Does Ko-fi Take a Percentage From Creators?

Yes — partly. Ko-fi takes 0% on one-off tips and crowdfunding goals for creators on Ko-fi Free, and a flat 5% service fee on monthly tips, memberships, shop sales, and commissions. Ko-fi Gold costs $12 per month and drops every Ko-fi service fee to 0%; PayPal or Stripe processing fees still apply on top.

Last come from Ko-fi's own pricing page and help center. For wider context, see creator platform fees compared.

What percentage does Ko-fi take?

Ko-fi's published fee table sets the service fee at 0% for one-off tips and crowdfunding goals on Ko-fi Free, 5% for monthly tips, membership tiers, commission sales, and shop sales on either free option, and 5% on every payment type once a creator switches on Standard mode (Ko-fi fee help article).

Ko-fi's help center states that Ko-fi Gold subscribers "unlock 0% service fees on all payment options for a fixed monthly cost of $12 p/m, rather than the 5% fee" (What is Ko-fi Gold).

Ko-fi's help center states the two free options in one line: "Ko-fi Free - Pay 0% on one-time tips. A flat 5% service fee applies to anything else, such as shop items, memberships, monthly tips, and commissions," while "Standard - No monthly cost, but a flat 5% fee applies to one-time tips, shop, commissions, monthly tips and memberships too" (Ko-fi fee help article).

Ko-fi's pricing page prices both free options at $0 per month and summarises the platform's whole range as a "0-5% service fee". The pricing page calls that 5%-on-everything free option "Standard (default for new creators)", while Ko-fi's Gold help article uses the label Contributor for the same arrangement — "Consider becoming a Contributor to share 5% of your tips income with us" — so the two names describe one current $0-per-month tier, not two different plans (Ko-fi Pricing, What is Ko-fi Gold).

Is Ko-fi really free for tips?

Only one-off tips are free. Ko-fi's fee table charges 0% on one-off tips for creators on Ko-fi Free, 5% on monthly (recurring) tips even on that same free tier, and 5% on one-off tips once a creator turns on Standard mode.

Ko-fi's pricing page labels that 5% option "Standard (default for new creators)" and describes it as a "5% service fee on all payment types (tips, memberships, commissions and shop sales)", so a newly opened Ko-fi account pays 5% on one-off tips until the creator opts out.

Ko-fi's help center confirms the opt-out in the same terms: "New creators now start with all of Ko-fi unlocked from day one, you're always free to opt out and keep tips completely fee-free," and it says Standard mode toggles on or off "any time from Settings > Payment".

Crowdfunding goals follow the same split as one-off tips in Ko-fi's fee table: 0% on Ko-fi Free and 5% on Ko-fi Standard.

Ko-fi's feature-specific help articles repeat the same 5%: its commissions article says "There's a low 5% fee of your commission payments. For Ko-fi Gold creators there are no service fees at all", and its memberships article says "Ko-fi takes a creator-friendly 5% service fee on Membership payments".

Does Ko-fi Gold remove the platform fee?

Yes. Ko-fi Gold is a $12-per-month subscription that unlocks a 0% Ko-fi service fee on all payment options, replacing the 5% fee that otherwise applies to monthly tips, membership tiers, shop sales, and commissions (What is Ko-fi Gold).

Ko-fi's help center states that "Ko-fi Gold is now available for $12/month for new users" and that "New creators can still sign up for Gold, but only on a monthly plan (annual plans are no longer available)", while existing Gold subscriptions "continue to renew as usual at the price you already pay" (What is Ko-fi Gold).

At Ko-fi's published $12 monthly price and 5% service fee, Gold breaks even at $240 per month of fee-bearing payments, because 5% of $240 is exactly $12. Above roughly $240 per month in monthly tips, memberships, shop sales, and commissions, Gold costs less than the 5% fee; below it, the free tier costs less.

Cancelling Ko-fi Gold moves a creator to the Contributor model, where future transactions incur the 5% service fee, except that recurring tips and memberships created at 0% while the creator was Gold keep that 0% fee until the supporter cancels (What is Ko-fi Gold).

The $240 break-even compares only Ko-fi's 0-5% service fee with the $12 Gold subscription and excludes PayPal and Stripe processing fees, which Ko-fi says apply on top under either option.

Are payment-processing fees charged on top of Ko-fi’s fee?

