Ko-fi vs Liberapay Comparison 2026
Ko-fi takes nothing from one-off tips but 5 percent from memberships, the shop and commissions, unless Gold at $12 a month removes that cut. Liberapay takes nothing at all, ever, on any income type, but has no tiers, no rewards and no shop, only plain recurring donations paid weekly. The axis is features against a true zero: Ko-fi's cut buys tiers, a shop and commissions Liberapay does not offer at any price.
Tips, memberships and a shop with no platform cut
Recurring donations with no platform cut
At a glance
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Ko-fi | Liberapay | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $12 | Free |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free plan, paid tiers | Free |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing (they differ) | Monthly or annual | Usage-based |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
Ko-fi
Tips, memberships and a shop with no platform cut
Ko-fi takes nothing from tips on the free plan, which no other platform of its size does. Memberships, commissions and digital downloads all work from the same page. It is lighter than Patreon in every direction, which is often the point.
Our note
The best free option for somebody who mostly gets tipped, and worth weighing against Patreon the moment memberships become the larger half of the income. Do the Gold arithmetic yourself rather than taking the upgrade prompt's word for it.
Only on this side
- Covers memberships & subscriptions
- Works with YouTube
- Works with Twitch
Liberapay
Recurring donations with no platform cut
Liberapay is a non-profit that collects recurring donations and keeps none of them, funding itself from donations to its own page. Money moves weekly rather than monthly, and a donor pays several weeks ahead so the processing fee is charged once. There are no tiers, no rewards and no shop, which is the point for people who wanted a way to be paid rather than a platform to run.
Why people weigh these two
- Liberapay instead of Ko-fi
- Liberapay takes recurring donations with no platform cut, free, narrower than Ko-fi's mix of tips, memberships and a shop.
- Ko-fi instead of Liberapay
- Ko-fi starts at $12 for the paid tier but stays free at the core, and it is the pick once perks, tiers or a shop behind a paywall are the point instead of a plain recurring gift.
Which one should you pick
Choose Ko-fi if tiers, a shop or commissions are part of the plan, since those are the things Liberapay does not build at all. The free plan takes nothing from tips, and Gold at $12 a month removes the 5 percent cut on everything else once that volume justifies it.
Choose Liberapay if a plain recurring donation with no platform cut is the whole want, and rewards, tiers or a shop are not part of it. The only cost is the payment processor's, averaging around 3 percent through Stripe, and the $100-a-week cap on any single patron is a deliberate choice to keep income from resting on one person.
Common questions
- Which one takes less of the money?
- Liberapay takes nothing at all, on any income, only the payment processor's fee. Ko-fi takes nothing from tips too, but 5 percent from memberships, the shop and commissions unless Gold at $12 a month removes it.
- Does Liberapay support membership tiers or a shop?
- No, there are no tiers, no rewards and no shop, deliberately. That is the whole trade for taking zero: a creator whose audience expects perks and paywalled posts wants Ko-fi or Patreon instead.
- How often does each one pay out?
- Liberapay moves money weekly, with donors paying several weeks ahead so the processing fee is charged once rather than every week. Ko-fi's listing does not specify a fixed payout schedule in the same way, since money moves through your own connected Stripe or PayPal account.
- Is Liberapay a company like Ko-fi?
- No, it is a non-profit funded by donations to its own page, run in the open with eleven years behind it. Ko-fi is a company offering a free and a paid Gold tier.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.