Written by Paul Worrall
A lot of artists I’ve come across over the years use Ko-fi almost as a digital tip jar sitting quietly at the bottom of their social bio, and it’s genuinely grown into something bigger than that — a shop, memberships and commissions all in one place. Worth a proper honest look at what it actually costs rather than assuming everyone already knows.
I’m Paul Worrall. I spent nearly a decade running digital marketing for ARTdiscount, one of the UK’s larger online art retailers, and I now run Discount Art Supplies — a price comparison platform used by over 41,000 UK artists every week.
At a Glance
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What Ko-fi Actually Is
Ko-fi lets creators receive one-off tips, sell digital or physical products through a built-in shop, offer paid memberships, and take commission requests — all from one page. It’s genuinely UK-founded, based in Hertfordshire, and it’s been running for well over a decade, reporting more than 1.5 million creators and over $200 million paid out since launch.
Fees — What You Actually Keep
This is the part worth getting right. Tips carry a 0% platform fee, on the free plan and on Gold — genuinely no cut taken, ever, on that specific income stream. Shop sales, memberships and commissions are different: the free plan takes a 5% platform fee on those. Ko-fi Gold, at $12 a month, removes that 5% entirely, so everything you sell keeps 100% minus payment processing.
Standard card processing fees — roughly 2.9% plus a small flat fee via Stripe or PayPal — apply on every plan regardless, since that’s the cost of moving money and isn’t something Ko-fi controls. Worth doing your own quick maths: Gold tends to pay for itself once you’re earning above roughly $240 a month from shop, membership or commission income specifically. If tips are most of your income, the free plan already charges nothing on that, so Gold may not be worth it at all.
One genuinely importent thing to check on signup: new accounts are reported to default to “Contributor” status, which applies a fee to tips too unless you specifically opt out in your payment settings — worth checking that setting directly rather than assuming tips are automatically fee-free from the moment you join.
Is Ko-fi Legit?
Genuinely, yes. This isn’t a new or unproven platform — it’s UK-founded, has been running since 2011, and the scale (over 1.5 million creators, over $200 million paid out) is a real trust signal rather than a marketing claim. Payments are handled through Stripe or PayPal rather than Ko-fi holding your money directly, which is the same setup most reputable platforms use.
Ko-fi vs Patreon
The core difference is structure and cost. Patreon is built specifically around recurring paid membership tiers, and its platform fee has historically run significantly higher than Ko-fi’s — commonly cited around 8-10% depending on plan, compared to Ko-fi’s 0% on tips and 5% on sales (or 0% on Gold). Ko-fi is also more flexible by design, letting you mix one-off tips, a shop and optional memberships rather than forcing a subscription-only model. Plenty of creators genuinely run both side by side rather than picking one outright.
Ko-fi vs Buy Me a Coffee
These two are close cousins in concept — both built around the same casual “tip jar” idea — and the honest answer is that the choice often comes down to interface preference and which platform your specific audience is more likely to already use, rather than one being clearly superior on fees alone. Both are worth trialling directly, since neither requires a meaningful up-front commitment to test.
FAQ
Does Ko-fi take a cut of donations?
No platform fee on one-off tips, on both the free plan and Gold. Shop sales, memberships and commissions carry a 5% platform fee on the free plan, which Ko-fi Gold removes entirely for a flat monthly fee. Standard card processing fees from Stripe or PayPal apply regardless of plan.
Is Ko-fi Gold worth it?
If most of your income is tips, the free plan already charges 0% on those, so Gold may not be necessary. If you’re earning meaningfully from shop sales, memberships or commissions, Gold tends to pay for itself once you’re generating over roughly $240 a month from those sources, since it removes the 5% fee entirely.
Is Ko-fi legit and safe to use?
Yes. It’s a UK-founded platform with a genuine decade-plus track record, reporting over 1.5 million creators and more than $200 million paid out since launch, with payments processed through Stripe or PayPal rather than held by Ko-fi directly.
If you’re setting up how you sell and get paid as an artist more broadly, my How to Sell Art Online UK guide covers the wider picture. At Discount Art Supplies we compare prices across all the major UK art retailers in real time, so you can find the best current deal on materials too.
