Ko Fi

Ko-fi is a creator monetization platform that lets fans support their favorite creators through one-time 'coffees' (donations), monthly memberships, shop sales, and commissions — with the lowest fees in the creator economy. Founded in 2012 in the UK, Ko-fi operates on a 0% platform fee model for most transactions (Stripe and PayPal processing fees still apply), meaning creators keep the vast majority of what they earn. The name 'Ko-fi' comes from the idea of fans buying a creator a coffee as a small token of appreciation. Ko-fi's simplicity is its strength — a creator can set up a page and start receiving support in minutes. Beyond simple donations, Ko-fi supports monthly memberships (similar to Patreon tiers), a built-in shop for digital and physical products, commission requests for custom creative work, and stream alerts for live streaming. Ko-fi Gold, at $6/month or $72/year, removes Ko-fi branding and adds 0% fees on memberships (free tier has 5% membership fee). Ko-fi is used by over 700,000 creators worldwide — particularly popular with artists, illustrators, writers, and game developers in the independent creator community.