Buy Me a Coffee vs Ko-fi
We give Buy Me a Coffee and Ko-fi the same GPA: 2.6 out of 4.0. They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
How we grade them
| 2.6GPABuy Me a CoffeeGood | 2.6GPAKo-fiGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CGraded against its alternatives, tip and membership pages. 5% of $1,000 is $50 a month, with Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 and 0.5% payout fee on top (not counted). The same as Ko-fi's 5% and half Patreon's 10%, with no plan that lowers it. | CNo price for Ko-fi Gold is on record, so our rule for a missing price makes this a C. On the free page, 5% of $1,000 in shop, membership and commission sales is $50 a month, with card fees on top (not counted). That's Buy Me a Coffee's rate and half Patreon's 10%. |
| Free plan and trial | AEvery feature is free, including posts and emails to supporters, with no monthly fee and no cap. You pay 5% of each payment instead, and the value grade counts that. | AThe free page has tips, memberships, a shop and commissions with no monthly or listing fee, and no cap on record. You pay 5% when you sell, and the value grade counts that. |
| Features | CGraded against its alternatives. One-tap support, monthly or yearly memberships, a shop for files, commissions and Zoom calls, posts, emails and stream alerts. It does that job fully, but it's a smaller kit than Patreon's, with no video hosting or podcasts in the listing. | CGraded against its own alternatives, fan-support pages. Tips, goals, member tiers with posts and Discord roles, a shop for files and physical items, commissions and stream alerts. It does that job fully, but it's a smaller kit: no email, discounts or tax handling in the listing. |
| Ease of use | C4.4 from about 1,900 App Store ratings, just short of the 4.5 a B needs. Fans can pay without signing up, which helps. | CNo App Store rating on record. A page is quick to start, but you connect PayPal or a card account first, and member tiers and a shop take some setting up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Stripe, Wise and Zoom, plus buttons, QR codes and stream alerts to point fans to your page. No desktop app, which an A needs. | BWeb, with PayPal, Discord, Twitch, YouTube and a WordPress plugin, plus stream overlays. No phone or desktop app is listed. |
| Best for | tips and memberships with no monthly bill | tips, memberships and commissions from fans |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Buy Me a Coffee and Ko-fi. How we grade
Where they differ
- Only Buy Me a Coffee lists iOS and Android apps.
- Buy Me a Coffee also covers paid newsletters.
- Ko-fi also covers online store.
In commonFree planWebDigital downloads
At a glance
| Buy Me a Coffee | Ko-fi | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | Not published |
| Free plan | No monthly fee and every feature included. Buy Me a Coffee keeps 5% of each transaction, and Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 plus 0.5% for payouts. | A free page with tips, memberships, a shop and commissions. Ko-fi's own pages state a 5% platform fee on shop, membership and commission sales, plus card processing fees. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Buy Me a Coffee | Ko-fi Labs |
| Price read from | help.buymeacoffee.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Buy Me a Coffee
- Creators who want tips and memberships without a monthly bill
- Podcasters, writers and streamers asking fans for support
- Creators selling a few ebooks, commissions or calls
Ko-fi
- Artists and streamers who want tips and memberships on one page
- Creators who take paid commissions from fans
- Small sellers who want a shop with no monthly fee
Worth knowing
Buy Me a Coffee
- Each payment costs 5% plus Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 and 0.5% payout fee; international payments add 1% and subscription payments 0.5%.
- Payouts go straight to a bank account, but only for creators in the 44 countries Buy Me a Coffee supports.
- The help center describes one 5% platform fee for every creator, with no paid plan that lowers it.
Ko-fi
- Ko-fi sells a paid Gold plan, but its price could not be confirmed on Ko-fi's own pages for this listing.
- Shop, membership and commission sales carry a 5% Ko-fi fee on the free page, and PayPal or card processing fees come on top.
- Creators are the merchant of record, so sales tax and VAT on their sales are their own responsibility.
Key features
Buy Me a Coffee
- One-off support
- Fans pay in a couple of taps without signing up, pick how many coffees to buy and leave a message on the creator's page.
- Memberships
- Monthly or yearly membership tiers with exclusive posts and messages, email alerts for new posts and perks such as discounts.
- Shop
- Sell ebooks and other files, art commissions or one-to-one Zoom calls, with one-tap checkout and buyer ratings.
- Posts and emails
- Publish posts and email supporters from the same account, with no extra charge for publishing or sending.
- Creator tools
- Stream alerts, QR codes and buttons for websites point fans to the page.
- Payment methods
- Supporters pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Cash App or other global methods, processed by Stripe and Wise.
Ko-fi
- Tips and goals
- One-off tips from supporters, plus funding goals that creators can set and show on their page or on a stream overlay.
- Memberships
- Membership tiers with member-only posts (text, audio, video and polls), member-only shop items and requests, and Discord roles for members.
- Ko-fi Shop
- Sell digital downloads and physical items from a link, with no listing or monthly fees; Ko-fi takes 5% when a sale is made.
- Commissions
- Take paid requests such as artwork, tutorials, feedback sessions or video messages, with a 5% platform fee on each sale.
- Stream alerts
- Connect Twitch or YouTube to show tips, subscriptions and goals as on-stream alerts and overlays.
- Direct payouts
- Supporters pay the creator directly through PayPal, Venmo, cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay or local methods, with no payout schedule to wait on.
Plans
Buy Me a Coffee
Buy Me a Coffee$0
No monthly fee. A 5% platform fee per transaction, plus Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30; creators can choose to have supporters cover the card fee.
Ko-fi
Pricing could not be confirmed. See ko-fi.com.
