Ko-fi vs Passes (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Ko-fi if

• Fits if you're an artist or streamer who wants tips, members and a shop on one page
• Works for creators taking paid commissions who want requests and payment in one place

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want sales tax handled for you, since you're the merchant of record
• Too light for a proper store with email, discount codes and upsells
• Watch out: shop, membership and commission sales cost 5%, with PayPal or card fees on top
• Watch out: we couldn't confirm the price of the paid Gold plan on Ko-fi's own pages
• Not for you if you want a phone or desktop app, as only the web is listed

Pick Passes if

• Fits if you are a creator who wants paid DMs and calls beside memberships
• Works for people who prefer a share of earnings to a monthly fee

Look elsewhere if

• Watch out: the homepage only says up to 90%, and no pricing or fees page was found
• Skip it if you need to know your cut before signing up, because the split depends on the account
• Not for you if you want to join straight away, as creators apply and the FAQ lists follower requirements
• Watch out: whether iPhone and Android apps exist is not clear from the pages we could read

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.

Passes

• The revenue split depends on the account; the homepage only says creators keep up to 90%, and the FAQ answers were not readable here.
• No pricing or fees page was found, so the share Passes keeps could not be confirmed.
• The FAQ lists a question on iPhone, iPad and Android apps, but the answer was not readable; only the web is recorded.
• Creators apply to join; the FAQ lists questions on eligibility and follower requirements.

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.

Passes

Memberships

Recurring tiered access for fans, listed as the most popular revenue stream.

Paid DMs and 1:1 calls

Creators can charge for direct messages and book paid calls, with an example 30-minute session shown on the homepage.

Content vault and scheduling

A vault to organize, price and lock exclusive content, with a smart scheduler for planning posts ahead.

Mass DMs

Targeted messages and promotions that reach many fans at once.

Livestreams and group chats

Paid livestreams and group chats for exclusive communities.

Merch, digital goods and discounts

Sells merchandise and digital items, with discounts and trials to convert fans.

Ko-fi

Pricing could not be confirmed. See ko-fi.com.

Passes

• Creator account$0

  Passes keeps a share of earnings; the homepage says creators keep up to 90%. A Creators+ program is listed in the FAQ, but its terms were not readable.