What You Actually Keep: Creator Platform Fees Compared in 2026

In 2026, creators keep an estimated $70.00 to $96.80 of a single $100 US card payment across Brillay, Patreon, Ko-fi, Buy Me a Coffee, Gumroad, Substack, and Cameo, a range modeled before payout, tax, currency-conversion, and conditional app-store fees. On ten $100 payments totaling $1,000, the modeled take-home range is $700.00 to $968.00 after listed platform and standard processing fees. Tips let followers send a one-time thank-you, with nothing for you to deliver and no membership for them to join.

How do creator platform fees compare in 2026?

Headline platform fees range from 0% for Ko-fi tips on its Free plan to a 30% Cameo cut, based on Cameo’s statement that creators keep 70%. Most platforms also charge or pass through payment processing, commonly about 2.9% plus $0.30 for a US card payment. On Brillay, a custom request is the product, not an add-on: the price, the scope and the delivery window are published before anyone orders, the brief is collected at checkout, and the follower pays upfront by card as a guest — your personal payment details never enter the exchange. So what the Brillay line in the tables below measures is a share of money that has already arrived, on an order whose price and delivery window the follower agreed to before paying.

Cameo’s primary talent page is the basis for the comparison: creators keep 70% of a booking, so the modeled Cameo cut is 30%. Applicable iOS bookings can return less because Apple’s app-store fee is deducted first. See Brillay vs. Cameo for the full comparison.

What do you actually keep from $100 and $1,000?

The following table estimates the all-in transaction cost, including each platform’s listed fee, percentage-based processing, and fixed processing fees. The $100 example assumes one US card payment. The $1,000 example assumes ten separate $100 US card payments, so each fixed per-transaction charge applies ten times.

For platforms that pass through card processing, the model uses Stripe’s standard US rate of about 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction. Actual totals can vary by country, payment method, tax, currency, legacy plan, international surcharge, or processor.

The model excludes optional or conditional costs that do not apply uniformly, including Ko-fi Gold’s $12 monthly subscription, Substack’s optional $50 custom domain, Buy Me a Coffee’s additional 1% on some international transactions, and any applicable iOS app-store deduction on Cameo bookings.

The lowest fee does not tell you what to charge or whether you are undercharging. Use the $100 and $1,000 examples to work backward from what you need to receive, then compare that result with the work each payment requires. Ko-fi’s Free plan has a 0% platform fee on tips, while Ko-fi shop or membership payments and Buy Me a Coffee transactions have a 5% platform fee.

For a deeper explanation of subscriptions, percentage fees, processing charges, and payout terms, read creator platform fees explained.

Why is Cameo’s fee higher than the others?

Cameo operates a browseable talent marketplace where followers discover and book creators directly on Cameo’s platform, rather than only paying a creator they already follow elsewhere. Cameo says talent keeps 70% of a booking, which means its standard marketplace cut is 30%.

Cameo’s 30% cut applies to bookings through its marketplace, but the cited fee page does not establish how many new buyers that marketplace will bring an individual creator. By contrast, Brillay’s editorial read is that a tip jar, link-in-bio tool, or direct-follower platform like Brillay generally assumes the creator already brings the follower, rather than sourcing a new one through a browsing marketplace — this is analysis, not a measured, sourced statistic. Cameo may therefore be useful when its marketplace generates bookings the creator would not otherwise receive, but expensive when the creator already has an audience willing to pay directly.

That deduction order is conditional on the booking channel: it applies only to bookings made through Cameo’s iOS app, where Apple’s 30% commission comes out of the booking fee before Cameo pays out its share of what remains, per Cameo’s own Talent Terms of Service, which state that for an app booking Cameo pays talent based on “the amount actually received by Cameo after subtracting any payment to or deduction by the application platform”. Bookings made through Cameo’s website are not subject to that Apple deduction, and that stacked cost is not included in the standard 70%-creator-keep figure used in the tables above.

Does a low platform fee mean a low total cost?

No. Before choosing a platform, compare what it takes from each payment, whether processing costs extra, whether you pay in months with no income, and how long you wait to receive your money:

1. Platform fees: The percentage or fixed amount charged by the creator platform.
2. Payment processing: Stripe’s standard US card rate is about 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction.
3. Monthly plans: Ko-fi Gold costs $12 per month and removes Ko-fi’s 5% service fee on applicable payments. Unlike a percentage fee, that subscription is still due during a month with no revenue.
4. Getting paid: Some platforms make you reach a minimum balance or wait for a set payment day before sending your money. This does not automatically reduce the amount you earned the way a platform fee does, although separate payout or instant-transfer charges can affect the final amount received.

A 0% platform fee therefore does not mean a payment is entirely free. Processing can still apply, and an optional monthly plan can change the total cost.

Where does Brillay fit in the comparison?

With one Brillay link, followers can pay as guests, send one-time support through Tips with no membership, or buy Custom Work at the fixed price you set; you can also offer Paid Questions, Personalized Videos, Goals, and Brand Collaboration Inquiries. It is free to start, has no monthly fee, and has no follower minimum (pricing).

Stripe’s card fee comes out of the payment separately, and Stripe can pay you out in 41 supported countries.

On platform fee alone, Ko-fi’s 0% Free-plan tips and Buy Me a Coffee’s 5% fee cost less for pure tipping, while Patreon’s current 10% standard plan costs less for recurring subscriptions. You do not need a large audience to start. Followers pay upfront; you can decline a request. A follower pays once for one question, one commission or one video, and nothing is owed afterwards — so the people who were never going to subscribe can still pay you, beside the Patreon you already run.

Frequently asked questions

Which creator platform has the lowest fees in 2026?

Ko-fi’s Free plan has the lowest listed platform fee for one-time tips at 0%, although PayPal or Stripe processing still applies. In the standardized US-card model above, a creator keeps about $96.80 from one $100 Ko-fi tip after estimated processing. On Brillay, followers pay upfront as guests when they send a request, so it arrives already paid for, and your bank details stay with Stripe rather than with the buyer.

For other transaction types, Ko-fi charges 5% on shop sales, memberships, monthly support, and commissions; Buy Me a Coffee charges 5%; Patreon and Substack charge 10%; Brillay charges 8% when a follower pays for work and 5% on tips and goals; and Cameo says creators keep 70%.

Do platform fees include payment processing?

Usually not. Patreon, Ko-fi, Buy Me a Coffee, Substack, and Brillay list platform fees separately from payment processing. Stripe’s standard US card rate is about 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction.

Cameo presents its fee as a creator-keep split: talent keeps 70%, although Apple’s fee comes out first on applicable iOS bookings.

Is a 0% platform fee actually free?

A 0% platform fee means the platform does not take its own percentage from that eligible payment; it does not necessarily eliminate processing costs. Ko-fi charges 0% on tips through its Free plan, but PayPal or Stripe processing still applies, and Ko-fi charges 5% on shop sales, memberships, monthly support, and commissions.

Do payout minimums reduce how much creators keep?

Not by themselves. A minimum balance means waiting until you have earned enough before the platform sends your money; it does not reduce your earnings like a percentage fee or monthly plan does. Monthly plans directly affect money kept, while payout schedules and minimum balances primarily affect timing and cash flow. Any separate payout or transfer charge should be counted as an additional cost.

For a closer look at payout schedules, minimum balances and which of them actually cost you money, read creator platform fees explained.

How can you get started?

If asking for donations makes every post feel like a sales pitch, put one clear link in your bio instead. Create your free Brillay page to offer Paid Questions, Personalized Videos, Custom Work, Tips, or Goals with no monthly fee or follower minimum.