How much does Ko-fi take? Fees in 2026
Ko-fi's fee is 0% or 5%, and PayPal or Stripe take theirs on top. Here's every fee, what Ko-fi Gold changes, and what you keep from a $10 member.
Ko-fi says its fee is somewhere from 0% to 5%. Which end you pay depends on what you sell and one switch in your settings. Then PayPal or Stripe take their own cut on top.
This guide covers every fee using Ko-fi’s own pricing and help pages, checked on October 12, 2026, then works out what a real payment leaves you. Everything is in US dollars.
The short answer
| Fee | What it costs | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Ko-fi’s service fee | 5% | Memberships, monthly tips, shop sales and commissions |
| Fee on one-time tips | 0% on Ko-fi Free, 5% on Standard | One-time tips and goal contributions |
| Ko-fi Gold | $12 a month, monthly only | Optional. It swaps the 5% for 0% |
| Card processing | 2.9% + $0.30 on Stripe, 3.49% + $0.49 on PayPal | Every payment, charged by your payment provider |
| Getting paid | Free, or 1.5% to 1.75% for an instant transfer | Moving money from Stripe or PayPal to your bank |
| Disputes | $15 | When a supporter disputes a payment with their bank |
Processing rates are Stripe’s and PayPal’s standard US rates. New creators start on Standard, which takes 5% of everything, tips included.
For a $10 monthly membership paid by US card through Stripe, you keep $8.91. The sections below show where the other $1.09 goes, and when it’s more.
How Ko-fi works
Ko-fi gives you a free page at ko-fi.com/yourname. You connect your own PayPal or Stripe account, and fans pay you through your page: one-time tips, monthly memberships, shop orders and commissions.
The money never sits with Ko-fi. In its own words, it “never holds your money, takes payments on your behalf, or processes transactions.” Each payment lands in your PayPal or Stripe account, and Ko-fi’s fee comes out of it. Stripe calls that fee an “application fee” and PayPal calls it a “partner fee.”
That makes you the seller. Ko-fi says you’re the merchant of record, so delivery, refunds and any sales tax are yours to handle.
Ko-fi Free, Standard and Gold
Ko-fi has three plans. Two of them cost nothing a month.
| Ko-fi Free | Standard | Ko-fi Gold | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $0 | $0 | $12 |
| One-time tips and goals | 0% | 5% | 0% |
| Memberships and monthly tips | 5% | 5% | 0% |
| Shop sales and commissions | 5% | 5% | 0% |
| Supporter-only posts | No | Yes | Yes |
Standard is where new creators start. Ko-fi switches it on from day one. It used to be called Contributor, and some of Ko-fi’s pages still use that name. It takes 5% of everything, tips included. In return you get supporter-only posts, scheduled posts, a shorter page name, your own word in place of “coffee”, extra page colors and more shop storage.
Ko-fi Free takes nothing on one-time tips and goal contributions, and 5% on everything else. You give up Standard’s extras, supporter-only posts included. You can switch between the two any time in Settings > Payment.
Here’s the catch for memberships. If you want posts only members can see, Ko-fi needs you on Standard or Gold. So if your members get posts, your real choice is 5% on everything, or $12 a month.
Ko-fi Gold: $12 a month for 0%
Ko-fi Gold swaps the percentage for a flat price: $12 a month, billed monthly. Ko-fi no longer offers annual Gold plans to new creators. Gold takes 0% on every kind of payment and includes supporter-only posts, scheduled posts, your own “coffee” word and a custom page color.
Three details catch people out:
- Old memberships keep paying 5%. Memberships that began before you joined Gold stay on the 5% fee.
- Standard doesn’t switch itself off. If Standard is on when you subscribe, you have to opt out of it separately, or the 5% keeps coming out.
- Cancelling brings the 5% back. When Gold ends, new payments pay 5% again. Memberships and recurring tips that started while you were on Gold stay at 0% until they’re cancelled.
