Ko-fi Fee Calculator — 0% Donations, 5% Memberships

The cheapest mainstream tip jar — with one catch

Ko-fi takes 0% on donations — the only major platform that does. On a $10 tip you lose only ~$0.64 to payment processing (6.4%), versus ~$1.25+ on Patreon-class platforms. For tip-jar income, nothing mainstream is cheaper.

The catch: memberships, shop sales and commissions carry a 5% fee unless you pay for Gold (~$6–12/month). Gold breaks even at about $120–240/month of recurring revenue — past that, it's the cheapest membership platform in existence.

Ko-fi vs Patreon: the honest comparison

On fees alone Ko-fi wins everywhere: 0–5% versus Patreon's 11–16% effective take. On a $500/month membership income that's ~$25 vs ~$70 lost. But Patreon buys discovery and retention tooling that materially grows membership bases — creators consistently report Patreon's ecosystem converting better despite the higher cut. The common pattern: Patreon as the membership hub, Ko-fi as the zero-fee tip jar linked everywhere.

When the fee matters more than the platform

If your audience already knows where to find you (YouTube, newsletter, community), platform discovery adds nothing — you're paying for tooling you don't use. In that case the decision is purely financial: Ko-fi or even a self-hosted Stripe tip page wins. Pay for discovery only when you still need it.

Frequently asked questions

Does Ko-fi really take 0%?

On donations, yes — you only pay PayPal/Stripe processing (~3.4% + $0.30). Memberships and shop sales cost 5%, or 0% on the Gold plan.

Ko-fi vs Patreon fees?

Ko-fi: 0–5% + processing. Patreon: 8–12% platform fee + processing — roughly double at typical pledge sizes.

Is Ko-fi Gold worth it?

If you earn more than ~$150–200/month from memberships/shop, the $6–12/month Gold fee beats the 5% it removes.

Can I use Ko-fi and Patreon together?

Yes — many creators use Patreon for memberships and Ko-fi as a free tip jar for one-off support. Different products, different fee structures.