shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use Ko-fi | More?

Not disclosed - more.ko-fi.com

Worth it. Buy if you're a solo creator wanting low-fee tips, commissions, or simple memberships with instant payouts. Skip it if you need a serious storefront, team admin, or platform-driven discovery.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 20+ public sources; several review snippets were truncated, so quote selection was limited to verbatim post titles.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo direct support evidence found
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0/mo

Standard

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Ko-fi Gold$12/mo

Best for

  • Solo creators and artists
  • Low-fee tips and commissions
  • Simple memberships without Patreon-style fees
  • Side hustles testing monetization

Not for

  • Sellers needing robust inventory, taxes, or ecommerce tooling
  • Teams needing multi-seat admin and roles
  • Creators expecting built-in audience or algorithmic discovery
  • Businesses wanting guaranteed uptime or SLAs

Gotchas - check before you buy

medium

Guess: 0-5% excludes PayPal/Stripe processing fees; your total cut is higher

medium

One user reports total fees hitting 'over 25%' in their scenario

medium

Scam attempts target Ko-fi users; verify buyers before shipping anything

low

Gold plan ($12/mo) gates key features; check what you need first

Pros and cons

Pros

  • 0-5% service fees; standard plan has no monthly cost
  • Payouts go direct and instantly to your PayPal/Stripe
  • Rated 4.6/5 across 771 Trustpilot reviews
  • Independent reviewers call it the cheapest creator monetization option
  • Claims 1M+ creators; marketed as a free Patreon alternative

Cons

  • Full features require Ko-fi Gold at $12/month
  • One Reddit user claims Ko-fi takes over 25% in some cases
  • No dedicated public security page found on the site
  • Shop and merch depth trails dedicated creator-commerce platforms

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/21/2026 - 10 sources - No known platform breaches; one 2023 XSS in the WordPress button plugin; bug bounty runs on HackerOne.

official x3review x5security x2
  • CVE-2023-2254 — Ko-fi Button WordPress plugin XSS, Cross-site scripting vulnerability in the Ko-fi Button WordPress plugin, disclosed August 2023. Affects the plugin, not the core platform.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • $0/mo

    Starting price

  • 10

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. 0-5% fees, free tier, cheapest per reviewers
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Beginner-focused reviews praise simple setup
  • Feature depth: 3/5. Tips, memberships, shop; lighter than rivals
  • Support quality. No direct support evidence found
  • Security posture: 3/5. Bug bounty exists; 2023 plugin XSS; no public security page
  • 4.6/5 Trustpilot rating 771 reviews
  • $0/mo Starting price 0-5% service fees
  • Yes Free tier Gold plan $12/mo optional
  • 1M+ Creators Ko-fi's own claim

Pricing

Standard

$0/mo

  • 0-5% service fees
  • Tips, commissions, memberships, basic shop

Ko-fi Gold

$12/mo

  • Reduced/removed fees
  • Extra customization and features

Security

No known platform breaches; one 2023 XSS in the WordPress button plugin; bug bounty runs on HackerOne.

  • CVE-2023-2254 — Ko-fi Button WordPress plugin XSSCross-site scripting vulnerability in the Ko-fi Button WordPress plugin, disclosed August 2023. Affects the plugin, not the core platform.⁹

What users say

Users praise low fees and ease of use, with scattered complaints about fee surprises, scams, and feature limits.

“Is it just me, or is Ko-Fi a bit underrated?”
Reddit, r/artbusiness
“Beware of ko-fi scammers”
Reddit, r/Kofi
“Why dont more creators use Kofi or other?”
Reddit, r/FoundryVTT

Companies that use it

  • HR Ready
  • BoN Book Covers
Full analysis

Based on 20+ public sources; several review snippets were truncated, so quote selection was limited to verbatim post titles.

Low-fee tips/memberships for solo creators; too light for serious storefronts. Start free, upgrade only for Gold features.

Methodology

Based on 20+ public sources; several review snippets were truncated, so quote selection was limited to verbatim post titles.

Sources

  1. Ko-fi Pricing | Just 0-5% feesko-fi.com
    official
  2. Ko-fi | Make money doing what you loveko-fi.com
    official
  3. The free Patreon alternative chosen by 1M creatorsmore.ko-fi.com
    official
  4. Read Customer Service Reviews of ko-fi.com - Trustpilottrustpilot.com
    review
  5. Ko-fi Review 2026: Is It Worth It for Creators?builtbyfoundry.io
    review
  6. Patreon Vs Ko-Fi Vs Buy Me a Coffee: Best Fan Funding Platform?alitu.com
    review
  7. Is it just me, or is Ko-Fi a bit underrated? - Redditreddit.com
    review
  8. Beware of ko-fi scammers - Redditreddit.com
    review
  9. CVE-2023-2254 - Ko-fi Button: Cross-site scriptingcve.org
    security
  10. Kofi | Hacktivity - HackerOnehackerone.com
    security

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