Ko-fi
Ko-fi
Role
The "creator" donation channel — sits on the family-wide /support
page next to GitHub Sponsors and Buy Me a Coffee. Targets readers and
visitors of the content sites (oriz-blog, oriz-books, oriz-me)
who don't have a GitHub account.
Free tier
- 0% platform fee on donations + one-off shop sales (Ko-fi's pledge)
- Payment-processor fees apply (Stripe ~2.9% + 30¢ or PayPal equivalent — paid by donor, not by us)
- Recurring "Ko-fi Gold" requires a paid Ko-fi tier — we do NOT use this; only the free tier
- No card required to receive payouts (PayPal or Stripe payout)
Card / subscription required?
NO. Free-tier sign-up is email + payout method. Stripe payout requires Stripe Connect KYC; PayPal payout just needs an existing PayPal account.
Methods exposed to the donor
Card (Stripe), PayPal. No UPI directly — Indian donors who want UPI
use upi-direct instead.
Alternatives
- GitHub Sponsors — developer-targeted
- Buy Me a Coffee — 5% platform fee, similar UX
Swap cost
Low — a single button on the /support page; deep-link is
https://ko-fi.com/<handle>.
Why this is our pick
0% platform fee is unbeatable for a donations channel. Sits alongside
BMC because some donors prefer one brand over the other; the cost of
running both is just two buttons on the /support page.