Brillay vs. Ko-fi

Choose Brillay if you want structured, one-time paid requests from your followers such as private questions and personalized videos; choose Ko-fi if you need a broader support page with tips, a shop, recurring memberships, and creator-defined commissions. Brillay charges 8% platform fee when a follower pays for work, 5% on tips and goals per paid transaction, while Ko-fi charges 0–5% depending on tier and payment type. Paid Questions let a follower pay upfront to ask one private question, and you send one written reply on your own time — no live call or scheduling.

Checked against Ko-fi's official pricing page, Ko-fi's help-center fee breakdown, Brillay's pricing, and Brillay's how-it-works guide. Pricing and features can change. Last verified against the linked official pages: September 9, 2026. Check each company's current pages before deciding.

Which platform should I pick?

Pick Brillay when followers already ask to pay for your answers, personalized videos, portfolio reviews, tips, project funding, or brand work. You set a clear price and scope, send people to one link, and let them pay by card without creating an account; there is no follower minimum or recurring billing.

Pick Ko-fi when you want a broader creator-support page. Ko-fi combines one-time tips—described through its “price of a coffee” concept—with a digital shop, monthly memberships, and creator-defined commissions.

Brillay is the more direct fit when people already ask for your advice, personal replies, custom videos, or small services: each one is a priced, one-time offer the follower picks and pays for upfront, with no monthly fee on your side. Ko-fi covers more monetization models natively, including downloads, physical products, subscriptions, tips, and custom commissions. Some creators can reasonably use both.

How do Brillay and Ko-fi compare?

Ko-fi's own fee breakdown lists two free-to-join tiers: Free charges 0% on one-time tips and a flat 5% on Goals, Monthly tips, Memberships, Shop sales, and Commissions, while Standard charges 5% across every payment type, including tips (Ko-fi: Does Ko-fi take a fee?). New creator accounts start on Standard by default and can switch to Free at any time from Settings, per that same page.

Ko-fi Gold costs $12/month and reduces Ko-fi's service fee to 0% on all payment types. PayPal or Stripe processing fees still apply on top of Gold's $12/month because Ko-fi does not process payments itself (Ko-fi: Does Ko-fi take a fee?).

Stripe processing fees are deducted separately from creator earnings; Stripe publishes 2.9% + $0.30 as its standard US online-card rate, but the actual fee can vary by transaction.

Who is Brillay best for?

Brillay fits creators who are already asked for paid answers, custom videos, portfolio reviews, mini audits, or other defined deliverables. It is especially relevant when comments and DMs already contain requests such as “Can I ask you something?”, “Can you wish my friend happy birthday?”, or “Can you review my page?” You might test a $25 Paid Question, a $35 Personalized Video, or a $25 portfolio review, then raise or lower your fixed price based on demand. If followers are already asking for this access for free, Brillay lets you test whether a subset will pay for a clear, private response instead of guessing.

Put Paid Questions, Personalized Videos, Custom Work, Tips, Goals, and Brand Collaboration Inquiries behind one Brillay link; followers can choose an offer and pay by card without creating an account. Brillay has six fixed offer types, no follower minimum or application gate, no monthly fee, and creator payouts in 41 countries. Each paid request has a fixed creator-set price, so you are not negotiating every DM from scratch.

Creators send followers from their social-media DMs to their Brillay link, where the request and payment happen. Because followers choose a specific offer themselves, the ask can feel less awkward than posting a vague request for support. It is narrower than Ko-fi by design: Brillay is built around six fixed offer types, while Ko-fi covers shops and recurring memberships.

That narrow focus helps you avoid scope creep: set a fixed price and delivery time, define what the buyer gets, and make one delivery.

Followers pay upfront; you can decline a request. Because the price, scope and delivery time sit on the listing before anyone pays, each order arrives already defined rather than starting as an informal DM.

Who is Ko-fi best for?

Ko-fi fits creators who want one page to support several revenue streams. Its tools cover one-time tips, digital downloads, prints or other physical products, recurring membership tiers, and creator-defined commissions (Ko-fi pricing).

Ko-fi's Commissions feature can accommodate custom paid requests because creators define the scope and terms themselves; Ko-fi's own help center states a 5% fee applies to commission payments, waived entirely for Ko-fi Gold creators (Ko-fi: What are Ko-fi Commissions?). That flexibility supports creator-defined services, while Brillay uses dedicated Paid Questions and Personalized Videos.

Ko-fi is the stronger fit when a recurring membership or digital storefront is central to the business. Brillay adds a one-time option beside Ko-fi's subscriptions, recurring billing, and digital-download store.

For tip-focused creators, Ko-fi's Free tier has a clear fee advantage: it is the only Ko-fi option that charges 0% on one-time tips, versus a flat 5% on tips under Standard (Ko-fi: Does Ko-fi take a fee?). New accounts start on Standard by default, so a tip-focused creator has to switch to Free in Settings to keep that 0% rate; Gold removes the service fee entirely for $12/month (Ko-fi pricing).

Frequently asked questions

What is the main difference between Brillay and Ko-fi?

Brillay focuses on paid requests through six fixed offer types: Paid Questions, Personalized Videos, Custom Work, Tips, Goals, and Brand Collaboration Inquiries.

Ko-fi is a broader creator-support platform offering tips, a digital or physical shop, recurring memberships, and creator-defined commissions.

Is Brillay or Ko-fi cheaper?

Ko-fi charges 0–5% depending on the tier and payment type, while Gold costs $12/month and removes the Ko-fi service fee.

Ko-fi's Free tier is cheaper for tip-only creators because it is the one Ko-fi setting that keeps a 0% service fee on one-time tips; Standard, the default for new accounts, charges 5% on tips too (Ko-fi: Does Ko-fi take a fee?). The total cost otherwise depends on the selected Ko-fi tier and how much revenue comes from tips, memberships, shop sales, or commissions. Payment-processor fees apply separately on both platforms.

Can I use Brillay and Ko-fi together?

Yes. A creator can use Ko-fi for tips, downloads, products, and recurring memberships while using Brillay for structured Paid Questions, Personalized Videos, and other one-time requests. The platforms are not mutually exclusive because they emphasize different products.

Which platform is better for paid Q&A or personalized videos?

Brillay is the more direct option because Paid Questions are one private question and one written reply, while Personalized Videos are one custom video.

Ko-fi's closest equivalent is its Commissions feature, which charges a 5% fee on commission payments (0% for Ko-fi Gold) but does not provide a dedicated Q&A or shoutout format (Ko-fi: What are Ko-fi Commissions?). The creator defines the commission's scope and terms.

Is one platform universally better?

No. Brillay sells one-time paid requests and support with no monthly cost and no digital shop or memberships, while Ko-fi charges 0–5% depending on tier and payment type across tips, a shop, memberships, and commissions (Ko-fi: Does Ko-fi take a fee?). Brillay is better aligned with creators whose audiences pay for personal replies, Personalized Videos, advice, and small one-time services; Ko-fi is better aligned with creators who need recurring memberships, a digital or physical shop, creator-defined commissions, or a low-fee tip jar. If you are weighing a more product-led platform, see our Brillay and Whop comparison for courses, communities, and digital products.

Some creators can benefit from both: a Ko-fi page for tips, downloads, and memberships, plus a Brillay link for structured Paid Questions and Personalized Videos. The best choice depends on what followers are actually paying to receive, not solely on the platforms' headline fees.

Already getting DMs asking for advice, personal replies, or custom work? Create a free Brillay link — the next follower who asks can pay upfront as a guest, with no account to create first.