Ko-fi fees in 2026 come down to one setting: one-time tips cost 0% or 5% depending on your mode, and shop sales, memberships, commissions and monthly tips carry a flat 5% service fee.

On top of that, PayPal or Stripe take their usual processing fee, which Ko-fi puts at around 3% plus $0.30 per payment. Ko-fi has no required monthly plan, so the service fee is the main cost for most creators.

Ko-fi's Two Modes: Free and Standard

Ko-fi now offers two fee modes, both with no monthly cost. In Free mode, one-time tips and crowdfunding goals carry 0%, while monthly tips, memberships, commissions and shop sales carry 5%. In Standard mode, everything carries 5%, tips included. In return you unlock perks such as supporter-only content, scheduled posts, a shorter page name, custom page colors and more shop storage.

The catch is the default. Ko-fi says new creators now start with all of Ko-fi unlocked from day one, which is Standard mode, so new pages pay 5% on tips until the creator switches it off under Settings, then Payment. If tips are most of what you earn and you don't need the extra perks, switching back to Free mode is the single biggest fee cut available on Ko-fi.

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Ko-fi Gold: When the $12 a Month Pays for Itself

Ko-fi Gold still exists for creators who would rather pay a subscription than a percentage. It costs $12 a month for new users, monthly only (annual plans are no longer offered to new sign-ups), and it removes the 5% service fee. Existing Gold members keep whatever price they already pay.

The break-even is simple. 5% of $240 is $12, so Gold saves money once your fee-bearing income passes about $240 a month, and costs you money below that. One exception: memberships that supporters started through Stripe before you joined Gold keep paying the 5% fee, so Gold helps most with new sales.

What You Keep From a $10, $25 or $50 Sale

Here is a Ko-fi shop sale on the free plan, after the 5% service fee and processing at about 3% plus $0.30. A $10 item keeps about $8.90. A $25 item keeps about $22.70. A $50 item keeps about $45.70. On Gold, add the 5% back ($0.50, $1.25 and $2.50), then subtract the $12 subscription across the month.

Processing is the part people forget. On a $5 item, $0.30 plus 3% is $0.45 before Ko-fi's $0.25 fee, so low prices lose a bigger share no matter which mode you pick.

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How Ko-fi Compares With Constants

Constants publishes this article, so here is the honest version. On fees alone, Ko-fi is cheaper for shop sales: 5% against Constants' flat 6% on one-time sales. It's much cheaper for memberships: 5% against Constants' 10%. If tips and a simple shop are everything you sell, Ko-fi is a good deal.

Constants makes more sense when the page has to do more than take tips. It gives you one free page with a shop, 1:1 bookings, event tickets, memberships, a community and your links together, with no monthly plan required. You can see the full plan breakdown on the pricing page. The Constants vs Ko-fi comparison covers features side by side, and the Buy Me a Coffee comparison covers the other tip-first option.

The Short Version

Check your mode first: switching from Standard back to Free mode makes one-time tips fee-free again. Everything else on Ko-fi costs 5% plus processing. Ko-fi Gold at $12 a month only pays off above about $240 a month in fee-bearing sales.

Fees are from Ko-fi's help center as of October 2026. Ko-fi has changed its model more than once, so check its fee page before you plan around a number.