Getly
Ko-fi and Buy Me a Coffee look almost the same from the outside: a page with your name, a button that says "support", and a small shop. Both started as tip jars and grew memberships and digital downloads. The real differences are in what they charge for which kind of payment, and that decides which one costs you less. This comparison uses fees checked on 22 October 2026 on each platform's official pricing and help pages.
The short version
- Mostly one-time tips: Ko-fi's Standard plan takes no platform fee on one-time tips for most accounts. Buy Me a Coffee takes 5%.
- Shop sales, memberships, commissions: both take 5% on the free plan. Ko-fi Gold ($12 a month) removes Ko-fi's platform fee.
- Payment processing: charged on top on both, by Stripe or PayPal. Gold does not remove it.
- Discovery: neither has a marketplace search that brings strangers to your products. Your audience is the traffic.
Fees, side by side
| Ko-fi (Standard) | Ko-fi Gold | Buy Me a Coffee | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $0 | $12 | $0 |
| One-time tips | 0% for most accounts | 0% | 5% |
| Shop / digital downloads | 5% | 0% | 5% |
| Memberships | 5% | 0% | 5% |
| Commissions | 5% | 0% | 5% |
| Payment processing | Stripe or PayPal fees on top | Stripe 2.9% + $0.30, plus 0.5% payout processing, +1% outside the US, +0.5% on subscriptions |
One caution on Ko-fi: its pricing depends on account settings, and some setups add a fee to tips as well. Check the fee shown in your own Ko-fi account before you compare numbers. Buy Me a Coffee lists its processing costs in its help center; Ko-fi passes on whatever your processor charges, so processing on Ko-fi varies by your Stripe or PayPal account and country.
The fee math at $5 and $25
To keep the comparison fair we use the same example processing on both: 2.9% + $0.30 on the payment. For Buy Me a Coffee we add its 0.5% payout charge, as its help center describes, and assume a US supporter and a one-time payment. Your real processing cost will differ by country and processor, so treat these as worked examples, not quotes.
| Payment | Ko-fi tip (Standard) | Ko-fi shop sale (Standard) | Buy Me a Coffee |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5 | $5 − $0.45 processing = about $4.56 | $5 − $0.25 fee − $0.45 = about $4.31 | $5 − $0.25 − $0.45 − $0.03 = about $4.28 |
| $25 | $25 − $1.03 = about $23.98 | $25 − $1.25 − $1.03 = about $22.73 | $25 − $1.25 − $1.03 − $0.13 = about $22.60 |
Two things show up. The fixed $0.30 hurts small payments most: on a $5 tip it is 6% of the money by itself. And on shop sales the two platforms land within a few cents of each other on the free plans. The gap only opens on tips, where Ko-fi Standard charges no platform fee for most accounts, and with Ko-fi Gold.
When Ko-fi Gold pays off
Gold costs $12 a month and removes the 5% platform fee on shop sales, memberships and commissions. 5% of $240 is $12, so Gold breaks even once those sales pass about $240 a month. Below that, the free plan is cheaper. Above it, every extra $100 saves you $5. Processing still applies either way.
Tips and supporter pages
Both do the core job well: a page where people can send a few dollars without signing up for anything. Buy Me a Coffee frames support as "buying a coffee" and keeps the page minimal. Ko-fi gives a little more space for a feed, a gallery and goals. If most of your income is one-time tips, the fee difference above is the main thing to weigh, and it favours Ko-fi Standard for most accounts.
Memberships
Both let supporters pay monthly for a tier with posts, files or perks. On the free plans both take 5%. Buy Me a Coffee adds 0.5% processing on subscription payments according to its help center. If memberships are the main business and they pass a few hundred dollars a month, Ko-fi Gold's flat $12 starts to beat a percentage.
Selling digital downloads
Both have a shop where a buyer pays once and gets a file: a preset pack, a PDF, a brush set. For a creator with an audience this is enough. What neither offers is a catalogue that strangers browse. Every sale starts with someone who already found you: your social posts, your link in bio, your newsletter.
That is the gap a marketplace fills. On a marketplace, your file sits in a category and a search that buyers use without knowing you. The trade-off is a larger cut per sale in exchange for traffic you did not bring yourself.
Where Getly fits
Getly is a marketplace for digital products only: templates, presets, e-books, game assets, fonts and the like, with its own categories and search. There is no listing fee and no monthly plan. The seller keeps 80% of each sale by default, 90% on sales that come through their own link, Pay Widget or Telegram store, and 90% in a new store's first 90 days. Higher prior-month sales move the share to 83%, 85% and 88% (details on pricing).
On a $5 file that is $4.00 to the seller, or $4.50 if the buyer came through the seller's own link. On a $25 file it is $20.00 or $22.50. Payouts go out on the 1st and 15th in USDT or USDC on BNB Smart Chain (from $5) or USDT on Tron (from $15). Right now buyers pay in USDT or USDC stablecoins; PayPal is no longer accepted, and card payments are expected to return. Every new listing is reviewed before it goes live, usually within minutes.
Many creators use both kinds of tool: a tip page for supporters who already know them, and a marketplace listing so new buyers can find the files.
Which one to pick
- You mostly get one-time tips: Ko-fi Standard, after checking the tip fee in your own account.
- You sell memberships or files worth more than about $240 a month: Ko-fi Gold.
- You want the simplest possible page and do not mind 5% on everything: Buy Me a Coffee.
- You want buyers who do not know you yet: add a marketplace listing next to whichever page you keep.
Fees change. Check the current numbers on each platform's own pricing page before you move your audience.
Frequently asked questions
Which takes a smaller cut, Ko-fi or Buy Me a Coffee?
On one-time tips, Ko-fi's Standard plan charges no platform fee for most accounts, while Buy Me a Coffee takes 5%. On shop sales, memberships and commissions both take 5% on their free plans, and Ko-fi Gold ($12 a month) removes Ko-fi's platform fee. Payment processing is charged on top on both. Checked 22 October 2026 on the official pricing and help pages.
What does Buy Me a Coffee charge on top of its 5%?
Its help center lists Stripe processing of 2.9% + $0.30 per successful transaction, 0.5% for payout processing, an extra 1% for transactions from outside the US and an extra 0.5% on subscription payments. Checked 22 October 2026.
When is Ko-fi Gold worth it?
Gold costs $12 a month and removes the 5% platform fee on shop sales, memberships and commissions. 5% of $240 is $12, so it pays off once those sales pass about $240 a month. Processing fees from Stripe or PayPal still apply.
Can I sell digital downloads on both?
Yes. Both have a shop where buyers pay once and download a file. Neither is a marketplace with its own search: buyers arrive through your link, your audience and your social posts.
Where does Getly fit?
Getly is a marketplace for digital products with its own catalogue and search. There is no listing fee and no monthly plan. Sellers keep 80% by default and 90% on sales through their own link, and are paid on the 1st and 15th in USDT or USDC. Buyers currently pay in USDT or USDC stablecoins.
