Ko-fi

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.

The free plan takes nothing from tips and 5 percent from memberships, the shop and commissions. Gold is a monthly subscription, quoted at $12 for accounts opened now, and it removes that 5 percent while adding supporter-only posts and a shorter page name. Payment processing is separate on both, because the money moves through your own Stripe or PayPal account rather than Ko-fi's. Which plan is cheaper is arithmetic rather than judgement: take 5 percent of a normal month's non-tip income and compare it with the subscription.

Artists, writers and small channels who want somewhere to receive support without committing to a monthly bill, and anyone whose income is mostly one-off tips rather than subscriptions. Somebody running a large membership business will find it thin: Ko-fi is lighter than Patreon in every direction, which is the point and also the limit.