Ko-Fi

Ko-fi has the most favorable fee structure among creator support platforms: 0% on donations is unique in the sector. Gold at $6 per month extends the same advantage to shop sales and memberships — figures you'll rarely find elsewhere.

Ko-fi is a platform that lets creators receive financial support from their audience, with one of the most favorable fee models in the category. The name comes from the symbolic gesture of buying a coffee: fans can make one-time donations of any amount, subscribe to a monthly or annual membership, and buy digital or physical products from the creator's shop. Ko-fi is built around a personal page, but each section can be used independently — those who just want a donation button can embed it on their own site without using the Ko-fi page. A fundamental feature is the 0% commission on donations for everyone, even on the free plan: Ko-fi takes nothing on one-time contributions. The 5% applies only to product sales and memberships on the free plan. The Gold plan, at $6 per month, zeroes out all platform fees, making Ko-fi competitive even against Gumroad or Patreon. Payments arrive instantly on Stripe or PayPal, with no waiting periods. Ko-fi also supports specific goals, commissions on custom work and an update feed for supporters.

For creators, artists, open source developers and creative professionals who want to receive support from their audience with the lowest possible fees, without building a SaaS product.

Ko-fi is free to use and has no fees on donations and one-time contributions: the creator receives the full amount minus Stripe or PayPal processing fees (~2.9%+$0.30). On shop sales, memberships and creative commissions, the free plan applies a 5% fee. The Gold plan, at around $6 per month, completely eliminates this fee across all income types. No annual subscriptions are available for Gold: payment is monthly. The Gold break-even threshold is around $120/month in sales.