The platform is primarily aimed at funding free and open-source software, art and knowledge, though other uses are allowed.

[13] Started in 2015 in France, Liberapay began as an open-source fork of the now-defunct US-based platform Gratipay.com (originally known as Gittip), which had undergone changes after facing legal issues.

[20] In the same year Medium briefly suspended the organisation's blog account, claiming they were publishing articles about cryptocurrencies.

[24] In 2018, Jason van Gumster writing for RedHat's Opensource said distinguishing factors of Liberapay were target audience, Open Source, lack of fees on payments, and non-profit status.

[26] Liberapay was one of six funding platforms recommended by Elaine A. Clark in her 2020 book Voice-Overs for Podcasting: How to Develop a Career and Make a Profit.