How to sell on Ko-fi: setting up a Ko-fi shop

How does Ko-fi work for sellers?

Ko-fi gives you one public page where people can send one-time or monthly tips, join membership tiers, buy from a Ko-fi shop or request commissions for custom work or services. You switch each of these on or off from the same account.

A Ko-fi shop is the products part of that page. You add an item, choose whether it is a digital file or a physical item, set a price and share the link. Ko-fi's help center describes it as a quick way to sell both kinds of item, and it lists art files, templates, music, stickers, prints, crafts and printed books as typical products.

The part that sets Ko-fi apart from a marketplace is how money moves. Ko-fi does not hold your sales. You connect either a PayPal or a Stripe account, buyers pay into it, and Ko-fi takes its fee from each payment. On Ko-fi you are the merchant of record, which means you set the terms of sale, handle refunds and deal with any dispute yourself.

Ko-fi says Over a million creators use it, but there is no algorithm deciding who sees your page. Buyers arrive from links you share. Plan for that before you list: a Ko-fi shop works best when you already have followers somewhere else.

How to set up a Ko-fi shop

These steps follow Ko-fi's own help center articles on getting paid and on the Ko-fi Shop. Creating the page and connecting a payment account cost nothing; Ko-fi has no monthly cost.

1. Create your Ko-fi page

   Sign up at ko-fi.com and claim a page name. New accounts start with Standard mode switched on, which unlocks extra features and adds the service fee to one-time tips too. You can switch it off in Settings, Payment.

2. Connect PayPal or Stripe

   In Payment Settings, connect either a PayPal or a Stripe account, or both. Ko-fi says these are the only payment methods for now. PayPal offers Venmo to US buyers and Stripe adds Apple Pay and Google Pay. Set your page currency to the one you are paid in most, so fewer payments need converting.

3. Write your shop terms

   In the shop settings, write standard terms of up to 10,000 characters. Buyers must agree to them before checkout. Include shipping times, how files are delivered, your refund or returns policy and what is included.

4. Add your first product

   In Ko-fi Shop, choose Add Product, give it a name buyers understand and pick digital file or physical item. Add a description, a one-sentence summary, Up to 20 images and Up to 20 categories.

5. Set the price and options

   Enter a price. You can turn on pay what you want, add Up to 15 variants for size or colour with their own prices, limit the quantity for a numbered run, or schedule a new item to go live later.

6. Share the shop link

   Your shop lives at your Ko-fi page address with /shop on the end. You can make Shop the default tab people land on, share one product with its Share button, or link straight to one category.

Selling digital downloads on Ko-fi

For a digital product you upload the file or paste a link to it under Assets. After payment the buyer sees a thank-you screen and can download straight away if logged in; buyers who are not logged in are asked to create a Ko-fi account. The email receipt also carries the file links, so you have nothing to send by hand.

Storage and file size depend on your mode. Ko-fi Free accounts get up to 25GB of shop storage and up to 2GB of files per shop item. Standard accounts get up to 200GB and up to 5GB of files per shop item. If you sell large video courses or sample packs, check these limits before you build a catalogue.

You can also make an item available only to monthly supporters or to chosen membership tiers. Ko-fi suggests this as a way to give members something extra, and to turn one-off buyers into monthly supporters.

Selling physical products and setting shipping

Physical items need shipping prices. For each item you set two: a price when it ships alone, and a price with others for when it ships in a bigger order. Ko-fi charges the buyer the highest "shipping price" in the order, plus the "price with others" for each additional item.

You also choose where you ship. Worldwide shipping gives one rate everywhere, and you can add continents or countries with their own rates, which override the worldwide one. If worldwide shipping is off, only buyers in the places you list can check out. Add delivery times, the courier and how tracking will reach the buyer.

When an order comes in you get an email and the order appears in the Orders tab. Pack it, mark it shipped and add tracking, and Ko-fi emails the buyer. Pre-orders are allowed if you label them clearly in the name and description.

• Weigh and measure the packed item before you set rates, then look up your courier's price.
• Use the quantity limit for a limited run, so the item shows sold out at zero.
• Only turn on the phone number request if your courier needs it.

Taking commissions on Ko-fi

Commissions have their own tab, separate from the shop, and suit custom work: a pet portrait, a crochet piece made to measure, a tarot reading, proofreading or a music lesson. You can rename the tab to one of Commissions, Requests, Services, Bookings or Readings.

Each listing has a description, instructions to the buyer for references or details you need, preview images and a price. You can offer up to 12 'add-on' options, such as an extra character or a faster turnaround, and tick Requires Shipping for a physical piece. To avoid taking on too much, limit the total slots across all listings.

Turn on messaging if you want buyers to discuss the idea before they pay. Once someone buys a commission it appears in your Orders tab. Ko-fi suggests a quick message to acknowledge each order and progress updates along the way, which lowers the chance of a dispute. Send the finished work the way you agreed, then mark it complete.

What Ko-fi takes from a $30 sale

Ko-fi's 5% service fee applies to shop sales and commissions on both the Free and Standard modes, and PayPal or Stripe take their own processing fee on top. The chart sets the same $30 sale beside two other places makers sell digital and handmade goods.

How Ko-fi payments arrive

Ko-fi is a direct payment service. When a buyer pays, funds land straight in the creator's PayPal or Stripe account. There is no payout schedule and no minimum balance, and you never hold a balance on Ko-fi. Withdrawing money means moving it out of PayPal or Stripe the way you normally would.

Ko-fi's 5% fee is taken from each payment and shows in your PayPal or Stripe history as an 'application fee' or 'partner fee'. Ko-fi says there are No buyer fees, payout fees, marketing fees on top of that and the processor's own charge.

Ko-fi Gold is a subscription of $12/month, offered only on a monthly plan. Ko-fi's commissions article says that for Gold creators there are no service fees at all. If Standard mode is on when you subscribe, you have to switch it off yourself to stop the service fee, and memberships that started before Gold keep paying it. Gold is worth working out only when your monthly sales are high enough that the service fee would cost more than the subscription.

Taxes stay with you. Ko-fi's help center says: It is your responsibility to determine if and where you are due to register, charge and pay sales tax or VAT. You can add a sales tax or VAT rate in Ko-fi's sales tax settings so it is added at checkout. Rules differ by country and US state, and this page is general information, not tax advice.

Ko-fi shop limits to know before you start

These limits come from Ko-fi's shop and commissions help articles. Most sellers will not reach them, but they shape what a Ko-fi shop can do.

• Items: Ko-fi Free allows up to 600 items; Standard allows up to 1,500 items.
• Reviews: asked whether shops or items can get reviews, Ko-fi's answer is Not yet.
• Disputes: a problem with an order is handled directly between the creator and the buyer, so clear terms and kept messages matter.

Where Nation fits

Questions about selling on Ko-fi