Ko-fi vs Substack

Ko-fi

• Ko-fi takes 5% of shop, membership and commission sales without Gold(6/10)
• Ko-fi Gold costs $12 a month for new creators(6/10)
• Memberships taken before switching to Gold keep paying the 5% fee(5/10)
• Supporters confuse Ko-fi membership billing and cancellation(6/10)

Substack

• 10% revenue cut adds up significantly(9/10)

Ko-fi

• Ko-fi payment pending or unclaimed because of PayPal(7/10)
• PayPal holds Ko-fi funds for up to 21 days(7/10)
• Ko-fi page unpublished or account suspended with little explanation(9/10)
• Supporters cannot see Ko-fi content after paying(6/10)

Substack

• Billing issues and unexpected charges plague users(8/10)
• Technical issues prevent publishing(7/10)

Ko-fi

• Ko-fi support is slow and unhelpful for account problems(8/10)

Substack

• Customer support is essentially non-existent(9/10)

Ko-fi

• Ko-fi Discord roles do not sync for members(6/10)
• Weak marketing and discovery tools for growing creators(5/10)

Substack

No signals

Ko-fi

• Ko-fi refunds are the creator's job, not Ko-fi's(6/10)

Substack

• No API limits automation and integrations(8/10)
• Lacks email marketing features(8/10)
• Minimal signup and segmentation options(6/10)
• Poor reading experience on the app(5/10)
• Discoverability is challenging for new writers(6/10)
• Not suitable for sales funnels or affiliate marketing(5/10)
• Limited analytics and insights(5/10)

Ko-fi

No signals

Substack

• Minimal design customization options(7/10)

Ko-fi

No signals

Substack

• Content moderation controversy eroded trust(6/10)