Income stops at your existing fans
Ko-fi's free option charges 0% on one-time tips and 5% on shop items, memberships, monthly tips and commissions. All of those come from people who support you already. It describes no brand payments.
Alternatives / Ko-fi
Tips Depend on Who Already Loves You. Brand View Pay Reaches Past Them.
Ko-fi's fees are low, with 0% on one-time tips on its free option. That isn't where Rovalty differs. In Rovalty campaigns, brands pay creators per 1,000 verified views.
| Rovalty | Ko-fi | |
|---|---|---|
| Fee | 0% commission | 0% on one-time tips, 5% on the rest, 0% on Gold |
| Pays on | Each 1,000 verified views | Fan tips, shop sales and memberships |
| Tracking | Official TikTok, Instagram and YouTube APIs | Your own supporter and sales records |
| Branding | yourbrand.rovalty.com free, your own domain on paid plans | Your Ko-fi page |
| Pricing | Free, then $29, $79 and $199 a month | Free option, Gold at $12 a month for new users |
The Short Answer
Rovalty is for creators who want brand income per verified view, and brands paying for that reach. Ko-fi is the better pick for tips, shop items, commissions and memberships from fans, with low fees and no monthly cost on its free option. Rovalty has none of this and won't replace it.
Our pick, for brands paying creators per view. Written by Rovalty and last checked .Low Fees, Real Limits: What Ko-fi Can't Do for Brand Income
Ko-fi lets fans tip creators and buy shop items, commissions and memberships. Its fees are low, so the difference isn't cost. A creator on Ko-fi can add brand view campaigns as separate income. A small brand wanting reach would run a Rovalty campaign, since tips can't buy promotion.
Gold only changes the fee
Ko-fi Gold is $12 a month for new users and drops the service fee to 0%. It's good value at the right sales level, but it doesn't change who pays you. Fans are still the income.
Founders can't buy reach here
A brand can't pay creators through Ko-fi to promote what it sells. Its fee help covers tips, memberships, shop items and commissions only. Processor fees sit on top and don't change that.
Fan Support Aside, Rovalty Is Our #1 Ko-fi Alternative for View-Based Campaigns in 2026
Pay comes from brands, not supporters
You post a video that meets a brand's rules and it earns at the campaign's rate per 1,000 views. Your supporters aren't asked for anything. It only works if a brand's campaign accepts you.
Clear rules before you record
Each campaign shows its rate, minimum views and per-video cap, and may set follower minimums. A required mention, name or link goes in the caption, so you know what's asked.
Your Ko-fi page goes on working
Rovalty has no tips, shop or memberships, and no one needs to move. Ko-fi keeps handling your fan support, and a brand campaign is simply another thing you do.
Tips Against Rates: Comparing Ko-fi and Rovalty Honestly
This isn't a contest on fees, as Ko-fi's are low. It's about whether your next dollar comes from a fan or a brand.
Where money comes from
- Rovalty
- Brands running campaigns, for views on your videos.
- Ko-fi
- Fans, through tips, shop items, commissions and memberships.
What it asks of you
- Rovalty
- Link your social accounts and post videos that meet the brief.
- Ko-fi
- Share your Ko-fi page and give supporters a reason to pay.
How steady it is
- Rovalty
- Lasts while a campaign and its budget run, then stops.
- Ko-fi
- Monthly tips and memberships can build up over time.
| Rovalty | Ko-fi | |
|---|---|---|
| Pay per view | ✓Yes | ✕No |
| Official API view tracking | ✓Yes | ✕No |
Rovalty's plan is set by tracked views, not sales. Growth is shown as an example.
Source: This compares Ko-fi's 5% on shop and membership sales with a flat Rovalty plan. It isn't like for like. One-time tips are 0% on the free option, and a creator doesn't buy a Rovalty plan to join a campaign.
