Ko-fi Fees and Ko-fi Gold Pricing for Creators

Ko-fi fees come in three modes. Ko-fi Free takes 0% on one-time tips and 5% on memberships, monthly tips, shop sales and commissions. Standard, the mode new creators start in, takes 5% on everything including one-time tips and unlocks supporter-only posts. Ko-fi Gold costs $12 a month, monthly only, and takes 0% on everything. PayPal or Stripe processing applies on top in every mode.

We read Ko-fi's pricing page and its help center on October 2, 2026. Two changes are missing from most guides that rank for this search. Gold went from $8 to $12 a month for new creators and the annual Gold plan was withdrawn. And "Ko-fi takes 0% on tips" is now only true if you switch Standard mode off, because new accounts start with it on.

Ko-fi fees in 2026, every mode

Ko-fi calls the 5% a service fee. It never holds your money: payments go straight to the PayPal or Stripe account you connect, and Ko-fi says it charges no buyer fees, payout fees or marketing fees. You switch Standard mode on or off under Settings, then Payment. Gold also lets you change the coffee wording on your page and pick a custom page color.

How much is Ko-fi Gold?

Ko-fi Gold is $12 a month for new creators, billed monthly. Ko-fi's help center says annual Gold plans are no longer available to new subscribers. Creators who joined Gold before the change keep renewing at their old price, monthly or annually, until they cancel. Ko-fi explained the move plainly: many Gold creators were not earning enough to cover the subscription, while others earned thousands a month and paid $8.

Two rules decide what you pay after switching. Memberships that started before you joined Gold keep paying the 5% fee. Memberships and recurring tips that start while you are on Gold stay at 0% until the supporter cancels, even after Gold ends. If Gold lapses, your account moves to Standard, keeps the extra tools, and new payments carry the 5% fee.

Is Ko-fi Gold worth it?

Ko-fi Gold is worth it once your fee-bearing income passes $240 a month, because 5% of $240 is exactly $12. Below that, Standard or Ko-fi Free costs less. If most of your money is one-time tips and you do not need supporter-only posts, Ko-fi Free may beat Gold even at higher income, since those tips are already at 0%.

These are Ko-fi's own fees only. Processing is the same in every column and comes on top, which is the next cost to look at. A year on Gold costs $144, so the creator in the $1,000 row saves $276 a year against Ko-fi Free and $456 against Standard.

Which Ko-fi mode to pick

Pick by what your supporters actually pay for, not by the headline rate.

• Mostly one-time tips: Ko-fi Free. Your tips cost nothing beyond processing, so Gold only pays off once your other payments pass $240 a month.
• Memberships, commissions or shop sales under $240 a month: Standard if you want supporter-only posts, otherwise Ko-fi Free. Both charge 5% on those payments.
• More than $240 a month in memberships, commissions or shop sales: Gold. Every dollar above that line is money you keep, and new memberships that start while you are on Gold stay at 0% for as long as the supporter stays.

One timing tip follows from Ko-fi's rules. If you plan to move to Gold, do it before a launch or a membership push, not after, because members who join first keep paying the 5% fee.

Does Ko-fi take a fee from PayPal payments?

Ko-fi's own service fee is the same whichever processor the supporter uses. The difference is the processor's fee, which PayPal and Stripe charge to you directly. Stripe's standard US card rate is 2.9% plus $0.30 a payment, so a $5 tip costs about $0.45. PayPal's US rate for checkout payments is 3.49% plus $0.49, about $0.66 on the same tip. On a page that takes 200 small tips a month, routing them through Stripe instead of PayPal saves about $44. PayPal rates differ by account type and change from time to time, so check your own PayPal fee page, or run the numbers with our PayPal fee calculator.

Small payments carry the worst ratio. The $0.30 fixed part is 6% of a $5 tip on its own, before Ko-fi's 5%. Raising your default coffee price, or nudging supporters toward monthly support, often saves more than any plan change.

Ko-fi fees vs Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee

All-in totals add US card processing at 2.9% plus $0.30 per payment. Patreon's processing is built into its own checkout at the same rate for creators on its 10% plan. Patreon costs more but brings an app and a discovery network that Ko-fi does not have. We compare nine membership platforms the same way, including Substack, Ghost and Kajabi, on our Patreon alternatives page, and the Patreon side in detail in Patreon fees explained.

Does Ko-fi charge payout fees?

No. Ko-fi does not charge a payout fee because it never holds a balance. A tip lands in your PayPal or Stripe account when the supporter pays, and moving it from there to your bank is governed by that processor. Stripe pays out on its standard rolling schedule, usually around two business days in the US; PayPal transfers to a bank are free on the standard option and charge a fee for instant transfer. Our Ko-fi payout schedule guide covers the timing.

That direct model has a bookkeeping cost. Ko-fi income arrives in many small pieces split across two processors, so there is no single monthly Ko-fi statement to point to. At tax time you will need to match those PayPal and Stripe transfers against your bank lines, and a tool that reconciles payouts to bank deposits saves a lot of scrolling if the volume is high.

Seeing what Ko-fi actually pays you

The fee table tells you the rate. It does not tell you what you kept last month after Ko-fi, Stripe and PayPal each took their share, or how that compares with YouTube, Twitch or a Patreon you still run. Earnly puts every Ko-fi payment on one board with gross, fees and take-home, tagged as a tip, membership, commission or shop sale, next to every other platform you earn from. It shows which income type carries the most fee, which is how you tell whether Gold pays for itself for you. See how it works for Ko-fi creators.