Ko-fi vs Passes
Side-by-side comparison on fees, payouts, monetization, and audience ownership.
Platform fee
0–5% · 0% tips · 5% sales
10% · of revenue
Payout speed
instant
instant
Minimum payout
$0
$50
Countries
PayPal- or Stripe-supported
Primarily US, Stripe-supported
Email list export
Limited export
Limited
Custom domain
Yes (subdomain)
Yes (subdomain)
Community features
Comments and DMs
DMs, group chats, 1:1 video calls
Best for
Visual artists, beginners, small audiences, fee-sensitive creators
Mainstream creators, influencers, coaches wanting low-fee subs and merch
Ko-fi vs Passes: which one wins?
Ko-fi charges 0–5% (0% tips · 5% sales) versus Passes at 10% (of revenue).
On payout speed, Ko-fi pays instant while Passes pays instant. No difference here.
For audience ownership, Ko-fi offers limited export email export and Passes offers limited. Email portability matters most for creators planning to migrate later or build a list independent of any single platform.
Best for: Ko-fi suits visual artists, beginners, small audiences, fee-sensitive creators. Passes fits mainstream creators, influencers, coaches wanting low-fee subs and merch.