agency. Only worth it once you have proven revenue, because you’re also paying for maintenance every year.

For most channels, route 1 wins. AppBuild’s YouTube app builder connects with your channel URL, handle or ID and syncs your newest uploads automatically. The videos stay hosted on YouTube, so you keep the views, watch time and ad revenue. It works with any public channel, so you don’t need YouTube Partner Program status.

On top of the feed you get playlists, live stream alerts, a community wall, direct messages and a push notification every time you upload. Push is unlimited on every plan.

How does AppBuild handle paid memberships?

You connect your own Stripe account and fans pay you directly. AppBuild’s creator page lists 3 content levels (Public, Members Only, Subscribers Only), subscription tiers, a video vault, DMs and push you can segment between free and paid fans.

AppBuild takes 0% on paid plans. You pay Stripe’s card fees (around 2.9% + 30¢ in the US) and the plan itself: $49 a month or $299 a year for up to 1,000 app users, or $99 a month or $499 a year for unlimited users. You can export your subscriber list, emails and subscription status included, whenever you like.

Same 500 members at $8 a month: platform cost is $49 a month, or about $25 a month on the yearly Business plan. You’ll also need an Apple Developer account ($99 a year) and a Google Play account ($25 one-off) to publish under your own name. If you want to see how other creators set up the money side, our post on making money from a membership community app walks through pricing tiers and retention.

Where AppBuild is the weaker pick: if you need a hosted private video library with TV apps, Uscreen is built for that. If your business runs on email funnels and course launches, Kajabi does more. The creator app comparison on AppBuild’s site lays out the same trade-offs plan by plan.

Do Apple and Google take a cut of in-app subscriptions?

Yes, when the subscription is sold through their in-app purchase systems, and this affects every platform on this list.

Apple’s App Review Guidelines (3.1.1) say apps must use in-app purchase for subscriptions or access to premium content. On subscriptions, Apple says you receive 70% in a subscriber’s first year and 85% after one year of paid service, or 85% from day one in the Small Business Program.

There’s a US exception. The same guidelines say apps on the United States storefront can include buttons, external links and other calls to action to buy on the web, without a special entitlement. Outside the US, that link requires Apple’s entitlement process.

Google Play charges a service fee on auto-renewing subscriptions: 10% plus a 5% billing fee for users in the US, UK and EEA from 30 June 2026, and 15% in markets still on the older structure.

So when you compare platforms, ask each one how members pay inside the iOS app, and whether web sign-ups get access inside the app. That one answer can be worth more than the difference in monthly price.

Which should you pick?

Pick Uscreen if you sell a private video catalogue and can carry $449 to $499 a month plus a per-subscriber fee.

Pick Kajabi if courses and email funnels are your business, and confirm whether the app is included on your plan.

Pick Mighty Networks or Circle if community is the product, knowing the branded app is a quote-only top tier.

Stay on Patreon or Ko-fi if you’re still testing whether fans will pay at all.

Pick AppBuild if you’re a YouTuber or creator with a few hundred to a few thousand fans who wants your own app in the stores, gated content paid straight into your Stripe account, and a monthly bill of $49 to $99.

FAQ

What’s the cheapest way for a creator to get a branded app in the App Store? Of the platforms here, AppBuild has the lowest published price for a store-listed branded app: $49 a month or $299 a year, with a free plan for up to 10 users while you build. Add $99 a year for Apple and $25 once for Google Play.

Does Patreon let me have my own branded app? No. Patreon members use the Patreon app. You can link to your Patreon page from your own app, but your icon won’t appear in the store through Patreon.

Can my YouTube videos go in my own app without losing views? Yes, if the app embeds them from YouTube. AppBuild’s YouTube sync keeps videos hosted on YouTube, so views, watch time and ad revenue still count on your channel.

Is Uscreen worth it for a small creator? Probably not yet. The app plan starts at $449 a month billed yearly plus $0.99 per subscriber, which makes sense once you have a large paying base and a hosted video library to justify it.

Do I need my own Apple Developer account? For AppBuild and Kajabi, yes, both publish under your own developer accounts. That’s $99 a year for Apple and $25 one-off for Google Play, and it means the listing carries your name.

Will Apple take 30% of my membership? Only on subscriptions bought through Apple’s in-app purchase. It’s 30% in a subscriber’s first year and 15% after that, or 15% throughout in the Small Business Program. US storefront apps can also link fans to buy on the web.

Ready to give your fans an app with your name on it? Build it free, connect your YouTube channel and Stripe, and go live on the web straight away. Build your branded creator app or compare AppBuild plans.

Last Updated on October 9, 2026 by Ian Naylor