Ko-fi is a better deal than Buy Me a Coffee for almost every creator. On 100 US card tips of $10, Ko-fi’s Free mode leaves $941 and Buy Me a Coffee leaves $886, a $55 gap on every $1,000. Ko-fi also pays instantly, while Buy Me a Coffee’s first payout waits on a manual review. Buy Me a Coffee’s case rests on its checkout and membership options, not its price.
How much do Ko-fi and Buy Me a Coffee take?
Ko-fi takes 0% on one-off tips in Free mode and 5% on memberships, monthly tips, shop sales and commissions. Buy Me a Coffee takes a flat 5% on everything, then adds a 0.5% payout processing fee and another 0.5% on subscription payments.
Ko-fi has one trap. New accounts start in Standard mode, which charges 5% on tips too, until you switch it off under Settings, then Payment. Ko-fi Gold, at $12 a month, removes the 5% on everything else. Buy Me a Coffee has no plans at all.
Both platforms pass card processing through at the processor’s rates. We use Stripe’s US rate of 2.9% + $0.30 for both. The table is arithmetic on published fees as of October 2026, for $10 payments from US cards.
| Monthly revenue | Ko-fi tips, Free mode | Buy Me a Coffee tips | Ko-fi memberships, Free mode | Ko-fi memberships, Gold | Buy Me a Coffee memberships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $200 | $188 | $177 | $178 | $176 | $176 |
| $1,000 | $941 | $886 | $891 | $929 | $881 |
| $3,000 | $2,823 | $2,658 | $2,673 | $2,811 | $2,643 |
On tips, Ko-fi wins by about 5.5% of revenue at every level. On memberships the gap is smaller, $10 per $1,000, because both take 5% and Buy Me a Coffee’s two extra 0.5% charges make the difference. Ko-fi Gold only pays off once fee-bearing sales pass $240 a month, which is why it trails Free mode at $200.
Buy Me a Coffee can also pass the card fee to fans. A setting called Cover credit card fee adds it to the supporter’s payment, so in Buy Me a Coffee’s own example a $25 coffee is charged at $26.03. Buy Me a Coffee also adds 1% to payments from outside the US.
How do payouts compare?
Ko-fi pays faster. Every payment goes straight into your own PayPal or Stripe account the moment a fan pays, with no balance, schedule or minimum.
Buy Me a Coffee pays into a Stripe account in your name. You can request a payout once your balance reaches $10, and the first one waits on a manual account review that typically takes 7 to 14 days in total. After that, bank deposits usually take 3 to 5 business days.
Processor support matters for creators outside the US. Buy Me a Coffee runs every payout through Stripe, so you must live in a country Stripe supports. Ko-fi also accepts PayPal, so a creator in a country PayPal serves can get paid without Stripe, though PayPal can hold new or unusual payments for up to 21 days.
Who owns the audience on Ko-fi and Buy Me a Coffee?
Ko-fi and Buy Me a Coffee both score 6 out of 10 for ownership. You get supporter contact details on both, and both pay into accounts in your name.
Ko-fi shares each supporter’s display name and email on every payment. Buy Me a Coffee says it never emails your supporters and lets you export the list whenever you like.
Discovery is weak on both. We score Ko-fi 3 and Buy Me a Coffee 2, so either way you will need to send fans from your own channels. Both offer stream alerts that show tips on screen during Twitch and YouTube streams.
What features differ between Ko-fi and Buy Me a Coffee?
Ko-fi stands out for commissions and payment choice. Buy Me a Coffee stands out for checkout options and detailed membership settings.
Ko-fi’s standout tools:
- A commissions tool with slots, up to 12 add-ons, pay-what-you-want pricing, shipping rates and terms buyers accept before ordering
- Crowdfunding goals at 0% in Free mode
- PayPal checkout, which shows Venmo to most US fans making one-time payments to US creators who price in dollars
Buy Me a Coffee’s standout tools:
- One-tap checkout with no sign-up, by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or Cash App where available
- Crypto payments for one-time support and shop orders, for creators with a US Stripe account pricing in dollars
- Memberships with monthly or yearly billing, 7-day free trials, discount codes, one lifetime tier and pauses of 1, 3 or 6 months
- Video messages from supporters, and a localized pricing setting that shows fans prices in their own currency
Both sell digital and physical goods, both link membership tiers to Discord roles, and both let fans turn a tip into a monthly payment. Ko-fi charges 5% on those monthly tips in Free mode, and Buy Me a Coffee has offered one-click monthly support since December 2024.
Which should you choose?
Choose Ko-fi unless a specific Buy Me a Coffee feature matters to you. It keeps $55 more of every $1,000 in tips, pays instantly and supports PayPal. New creators can compare more options in our best platforms for beginners, and streamers should see best platforms for streamers.
- Pick Ko-fi if tips are most of your income, and switch off Standard mode on day one.
- Pick Ko-fi if you take commissions or crowdfund toward goals.
- Pick Ko-fi if you want money the moment a fan pays, or you need PayPal because Stripe does not serve your country.
- Pick Buy Me a Coffee if your fans want to pay with Cash App or crypto, and you will accept 5% on every tip for that checkout.
- Pick Buy Me a Coffee if you want its membership settings, such as 7-day free trials, a lifetime tier and pauses, and can live with paying about 1% more than Ko-fi’s Free mode on memberships.