Growing an audience
Running the business
Both cover monetization & payments. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| Ko-fi | Teachable | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $12 | From $39 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free trial, then paid |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | 7 days |
| API | Not stated | Yes |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | 7.5% of what you earn |
| Runs on | Not stated | Not stated |
| Covers | Monetization & Payments, Memberships & Subscriptions, Tips & Donations | Courses & Coaching, Monetization & Payments |
| Works with | YouTube, Twitch | Nothing in particular |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | None right now | None right now |
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
Host and sell courses, with payments included
Teachable handles hosting, checkout, drip content and student progress, and it has done so for long enough to be predictable. Coaching sessions and digital downloads sell from the same account. The cheapest plan charges a percentage of every sale on top of its monthly fee, which is the one number to check before committing.
Our note
Do not stay on Starter out of thrift. The 7.5 percent overtakes the price difference quickly, and Teachable is one of the few platforms where the second cheapest plan is genuinely the cheapest.
Only on this side
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.