Buy Me a Coffee vs Ko-fi vs Patreon: Fees in 2026

Every tip platform has a headline number, and none of them is the whole story. This post puts Buy Me a Coffee, Ko-fi and Patreon side by side using only their own pricing and help pages, checked on October 20, 2026, and works through what you keep from a $5 coffee and from $100 a month of members.

We make makerhandle, which has a support button of its own, and we say where it fits. It is not always the answer.

The headline fees

Sources for every cell are listed at the end. Ko-fi's and Patreon's help centers did not load for our fetcher, so their figures were read through search results of those pages; treat them as "as of October 2026" and check before you decide.

Buy Me a Coffee

Buy Me a Coffee's FAQ says: "We charge a 5% transaction fee, and creators keep 95% of the earnings." There is no monthly fee.

Its help article on charges adds the processing side: Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, +1% for payments from outside the US, +0.5% for subscription payments, and 0.5% for payout processing. You can switch on an option so supporters pay the card fee on top of their coffee instead.

Payouts start once your balance reaches $10, and Buy Me a Coffee says the first one can take 7 to 14 days while your account is reviewed.

Ko-fi

Ko-fi's help center describes a free option with 0% on one-off tips and 5% on shop sales, memberships, monthly tips and commissions, and Ko-fi Gold at $12 a month, which removes the platform fee. Ko-fi says payments go straight into your own PayPal or Stripe account, so processing is whatever PayPal or Stripe charges you.

Ko-fi's options have changed more than once in the last few years, and third-party reviews quote several different Gold prices. Use Ko-fi's own help center, not a review.

Patreon

Patreon's help center says creators who published their page after August 4, 2025 pay a 10% platform fee, plus processing: 2.9% + $0.30 on US cards. Payout fees depend on the method (for example $0.25 per US direct deposit), and a 2.5% currency conversion fee applies when a member pays in a different currency from your payout. Creators who published earlier keep their old plan unless they unpublish.

Patreon also does more than the other two: members-only posts, an app, community features. Part of that 10% is paying for those.

What you keep from a $5 coffee

A one-time, US card, $5 coffee, processing paid by you:

• Buy Me a Coffee: 5% is $0.25, Stripe is about $0.45, so roughly $4.30, a little less after the 0.5% payout fee.
• Ko-fi, free option: 0% platform fee, then PayPal's or Stripe's fee. If that is the same 2.9% + $0.30, about $4.55.
• Patreon: 10% is $0.50, processing about $0.45, so about $4.05 before payout fees.

The $0.30 fixed fee is the quiet killer on small tips: it is 6% of a $5 coffee by itself. Preset amounts of 3 or 5 coffees help more than any platform switch. (Our arithmetic, from the fees above.)

What you keep from $100 a month of members

Platform fee only, since processing is similar everywhere:

• Buy Me a Coffee: 5%, $5 a month, $60 a year, plus the 0.5% subscription surcharge.
• Ko-fi: 5%, $60 a year, or Gold at $12 a month, $144 a year, with no platform fee.
• Patreon: 10%, $120 a year.

This is where a flat price starts to win. Ko-fi Gold beats Ko-fi's 5% once memberships pass $240 a month ($12 divided by 5%, our arithmetic).

The cheaper options

• GitHub Sponsors charges no fees on sponsorships from personal accounts, per GitHub's docs. Great if your supporters are developers. See GitHub Sponsors compared.
• Liberapay takes no cut and is funded by donations to itself; one-time donations are not properly supported yet, its FAQ says.
• makerhandle's built-in support pays into your own Stripe account with a 0% platform fee on Pro ($20 a year) and 5% on Free, plus Stripe's processing fees. Pro pays for itself once support passes about $400 a year ($20 divided by 5%). It is opening to makers in stages; the link button, which opens your existing Buy Me a Coffee, Ko-fi or Patreon page, works for everyone today.

So which one?

• Mostly one-off tips: Ko-fi's 0% on one-off tips is the cheapest hosted option.
• Members who want posts and files: Patreon or Ko-fi; the content tools are worth the fee.
• Steady monthly supporters, no gated content: a flat price beats a percentage. Ko-fi Gold, or a support button on your own page with makerhandle Pro.
• You like where you are: stay, and put a button to it on your link in bio. How to add a tip button to your link in bio shows how.

The longer list, with who each tool suits, is in Buy Me a Coffee alternatives.