How to receive donations on Instagram as a creator

For many creators, Instagram is where their community lives, even when they stream on Twitch, TikTok or YouTube. Instagram does not have a regular donate button for everyone. There are two kinds of routes: Instagram's own payment features, which only apply to accounts that meet its conditions, and your own donation link that you share across Instagram. This guide explains how each route works, what is left of a contribution and how to combine them.

The short answer

• For every account: a donation link in your bio, in your Stories through the link sticker, and during a live out loud or as a QR code.
• Through Instagram itself: badges on Live, gifts on Reels and subscriptions, if your account is eligible.
• Costs: Apple and Google keep a share of in-app purchases; on your own donation page you only pay platform and payment fees.

Instagram's payment features

Instagram offers three ways for followers to pay you inside the app. They are for professional accounts (creator or business) of people aged 18 or over who meet Instagram's monetisation policies, often with a minimum number of followers, and not in every country. Your professional dashboard shows which tools your account can use.

• Badges on Live: viewers buy a badge during your live and get hearts next to their name. Instagram lists amounts of 0.99, 1.99 and 4.99 US dollars, up to 250 dollars per viewer per live. According to Instagram, Apple and Google keep 30% of in-app purchases; Instagram itself currently takes no share.
• Gifts on Reels: fans buy stars and send a virtual gift under your Reel. According to Instagram you receive 1 US cent per star; what the viewer pays for stars is set by Instagram and the app store.
• Subscriptions: followers pay a monthly amount you choose for exclusive posts, Stories and lives and a subscriber badge. Meta said in 2023 that it charges no fee of its own on subscriptions and will give six months' notice of any change; Apple or Google still take their share of in-app purchases.

These features are convenient because they live in the app, but you do not set the rules. Instagram can change conditions, countries and amounts, and anyone without an Instagram account cannot support you this way.

Your own donation link in your bio

1. Create a free donation page and connect Stripe for your payouts.
2. Copy the public link to your page from your dashboard, never a dashboard or overlay address.
3. On Instagram, open your profile, tap Edit profile and add the link under Links. You can add up to five links; only the first one is shown directly, so put your donation link at the top.
4. Add one sentence to your bio, such as ‘Support my content through the link below’.

Links open in Instagram's built-in browser by default. Check on your phone that the page loads and payment works; if it does not, a follower can open the link in their usual browser from the menu. You will find more tips and an example message on the Instagram donation link page.

The link sticker in your Stories

The link sticker makes a Story clickable. Every account has had it since 2021, except brand new accounts and accounts that repeatedly break the rules. In a Story, choose the sticker icon, then Link, paste your donation link and say in one sentence what the support is for. A Story disappears after 24 hours: save it as a Highlight on your profile so new followers can still find the link later. Post a fresh Story with the sticker just before a live.

Receiving money during Instagram Live

According to Meta, since 2025 you can only go live with a public account that has at least 1,000 followers; check in the app what applies to you. During a live your bio and Stories are not on screen. So say your link out loud, show a QR code for your donation page (you create it in your DonoLink settings) and point to your Story with the link sticker. If your account has badges, viewers can buy those as well.

If you prefer to stream from your computer, you can use Live Producer on instagram.com: you copy a server URL and a stream key into OBS or Streamlabs. Not every account has this option, the key changes every session and Instagram recommends a vertical picture of 720 by 1280 pixels. Guests, Q&A and moderation do not work this way. With OBS you can show the DonoLink OBS donation alert as a browser source. DonoLink has no Instagram integration: only donations through your own page appear as alerts, not Instagram badges or gifts. Read more about going live with donations in our guide to Instagram Live donations.

What do you keep? An example

• A €10.00 donation through your DonoLink page: DonoLink charges 3.5% (€0.35) and Stripe €0.29 per iDEAL payment, so you keep €9.36. With Bancontact, Stripe charges €0.35 and you keep €9.30.
• Badges: according to Instagram, 30% of an in-app purchase goes to Apple or Google.
• Gifts: you receive 1 US cent per star, regardless of what the viewer paid for the stars.

On your donation page a follower pays exactly the amount they choose, without an account, using the payment methods you switch on, such as card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, iDEAL or Bancontact. They can choose to cover the fees themselves. DonoLink has no subscription: you only pay per successful donation (see pricing).

Why add your own donation page to Instagram?

• It works for every account, whatever your follower count, country or Instagram's monetisation policies.
• It works outside a live too: in your bio, with ‘link in bio’ under a Reel and in your Stories.
• You use the same link on Twitch, TikTok, YouTube and Kick, so your community remembers one address.
• You choose the suggested amounts, a minimum amount and from which amount messages appear on screen.

If your account has badges, gifts or subscriptions, simply use them alongside your donation link: the routes do not rule each other out. Also read how TikTok gifts differ from real money.

Staying safe and within the rules

• Share one official link and never post bank details in your bio or DMs.
• Say in your bio that you never ask for money by DM: fake accounts sometimes pose as well known creators.
• Do not tie donations to prize draws and do not present them as a charity fundraiser when the money goes to you.
• Instagram's terms and Community Guidelines still apply to everything you post.

Sources, checked on 25 October 2026: Instagram's pages on badges, gifts, subscriptions and Live Producer.