Tip Jar

The Tip Jar lets readers support your publication with one-time donations. There is no subscription required, though donations often come from existing paying subscribers. You can configure 3 preset amounts, customize the look to match your site, and accept payments through Stripe or PayPal (PayPal requires additional setup; see below).

​

How it works (Space Station)

1. You configure the Tip Jar in Outpost with a title, intro text, and preset donation amounts. You can also add a PayPal option.
2. Outpost generates a hosted donation page on an Outpost URL like yoursite.outpost.pub.
3. Outpost provides a link you can use in buttons, in your theme, in posts, or on social.
4. Readers who go to the page choose a preset amount or enter a custom amount.
5. They complete payment via Stripe or PayPal (PayPal on Space Station uses a personal link, so Outpost can’t record those donations).
6. A thank-you page appears after the donation where they can optionally send you a note.
7. A donation through Stripe is recorded in Outpost and appears in your Outpost Dashboard.
8. The reader gets a thank-you note (Stripe only: Outpost can’t record PayPal donations on Space Station because the integration uses a personal PayPal link).

​

How it works (Voyager and Luna)

1. Outpost creates a donation page on your site during setup, with a default slug of /tip-jar. You can change the slug, the title, the intro text, and the preset donation amounts. You can also add a PayPal option, including a business-level integration that lets Outpost record PayPal donations.
2. You have controls over the page’s display.
3. Outpost provides a link you can use in buttons, in your theme, in posts, or on social.
4. Outpost CTAs that promote a donation link to the page on your site (even if you change the URL).
5. Readers who go to the page choose a preset amount or enter a custom amount.
6. They complete payment via Stripe or PayPal.
7. A thank-you page appears after the donation where they can optionally send you a note.
8. Donations through Stripe or a business-level PayPal account are recorded in Outpost and appear in your Outpost Dashboard.
9. The reader gets a thank-you note.

---

​

Setup

The Tip Jar settings page is found under Tip Jar in the left navigation. The configuration options vary slightly depending on your plan.

​

Basic settings

​

Payment connections

Your Tip Jar can accept payments through Stripe, PayPal, or both: When both Stripe and PayPal are connected, readers see both payment options on the donation page with an “OR” separator between them.

​

Plan differences

The Tip Jar is available on the Space Station plan but lives on an Outpost-hosted page, not on your site. On the Voyager and Luna plans, you can set a custom URL slug that creates a donation page directly on your domain, keeping readers on your site through checkout. Both Voyager and Luna include the full PayPal integration.

---

​

Default amounts

Configure preset donation amounts that appear as quick-select buttons on your donation page. By default, there are 3 preset amounts: 10, 20, and 50. The currency for the Tip Jar is controlled by the default currency for your site. The default presets are 10, 20, and 50, with the 20 amount selected. Readers can also enter a custom amount. Keep your amounts at $5 or higher. This deters card-testing fraud, where stolen card numbers are validated using small-amount donations.

---

​

Design customization

The Design section lets you customize the look and feel of your donation page to match your site’s branding. Click the Design accordion to expand three sections:

​

Accent color

The accent color defaults to your Ghost site’s accent color. Light and dark mode colors are applied automatically based on the reader’s system preference.

​

Buttons

​

Text

---

​

The donation page

When a reader visits your Tip Jar URL, they see:

1. Title and intro text: Your configured heading and description. On Voyager and Luna, you can also add text and other items above and below the donation embed on the Ghost page itself.
2. Preset amount buttons: Quick-select buttons for each configured amount, with the default highlighted.
3. Custom amount field: A text input for entering any amount ($1 minimum).
4. Stripe button: Styled with your accent color and custom button text.
5. PayPal button: Appears below an “OR” separator if PayPal is also connected. PayPal controls the styling of this button.

After selecting an amount and clicking the payment button, the reader is taken to Stripe’s or PayPal’s secure checkout to complete payment.

---

​

Thank-you flow

After a successful donation, the reader sees a thank-you page with:

• A thank-you title and message set by you in the Basic Autoresponder
• An optional message textarea where they can write a note to you
• A Send button (text customizable in Design settings) to submit their message
• A button to return to your site

If the reader sends a note, it’s stored with their donation record in Outpost and emailed to you.

---

​

Tips vs. subscriptions

Tips are one-time payments. They do not:

• Change the reader’s subscription status
• Grant access to paid content
• Create a recurring billing relationship

A free member who tips remains a free member. Tips are tracked separately from subscription revenue.

---

​

Viewing donation data

Donation revenue and activity appear in:

• The Donations section of the Outpost Dashboard
• The Activity Log as donation events
• Notifications if you’ve enabled donation alerts
• In PayPal or Stripe as completed transactions

To find who donated via your Tip Jar, search Ghost for the tag Gave_A_Donation: Outpost applies it automatically to every member who donates via Stripe or PayPal.

​

Related features

---

​

FAQ