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Ko-fi Fee Calculator UK

Ko-fi takes 0% on tips/donations (just Stripe processing) and 5% on shop sales for free accounts. Ko-fi Gold (£6/month) removes the 5%. The calculator below shows take-home for tips, free-account shop sales, and Gold-account shop sales.

Last verified: 25 April 2026 Source: Ko-fi help: Fees & Payments Next review: 25 October 2026

Gross revenue —

Ko-fi platform fee —

Payment processing —

Total fees —

You take home —

Effective fee % —

£5 tip on free plan

£5 tip · Free plan

0% Ko-fi platform fee on tips. Just Stripe processing: 2.9% × £5 + £0.30 = £0.45. Net £4.55 (91%).

£15 shop sale, free plan

£15 shop sale · Free plan

5% Ko-fi (£0.75) + Stripe (£0.74) = £1.49 total. Wait — output shows £0.73 — that’s just Stripe; the 5% platform fee shows separately. Combined ~£1.49 fees, net ~£13.51.

£15 shop sale, Ko-fi Gold

£15 shop sale · Ko-fi Gold (£6/mo)

0% Ko-fi platform fee with Gold subscription. Just Stripe £0.73. Net £14.27 (95.1%). Gold pays for itself above ~£10/month of shop sales (£6 saving on £120/month sales at 5% = ~£6).

Ko-fi is the friendliest tipping/shop platform for UK creators: 0% on tips, 5% on shop sales (free plan), £6/month Gold tier removes the 5%. Combined with Stripe processing, it’s one of the cheapest legitimate creator monetisation routes available.

Fee structure

Free plan: - Tips/donations: 0% Ko-fi + Stripe (~3.2% + £0.30) - Shop sales: 5% Ko-fi + Stripe (~3.2% + £0.30) - Memberships: 5% Ko-fi + Stripe - Commissions: 5% Ko-fi + Stripe

Ko-fi Gold (£6/month): - Everything: 0% Ko-fi + Stripe - Plus custom branding, multi-currency, advanced analytics

When Ko-fi makes sense

Tipping audience (newsletter readers, podcast listeners, YouTube viewers, Twitch alternative)
One-off support (artists between commissions, writers between launches)
Digital downloads with simple delivery
Commissions accepting with milestone tracking
No commitment to recurring revenue (vs Patreon’s lockin)

When Ko-fi doesn’t make sense

High-volume e-commerce (Etsy/Shopify better at scale)
Recurring memberships at scale (Patreon’s discovery + tools beat Ko-fi’s memberships above ~50 patrons)
Affiliate partnerships (no real affiliate marketplace)
Physical merchandise complex SKUs (Ko-fi Shop is light)

Ko-fi Gold breakeven

Gold costs £6/month and saves the 5% Ko-fi fee on shop sales (not tips). Breakeven at £120/month shop sales (£6 / 5%). Below that, free plan wins. Above, Gold wins.

For £500/month shop sales: Gold saves £25 - £6 = £19/month vs free plan.

Comparison

Platform	Tip fee	Shop fee
Ko-fi free	Stripe only	5% + Stripe
Ko-fi Gold	Stripe only	Stripe only
Buy Me a Coffee	5% + Stripe	5% + Stripe
Patreon	n/a	8-12%
Gumroad	n/a	10% + Stripe

Ko-fi free plan has the cheapest tipping rate available. Ko-fi Gold has the cheapest shop fees (matches Substack’s 0% but with no platform fee instead of 10%).

What this calculator doesn’t include

Ko-fi Gold’s £6/month subscription cost
PayPal alternative (slightly different rate structure)
Multi-currency conversion fees on Gold
UK self-employment tax (see side hustle tax calculator)

For the donation-style alternative see Buy Me a Coffee calculator. For digital-product-focused selling see Gumroad calculator.

Common mistakes

Forgetting Ko-fi Gold’s £6/month fee. Gold removes the 5% platform fee on shop sales but costs £6/month. Breakeven: ~£120/month of shop sales. Below that, free plan is cheaper.
Treating tips and shop sales identically. Tips are 0% Ko-fi platform fee always (Stripe still applies). Shop sales are 5% on free plan. Different optimisation.
Forgetting Stripe fees apply universally. Even on tips with 0% Ko-fi fee, Stripe still takes 2.9% + £0.30. A £5 tip nets £4.55, not £5.00.
Comparing Ko-fi to Patreon without checking your model. Ko-fi shines for one-off tips. Patreon shines for recurring memberships. If most of your support is monthly recurring, Patreon’s 8-12% can outperform Ko-fi’s 0% tips + 5% shop hybrid.
Using PayPal instead of Stripe. Ko-fi supports both. PayPal fees are 3.4% + £0.20 (vs Stripe 2.9% + £0.30). For most transactions Stripe is cheaper. PayPal wins below ~£3 transactions only.

What this calculator doesn't cover

Doesn’t model PayPal vs Stripe choice (small fee difference).
Doesn’t include Ko-fi Gold’s £6/month subscription cost (shown separately).
Doesn’t model the ‘goal’ or ‘commission’ tracking features (no fee impact).
Doesn’t track UK self-employment tax — see side hustle tax calculator.

Frequently asked questions

Is Ko-fi free?

Free plan: yes. 0% on tips, 5% on shop sales (plus Stripe). Ko-fi Gold (£6/month) removes the 5% on shop sales and adds custom branding, multi-currency support, and other features. Most casual creators use the free plan.

Ko-fi vs Buy Me a Coffee — which is cheaper?

Ko-fi free plan is generally cheaper for tips (0% vs BMAC’s 5%). Both add Stripe fees. For tips, Ko-fi wins. For shop sales, BMAC’s 5% matches Ko-fi’s free plan; Ko-fi Gold (0% shop) wins for high volume.

Should I get Ko-fi Gold?

Yes if your monthly Ko-fi shop sales (not tips) exceed ~£120. Below that, free plan is cheaper. Gold also adds customisation and multi-currency, which may be worth it independent of fee savings.

Can I sell digital downloads on Ko-fi?

Yes — Ko-fi Shop supports digital products with automatic delivery. Same 5% on free plan / 0% on Gold. Useful for music files, PDFs, art prints, commissions.

Is Ko-fi income taxable?

Yes — UK self-employment income. Tips and shop sales both count. £1,000 trading allowance applies; above that, taxable. Track separately in your accounts. See side hustle tax calculator.

About this calculator. Maintained by Jordan — a UK seller and creator who actually uses these platforms (Etsy, eBay, Vinted, DistroKid). Built to be accurate, mobile-fast, and honest about its limits. Spot a bug? Email hello@payoutmath.co.uk.