For Ko-fi creators

Ko-fi says 0% fees. That's true for tips. Everything else is different.

Ko-fi's fee structure splits between tips, shop sales, memberships, and commissions -- each with different rates. Owelet tracks all of them correctly in one place.

Connect your Ko-fi account -- free See how it works

Read-only OAuth · AES-256 encrypted · We never touch your money

The real numbers

Ko-fi's 0% fee on tips is genuinely 0%. Ko-fi takes nothing from one-time donations. Only the payment processor (Stripe or PayPal) takes its standard cut. This is one of the most honest fee claims in the creator economy and it is real.

But tips are only one transaction type. Shop sales, memberships, and commissions on the free plan all carry a 5% Ko-fi platform fee plus Stripe's 2.9% plus $0.30 underneath. When we built Owelet's Ko-fi integration, we found that Ko-fi's API reports tip transactions and shop transactions with different fee structures in the same response. Any tool that applies a single Ko-fi fee rate across all transactions is mathematically wrong.

If you run a mix of tip income and shop sales, you have two different effective rates running simultaneously and Ko-fi's own dashboard shows you one combined number. A creator who receives $300/month in tips and $200/month in shop sales has an effective platform rate of 2% across all transactions (5% on $200 = $10, spread across $500 total). But if those proportions shift to $100 tips and $400 shop sales, the effective rate jumps to 4%. The blended rate changes as your transaction mix changes, and without tracking each type separately, you cannot see it moving.

Ko-fi Gold at $6/month eliminates the 5% platform fee entirely on all transaction types. Only payment processing remains. The breakeven math is straightforward: if you generate more than $120/month in shop sales, memberships, or commissions, the 5% fee on that revenue exceeds $6 and Gold saves you money. Below $120/month in those categories, the free plan is cheaper. But knowing whether you have crossed that threshold requires knowing your actual split between tip income and shop income, which Ko-fi's dashboard does not surface clearly.

Ko-fi's instant payout is a genuine advantage. There is no minimum threshold, no hold period, and money arrives the same day via Stripe or PayPal. Most other platforms hold funds for days or weeks. Gumroad pays out weekly. Lemon Squeezy has a 13-day hold and pays twice monthly. Patreon processes at the beginning of the month with 2-5 day payout delays. Ko-fi's same-day payout means your cash flow is real-time, which matters when you are managing expenses against income.

If you use PayPal as your Ko-fi payment processor instead of Stripe, the fee math changes. PayPal's foreign exchange spread is wider than Stripe's for international transactions, which means international supporters cost you more in processing. The exact spread depends on currency pair and transaction size, but it can add 1-2% on top of PayPal's standard processing. If a meaningful portion of your supporters are international, the choice between Stripe and PayPal on Ko-fi has real financial consequences.

For creators earning across Ko-fi and other platforms simultaneously, the mixed fee structures create a visibility problem. Ko-fi shows tips and shop sales in one view. Stripe shows a different set of transactions. Patreon shows pledges. Each platform defines revenue differently and displays it differently. Owelet normalizes all of it: gross amount, platform fee, processing fee, net amount, per transaction, across every connected platform. Your Ko-fi tips at 0% and your Gumroad sales at 10% appear in the same dashboard with the correct rate applied to each.

Owelet also tracks your Ko-fi Gold breakeven automatically. As your shop sales grow, your dashboard shows when the 5% fee exceeds $6/month and Gold becomes the better financial choice. No spreadsheet required.

Worked example

A $20 shop sale on the free plan: $1.00 Ko-fi fee + $0.88 Stripe processing = $1.88 total fees. You keep $18.12. A $20 tip: $0.58 Stripe processing only. You keep $19.42. Owelet tracks both rates correctly and shows your blended net across all Ko-fi transaction types.

How it works

How Owelet works for Ko-fi Creators

Connect via read-only OAuth

Authorize Owelet in 60 seconds. We request read-only access to your Ko-fi transaction data. We cannot modify your shop, message supporters, or access payment methods.

Owelet pulls your transaction history

Every tip, shop sale, membership charge, and commission from Ko-fi's API. Each transaction tagged by type with the correct fee rate applied: 0% for tips, 5% for shop sales on the free plan, 0% for Gold members.

See your real net per transaction type

Your dashboard shows true net income across all Ko-fi transaction types with correct rates. Track your tip vs shop mix, see your blended effective rate, and know exactly when Ko-fi Gold becomes worth it.

Fee breakdown

What Ko-fi actually costs at every level

Monthly Revenue	Total Fees	You Keep	Effective Rate
$500	-$54.50	$445.50	10.9%
$1,000	-$109	$891	10.9%
$2,500	-$272.50	$2,227.50	10.9%
$5,000	-$545	$4,455	10.9%
$10,000	-$1,090	$8,910	10.9%

Assumes all shop sales on the free plan (5% Ko-fi fee + 2.9% + $0.30 Stripe processing) at $10 average transaction. Tips carry 0% Ko-fi fee. Your effective rate depends on your tip vs shop mix. Ko-fi Gold ($6/month) eliminates the 5% platform fee.

FAQ

Common questions from Ko-fi creators

No. Ko-fi takes 0% from one-time tips and donations. Only Stripe or PayPal processing fees apply (2.9% + $0.30 for Stripe). This is genuinely zero platform fee, not a limited-time offer.

Ko-fi takes a 5% platform fee on shop sales, commissions, and memberships on the free plan. Stripe or PayPal processing fees (2.9% + $0.30) apply on top. Ko-fi Gold ($6/month) eliminates the 5% platform fee entirely.

The free plan charges 5% on shop sales, commissions, and memberships but 0% on tips. Ko-fi Gold at $6/month removes the 5% fee on everything. Only payment processing fees remain. Gold pays for itself at roughly $120/month in shop sales.

Ko-fi Gold costs $6/month and removes the 5% platform fee on shop sales and memberships. At $120/month in shop revenue, the 5% fee equals $6. Above $120/month, Gold saves more than it costs. Owelet tracks your shop revenue to show when you cross this threshold.

Ko-fi offers instant payouts with no minimum threshold and no hold period. Money arrives the same day via Stripe or PayPal. This is faster than most platforms -- Gumroad holds payouts until Friday, and Lemon Squeezy has a 13-day hold.

For tip-based income, Ko-fi is significantly cheaper (0% vs Patreon's 5-12% platform fee). For memberships and shop sales, Ko-fi's 5% is competitive with Patreon's lower tiers. Ko-fi Gold at $6/month eliminates the platform fee entirely, which Patreon does not offer.

Yes. Owelet connects to Ko-fi via read-only OAuth in about 60 seconds. Once connected, your tips, shop sales, memberships, and commissions sync automatically with correct fee rates for each transaction type.

Owelet uses read-only OAuth access. We can view your transaction data but cannot modify your shop, message supporters, or access payment methods. OAuth tokens are encrypted with AES-256. Revoke access at any time.

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