Ko-fi vs Patreon Comparison 2026
Ko-fi takes 5 percent from memberships on its free plan, or zero once Gold's $12 a month removes it. Patreon takes 10 percent of member payments with no monthly fee to lower that rate, ever. Both sources put the real question plainly: Patreon costs more everywhere, and what the extra buys is recognition, a listener who already knows what to do when they hear the name, which stops earning its keep once an audience would follow you anywhere else.
Tips, memberships and a shop with no platform cut
Membership tiers and posts for paying supporters
At a glance
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Ko-fi | Patreon | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Yes |
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 tips & donations
- Works with Twitch
Patreon
Membership tiers and posts for paying supporters
Patreon is still where most audiences expect to pay a creator monthly, and that familiarity is worth something. Tiers, member-only posts, and now paid courses and shops. The platform fee is 10 percent of what you earn, before payment processing.
Why people weigh these two
- Patreon instead of Ko-fi
- Patreon is the fuller membership platform Ko-fi is deliberately lighter than, with tiers and posts as the entire product instead of one feature next to tips and a shop.
- Ko-fi instead of Patreon
- Ko-fi takes no cut of what a supporter gives, against Patreon's 10 percent platform fee, though it carries less of the discovery habit Patreon's name already has.
Which one should you pick
Choose Ko-fi if the platform fee itself is the priority, since 5 percent on the free plan or zero on Gold at $12 a month both undercut Patreon's flat 10 percent. It is lighter than Patreon in every direction, which is fine until a membership business gets large enough to want Patreon's extra structure.
Choose Patreon if the audience already expects to pay a creator monthly there, particularly on YouTube or in podcasting, where naming it needs no explanation. That familiarity is worth the extra cost early on, and its own editorial guidance says plainly that the premium stops earning its keep once your audience would follow you anywhere.
Common questions
- Which one takes a smaller cut of memberships?
- Ko-fi does at every level: 5 percent on the free plan, or zero on Gold at $12 a month. Patreon takes a flat 10 percent with no way to lower it, replacing the tiered 8 to 12 percent it used to charge.
- Why would anyone pay Patreon's higher rate?
- Audience recognition. Most people have paid a creator on Patreon before, so nobody needs the page explained to them, which is worth something especially on YouTube and in podcasting. That premium is the entire argument for it over Ko-fi.
- Does Ko-fi take anything from one-off tips?
- No, nothing at all, on either plan. Patreon is not built around one-off tips in the same way; its whole design assumes a recurring membership relationship.
- Is there a monthly fee on Patreon like Ko-fi's Gold plan?
- No, Patreon is free to open with no monthly fee at any point; it only earns its 10 percent when you do. Ko-fi's Gold is the opposite shape, a $12 monthly subscription that removes its percentage cut instead.
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.