See what you really keep from Ko-fi. Enter your monthly tips, memberships, shop sales and commissions, and the calculator takes off Ko-fi’s service fee and PayPal or Stripe processing — then compares the Free account, Standard mode and Ko-fi Gold so you can see which costs you least.
Enter the number of payments and the average amount for each type. Leave a type at 0 if you don’t use it.
Example helper: tap an example, then replace it with your own numbers.
| Plan | Ko-fi fee | Gold cost | PayPal / Stripe | Take-home |
|---|
Estimate based on Ko-fi’s published fees as checked in October 2026; Ko-fi can change its fees, so confirm on its help pages. PayPal and Stripe rates vary by country, account and currency. Doesn’t include refunds, chargebacks, sales tax or your own income tax.
Quick answer: On a free Ko-fi account, one-time tips have no Ko-fi fee, while memberships, monthly tips, shop sales and commissions pay 5%. PayPal or Stripe then take their own processing fee (often around 3% + $0.30). For example, 100 shop sales of $10 lose $50 to Ko-fi and about $59 to processing, leaving $891. Ko-fi Gold ($12 a month) removes the 5% fee and pays off once more than $240 a month of your income would otherwise be charged it.
Ko-fi’s own service fee depends on your plan and the type of income. Payment processing is separate: PayPal or Stripe takes it, not Ko-fi.
Gross = Σ (payments × average amount) for each income type
Ko-fi fee = 5% × income that's charged on your plan
Gold cost = $12 a month, Gold plan only
Processing = gross × processing % + payments × fixed fee
Currency conversion = gross × conversion %
Take-home = gross − Ko-fi fee − Gold cost − processing − conversion
Gold pays off when 5% × charged income > $12 (above $240 a month)
The fixed processing fee is charged on every payment, so small tips lose a bigger share than large orders.
From Ko-fi’s help page “Does Ko-fi take a fee?” and its Gold page:
| Income type | Free account | Standard mode | Ko-fi Gold ($12/month) |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-time tips | 0% | 5% | 0% |
| Goals (crowdfunding) | 0% | 5% | 0% |
| Monthly tips and memberships | 5% | 5% | 0% |
| Shop sales | 5% | 5% | 0% |
| Commissions | 5% | 5% | 0% |
| PayPal / Stripe processing | Charged by the payment provider on every plan — Ko-fi says usually around 3% + $0.30, varying by account, country and currency | ||
Two details from Ko-fi’s help page: Ko-fi’s “application fee” (Stripe) and “partner fee” (PayPal) are just names for its 5% service fee, and memberships set up through Stripe before you joined Gold keep the 5% fee. Always confirm current fees on Ko-fi’s help centre.
Gold costs $12 a month and removes the 5% fee. 5% of $240 is $12, so Gold pays for itself once more than $240 a month of your income would otherwise be charged the 5% fee. On a free account, one-time tips are already fee-free, so only count memberships, monthly tips, shop sales and commissions. The calculator does this for you and shows the cheapest plan.
| Input | Where to find it | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Payments and amounts | Your Ko-fi dashboard and transaction history | Use an average month, not your best one. |
| Processing rate | Your PayPal or Stripe account’s fee page or statements | Rates differ by country and for international payments. |
| Currency conversion | PayPal or Stripe statements | Only applies when payments arrive in a different currency from your Ko-fi currency. |
100 sales of $10 is $1,000. Ko-fi’s 5% is $50; processing at 2.9% + $0.30 is $29 + $30 = $59. Take-home: $891 a month. On Gold you’d keep $1,000 − $12 − $59 = $929.
50 one-time tips of $3 is $150. On a free account there’s no Ko-fi fee, but processing is $4.35 + $15 = $19.35 — the $0.30 alone is 10% of each tip. Take-home: $130.65. Gold wouldn’t help here.
200 members at $8 is $1,600. On a free account Ko-fi’s 5% is $80 a month. Gold costs $12, so switching saves $68 a month — $1,413.60 take-home becomes $1,481.60.
40 tips at $5, 30 members at $5, 20 shop orders at $15 and 2 commissions at $75 — $800 in 92 payments. Take-home: $719.20 on a free account, $709.20 in Standard mode and $737.20 on Gold. $600 of this income is charged 5% on the free account — above the $240 break-even, so Gold comes out $18 ahead.
Not on a free account: one-time tips and Goals are 0%. In Standard mode, Ko-fi charges 5% on tips too. Ko-fi Gold removes the 5% fee on everything for $12 a month.
They charge their own processing fee on each payment. Ko-fi says this is usually around 3% + $0.30, but it varies by account type, country and currency.
When more than $240 a month of your income would otherwise pay Ko-fi’s 5% fee, since 5% of $240 equals Gold’s $12 monthly cost. The calculator shows the cheapest plan for your numbers.
Ko-fi says memberships taken through Stripe before you joined Gold keep the 5% fee, so savings may be smaller at first.
Patreon’s standard plan charges a 10% platform fee plus processing. Ko-fi charges 0% on one-time tips on a free account and 5% on most other income, or 0% with Gold for $12 a month. Our Patreon calculator shows Patreon take-home for comparison.
No. It only changes the symbol shown. Enter all amounts in the currency you use on Ko-fi.
Disclaimer: This calculator is a planning tool, not financial or tax advice. Fee rates are taken from Ko-fi’s published help and Gold pages as checked in October 2026 and may change. IncomeJets is not affiliated with Ko-fi.
Last updated: 14 October 2026 · By Udaychandra, IncomeJets