The Owelet blog
Fee breakdowns, income guides, and tax fundamentals for creators selling across platforms.
Stripe's standard payout runs on a rolling 2-business-day basis after an initial verification period. Instant Payouts get funds to your bank in about 30 minutes for a 1.5% fee. Here's exactly how the timing works.
Read the post →Patrons are charged on the 1st. Creators get paid around the 5th. Here's why those are two separate dates, what delays the gap further, and how manual payouts work.
Ko-fi doesn't hold your money on its own schedule. PayPal pays instantly with no delay; Stripe follows Stripe's own timing. Here's exactly how each one works and which is faster.
Gumroad lets you choose daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly payouts with your own minimum threshold. Here's exactly how the schedule works, what delays it, and the $10 minimum most guides get wrong.
Paddle charges 5% + $0.50 per transaction with tax compliance, processing, and billing bundled in as merchant of record. Where the flat fee bites and what refunds really cost.
Etsy stacks a $0.20 listing fee, 6.5% transaction fee, 3% + $0.25 processing, and 12-15% Offsite Ads. On a $4.99 download the real rate is 18-30%. Full math.
Your Gumroad payout is lower than your sales number because three fee layers apply before you receive anything. Here is exactly what they are and how much each costs.
Most creators know platform fees exist but have never calculated their total combined drain. Here are the five biggest fee categories with exact dollar math at $2,000 per month.
The Gumroad Discover fee is 30%, triple the standard 10% rate. Learn what triggers it, how to find your Discover mix, and what it costs at different revenue levels.
You have real levers to reduce platform fees without migrating your entire business. Here are the ones that actually move the number, with specific dollar impact at $2,000 per month.
Fees that never appear on pricing pages — Gumroad's 30% Discover cut, Apple's iOS tax on Patreon, currency conversion, payout delays, and refund absorption.
Real effective fee rates across Gumroad, Patreon, Ko-fi, Stripe, Lemon Squeezy, Teachable, Thinkific, BMC, and Etsy — the actual number that hits your payout.
Patreon takes 10% plus processing; Ko-fi charges 5% free or 0% on Gold ($12/month). On a $5 membership the gap is real, but so is what Patreon offers.
Ko-fi takes 0% on tips and offers a Gold plan to zero out all fees. Buy Me a Coffee charges a flat 5% on everything with no way to reduce it. Who keeps more.
Thinkific claims 0% transaction fees — but only on its own processor. Bring your own Stripe and you pay 1–5% extra depending on plan. Here's the real cost.
Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 is honest — but international cards add 2.5%, chargebacks cost $15, and recurring billing adds 0.7%. Every rate that hits your payout.
New Patreon creators pay a flat 10% — but processing, the $0.30 per-pledge fee, and Apple's 30% iOS cut push the real cost to 12–15%. Here's the full math.
Ko-fi keeps 0% of tips, but only once you switch off the Contributor status new accounts default into — it takes 5%. Shop sales cost 5% on the free plan. Ko-fi Gold ($12/month) drops all fees to 0%.
Gumroad's direct rate is ~12.9% + $0.80 vs Lemon Squeezy's flat 5% + $0.50. Both handle tax as MoR. On a $1,000 month, the gap is $91 — over $1,000/year.
Teachable Starter's 7.5% fee stacks with processing and international surcharges. Builder ($69/month) drops it to 0% and breaks even at $533/month in sales.
Lemon Squeezy's base fee is 5% + $0.50 all-in, but international buyers, PayPal, and subscriptions add surcharges. Every fee layer with real payout numbers.
Buy Me a Coffee charges a flat 5% on tips, memberships, and products. Stripe adds on top, international buyers cost more, and micro-tips lose up to 38%.
See what you actually keep after fees on a $50 sale across Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy, Teachable, Patreon, Stripe, and Buy Me a Coffee. Real payout numbers.
Most creators know Stripe charges 2.9% + 30¢. Once you add Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy, and PayPal, the true blended rate is 12–18% — rarely what you think.
Gumroad advertises a simple 10% fee. What you actually pay is closer to 13% — and Discover sales cost a flat 30%. Full breakdown with real payout numbers.
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