Ko-fi vs Supporting Cast (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Ko-fi grades higher than Supporting Cast: 2.6 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Ko-fi grades higher on the free plan and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Supporting Cast
Podcast subscriptions delivered through listeners' own apps
Paid
Which one is for you
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 Supporting Cast if
- Fits if you make a podcast and want paid feeds in Apple Podcasts or Spotify-style apps
- Makes sense if you already have a host and want to keep it
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a price up front, because none is published and you request a demo
- Tight if you want to try it first, as no free plan or trial is listed
- Watch out: subscriber support is handled by Supporting Cast only if the publisher wants that
- Too light for anything but podcasts, as it is built for audio shows
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAKo-fiGood | 1.6GPASupporting CastWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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%. | CNo price is published and the site sends you to a demo. C is where no price is published. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | FNothing free is listed: no plan and no trial, only a request for a demo. |
| Features | 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. | CPrivate feeds in existing apps, membership setups, branding, piracy protection, reporting and promo codes. It does that one job fully, which is a smaller job than a general store. |
| Ease of use | 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. | CNo store rating on record, and getting started means a demo and setting up membership tiers and feeds. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with PayPal, Discord, Twitch, YouTube and a WordPress plugin, plus stream overlays. No phone or desktop app is listed. | CWeb setup, with listener access through their existing podcast apps and three listed integrations. No other apps are listed. |
| Best for | tips, memberships and commissions from fans | paid podcast feeds that work in listeners' own apps |
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: Ko-fi and Supporting Cast. How we grade
Where they differ
- Ko-fi also covers online store and digital downloads.
- Supporting Cast also covers reports and paid newsletters.
In commonWeb
At a glance
| Ko-fi | Supporting Cast | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | Not published | Not published |
| Free plan | 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. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Ko-fi Labs | Supporting Cast |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Supporting Cast
- No prices are published; the site directs visitors to request a demo, so pricing is recorded as unverified.
- The site says the platform can host premium content, or publishers can keep their current host.
- The site says it is part of Graham Holdings and that subscribers can take their card relationships and data if they leave.
- Support for subscribers is handled by Supporting Cast only if the publisher wants that.
Key features
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.
Supporting Cast
- Private feeds in existing apps
- Listeners subscribe in two taps and use their current podcast app, with Apple Pay and Google Pay for mobile payments.
- Flexible membership setups
- Single shows or multi-show bundles, monthly or annual pricing, tiered benefits, pay-what-you-want and one-time payments.
- Branding and site integration
- Branded landing pages, no Supporting Cast logo in the member experience, a WordPress plugin and an API.
- Piracy protection
- Sharing thresholds flag members for review or disable access automatically.
- Reporting
- Growth, revenue and engagement reports, with CSV export or a data pipeline.
- Promo codes and localized currencies
- Promo codes and discounts, localized currencies, bulk user invites and single sign-on with two-factor authentication.
Plans
Ko-fi
Pricing could not be confirmed. See ko-fi.com.
Supporting Cast
Pricing could not be confirmed. See supportingcast.fm.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Ko-fi or Supporting Cast?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Ko-fi has no price we could confirm, and Supporting Cast has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Ko-fi or Supporting Cast?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Ko-fi has a free plan. Supporting Cast does not.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.