Tool profile
Ko-fi: cost, fit and limits
Ko-fi is a creator support page service that lets supporters send tips, join memberships, buy from a shop and commission work, with a free Standard tier that takes a 5% service fee and a $12 per month Gold tier that takes none.
What to know first
Ko-fi pays creators directly to their own PayPal or Stripe account and states that it never holds the money. Standard costs $0 per month with a 5% service fee on tips, memberships, commissions and shop sales, with standard card processing on top. Gold at $12 per month brings the service fee to 0%. One-time tips carry no service fee while a creator is not opted in to Standard. The vendor pages read name no maker and no AI feature.
Ko-fi at a glance
| Maker | Not stated on the vendor pages, Not stated on the vendor pages |
|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes |
| Entry price | $0 per month with a 5% service fee |
| API access | No |
| Category | Best AI Creator Monetization Platforms in 2026, rank 6 of 13 |
| Website | ko-fi.com |
Who Ko-fi is best for
Illustrators and streamers taking commissions
Commissions, tips and a shop sit on one page, and Twitch and YouTube integration lets stream activity feed the page.
Creators who earn little but steadily
The free tier has no monthly cost, and Gold at $12 per month pays for itself once service fees would exceed that amount.
Community-minded creators
Discord roles for supporters, goals, polls and discount codes give a small community some structure without needing a separate tool or a paid community platform.
Ko-fi plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $0 per month plus a 5% service fee | 5% service fee on tips, memberships, commissions and shop sales, with Discord roles and Twitch and YouTube integration. |
| Gold | $12 per month | A 0% service fee on tips, memberships, commissions and shop sales, in place of the 5% fee that Standard charges; card processing fees still apply. |
Checked November 2026.
What Ko-fi does
- Tips, memberships and shop
- A creator page combines tips, memberships, commissions, a shop and stream alerts, so one link can serve several kinds of income without sending fans to several different sites.
- Direct payouts
- Money goes to the creator's own PayPal or Stripe account, and Ko-fi says it never holds it, which shortens the wait for funds and keeps payouts under the creator's own control.
- Streaming integration
- Twitch and YouTube integration let supporters trigger alerts, which fits streamers who already ask for support during broadcasts and want the page to react when someone gives.
- Discord roles
- Supporters can receive roles in a creator's Discord server, linking paid support to access in a community space, which helps a creator reward members without managing the list by hand.
- Goals, polls and embeds
- Goal setting, polls, discount codes and widgets are available, and a Ko-fi page can be embedded on a creator's own website, so the support page can live next to existing content.
How Ko-fi handles your data
The legal page is the vendor's data source on the pages read. It does not state whether content trains AI models, how long records are kept, where data is hosted or whether any certification applies, so the vendor's policy was not checked for those points. The pricing page says Ko-fi never holds a creator's money, with payouts going to the creator's own PayPal or Stripe account, which places payment data with those processors. The vendor pages name neither a maker nor a country.
Where Ko-fi falls short in practice
- Service fee on the free tier. The 5% fee applies to memberships, commissions and shop sales on Standard, and card processing comes on top, so a busy shop pays more than the headline suggests until it upgrades.
- Gold pays only at volume. At $12 per month, Gold costs less than the 5% fee only above roughly $240 of monthly service-fee-bearing sales, so tiny pages are better off on Standard.
- Company details not published. The pages read name no maker or headquarters, which makes it harder for a business buyer to check who holds the contract or which law applies to a dispute.
Works with
Alternatives to Ko-fi
Ko-fi: common questions
Does Ko-fi charge a fee on tips?
One-time tips carry a 0% service fee while a creator is not opted in to Standard. Under Standard, a 5% service fee applies to all payment types, and standard card processing fees come on top. Gold at $12 per month brings the service fee to 0%.
Is Ko-fi Gold worth $12 a month?
Gold removes the 5% service fee, so it breaks even at about $240 of monthly sales that would otherwise carry the fee. Below that, Standard costs less. The pages read do not list other Gold benefits, so judge it on the fee alone.
How do creators get paid on Ko-fi?
Yes. The pricing page names Twitch and YouTube integration on the Standard plan, along with Discord roles for supporters. The pages read do not describe how deep it goes, so test it on a live stream first. Test the Discord and stream alerts together before you announce the page to supporters.
Can Ko-fi connect to my streams?
Yes. The pricing page names Twitch and YouTube integration on the Standard plan, along with Discord roles for supporters. The pages read do not describe how deep the integrations go, so test them on a live stream before announcing the page.
Does Ko-fi use AI?
No AI feature is named on the vendor pages read. Ko-fi is a support page, shop and membership layer. Because the legal page was the only data source, a creator with questions about AI training on uploaded work should ask the vendor directly.