Ko-fi is the best platform for most artists, because it has a commissions tool built in, takes 0% of one-off tips in Free mode and pays straight into your own PayPal or Stripe account. Add Patreon if fans will pay monthly for your process, files or tutorials. For selling downloads and prints you post yourself, Payhip costs nothing until you sell. Fourthwall handles merch printed on demand, and Gumroad is the one to try if you need a marketplace to find buyers.
| Platform | Monthly cost | Platform fee | Keep of $1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ko-fi | $0, or $12 for Gold | 0% on tips, 5% on commissions and shop, 0% on Gold | $941 on tips |
| Patreon | $0 | 10% | $841 |
| Payhip | $0 on Free | 5% Free, 2% Plus, 0% Pro | $891 |
| Fourthwall | $0 on Free, $19 for Pro | Base cost on merch, 5% on memberships | $891 on memberships |
| Gumroad | $0 | 10% + $0.50 direct, 30% via Discover | $791 direct |
The last column is arithmetic on published fees as of October 2026, for 100 US card payments of $10 through each platform’s main product on its cheapest plan.
How we picked
We ranked these platforms by how well they handle the ways artists get paid, through commissions, memberships and sales of prints or files. The overall score beside each pick comes from our methodology and weights take-home pay heavily. Patreon scores 6.0, below Payhip’s 6.6 and Fourthwall’s 6.2, because its 10% fee costs more. We still rank Patreon second. Monthly members give an artist steadier income than one-off sales, Patreon’s free members and video hosting make it the fuller membership product, and it pays out on demand once every 24 hours where Fourthwall pays once a month.
Why is Ko-fi the best platform for art commissions?
Ko-fi is the best fit because it sells commissions as their own product type, and one-off tips cost 0%. You set listings, total slots, up to 12 add-ons, pay-what-you-want pricing, shipping rates for physical work and terms buyers must accept before ordering.
The fees are low. One-off tips cost 0% once you switch off Standard mode, which every new creator starts in, and 100 tips of $10 leave about $941 after Stripe’s fees. Commissions, shop sales and memberships cost 5%, and Ko-fi Gold at $12 a month removes that fee, which pays for itself above $240 a month in those sales.
Ko-fi’s shop sells digital files and physical goods with variants and shipping options, so prints you post yourself fit here too. Every payment goes straight to your PayPal or Stripe account, and you see each supporter’s email. Disputes over commissions are between you and the buyer, so write your terms carefully, and expect PayPal to hold some new payments for up to 21 days.
Is Patreon worth 10% for artists?
Patreon is worth it for artists whose fans will pay every month for process posts, files, tutorials or early work. Paid tiers, free memberships, a shop and up to 100 hours of video uploads a month all run from one page, with nothing for you to build.
Patreon takes 10% from creators who published after August 4, 2025, plus 2.9% + $0.30 per payment, which leaves about $841 of $1,000. The shop sells digital products, single posts and collections from $3 to $5,000. Free members are the funnel, and Patreon says 80% of paid members who cancel stay on as free members.
Price tiers with the fees in mind. The flat $0.30 means a $3 tier nets $2.31, by our arithmetic on published fees. Inside Patreon’s iOS app Apple takes 30%, and Patreon raises in-app prices by about 43% by default to cover it, while money from those purchases can stay pending for up to 75 days. Patreon’s merch program is closed to new creators, so physical rewards are yours to ship. Our Patreon vs Ko-fi comparison sets the two side by side.
Is Payhip good for selling art downloads and prints?
Yes. Payhip is the best dedicated store here for an artist selling brushes, wallpapers, templates or prints. The Free plan costs $0 a month and takes 5% per sale, which leaves about $891 of $1,000 after Stripe’s fees.
Payhip sells digital downloads and physical products from the same store. Physical items get inventory tracking and order fulfillment, and Payhip emails buyers their tracking numbers. Digital buyers in the EU and UK are covered too, because Payhip collects and files VAT on those sales for you.
Each sale lands straight in your PayPal or Stripe account, with no Payhip balance or minimum. Move to Plus at $29 a month and 2% once sales pass about $967 a month. Payhip has no marketplace, so buyers have to come from your own social accounts or site.
Should artists sell merch through Fourthwall?
Fourthwall is the right choice for an artist who wants their work on merch without buying stock. You add designs to products from Fourthwall’s catalog and set the price, and Fourthwall makes and ships each order, answers customer emails and collects sales tax as merchant of record.
Fourthwall adds no fee to catalog merch beyond each product’s listed base cost. Its own example is a shirt with a $10 base cost sold for $22, which leaves $12 before processing. Memberships on the same site cost 5%, so $1,000 of $10 memberships leaves $891, and digital files cost 5% on the Free plan or nothing on Pro at $19 a month.
The weak spot is cash flow. Fourthwall pays once a month, by the 3rd business day, with a $25 minimum, and a new shop’s first payout waits for a manual site review. It has no marketplace, so every sale comes from fans you send there.
Should artists sell on Gumroad?
Gumroad is the pick for an artist who wants a marketplace to sell files to strangers. Its Discover marketplace can list your products to buyers who have never seen your work, and Gumroad takes a flat 30% of those sales, card processing included.
Direct sales cost more than on Payhip. Gumroad takes 10% + $0.50 per sale plus 2.9% + $0.30 processing, which leaves about $791 of $1,000. Cheap items suffer most, because $0.80 of every sale is flat, so a $3 brush pack loses about 40%, by our arithmetic on published fees. Gumroad has handled sales tax and VAT worldwide as merchant of record since January 1, 2025.
Getting into Discover takes time. You need $100 in genuine sales and a risk team check that averages about 3 weeks, and each product needs one sale, a category and ratings turned on. Scheduled payouts need a $100 balance.
How to choose a platform as an artist
Start with how fans already pay you, then add a second platform only for what the first does badly. In our view, an artist needs one place for commissions and tips and one for products or memberships.
- If commissions are your main income, use Ko-fi, and set clear terms before you open slots.
- If fans would pay monthly for your process or files, add Patreon, and keep tiers above $3 so the $0.30 fee stays small.
- If you sell downloads or prints you pack and post yourself, Payhip’s Free plan costs nothing until something sells.
- If you want your art on shirts and other merch without holding stock, Fourthwall prints and ships each order for the listed base cost.
- If you have no audience yet and want a marketplace to find buyers, list files on Gumroad and accept the 30% on Discover sales.
Price files with flat fees in mind. A $10 download loses $1.09 in fees on Payhip’s Free plan and $2.09 on Gumroad, by our arithmetic on published fees. If memberships matter most, our best membership platforms list goes further, and the best platforms for digital products covers stores in more depth.