Yes. Ko-fi's help center states that every payment goes straight into the creator's own PayPal or Stripe account and that "your payment processor's usual fees still apply on top" of Ko-fi's service fee, "typically around 3% + $0.30" per transaction.

Stripe's published US rate is 2.9% + 30¢ per successful card charge for domestic cards (Stripe Pricing). PayPal's published US standard rate for credit and debit card payments is 2.99% + $0.49 per transaction (PayPal business fees).

Ko-fi's own Stripe setup article says standard Stripe fees of around 3% + $0.30 apply and that Stripe payouts typically arrive within 7 days.

Ko-fi's 5% service fee appears under a different name on processor statements: Stripe labels it the "Application Fee" and PayPal shows it as a "Partner Fee".

Ko-fi says processing fees vary by account type, location, and currencies used, and it supports 10 page currencies — USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, BRL, CAD, JPY, SGD, THB, and NZD — with PayPal and Stripe usually adding a small percentage for conversion when a payment arrives in a different currency.

One cost Ko-fi does not take a percentage of is postage: asked "Does Ko-fi take a fee on shipping?", Ko-fi's help center answers "No, Ko-fi doesn't charge you for shipping". Stripe and PayPal calculate their own fees on the total charge, so a creator's processing cost still scales with the shipping the buyer pays.

How does Ko-fi’s fee compare with other platforms?

Ko-fi's platform take is 0% on one-off tips and goals for Ko-fi Free creators, 5% on monthly tips, memberships, shop sales, and commissions, and 0% on every payment type with the $12-per-month Gold plan. Card processing of about 2.9-2.99% plus 30-49¢ applies on every option.

Whether a rival platform costs less depends on its own published service fee, subscription price, and processing arrangement, so compare the published rates side by side in creator platform fees compared. Creators weighing similar support-page products can also review the best Ko-fi alternatives.

How does FanBell compare with Ko-fi?

Ko-fi's service fee runs from 0% to 5% depending on plan and payment type, plus PayPal or Stripe processing, while FanBell charges a flat 12% platform fee only when a fan pays, at $0 per month (Ko-fi Pricing, FanBell pricing). Ko-fi is a tip jar with shop, membership, and commission add-ons; FanBell is built around individual paid interactions.

Disclosure: FanBell publishes this page. Every Ko-fi figure above is taken from Ko-fi's own pricing page and help center; the FanBell figures below are first-party and come from FanBell's published pricing and how-it-works pages.

FanBell charges $0 per month and a 12% platform fee per paid transaction, with payment-processing fees deducted separately, so creator earnings equal the fan payment minus the platform fee minus the processing fee. FanBell has no follower minimum and pays creators through a connected Stripe Express account (how FanBell works).

For tip-only use, Ko-fi Free's 0% fee on one-off tips is lower than FanBell's 12%. For creators selling a specific interaction — a paid private question, a personalized shoutout, a small service, a tip, or support toward a project — FanBell provides fixed offer types built around that single transaction.

Frequently asked questions

Does Ko-fi take a cut of tips?

Ko-fi charges 0% on one-off tips on Ko-fi Free but 5% on monthly tips even on that free tier, and 5% on one-off tips once Standard mode is on. Ko-fi Gold removes the service fee on every payment type for $12 per month (What is Ko-fi Gold).

How much does Ko-fi take from shop sales?

Ko-fi takes a 5% service fee on Ko-fi Shop sales on both of its $0-per-month options, Free and Standard. Ko-fi Gold costs $12 per month and cuts the shop-sale fee to 0% (What is Ko-fi Gold). Shipping collected from buyers carries no Ko-fi fee.

Is Ko-fi Gold worth it?

Ko-fi Gold costs $12 per month and removes Ko-fi's 5% service fee on tips, shop sales, memberships, and commissions (What is Ko-fi Gold). Those two published figures put the break-even at $240 per month of fee-bearing payments, because 5% of $240 is $12 (Ko-fi Pricing). Processing fees of 2.9% + 30¢ on Stripe or 2.99% + $0.49 on PayPal apply either way (Stripe Pricing, PayPal business fees).

Is there a lower-fee alternative to Ko-fi for tips specifically?

Ko-fi Free charges a 0% service fee on one-off tips, so FanBell's 12% fee is not lower for tip-only use. FanBell instead charges a flat 12% platform fee only when a fan pays for a structured interaction, at $0 per month and with no follower minimum.

FanBell disclosure: Create your free FanBell page if a 12%-when-a-fan-pays model fits better than Ko-fi's 0-5% service fee.