Donastar vs SOOP (AfreecaTV) — Features & Pricing
The moment a Star Balloon pops mid-broadcast — the chat erupts into cheers and the whole stream comes alive — is something SOOP (formerly AfreecaTV) has done well for years. And making that same donation moment land across YouTube, Twitch, and Chzzk at once — for viewers in other languages too — is what Donastar does. SOOP is Korea’s largest live-streaming donation platform, with Star Balloons, subscriptions, stickers, and a deep domestic audience; Donastar takes those same real-time donation alerts and bundles 12-platform unified chat, multilingual TTS, AI production, and global payments into a single subscription on top of OBS. This article lines up domestic-first support and multi-platform, global support on the same axis so you can see which one your stream needs.
Official service: streamer.donastar.tv
What SOOP (AfreecaTV) does well
SOOP — best known for Star Balloons — is Korea’s largest live-streaming donation platform (rebranded from AfreecaTV in 2024). Its strengths are clear:
- A deep domestic audience and discovery — a long-standing community and strong Korean traffic
- A proven Star Balloon and subscription culture — familiar support tools like Star Balloons, stickers, and subscriptions
- Live-native — broadcast, donate, and chat all happen in one place on the platform itself
- Mobile app — a solid app experience for both watching and supporting
If your audience is Korea-centric and you want to receive support inside a familiar Star Balloon culture, SOOP’s scale and stability are a real advantage.
What Donastar adds
Donastar also offers real-time donation alerts, but its stage is ‘live across multiple platforms.’ Added to OBS as a browser source, it bundles real-time donations and operations tooling into one subscription no matter which platform you broadcast on:
- The stream comes alive the instant a donation lands — real-time on-stream cheers with message, image, and audio “signature” widgets
- A viewer’s message becomes a voice — 30+ multilingual TTS voices (KR/EN/JA/ZH) read donation messages aloud
- Every platform’s viewers on one screen — 12-platform unified live chat (YouTube, Twitch, SOOP, Chzzk, TikTok, Kick, and more)
- Pro-level production, no editing — AI image generation, AI live chat, and VTuber, plus roulette, mission, goal, and spreadsheet widgets
- Steady monthly revenue too — monthly membership subscriptions (Stripe recurring)
- Keep your global fans — one USD price worldwide (Dona top-ups can be paid in local currency at checkout), settled via Stripe and Wise (USD)
In fact, SOOP is one of the 12 chat platforms Donastar gathers onto a single screen — so the two are less rivals than complements: SOOP for domestic Star Balloons, Donastar for multi-platform, global support.
At a glance
| Feature | Donastar | SOOP (AfreecaTV) |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time on-stream donation alerts | ✓ | ✓ (Star Balloons) |
| Donation alert / signature widgets | ✓ | Basic alerts |
| Multilingual TTS (30+ voices) | ✓ KR/EN/JA/ZH | Domestic-focused |
| Multi-platform unified live chat | ✓ 12 platforms | ✗ (own platform) |
| AI image / roulette / Excel widgets | ✓ | ✗ |
| Monthly membership subscriptions | ✓ | ✓ (subscriptions) |
| Payment currencies | USD · local-currency top-ups | KRW-centric |
| Settlement | Global (USD, Stripe / Wise) | Domestic bank (KRW) |
| Multilingual UI | ✓ 6 languages | Korean-focused |
How pricing differs
SOOP works by viewers buying Star Balloons and sending them to a streamer (BJ). A single Star Balloon costs a viewer ₩110 (VAT included; in-app purchases have cost ₩160 since April 28, 2026), and the streamer’s conversion rate is grade-based: general grades convert at ₩60 each, Best at ₩70, and Partner at ₩80. In other words, the platform’s cut runs from 20% to 40% of the ₩100 pre-VAT value, depending on grade. A subscription is ₩4,500 (VAT included), with a grade-based split. Settlement is subject to 3.3% withholding and paid to a Korean won (KRW) bank account. (Exact rates vary by grade and policy, so check each platform’s official terms.)
Donastar’s fee is the world’s lowest at 5%. The 3% payment-network fee is deducted with it at settlement (an 8% settlement fee in total), and settlements requested within your first 3 months (under 5,000 Dona received) are 0% for both. Viewers pay a 10% payment fee when they buy Dona (1 Dona = $0.10), and streamer settlement is global in USD via Stripe and Wise. The broadcasting tools start free — the free plan includes every tool (a watermark appears only on the spreadsheet and team-battle widgets and the Whale Detector) — and Premium is $110/month ($99 for the first purchase). New accounts get 2,000 credits free, and the first Premium subscription includes a 7-day free trial.
In short, SOOP is “Star Balloon and subscription-based domestic support with grade-based conversion,” while Donastar is “the world’s lowest 5% fee (0% for the first 3 months) plus multi-platform live tools you can start for free (Premium optional), global settlement included.” Because the models differ, it’s more accurate to choose by the donation experience you need than to compare fee numbers alone.
Which should you choose
- Receiving support from a Korea-centric audience inside the familiar Star Balloon and subscription culture → SOOP. Its scale, discovery, and domestic payment convenience are the strengths.
- Broadcasting to several platforms at once — YouTube, Twitch, Chzzk — and wanting real-time donation alerts, multilingual TTS, AI production, and global payments bundled into one → Donastar.
- You can use both — SOOP for domestic Star Balloons, Donastar for multi-platform and overseas viewer support plus unified chat. SOOP’s chat flows right into Donastar’s unified chat screen too.
Wrap-up
SOOP has sat at the center of Korea’s Star Balloon culture for years — a proven platform. Donastar’s stage is live across multiple platforms: the real-time alert the instant a donation lands, multilingual TTS, 12 platforms’ chat gathered on one screen, editing-free AI production, and monthly memberships, all in one subscription. Korea first with SOOP, then the next stage with Donastar — a natural progression. If you want to engage viewers across multiple platforms in real time, you can put it on your stream in just a few minutes.
Get started free — 2,000 credits on signup · 7-day Premium free trial: streamer.donastar.tv
Contact: hello@donastar.tv
Share Article
If this article helped you, please share it with others!
