Use only one month at a time. Empty or invalid values are treated as zero for a lean, forgiving input flow.
If your monthly memberships + shop sales + commissions total is below $240, the free plan usually costs less than Gold. Above $240, Gold usually saves money versus the 5% fee.
Enter your monthly memberships, shop sales, and commissions to compare the free plan’s 5% fee against Gold’s $12 fixed monthly cost.
| Scenario | How it behaves | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Ko-fi Free | 5% fee on memberships, shop sales, and commissions | $0.00 |
| Ko-fi Gold | Fixed monthly subscription, separate from Stripe/PayPal processing | $12.00 |
Use this when the 5% fee is still below $12. The calculator shows how much more applicable revenue you would need before Gold stops costing extra.
At exactly $240 in applicable revenue, 5% equals $12. That is the knife-edge point where Gold and free cost the same.
Use this when the 5% free-plan fee rises above $12. The calculator reports the monthly amount Gold could save relative to staying free.
Tips can increase your total Ko-fi income, but they do not create a Gold advantage by themselves because Ko-fi’s service fee on tips is already 0%.
Applicable revenue = memberships + shop sales + commissions
Free plan fee = applicable revenue × 5%
Gold cost = $12/month
Break-even threshold = $12 ÷ 0.05 = $240
This is intentionally a narrow upgrade-decision calculator, not a full payout estimator. It does not model taxes, regional payment fees, refunds, or historical Gold pricing.