Difference Between Ko-Fi and Patreon - Which One Should You Choose?
Making money online has become quite common in the last couple of years. But the debate of what’s the best payment gateway or platform for receiving payments is still there. A lot of creators make their bread and butter by fans donating to them on platforms like Ko-Fi and Patreon. But which one is better? This is where we’ve come to help you with a complete analysis of both platforms and which one is better suited for you.
Differences Between Patreon and Ko-Fi
The primary difference between Patreon and Ko-Fi is quite evident. Patreon is more focused on monthly and recurring memberships while Ko-Fi is inclined more towards content creators that are looking to start receiving money with no “monthly” or “weekly” structure involved.
Even though you might think that Ko-Fi is better due to the lesser fee, that does not make Patreon a bad competitor. So, let’s talk about the main differences between Ko-Fi and Patreon.
1. The Focus of Each Platform
The first difference comes right at the fundamentals of each platform. As we’ve already talked about Ko-Fi being a platform that gives you freedom with no structure involved, it is focusing on something like the “buy me a coffee” model. Ko-Fi allows creators to get support for the work that they’ve done.
On the other hand, Patreon is learning more towards recurring members which means that the earning potential for creators is way more than Ko-Fi. On Patreon, users can also make membership tiers and give different perks that make the supporters feel valued and closer to them. But so does Ko-Fi but in a more unique way.
2. The Pricing
When it comes to pricing, here’s where things get interesting. Ko-Fi takes the cake here because the pricing plans are not only simpler but also quite less compared to what Patreon offers. In other words, Ko-Fi takes 0% platform fees on donations and only 5% on the overall memberships or shop purchases.
Oh the other hand, Patreon charges you up to 12% when it comes to different plans. But their plans do start with 5% charging fees.
3. The Membership Tier Models
Ko-FI takes the cake when it comes to its membership models. Even though the platform is built more for casual donators, it supports the monthly memberships but gives you so much more control over your profile.
Along with the subscriptions, you can also receive one-off donations, commissions, requests, sell products, and also raise crowdfunds. This puts Ko-Fi a tier above Patreon thanks to the innovative features.
What Makes Ko-Fi Better Than Patreon?
Ko-Fi is better than Patreon on a plethora of stuff. Starting from the 0-5% fees, Ko-Fi charges no money when we talk about regular donations. It wouldn’t charge the creator and not the supporter. This takes an interesting turn since creators don’t need to worry about paying hefty fees like the 12% that users of Patreon have to pay.
Ko-Fi also doesn’t pressurize the creators to make new content and it gives them complete freedom as well. However, on Patreon, you’ll need to publish content every month and maintain different tiers to receive rewards.
On Ko-Fi, you can sell products both digital and physical with just a link. However, Patreon doesn’t let you sell products or offer rewards to the users which makes the whole experience quite limited.
What Makes Patreon Better Than Ko-Fi?
Patreon caters to the needs of people that are offering regular content with a consistent uploading schedule. On the other hand, Ko-Fi is for people who like to offer services for a single time and gain profit from it. In other words, if you’re looking to leverage the monthly subscriptions from your audience, Patreon will be ideal for you.
Ko-Fi vs Patreon - Which One Should You Choose?
Both Ko-Fi and Patreon have their pros and cons but if you are to leverage the lowest fees and the best features, Ko-Fi is just far superior to Patreon due to the freedom it gives to the creators and supporters. Ko-Fi is also far more cost-effective especially if you’re new to the internet game and are looking to receive some income for offering a service.
in/Habitants choose to use Ko-Fi as opposed to Patreon because of the flexibility and features it provides.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this content are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.
