A reader benefits from a tutorial and wants to say more than thank you. Ko-fi turns that moment into a shareable support page for artists, writers, developers, and other creators. They can accept one-time or monthly tips, offer memberships, sell products, and take commissions. Ko-fi provides the page and tools; payments go directly to the creator's connected PayPal or Stripe account, whose processing fees still apply. Getting started · Pricing
An idea from wanting to thank someone
Founder Nigel says that in 2011, while working as a freelance creator, he was stuck on a coding problem. Another creator's public answer saved him time. He wanted to send a few dollars as thanks but could only upvote the answer. He traces the idea for Ko-fi to that experience. The company also says it remains independent without outside investment. These are its accounts of the origin and organizational choice; we did not find reliable evidence for its first customer's acquisition channel, initial investment, or current team size. Founder story
Ko-fi now lists memberships, a shop, commissions, supporter-only content, and website embeds alongside one-time tips. A creator can put an entry point beside existing work and set their own prices and delivery terms. For a writer that could be a support link after a public article; for an artist it could be a commission page. These are possible uses of the features, not a claim that we have received payments ourselves or that any particular use will generate income. Pricing and features · Getting started
A shared page can introduce the service
The onboarding guide asks creators to share their Ko-fi page with their audience. The pricing page also offers widgets and shareable links for a website. The visible path is straightforward: a creator places an entry point with their content, a reader opens the page, and they may choose to tip, buy, or join a membership. It is reasonable to infer that shared pages can also introduce Ko-fi itself to new people. The available sources do not quantify how many creators or sales come from sharing, however, so the mechanism is not a measured acquisition share. Current company revenue, profit, and paying-customer counts were not obtained either. Getting started · Pricing
Free signup and transaction fees
Checked November 6, 2026, both Free and Standard have no monthly charge. Free takes a 0% platform service fee on one-time tips and 5% on memberships, shop sales, monthly tips, and commissions. Standard takes 5% on those transactions and one-time tips, while unlocking features such as supporter-only content and scheduled posts. Ko-fi says Standard is enabled by default for new creators and can be switched off in settings. Neither mode removes PayPal or Stripe processing fees. Fee guide
The pricing page also lists Gold at $12 per month with a 0% platform service fee. Ko-fi's help notes that an existing “unlock all” setting may have to be disabled separately after subscribing to remove the service fee, and rates for existing Stripe memberships can remain unchanged. We did not test checkout, taxes, or a particular account's settings. As rough arithmetic, 5% of $240 in applicable transactions equals the listed $12 monthly Gold price. That comparison does not account for processing fees, transaction types, or actual terms, and it is not an income forecast. Pricing · Fee guide · Membership fees
One step for an individual: choose a public piece of work that already helps someone. On a private draft page, explain who benefits, what support would fund, and whether the supporter receives anything additional. Show only that wording to five intended readers and record whether they understand it before deciding whether to test a support link. The deliverable is five pieces of feedback and a clear explanation; no account or promised reward is needed for this exercise.