Does Ko-fi Take a Fee?

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Ko-fi Takes 0% Of Your Donations

Over $100m has been earned on Ko-fi and unlike almost every other service we take 0% platform fees on one-off donations.

Donations go directly to your PayPal or Stripe account. We just get a notification that the transaction was successful so we can update the creator's page, but we do not take a fee from donations (unless you choose to opt-in to become a Contributor).

 

Do Payment Processors Take a Fee?

PayPal and Stripe do take their normal transaction fees which will vary based on the type of account, location and currencies used but it's usually 2-3.4% + $0.30.

Minimise fees taken by payment processors by making your currency on Ko-fi the same as the currency you receive most donations and increasing the unit price if it's very low in Settings > Payment.

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Currencies you can currently offer on Ko-fi: 

  • United States Dollar USD $
  • Euro EUR €
  • British Pound GBP £
  • Australian Dollar AUD A$
  • Brazilian Real  BRL R$
  • Canadian Dollar CAN C$
  • Japanese Yen JPY ¥
  • Singaporean Dollar SGD  S$
  • Thai Baht THB ฿
  • New Zealand Dollar NZD $

What Fees Does Ko-fi Charge?

We don't show adverts or sell your data and there will always be an option to take Ko-fi donations without paying a platform fee.

Ko-fi makes money in three ways:

  1. Premium features used on Free accounts. If you use Memberships, Commissions or Ko-fi Shop and don't have a Ko-fi Gold subscription, you will pay a 5% platform fee for those payments, but you still pay 0% platform fee on one-off donations.
  2. Contributors. Unlock extra features without paying for a subscription, but pay a low 5% platform fee on your earnings. Become a contributor from Settings > Payment.
  3. Ko-fi Gold Subscriptions. Unlock all features by paying for a monthly or annual subscription but pay 0% platform fees on everything. Learn more about Ko-fi Gold.

Here's a full overview of subscription and platform fees with the features each type of account unlocks.

  Free Contributor Gold

Subscription to Ko-fi

$0
monthly

$0
monthly

$6-8
monthly

Platform Fees      
One-off Donations 0% 5% 0%
Crowdfunding (Goals) 0% 5% 0%
Monthly Donations 5% 5% 0%
Membership Tiers 5% 5% 0%
Ko-fi Commission Sales 5% 5% 0%
Ko-fi Shop Sales 5% 5% 0%
Extra Perks      
Supporter-Only Content
Schedule Posts
Change "Coffee" Metaphor
Exclusive Page Color
Contributor Badge *Optional

*Ko-fi Gold creators can also become contributors to help us make Ko-fi better, faster.

 

Becoming a Contributor

It's really easy to become a Contributor, unlock those cool perks and support Ko-fi with 5% of your earnings. Turn contributor status on/off whenever you like from Settings > Payment.

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If you do opt-in you’ll get a special badge on your profile and a great feeling that you are making a real difference to the future of Ko-fi.

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Notes About Contributor Fees and Recurring Payments

When you start or stop being a Contributor we don't update existing recurring payments taken using the Stripe payment method. This means:

  1. If you become a Contributor with existing members then those existing memberships or recurring donations that you receive via the Stripe payment method will not incur the 5% contribution.
  2. If you turn off being a Contributor then any memberships or recurring donations that commenced while you were a contributor will continue to incur the 5% contribution even after you switch off being a Contributor.