When Gold costs less: $12 is 5% of $240. If you sell less than $240 a month, the 5% costs less. Above that, Gold does. At $1,000 a month, the 5% fee is $50 and Gold is $12.
PayPal and Stripe fees
Ko-fi’s fee is only part of what comes out. Your payment provider charges its own, and Ko-fi has no say in it. Ko-fi’s help center puts it at “usually around 3% + $0.30.” Here are the standard US rates from each provider’s own price list:
| How the supporter pays | Charged by | Standard US rate |
|---|---|---|
| Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay | Stripe | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| A card from outside the US | Stripe | 1.5% more |
| A payment that has to be converted to your currency | Stripe | 1% more |
| PayPal, Venmo or PayPal guest checkout | PayPal | 3.49% + $0.49 |
| A payment from outside the US | PayPal | 1.5% more |
On a $10 payment, that’s $0.59 on Stripe against $0.84 on PayPal.
Two things keep this down. Set your Ko-fi currency to the one most of your supporters pay in, because a payment in any other currency gets converted at extra cost. Ko-fi lets you pick from 10 currencies. And if you only take PayPal, add Stripe: its standard US rate is lower.
Getting paid
Ko-fi doesn’t charge to pay you out, and there’s no minimum balance, because the money is already in your own account. Getting it to your bank depends on your provider:
| Provider | When it reaches your bank | What it costs |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe | First payout within about 7 days, then on a rolling 2, 4 or 7-day schedule | Free. Instant payouts cost 1.5%, at least $0.50 |
| PayPal | In your PayPal balance right away. You move it to your bank | Free by standard transfer. Instant transfers cost 1.75% on a personal account or 1.5% on a business account |
Two more costs can turn up. PayPal sometimes holds money for new accounts or unusual payments, and Ko-fi says it usually releases it within 21 days. And if a supporter disputes a payment with their bank, Stripe and PayPal each charge $15 in the US, on top of taking the payment back.
What a payment actually leaves you
Here’s what reaches you in a few common cases, on a page priced in US dollars.
A $10 monthly membership, paid by US card through Stripe. Ko-fi’s 5% is $0.50. Stripe’s fee is $0.59 (2.9% of $10, plus $0.30). You keep $8.91, or 89%.
The same $10, paid through PayPal. Ko-fi’s 5% is $0.50. PayPal’s fee is $0.84 (3.49% of $10, plus $0.49). You keep $8.66.
The same $10, from a card outside the US. Stripe adds 1.5%, so its fee is $0.74. You keep $8.76, or $8.66 if the payment also has to be converted.
A $3 one-time tip, paid by US card. Stripe’s fee is $0.39. On Ko-fi Free, you keep $2.61. On Standard, Ko-fi takes $0.15 more and you keep $2.46. The fixed $0.30 hits small payments hardest.
100 members at $10 a month, on Standard. Ko-fi takes $50 and Stripe takes $59, so you keep $891 a month. On Gold, if they all joined after you switched, Ko-fi takes nothing and Gold costs $12, so you keep $929.
None of these include sales tax, refunds or disputes.
Can you pay Ko-fi less?
A little. Here’s what moves the number:
- Turn off Standard if you only take tips. One-time tips then cost 0%, but you lose supporter-only posts.
- Gold above $240 a month. Past that point, Gold’s $12 costs less than the 5%. Opt out of Standard when you switch, and memberships you already have keep paying 5%.
- Match your currency to the one most supporters pay in.
- Offer Stripe beside PayPal, since Stripe’s standard US rate is lower.
None of these change what the fee buys: a page on ko-fi.com, in Ko-fi’s layout.
What Drate does instead
Ko-fi gives you a page on its site. Drate gives you a home of your own: a website on your own domain, in your look, ready in minutes. Memberships, members-only posts, video hosted on your site, courses and a community feed live together on it, and members pay through your own Stripe account. On Pro, they also get your own iOS and Android app. Ko-fi has no app for your supporters.