Nine Further Ko-fi Alternatives, Tip Jars and Brand Pay Included
Several here work much like Ko-fi with different fees. Others swap fan money for brand budgets, and that changes the work.
| Tool | Pays on | Cost or fee |
|---|---|---|
| #1 Rovalty | 1,000 verified views | 0%, plans from free |
| #2 Kajabi | Students buying courses | From $179 a month |
| #3 Teachable | Students buying courses | 7.5% on Starter |
| #4 Patreon | Members and fans | 10% plus processing |
| #5 Buy Me a Coffee | Supporters | 5% plus Stripe fees |
| #6 Refersion | Store sales | 2% to 3% |
| #7 GrowSurf | Referred actions | 3% on affiliate |
| #8 Viral Loops | Referral rewards | None found |
| #9 Tolstoy | Not described | None listed |
| #10 Billo | Per video | In video price |
#2: Kajabi (Best for course businesses wanting everything on one plan)
Kajabi combines courses, communities, websites and email in one platform and says it takes no revenue share. Plans start at $179 a month, and its affiliates, on Growth and up, earn on sales rather than views.
#3: Teachable (Best for instructors running a school with built-in affiliates)
Teachable hosts courses, coaching and digital products, with unlimited students on its main plans. Starter still takes 7.5% of sales, and its affiliates on higher plans earn a share of revenue rather than pay for views.
#4: Patreon (Best for creators with loyal fans paying monthly)
Patreon gives creators memberships, digital sales and community tools, paid for by their own fans. It takes a 10% platform fee from new creators, and it doesn't offer brand campaigns paid on views.
#5: Buy Me a Coffee (Best for one-off fan support with no monthly cost)
Buy Me a Coffee gives creators one-time support, memberships and a shop, with free posts and email. It takes 5% per transaction plus Stripe fees, and it has no way for brands to pay on views.
#6: Refersion (Best for Shopify stores paying a percent of sale)
Refersion gives ecommerce brands cookieless first-party tracking and a marketplace for finding affiliates. Its paid Shopify plans still take 2% to 3% of affiliate sales, and its offers pay on orders, not views.
#7: GrowSurf (Best for customer referrals with automatic rewards)
GrowSurf rewards customers and members when a referred friend takes an action you define, with gift cards, cash or credits. Its affiliate option takes a 3% success fee, and neither path offers view-based pay for creators.
#8: Viral Loops (Best for launch waitlists and giveaways)
Viral Loops offers ready templates for waitlists, giveaways and refer-a-friend programs, with plans set by participant count. It suits campaigns where your audience does the sharing, and it has no view-based pay for creators.
#9: Tolstoy (Best for Shoppable video on your own store)
Tolstoy creates AI product content and adds shoppable video and virtual try-on to your storefront. Its pricing covers credits and store viewers, and it describes no way to pay creators by views.
#10: Billo (Best for Buying UGC ad creative per video)
Billo gives brands a vetted creator network and approved videos with full usage rights for paid ads. Its fee sits inside the per-video price, and pay isn't tied to the views a video earns.
How a Ko-fi Creator Picks Up a First Brand Campaign
Keep your Ko-fi page live
Nothing moves. There's no import, and your supporters, shop and memberships stay exactly where they are on Ko-fi.
Find a brand's creator page
Rovalty isn't a hiring marketplace, so you join through a page a brand shares. Sign in with Google and link your accounts. Check whether follower minimums apply.
Submit videos, then get paid by the brand
Post with the required caption and submit your link. Views are tracked through official APIs. The brand pays you directly from its weekly statement. A brand starting out shares its own page with creators.
When Ko-fi Is the Better Pick
Stay on Ko-fi if you want a low-cost way for fans to support you. Its fees are low, and Rovalty doesn't offer tips, shops or memberships at all. Rovalty is only for the separate question of brand view pay, or for a small brand wanting creators to promote it.
Ko-fi Alternative Questions, Answered
How We Checked This
Last checked November 1, 2026
Written by Rovalty, so we have a stake in this list, and the ranking is our own. We read Ko-fi's public pages on that date, and prices and features can change.
Spot something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.
Product names belong to their owners, and no company here endorses Rovalty.