On cost, Drate won’t take less than Ko-fi. It takes 5% of membership sales on every plan, the same as Ko-fi’s default, plus the plan: Regular is $9 a month, or $60 a year, and Pro is $12 a month, or $99 a year. Here’s what each costs as a platform each month, before card processing:
| Monthly membership sales | Ko-fi Free or Standard | Ko-fi Gold | Drate Regular, billed yearly | Drate Pro, billed yearly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $100 | $5 | $12 | $10 | $13.25 |
| $500 | $25 | $12 | $30 | $33.25 |
| $1,000 | $50 | $12 | $55 | $58.25 |
| $5,000 | $250 | $12 | $255 | $258.25 |
Card processing comes on top on both. So on fees alone, Ko-fi costs less at every size. What Drate gives you for it is a website of your own, and on Pro your own app, instead of a page on ko-fi.com.
One thing to know before you move: Drate can’t move your Ko-fi members for you, so they join again on your site. Leave your Ko-fi page up while they do. Drate as a Ko-fi alternative puts the two side by side and shows how switching works, and Ko-fi vs Buy Me a Coffee compares the two coffee-button pages. Weighing Ko-fi against Patreon? Ko-fi vs Patreon vs your own website works out both.
Questions
How much does Ko-fi take?
Ko-fi takes 5% of memberships, monthly tips, shop sales and commissions. One-time tips cost 0% on Ko-fi Free and 5% on Standard, where new creators start. Ko-fi Gold costs $12 a month and takes 0%. PayPal or Stripe take their own fee on top, so a $10 membership paid by US card through Stripe leaves you $8.91.
Does Ko-fi take a cut of tips?
On one-time tips, only on Standard, the plan new creators start on. It takes 5% of them in return for extras like supporter-only posts. Switch to Ko-fi Free in Settings > Payment and one-time tips cost 0%, but you lose those extras. Monthly tips cost 5% on both. Ko-fi Gold takes 0% on tips too.
How much is Ko-fi Gold?
$12 a month, billed monthly only. Gold takes 0% instead of 5% on every payment. Memberships that began before you joined Gold keep paying 5%, and if Standard is switched on, you have to turn it off separately.
When does Ko-fi Gold cost less than the 5% fee?
Once the sales Ko-fi charges 5% on pass $240 a month, because $12 is 5% of $240. Below that, the 5% fee costs less. At $1,000 a month, the 5% fee is $50 and Gold is $12. Memberships you had before Gold keep paying 5%.
Does Ko-fi charge to withdraw money?
No. Ko-fi never holds your money: each payment goes straight to your PayPal or Stripe account. Moving it to your bank is free on standard transfers. Instant transfers cost extra: 1.5% on Stripe, and 1.5% or 1.75% on PayPal.
How does Ko-fi work?
You get a free page at ko-fi.com/yourname and connect your own PayPal or Stripe account. Fans pay you there with tips, memberships, shop orders and commissions, and the money goes straight to your account. Ko-fi takes a fee of 0% to 5% on each payment, or $12 a month on Gold.
Sources
Checked on October 18, 2026. Prices and terms change, so check the latest before you decide.
- Ko-fi: Does Ko-fi take a fee?help.ko-fi.com
- Ko-fi: What is Ko-fi Gold?help.ko-fi.com
- Ko-fi: Cancel your Ko-fi Gold subscriptionhelp.ko-fi.com
- Ko-fi: Pricingko-fi.com
- Ko-fi: Featuresko-fi.com
- Ko-fi: How do I get paid?help.ko-fi.com
- Ko-fi: Connect your Stripe account and start earninghelp.ko-fi.com
- Ko-fi: Why are my PayPal funds on hold?help.ko-fi.com
- Ko-fi: Ko-fi Shophelp.ko-fi.com
- Ko-fi: Pinning Ko-fi to your phone home screenhelp.ko-fi.com
- Stripe: Pricingstripe.com
- PayPal: Merchant and business feespaypal.com
- PayPal: Consumer feespaypal.com
